Mommy Makeover

So I have really long hair. I'm talking down to the top of my butt. It hasn't been cut since August 2010!!


I know most of you are yelling at me saying " you are supposed to get your hair trimmed every couple of months! Shame on you!!!" Believe me I know this, I just haven't had the money to spend on myself without feeling guilty. I also didn't have the guts to cut my own hair... Until last night.

After looking at my split ends and totally damaged hair over the past few months I just grew repulsed by it. I knew the only option was to (da da da) cut my own hair. I found this great video here on Youtube. Farah Dhukai is awesome! She has her own blog where she gives more detail on her videos and methods. I suggest watching her videos for great tutorials if this is your first attempt at taking on your own hair.

Anyways, I watched her video three times before I went into the bathroom with a pair of scissors and an army of hair ties. Clips would have worked better, but I'm poor and I use what I have. I kept having to run into the living room to check the video to make sure I didn't miss a step. But after probably thirty minutes I finished!

I do feel like I could put some more layers in the back, but I am super confident in cutting my hair into long layers!!!


Here is the before (and please excuse the cliche mirror/ old school myspace pic style. It was the only way I could get a full shot of the hair) It was so heavy and poofy!





And here is the After!



It may not be the greatest, but I like how I didn't ruin the layers around my face, and how it is not as heavy, and most importantly more healthy!!

I will absolutely be cutting my hair myself and much more often. Just because I am a mom doesn't mean I have to let my self go and neglect my needs. And just because I am poor doesn't mean I have to look it haha.

Oh and I was able to get some pictures for the free collage from Walgreens. Today is the last day to take advantage of that deal. So go do it!

Laters!

Ok guys so Mothers Day is coming up this Sunday. You know, in case some of you weren't up to date and all. Anyways, I'm sure most of you are trying to do some cool and creative stuff for a unique gift. Well if you want to do something special AND cheap I suggest you head on over to Walgreens photo center before 11:59PM central time this Saturday. They are offering a free 8x10 collage for mother's day! They do this a few times a year with collages and other size prints. I love taking advantage of them to get my pictures printed off for free! (I have a quite a lot of photos to get printed off) All you need to do is go to the site and make your collage. Enter the promo code COLLAGE4YOU at checkout and be sure to select pick up and then choose your store. It's that simple! I am in the process of getting a few new pictures of the girls for my Mom. This is what I am working with...

Finger in mouth,


Not looking at the camera,


Closing eyes,


And lastly bug eyed baby!


Child photographers have a gift I must say. I have to go make my collage, you should too!

Laters!

Hello Lucy

Ok so I recently mentioned that I finally gave birth to baby girl number two. She came just 2 days early. It was a very CRAZY experience to say the least.

You see, with Luna I had to be induced. It was the perfect labor. I went in that night and gave birth without breaking a sweat (thanks to the lovely epidural). Lucy on the other hand was a complete different story.




So the morning that Lucy decided to come I wasn't feeling very well. I had been cramping all night having some mild contractions. But they didn't seem to be labor pains, or so I thought. I never experienced natural labor before so how was I supposed to really know? Anyways I took a shower and got dressed trying to soothe the cramping. After a few hours I got a little worried. I started Googleing what labor feels like and started freaking out. My husband kept saying "you aren't going into labor, and even if you are your contractions aren't that close together." I knew he was wrong, so I woke up my sister in law to tell her I was in labor so she could get the two little ones ready so we could go to the hospital. You see here on the military base Stephen and I can't get on base because we do not have military ID's. With only one vehicle my sister in law had to go. She always takes forever so I thought I would get her up early enough to get us to the hospital with no problem. Well... during the time it takes for everyone else to get ready my contractions went to only being a couple of minutes apart and extremely painful. The whole drive there was excruciating! I never wanted to have a kid naturally, but I had no choice.

Once I got there I had to set in ER until someone came from the maternity ward to get me. I thought it was never going to end.I kept begging for an epidural. Once I finally got in the room I was informed that I had no time for one. Then she came! Fortunately I wasn't one of those ladies that have to be in labor for hours and hours! Lucy was 8lbs. 1oz and 19 1/2 in long.

Here is Lucy and I right before we came home.


And this is Luna meeting Lucy




Now I have two little girls, and I can't wait to watch them grow up!

The Calm After the Storm...

And by storm I mean shit storm. Wow, so I really intended to get this blog going for some time now. I started right before the birth of my baby girl Luna, but my life has just been completely whacked out for some time now. WE have been through some crazy lows. We have been homeless in a shelter looking for work in a "not so striving workforce" city. After failing to make any progress we flew out to California to stay with our family on a military base. Things got pretty crazy here too. My sister in law decides she wants a divorce, so she kicks her husband out. After that my husband and I take care of her four children and our own child while she lets her life crumble around her. I'm also 8 months pregnant at this time, did I mention that? After months of putting up with an alcoholic, taking care of all the children, and taking care of the house, I finally had my second little girl and my sister in law ends up getting arrested. It sounds sad, but it isn't too bad. Stephen started taking online classes and my brother-in-law moved back in and is taking care of his kids. Now we are planning our next move. We haven't mapped out our plan yet, but we have a few options. There is the plan to go back to West Virginia... but we haven't had too good of luck there these past few years. The next option is to go down to New Orleans and for Stephen to do construction with his uncle (if there is available work), or possibly get a job on the river. Then we are thinking about maybe going somewhere that is cheap to live and start over. Washington seems to be the area of interest for that one. I prefer the west coast for it's "green" living and progressive ideas. West Virginia is full of conservative, religious folk which doesn't suit my interests. The south I have never lived in but it doesn't appeal to me either. I hear of a lot of racism and fighting. I'm just anxious to get started with my life though. I know we can do great things, we just have to stop getting ourselves in shitty situations. I'm excited, and at this point I don't care where we move as long as we are together :)



This is little Miss Luna a year later! She has grown up into a little sweetheart at 16 months old.



This is the new one that I mentioned. Her name is Lucy!

Chance to Win...

      I already mentioned how I'm a fan for the power of positivity and the law of attraction. I'm definitely not a religious person at all, quite the opposite in fact, but there is something mystical about positivity. It brings what you need and really want into your lives. As a kid, you seem to live that way of life and you just always new that it worked deep down. Then we get older and sometimes life makes us forget. It's important to hold on to those happy thoughts and be grateful for what we have.

    Anyways, with that said I am going to start posting links to some giveaways that I am entering. It gives people the chance to get freebies, and who doesn't love freebies!? I do, and maybe if I am positive enough, I will start winning some!

Over at The Link Fairy they are having a giveaway for the Step 2 Extreme Coaster. So you should head on over and put in your chances to win this cool toy. The contest ends at 12am EST on Dec 22.


If you happen to win let us know!

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/NDA4NGNmMWYyYzRmMWU5YTM3ZWQyNzc4YzhjMzgxOjI0/

Wow, Another Journey Begins

     Ok... so we did pretty good there for a while. First of all I would like to apologize for my absence. Life has been absolutely crazy. Quitting my job to be a stay at home mom was a stupid decision on my part. We had many financial troubles and ended up losing our apartment. It's really embarrasing, but I've come to the point to where I can't be ashamed. It's life. It may suck but it will get better.
     
     Anyways, my husband went to a homeless shelter first to look for work in the city, because staying with my family in the small town of Poca, WV without a vehicle was not working for us at all. I stayed behind with Luna, but eventually I didn't like that my family had to be seperated. I love my husband and I didn't want him to miss out on all the changes that were happening so fast with our little girl. So we went to the shelter too. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't good either. They fed us every day and we were able to stay together since we are a family, but it definitely is not a place you want to be... especially with your child. I know she is too little to remember, but it makes you feel like a failure as a parent. When you have children you are supposed to provide for them and it is the worst feeling in the world when you can't even provide for yourself. After a few months, and no jobs to be found we are on our way to California again to start a new life out west. We are going to work our asses off and have a normal life once and for all.

     Did I mention that I am pregnant again? Yea... we found out this summer. I am due March 14. So yea, we have to get our shit together. I'll keep you updated as our life begins to unfold in this new chapter. I fully believe in the power of positivity and the law of attraction, so I know that everything is going to work out just fine. We have been through the rough part, the only way to go is up at this point. The best part about this whole experience is that I learned to let go of all my material possessions, and learned to appreciate the love of my family even more. Love is the most important thing in the world.

Oh, here is the little stinker a year later...

And here are my two loves playing <3

     

Weekly Freebie Haul

Everyday that I go to my mailbox it is like a mini treasure hunt. I never know what is going to be there. Throughout the week I sign up for every free sample I come across. I find them on Facebook and from other websites across the internet. There are many people out there that are truly dedicated to taking advantage of all of these promotions and samples and it's not too difficu;t to find them. So I figured every Sunday I will do a recap of everything  I have received in freebies :)

I wish I would have been doing this all along because I have got a lot of cool things. I have a netti pot, free magazine subscriptions, and even coupons to get hair dye or other products to try for free. Usually you get a small sample item with a high value coupon to purchase the full product. It's a pretty sweet deal, especially if you coupon.

I'm going to go ahead and post the last 2 weeks of freebies up here. I know it isn't Sunday, but I have to start somewhere. 2012 is about getting organized and motivated :)


1/22/12 - 1/28/12

 

 I got the sample and coupon of Acnefree by liking them on Facebook. They are still offering the sample. All you have to do is "like" them and fill out the form and it will arrive pretty soon. The Miralax sample is no longer available, but it came from the sample spot at Target's website. The bracelet was a freebie that Blee Inara was giving away back in November. Lastly the coupon for the free Beech Nut stage 4 product comes from registering at their website here.

1/29/12- 2/5/12

The Jiffy Mixes Recipie Book can be requested by a form on the Jiffy website. Next, we have Schiff MegaRed. This sample is found by "liking" them on Facebook and requesting the sample from their page. The crystal light sample is all gone, but it was requested at their website. And finally we have the Prilosec sample. Follow the link and see if you qualify for a free sample. If you do fill out the form and it will arrive in a few weeks.



OK, so now we are caught up. From now on keep a look out on Sundays for my weekly freebie haul :)