FINALLY... a (relatively) easy at-home wax kit that WORKS!

So... real mom life truth... most moms don't have the time, or extra funds... to go get a bikini wax. Even if they do, it isn't always worth the effort for something that maybe they don't feel comfortable having a stranger do.

Well for one thing, I am all for bikini waxing. In my opinion, the slight discomfort of bikini waxing is worth it because I don't like shaving. Its a pain in the ass. I can deal with my legs but man... as a mom, I just don't have time for worrying about such a sensitive area becoming irritated, never being smooth, etc. So for me, waxing is worth it.

I have tried lots of different products for this. I've used the strips, the foams, the creams, regular waxes... all of it. The regular was for me sucked because I had such a hard time actually removing it. It hardened up too quickly and didn't remove all the hair I wanted. So I was on a mission to find a product I could use that I wouldn't hate, and I finally stumbled upon Moom sugar based hair remover.

Before I continue with this post, I want to mention this is not a sponsored review. I personally found and purchased this product with no influence from anyone else (with the exception of a few reviews from Amazon.com when I was placing my order there.) 

So this easy little nifty kit comes with the wax (which is sugar based), some popsicle sticks to apply it with (a couple of different sizes), REUSABLE cloth strips in various sizes, and of course your instruction booklet.

The stuff is really affordable (I think it was like $12 the day I ordered it) and it pays for itself even if you're just using it for your eyebrows or any small area.

I was brave and decided to use this all by myself, with no help from my hubby. He was at work, the kids were in bed, so it was mommy pampering time, if you can call it that. I warmed the wax up (about 30 seconds was enough- though I still had to let it cool off after so it wouldn't burn me) and I was set. I had absolutely no problems applying it. Its sticky so if it comes off of the stick it'll leave you sticky wherever it drips, but its super easy to remove with some water or even a baby wipe. 

Of course I was terrified to do this but I was shocked at how easy it was. I can't really provide before and after pictures of course but I will say that I did as the instructions say and skipped shaving all together for 2 weeks so that there was actually enough hair to remove. I applied the wax, laid the strip on, rubbed it 3 or 4 times, and then pulled the skin VERY taut and pulled the strip in the opposite direction of the hair growth. 

It was SO easy. I can't even say that enough. So easy and really not even much worse than waxing my eyebrows! It was honestly pretty painless. A quick pull and it was done. The best part was, I didn't have to go back over it. It missed no hair, every piece that had the sugar wax applied and the strip pressed over was removed. It was great. It only took me about 15 minutes to go completely "hair free", and there was no discomfort afterwards. There were tiny little dots of blood in some spots, which is very normal because you're literally removing the entire piece of hair so quickly. I had no negative reactions to it, even with my sensitive skin, and I am still SO smooth 2 weeks later! I am amazed!

My husband was so pleased with the results (TMI right?) and how well I reacted to it, he trusted me to do his eyebrows and they turned out great too! I've used it on my eyebrows as well, but as of now, bikini area and brows are all I've tried it on, and based on just that, I would recommend it to ANY one who asked, especially if you haven't had the best results with other at home methods!

Now, of course.... I'm curious about those Pinterest "DIY" sugar wax hair removal posts haha. Go figure!

Anyway... two big thumbs up for this one!

Maybelline The Colossal Volum Express Review

Alright ladies, here's a touchy subject for you:

Drugstore mascaras.

I've heard so many different sides of this debate. A lot of people will say that drugstore mascaras are the same, sometimes even better, than higher end mascaras.

Some people will say they are so much cheaper because they aren't high quality and even downright dangerous.

Apparently I am one of the few people in the world who just cannot wear these cheap mascaras. They always make my eyes itch and I always get infections from them.

None have been as bad as this one though.

Maybelline The Colossal Volum Express

I had nothing going on with my eyes when I first used it. I received it brand new from Amazon, and when I applied it, I loved it. It made my lashes SO long. However, it clumps. A LOT. I get those dreaded tarantula lashes with this.  My lashes are really long but they're so clumpy I have to take a brush and separate them.

Despite the clumps, I kept giving this brand a shot. I've heard so many other bloggers rave about it, I just thought there had to be something I was missing. Apparently all I was missing was the styes that were about to pop up. 

By the end of the first weekend I wore this, my left eye had a huge painful sty on the top lash line and one in the corner just beside my tear duct. The right eye had another painful sty that was much larger on the inside top corner! My poor eyes are KILLING me. My actual eyeballs are red and itchy and my eyelids are so sore I can't even attempt to apply any makeup at all. I've tossed this tube and for the safety of my eyes, I will not be trying it again.

Am I the only one who has ever experienced this? Its happened with a few other "cheap" mascaras but never to this extent. I am miserable!

Via PINKY Cherry-04 Review

Via PINKY Cherry-04 Review

As a blogger, its a dreadful and sad day when you actually have to present your readers with a bad review. It honestly is. One of the coolest things about a blog is being able to tells hundreds of thousands of people about brands that you love and getting the personal satisfaction of knowing you influenced someone to support a brand you believe in. I took a chance a couple of months ago and ordered a pair of shoes from eBay. They weren't used, they were brand new and came straight from a boutique. They were not shipped from China or anything, so I had high hopes that they would be good shoes.

When I first opened the shoes, I admit, I was impressed. The material is great. They're really soft inside and out and super stretchy without being tight. The bow quality was just okay, I won't say I hated it, but I won't say it was the best I've seen either. They were really unevenly tied (one side bigger than the other) and they felt kind of loose.

I loved the shoes when I put them on. They felt so good on my feet and didn't leave any blisters, so I thought for sure I had found my new favorite flats. I even posted this picture on my IG to show everyone my new favorites!

So Whitney... what was so bad? They're cute, comfy, and great material... where are you going with this?

Well here's the deal. I paid $31.99 for the shoes. I don't think thats a bad price, especially not for the material. However, I got three wears out of these before they fell to pieces, literally.

When I say wear, please know that I mean light wear. As in I slipped them on before I walked out of the door, rode in our car for 30 minutes to our destination, got out, went in and sat down, and got up and walked back to our car and rode back to our house and took them off. THREE wears. I didn't wear this for an 8-hour shopping trip. No dancing. No running. Hell, I barely even walked. I literally wore them and that is it.

And here were the after results:

The thing that bothers me most about this is I really loved these shoes. Its not like I got them and was like, oh damn, they don't even look as good as they did in the pictures. No, not at all. I got them and was so excited! What a let down! The skull and bow came off of both of the shoes, and I didn't even notice the one came off until I got home and now its no where to be found so I can't even glue it on. The insoles are ripping right out and the shoes can't even be salvaged as plain flats because of that tacky hot glue mark on the top. If you look closely at the picture of the bow, you'll actually see that they are literally just glued on with a hot glue gun! Such poor quality for a $30 pair of shoes!v

Sorry Via, you did not gain a new fan here!

If by some chance any of my readers have ordered these and had a good experience, please let me know! Maybe I just got a bad pair? Who knows. 

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Reversing hair damage

I could have been the poster child for damaged hair.

Seriously.

After being a blonde all my life, I went dark and it dried my hair out. The ends were horrible, so I had to chop over an inch off. 

Then came a Kardashian marathon that had me determined to get healthy, shiny black hair.

So, being the product junkie I am, I hoarded every hair repair product I could find. My bathroom looked like a hair salon.

I have oils, lotions, 3 day treatments, masks, shampoos, conditioners,  styling products, all of it! All in hopes that I would repair the damage and get shine.

These are the products I've narrowed it down to, as well as a before and after picture in a time span of 3 months!

The Products:

Nexxus Pro-Mend Split End Binding Conditioner

Organix Renewing Moroccan Argan Oil shampoo

Tropical Traditions Virgin Coconut Oil

Nexxus Youth Renewal Rejuvenating Elixir

Natrol Biotin 10,000mcg Max Strength

(and Nestle Pure Life!)

and (optional) The "Wet" Brush

The Routine:

Alright...Here we go.

I actually prefer "no-poo", but because I wanted something extremely moisturizing, I wanted to add some actual shampoos.

I don't wash my hair much, nor do I blow dry it or straighten it.

Since I'm a stay at home, I don't worry too much about it looking dirty or whatever, but if I do have to go somewhere I just pull it into a messy bun and spray a bit if dry shampoo on it before hand so it has some volume.

I only wash my hair 3 times a week, sometimes only 2.

I take my Biotin every morning and I chug two bottles of water after I take it. I drink water all day and I'm convinced it truly helps with the growth, and I know the Biotin does. My nails look AMAZING!

I brush my hair with my Wet brush all the time, not just when wet. It is amazing. It doesn't break my hair and it gets tangles out so easily.

Keeping the hair smooth and tangle free will really help your hair out.

I rub a little of tropical traditions organic virgin coconut oil on my ends several times a day. It only takes a tiny bit to cover it all. My hair is dark so it doesn't look oily, but I'm sure it would require less on blonde since blonde will show more of the oil. After I apply it to my ends, I wipe my hands off a bit on a towel and then I use my finger tips and massage my scalp for approximately 1 minute.

Before I go to bed every night, I do a full coconut oil mask. I take a larger amount of the oil and saturate all of my hair, paying special attention to the ends and my layers. I use the Wet brush and brush it a lot to get the oil all over my hair and let it really absorb it. I usually just throw it in a loose bun or braid afterwards and put an elastic headband on to keep it off my face and sleep with it in my hair.

In the morning I just rinse it with cold water.

When I do wash it, I do it after washing the coconut oil out. I still use cold water and just easy gently and really only use the conditioner on my ends. I can't stress how great this coconut oil has been on my hair. Tropical Traditions was kind enough to send me a sample of the product to try out, and I really wanted to include the review in this post just to really make my readers understand that I had such great results with it that I actually made it a part of my daily routine. 

I towel dry and apply the Nexxus Elixir to the ends, and sometimes a tiny but more of the coconut oil.

I NEVER dry my hair on hot on the rare occasion I do dry it.

And I never straighten it afterwards! If I absolutely have to straighten it, I dry my hair at night and let it rest and straighten it the next day.

And here are my results:

The left side is in March, the other is from today (May).

And this is from before I started using the coconut oil and after! 

If you're interested in placing an order with Tropical Traditions and picking up the exact kind that I have used you can visit their website here:

http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/virgin_coconut_oil.htm

If by some chance you don't love the results you get with your hair, you can reuse the product for hundreds of other purposes! I apply it all over my body as a moisturizer, I use it as an eye makeup remover, and it works great (for me) at treating acne. You can cook with it as well (it doesn't even store in your body as fat!) and it has so many medicinal purposes I can't even begin to list them all. Its a really great investment that I don't feel like any of you will regret!

Reasons Why My Kids Don't Like Me...

Its been a bad week for my kids.

I don't know why. 

It doesn't apply to my youngest, but the two older monsters have been living up to their nicknames lately. They feed off of one another so if one is mad, so is the other. 

I'll be referring to them as #1, #2, and #3 in this entry, with 1 being the oldest and 3 the youngest of course. 

[[Disclaimer- This is a JOKE. My kids are just being brats. Don't get crazy on me as some of my readers like to do.]]

1. I moved #2's chair closer to the table so she could reach her cup.

2. I gave #3 a new crayon instead of the tiny broken one with no tip.

3. #2 wanted my bed sheets to be yellow instead of black and white.

4. After three bowls of cereal each, I said "That's enough."

5. Jesus and Juju aren't mean. I am. (Juju is my MIL)

6. I couldn't pick all of the leaves off the tree in the front yard.

7. I made the sun go away (it was nighttime)

8. There were no dirty dishes in the sink. (Apparently this really bothered #2. She had a major meltdown over it.)

9. I got a Mother's Day card and they didn't.

10. I wouldn't let #3 take his Huggies diaper off to look at Minnie.

11. Doritos turned their fingers orange. (all 3 cried over this)

12. I didn't have coffee in my new coffee cup.

13. My fingernails weren't "sprinkled" enough.

14. #1 put his shoes on the wrong feet.

15. Today isn't #2's birthday.

16. Bad guys are bad and its all my fault.

17. There isn't a pool under our coffee table.

18. I didn't let #3 jump on #1's head.

19. Daddy's shoes are big.

20. The flowers are crying.

21. The Mickey logo on the Disney Channel didn't make Mickey Mouse Clubhouse come on.

22. The lid on #2's pink sippy cup was pink.

23. Skinny stomachs mean your hungry.

24. The garbage truck didn't let #1 take it's picture.

25. The clouds looked like Spongebob but didn't look like Dora.

26. The couch didn't feel like popcorn.

27. Mud makes you dirty.

28. Bumblebees sting and hurt.

Yep.... thats been my week. And its not even Friday yet. The kids all contributed to this unknowingly. This is just a collection of the nice things they have yelled at ME for this week or thrown a tantrum on my feet about. They also added these things that they do like.

Things #1 Likes:

Food

Rabbits

Presents

Santa Claus

Playgrounds

Special things

Songs

Video games

Dogs

Things #2 Likes:

Mommy

Juju

Cards

Present bags

Maw Maw

Granny

Cupcakes

Candy

Target

Kittens

Dora

Paint

Things #3 Likes (according to #1):

Cups

Cats

Mickey

Poptarts

Blankets

Puzzles

Naps

Just for the heck of it, here's some cute pictures from today, when I let them play outside until they couldn't stay awake anymore hoping to make them happy hahaha. It worked momentarily. 

Tips, tricks, and products that will make your (mommy) life a little easier.

With three little ones, I could have it a lot worse than what I do. I have a lot of people who come to me for advice on how to still manage a household while staying on a schedule and taking care of their kids. I can't count how many times I've sat and wondered why people ask me that, especially since I have so many days that I'm in tears once every one is in bed because the day has just been so insane. I've already done a bit on scheduling and I don't feel like that is something that really needs to be gone into in depth again, but I will touch on it. The following list is just some tips and tricks, plus a few products, that make my life a little easier and I think most moms will benefit from.

• Sort and organize: Cleaning with kids around isn't easy. However, I'm the obnoxious mom who gets a little irritated with the moms who compare cleaning with kids to brushing your teeth while eating Oreos. It shouldn't be that way. Kids react to the environment around them. Throw them into a room that has toys piled up where they can't even tell what they are, trash all over the floor, broken toys taking up space just because, and dirty clothes scattered about and kids will act NUTS. I mean they will tear more stuff up, they will climb on furniture, hit each other, and just act barbaric. This is because chaos is all around them so they act chaotic. The easiest way to prevent this and encourage independent PLAY and not just following mom around all day is to just organize things and help them learn to keep them that way. It doesn't take a big budget to do this, most of us have enough stuff around to do it spending nothing or very little. Don't just clean rooms when someone is coming over or when the mess is so much that you almost break your neck walking in. Instead, do a 15 minute clean every couple of hours. This prevents you from having to do a 1 hour clean later on. EVERY day, take a handful of Walmart or grocery store bags into your kids room and pick up trash. Involve them in this. Make it a fun thing to do and do it constantly, and they will eventually do it on their own. If a toy is broken, throw it away. Talk to them and let them know it serves no purpose now, it is broken. As parents we tend to hold onto our children's toys forever because of the attachment we have to them. What most people don't realize is you have an attachment to the memory, not to the toy. So let it go. Use clear organizers (I use Rubbermaid) and put them in an accessible spot. I line ours up. Each box has only certain toys in it. Using my boys' room as an example, we sort like this: Superheroes and action figures in one box. Cars and trucks in one box. Tools in a toolbox. Stuffed animals on the bed. Its simple and because the boxes are clear, they don't feel the need to dump a box out to get the toy they're looking for. They always know where they are and how to get to them. Buy a container with a lid attached and you can put these boxes up in the closet or somewhere they can't get into and if you don't want the toys out, they can't get to them. We also have one designated shelf for "big" toys that can't fit into boxes like our singing Mickeys, Spiderman and Batman town sets, and remote control cars. Another good idea for kids old enough to have things like this around without hurting themselves is to put figures in a sandwich bag and store them with the things they go with. My daughter has a Cinderella castle and it has lots of little add ons that don't have another place to go. So instead of putting them somewhere else and having them get lost, we take all of Cinderella's furniture and accessories and put them in a sandwich bag, and then we put the bag inside the castle. Same goes for Captain Hook's ship and all the pirates it came with, and Spiderman and the Bat Cave. This can be carried on into the family room or anywhere that toys are played with a lot, and here you can take it a step further. Get an organizer (or in my case, three) and put each child's picture on the front of the box. Because these don't have to be as durable, you can use a shoebox, a bucket, or even a large storage bag. I personally like to use the huge Ziploc bags and then stick them all into a clear organizer. Once the child has their picture on the container, place the toys that they play with the most in that area into it. When a guest announces an unexpected visit, all you have to do is have the child find all of their toys that are out and put them into the designated container. Easy! I could go on and on about this because it is truly a lifesaver. It can be done in every room of the house with various things (bath stuff, snacks, art stuff, etc). Just have a place that the child knows to use for their things, and it will be used. If you have a child that has an allergy or kids that always complain about wanting a different snack than the other child, you can make boxes or bags with the child's name or picture (just anything that lets them recognize that it belongs to them) and then place their favorite snacks in them. When they want a snack and have permission to get one, they can just go grab one and there is no worry on mom's end. 
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• Stop being brand loyal: This is something I see people do too often and its just ridiculous. We associate being a good mom with using the most high end products on our children. That is just dumb. I'm sorry, but it is. An amazing mom can take the cheapest most useless products and make them something great that their children can benefit from. A few things I don't worry about "splurging on" include wipes (not for diaper changing but for clean up), disinfectant spray, shampoo, paper plates, and juice. I am brand loyal when it comes to wipes for changing my baby, but when it comes to wiping hands, faces, and bellies throughout the day, cheap wipes are the way to go. I can buy a refill pack of Huggies wipes to use for diaper changes and have it last me a month because I use cheaper wipes for clean up jobs. Parent's Choice, Dollar General, Up & Up... These wipes are all great. They don't always hold up as well on diaper changes (most people report having to use twice as many wipes to get the job done when they are using cheaper brands, which means you end up buying wipes MUCH quicker than usual which eventually defeats the purpose of buying the cheaper brand!), but when it comes to getting sticky hands clean again and getting spaghetti off faces, they work just fine. Because kids tend to get sick so often, most moms will keep disinfectant spray and wipes around at all times. Buying those cans of Lysol can get pretty expensive though, so I grab off brand disinfectant. I can get three cans of DG brand spray for the same price I can get one can of Lysol and it is just as effective and still has a great scent. Shampoo might have some readers going "WHHHHHAAAATTTT?" but let me explain. Kids get a lot of baths. And most of them don't do a hole heck of a lot. You just wash it to make it look pretty on most days and to make it smell nice. I mean, most of them don't even have much hair. So I don't always get Johnson & Johnson's or whatever else I might want to pick up because they go through it SO quickly. There are lots of less pricey versions of kid's shampoo that smell just as yummy and obviously clean their hair just as well. Paper plates and juice pretty much get the same explanation. They're both things we go through a ton of and buying the most expensive brand would just not be cost effective. My off brand juices contain less sugar than the more well known brands which is an added plus. Paper plates (if you use them) get really expensive especially considering you just trash them afterwards. Most of what my kids eat off of them are small light things like sandwiches or snacks, so even the less sturdy cheap plates can be used. Of course I wouldn't serve them pasta on them, but for most kid's meals, they're fine.
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• Meal plans: This is one of those things that if you don't do it, you're just going to slap yourself for not thinking of it. Make a meal plan every week and you'll never have to panic over what you're going to make for dinner and whether or not you have every thing you need to make it. Plan out every meal you'll make, not just dinner, and when you're done making the meal plan for the week, make a list beside each meal of the ingredients you need to make it. Then you can compile a grocery list and go to the store once a week and get EVERY thing you need. You can do this by the month, by the week, or bi-monthly; whatever works for you. Every night before you go to bed, check your meal plan and make sure you don't need to lay anything out to thaw for the next day. This will save you the midday panic tomorrow when you remember you were supposed to lay out those pork chops :)
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• Stay consistent with your timing: Obviously, schedules aren't necessary for every household, nor do all moms like to have them. Of course I love schedules but I know they're hard to stick to, especially if you work outside of the home. If there is any consistency that will help a household out though, it is having a set time that eating and sleeping are done. If you eat at the same time every day, it actually signals to your body when it is and isn't time to eat. Not only does this make it easier for you, but its HEALTHY. It is a great way to protect your kids against obesity. If you eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the same time every day, and have snacks at the same time, kids will eventually begin to eat only at those times and they will adjust to it and won't do so much nagging because they'll already know when it is going to be time to eat. If your child gets sleepy every day around the same time, use that as a way to gauge when nap time should be and stick to it. I know that my youngest will always go right to sleep so he can be laid down at 10:50 for his 11:00 nap. My 3 year old will fight sleep and has to play for a bit before she will actually fall asleep, so for her 2:00 nap, I send her to her room a little after 1:00 and tell her to go play and wind down. They all go to bed at the same time every night, so I can usually tell just by their behavior when its 9:00! And an added benefit to knowing when every one will be in bed is knowing when to make time for myself. Because there isn't a fight over what time to be in bed, I know I can workout, clean up, take a bath, or watch something on TV without being interrupted. It makes for a little less stress because I know I have ME time coming EVERY day, not just sometimes!
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• Invest in a plethora of do-it-all products: I'm not personally a fan of 2-n-1 shampoo and conditioners, but when it comes to other things, I'm completely onboard. Rather than having 10 cleaning products for every room in the house, I use vinegar and water, sometimes with added baking soda. It costs nearly nothing and cleans better than any of the chemical heavy crap they sell in stores. Beauty products that do it all are a mom's best friend. Almost all cosmetic companies have beauty sticks that function as shadow, cheek color, lip color, and highlighter. Great for on the go glam looks. Tinted moisturizers with SPF= MUST HAVE! I just discovered coconut oil and I am SO thankful I have. There are hundreds of uses for it and I intend to take advantage of them. Use it as lotion, eye makeup remover, diaper rash cream, conditioner, hair treatments, anti itch cream, and of course cooking. There is almost nothing you can't do with the stuff! Shampoos and body washes all in one for kids are awesome and a huge time saver. 
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• If its in your budget, get a water table: This is something I don't even know how I have gone this long without having. We don't have a pool, but even if we did, that would be a huge supervising job. A water table provides the same outdoor fun without all that worry. We got one at Toys-R-Us that is by Little Tikes. It cost $45 and we got our money's worth out of it in one day, no kidding. All three of the kids love it and they will stay outside all day playing in it. My kids are NOT easily entertained, so finding something that occupied all of them that had enough for each of them to do was a miracle in itself.
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• Make some meals ahead of time: A lot of meals can be made ahead of time which will inevitably cause you less stress. You can brown some ground beef (or ground turkey in my case) all at once and pack it into freezer bags to be used through the week. This will turn what would have been 20 minute meal prep into 10 minutes and its super easy. You can use the ground meat for whatever meals you want: chili, spaghetti, Hamburger Helper, soups, tacos, etc. You can also grill chicken and freeze it in storage bags so it will just have to be heated back up and thrown into a salad or in some veggies. Vegetables can be sliced and frozen too, making it a no-excuse way to always work veggies into your meal.
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• Set up certain days of the week to do household tasks: There are some household chores that don't have to be done daily. To stay on top of these tasks so they don't all end up taking an entire weekend to finish up, just set designated days for each chore. If you change sheets every weekend, start doing that one day during the week. Same for scrubbing the baseboards, dusting the ceiling fans. Here's an example:
• Monday- Change sheets
• Tuesday- Dust fans & dust catching areas above doors and in corners
• Wednesday- Clean tubs
• Thursday- Clean outside area, driveway, etc.
• Friday- Clean windows
• Saturday- Clean out car
• Sunday- Steam clean carpets
• Take it one step further and do a monthly chore list
• First Monday- Purge toys no longer played with
• Second Monday- Donate or pack up clothes that kids outgrow or do not wear
• Third Monday- Clean doors, spots accumulated on walls
• Fourth Monday- Clean out the refrigerator
• Fifth Monday- Clean out cabinets, clean inside of oven, dishwasher, washing machine.

None of these things will completely make your life chaos free, but these are at least a few of the ways that I make it through the day without completely losing my mind :)

My skincare routine

Hi there glam moms! I have had a huge wave of skincare questions thrown at me recently so I thought I would just go ahead and go through my whole facial care routine. I suffered from super severe cystic acne all through my childhood and teen years and it didn't really ease up until I was around 19. I took all of the antibiotics, prescriptions, everything that the dermatologist recommended, and nothing ever worked. Accutane kind of helped but came with an entire set of scary health issues on its own so I ditched it. Now I have fairly good skin and few acne flare ups, and pretty minimal scarring considering how severe my acne was. Being asked about my skin is pretty crazy but you ask, I tell, so here goes:

Morning Routine

1. Noxzema Original Deep Cleansing Cream.

This is a really standard and budget friendly face wash everyone probably remembers from their teens. I use it now mostly because I like the smell and how cold the eucalyptus oil makes my skin feel. It makes my skin feel tight, soft, and really clean and I like that, especially in the morning.

2. Boots Organic Face Rosewater Toner

100% organic and totally awesome :)

It makes my skin so soft and really makes irritated skin feel a lot better. I like the light scent and love that it doesn't dry out my skin.

3. Mary Kay Timewise Age-Fighting Moisturizer

I'm not a huge Mary Kay fan but this moisturizer is easily one of my favorite face creams. Its extremely light and works really well as a primer for makeup, so its great to stock up on.

Night Routine

1. Petal Fresh Botanicals Aloe & Apricot Facial Scrub

I love love love this stuff! I have never been too big on exfoliating scrubs but I have been missing out! Let me tell you, if you have a stubborn pimple that is sore or doesn't want to fade, get this stuff and scrub it every night. It literally just scrubs the yucky stuff away and heals you're skin really gently. I really can't say enough great things about product. Its gentle, even on sensitive skin. I just adore it.

2. Alpha Hydrox Foaming Face Wash

This is a product I love more the older I get. AHA is great for your skin and this cleanser is where its at. It lathers well, rinses easy, and leaves your skin tight and dry and super clean. Never makes my skin oily or dry, just a perfect clean feeling.

3. Perfect Skin Tone

This is part of a cleansing system but I only use the toner. I have tons of it and I go through it quickly. Its made my skin a lot more radiant than its ever been, and helped soften the few dry areas I have. 

4. Olay Regenerist 

This product is a little pricey for a drugstore brand but I adore it. I just finished up my full size bottle so I'm using some samples I have until I come across some good coupons ;)

Its a nice deep moisturizer that dries surprisingly light and silky. I love it for night time because it just feels so soft! 

I swear I can see a major difference when I use this stuff, especially in the dullness I get in my cheeks and t zone a lot.

5. Aquaphor

I go through this stuff so quickly! It is a miracle product. I use it all over, especially on my hands and feet at night, but I use it on my face nightly as well. I have really dry lips and dry skin around my nose, so I always put this on before I go to sleep. Wherever I put it is baby skin soft by the time I wake up!

Alright, so there we go. My day and night routines! None of these are sponsored products. I didn't receive any of them to review, I just purchase them myself. I did get the Olay sample from a Vocalpoint campaign, but I was a long time user before I ever got it ;)

Most of the products are pretty easy to find except maybe the PerfectSkin and the Mary Kay of course. Just look em up online! I ordered all of my stuff from drugstore.com except for those two!

The trick for a perfect "nude" nail

Alright dolls, the trick to getting a pretty pink nude nail without all the uneven streaks you get when you must use a nude polish is...

BASE COAT!

So many of us skip this step nowadays but it really can make or break a nude manicure!

I went with Kiss Bio-Strength Enamel.

It dries almost a milky color, just a tiny tint of creamy white to even out your mails. 

Then I just applied two coats of Essie in "Sugar Daddy" which is an extremely light, almost clear, shade of pink.

The two together make a gorgeous combination.

Apply a shiny top coat for chip protection and you're set!

Pretty nude nails, no acrylic needed!

Movin' on up... Big blog news!

Hi dolls! What a long week its been! I'm wrapping up the weekend with a relaxing night and some fairly big news (well, to me it is anyway!) My cute little blog here that I unfortunately don't get to put as much time into as I would like is nearing the one millionth view mark. BIG news to me! Thank you so much to all my readers. Comments are still really slow, but I don't hold that against anyone ;)

Anyway, in celebration of such a big event in a blog's life, I'm going to be taking this one step further and starting a YouTube channel. I've done a few videos in the past, but really had a bad experience with it. As I've explained before, at that point I wasn't trying to get "views", and I wasn't aware of how many hits the video would get, so I just made it for the few stay-at-home-moms who know me that requested the video, and I didn't put much work into it. It was the middle of the day and I was sitting down to cut my hair so it was either make the video then or wait a few months until it was time to trim my bangs again. I was home alone with my kids of course and my two year old daughter was throwing a full blown diva tantrum because I wouldn't give her my SCISSORS that I was cutting my hair with. I edited most of the tantrum out, but didn't take the time to put music over the video and do a voice over as I was just making a quick video, and in turn there were a few seconds where my daughter was yelling at me (right NEXT to me) and screaming "MOMMMMY" at me over and over again. She stopped, quickly of course, but needless to say it pissed some crazy internet moms off who thought I was neglected the child because they didn't take the time to read the description of the video where I specifically said, sorry I'm a stay at home mom and my kids are attached to me all day and my two year old is sitting just outside of the view of the camera by my feet yelling because I won't give her my scissors. Anyway... bad experience, lots of dumb comments, so I deleted the video.

Now, however, I have an area set up in my room just for video making, I've got some video editing software set up, and I'm good to go. I also have a lot of spare time since my hubby works night shift now so I'm always by myself when the kids go to bed at 9. I'm going to take advantage of my tendency to be a night owl and just make some quick videos. They will be everything you've found here- product reviews, hair how-to's, and some makeup tutorials and other things as well.

Speaking of product reviews, I want to give a quick (sorry to be obnoxious) review of a product I'm actually currently hanging out and getting some use of right now. Its an awesome little facial detox mud from the brand "7th Heaven". Its a pretty awesome little mask that I definitely needed tonight because its that hormonal point in the month when my face has went insane and gotten crazy oily and red and broken out. It smells like yummy spearmint, went on super easily and pretty mess free, and feel awesome when its on. If you want to try them out you can order them from www.7thheavennaturals.com

I've got the Detox Mud Deep Pore Face Mask on now but there's quite a variety to choose from and I promise you won't be disappointed! I had a cute picture to add to show you guys just what it is, but my computer doesn't seem to want to cooperate so I'll have to come back and add that for you in a bit!

Until next time... stay glam girls ;)

I finally found a miracle multi taking product!

Can I take a quick second to paint an image for you of what bath time looks like with three toddlers? We have two bathrooms, and hundreds of products. I kid you not, I have hundreds of different soaps, lotions, shampoos, oils, etc. I'm a "tryer".... I like to buy products even if I don't have a lot of hope for them and see if I like them or if my kids or husband do. In my kids bathroom you will find every infant and toddler bath product there is. Johnson & Johnsons, Burts, Aveeno, Suave, I could go on and on.

When you have one on one time with the kids, its great to use one product for bubbles, one for hair, one for skin, one for "private" areas, and one for after bath. But something happens when there are three toddlers, all who want to take a bath together. All of a sudden here I am, hanging over the side of the bath, and I'm soaked. My hair is wet, my clothes are wet, the floor is wet. The kids are laughing and playing, but getting clean isn't really a priority of theirs. So in all the craziness, I have to attempt to wash three heads of hair, three faces, three bellys, 6 hands, 6 feet, and every where in between. And I have to do this quickly before they know what's going on. Here's where the Ivory comes in

 

Yes I said Ivory, who knew. They've got this great product called Ivory 2 in 1. I think 2 in 1 is an understatement. This is like at least 3 in 1 haha. I can use one handful of this and wash all three kids, hair included. I don't have to worry about dyes and gross chemicals because this stuff is clean clean clean. No dyes to irritate my babies and especially not my daughter who is subject to bladder infections. I get em all cleaned up with this thick lather and its done.

That in itself is awesome. But there's more.

Afterwards the bathroom smells so great, I swear it is better than a candle or air freshener. Its a wonderful clean smell and it will put some of the higher end brands to shame, no lie. Its great. The scent is long lasting on the skin as well.

The other wonderful thing about it is my husband and I can both use it. We've been so bogged down with his and her products, its become a little crazy. We have separate shower gels, shampoos, conditioners, shaving creams, etc. This Ivory can be used for both of us. Its not a one gender thing. It doesn't smell girly, but it doesn't smell masculine either. Its just a deliciously clean scent. It lathers so well, it works amazingly for shampoo and body wash, no complaints there at all. They've also added conditioner to the product so it even works for that if you don't especially dry hair. Since it has conditioners its also an awesome shaving cream. For real. I'm telling you this is the gift that keeps giving.

And don't worry about overusing it. Its from Ivory so its not expensive and the bottle is huge! There's so much product here.

Its not often I so enthusiastically recommend a product, but this is it. If you're a multitasker, this is where its at! I was able to try the product thanks to Influenster, and they definitely helped Ivory gain a new customer!

Why oh why do I neglect you?

Because I can I guess. I stopped coming to update this blog because it became too much. I haven't had the time to sit down and get my mind cleared and write. I guess you can say life with a 4 year old, a 3 year old, and an 18 month old has overwhelmed me. And in saying that, it would probably be an understatement. Oh, shoot me. I feel like I'm asking too much by asking people to read this because I have proven to be a horrible host. So, my apologies. 

I think I've already written this once. Actually, I know I have. The problem with the last one was life caught up to me right after I wrote it :( Not that any of this so much excuses my neglect of a blog I've worked pretty hard to get up and going, but I do want to give you all a run down of what has happened in the months since I've written.

My friends and my family know that the biggest issue in my life has been my relationship with my mother and that is something that evidently just is not going to be worked out at the moment. I tried and once again she let me down. So moving on from that, and onto the next thing...Death. Its been all around me lately. Actually the last 7 years of my life have been jam packed with more death than births which is a pretty big deal considering all the babies in my life and in my family. I don't want to pull this entry down too much and get into all of the sadness, but I recently lost my aunt, who was the closest thing to an angel that I've ever met in my life. She was a wonderfully amazing person who was way too young to die. She has three beautiful grandchildren who are devastated by her passing, and her parents have now lost both of their children which is just... unnatural. I also had a cousin pass away and his death was...extreme and completely unexpected. It happened just a few days before Christmas and it was just horrible. I hate to sit back and watch so much pain just wrap itself around my family. It is completely heartbreaking.

On a somewhat lighter note we've been sick. We are not a sick family, at all. You know how you have those families where someone is ALWAYS sick? Well... we are the opposite of that family. (Don't you hate us?!) I blame it on the fact that we never get out and do very much, therefore we aren't exposed to many other germs. 

Anyway, we have had it all. That horrible stomach virus where everyone is miserable and sitting on the toilet and holding a trash can at the same time (aka mommy is holding the kids over the toilet while holding a trash can in front of them.) Yep... had it. Sinus infections, the flu, sore throat... its all been here. We moved to a new house (yay! no more apartment life!) and since day one pretty much, we've been cleaning and disinfected the place hoping to get a warm inviting vibe going on and get rid of the vomit stench. Like I honestly feel like if a stranger were to come in they might think we are just disgusting people and don't mind the smell. I don't smell anything but I have a huge fear that it might just be because I've grown used to the smell! You know how everyone's house has its own smell.... but you don't smell your house? Well, what if the "smell" my house has is... vomit and sickness??!?!? Horrifying huh?

My biggest little is all registered for kindergarten in the fall and of course I freak out momentarily every single day. With all of the sick bullshit that goes on the world today, I really don't look down on people who homeschool at all. Like at this point, it seems like a great idea. We don't even live 5 minutes from the school but that won't spare me any worry, I can assure you of that. 

The other two kids are just hanging out, steadily growing. The littlest is a cute little tot now instead of just a wrinkly little infant :) Can I just be a horrible mom for a minute and say he is just the easiest, best "baby" of the three?! Shake your head all you want, but I'm pretty sure all moms with more than one child can remember exact which was the "easiest." My oldest was like a teenager as soon as he was born. He was just already so tall and grown and didn't sleep at night, but slept ALL day. He was tons of fun, but boy was it a lot crazier than I thought it would be! He also didn't want to talk until well after he turned two which was just a problem all in its own. Thankfully there were no issues there, he just didn't want to talk. Ha! His sister was a chronic titty baby. Can I say that? I think it probably describes her pretty well. She came out ready to immediately have a boob in her mouth. Graphic, but I'm serious. She moved her head all around my chest immediately and just opened her mouth and went to town. I was blessed, but by the time she had teeth and STILL didn't want to give it up, it was pretty rough. She wouldn't ever take a bottle of pumped milk either, and wouldn't take formula, of course. 

So now I have my easy going man. He's so fun, he's hilarious, and he's gorgeous of course. He talks, a lot, especially for 19 months. I try not to "brag" too much about my kids because no one likes moms who turn their kid's accomplishments into a way to be a bitch, and thats how I feel like I come off when I brag. But yeah... he's really smart. He crawled super early, walked with no problem, talks now, does all the smart stuff like knowing his colors and counting, going to get things for me when I tell him to... all that cool stuff. I hope it carries on into potty training. I might even start bragging then because from what I can tell, a lot of people have major issues in that area.

I think that pretty much sums it all up. Aside from that I've just had the normal adult/parent issues. I started working some outside of the house, cleaning and organizing for a few people, nothing too big. I'm also operating a clothing shop on eBay and Instagram where I sell the kid's used clothes, plus some women's stuff and some vintage stuff. Shameless plug here: instagram.com/monstersclosetresell

I pretty much kept my distance from everyone and everything, not just this blog. I deleted one major entry on this blog, and that was the video of the bangs tutorial and that was because of the ridiculous comments about my daughter's bratty tantrum. I didn't make that video to be some massive viral hit. I made it for my ah... 10 followers at the time, 3 or 4 of those who had asked me to make it. I said in the video and in the description that my daughter was LAYING in front of me throwing a tantrum because I wouldn't let her cut her hair with the scissors. I lived in a small "mill village" house and was literally sitting there looking at her doing it but she didn't start it until I was mid snip and I couldn't very well start over on my hair since I had already cut it. So I stopped and got her to sit down in front of me and watch and started recording it and she started the tantrum again. Like I said, it was for my FEW followers, not the 5,000 views it got immediately after I put it up. 

Anyway, I'm glad everyone has liked the Chelsea Houska hair tutorial, and maybe I'll do some more at another time. Sorry I neglected to answer some of the comments. I see them now but its literally the first time I've logged on in months!