Friday

Hair Clip Review

Recently a blog that I follow had a giveaway of a hair clip by Lilla Rose and so I of course entered the contest.  I went to the website to check them out and part of the contest entry was to "like" it on Facebook, which I did.  These clips sparked my interest and I decided that although I didn't win the giveaway, I wanted to try it out.  I get bored very quickly with my hair and then tend to do something that I regret later that usually involves dye or scissors.  I thought that these clips might be a way to change things up for less money and not be quite as permanent.

After pouring through all of the option,s I selected two different kinds in two different sizes and bought them on Monday.  They arrived in the mail yesterday (Thursday)!  And I choose the cheapest mailing option.  They are speedy!  I tried out several styles last night, making Munchkie's Daddy take pictures, and also tried the small sized one on Munchkie.  She was able to wear it well until she wanted to exercise with Munchkie's Daddy and I, then it just slid out of her smooth baby hair with the jumping around.

Then I put the clip to the test.  I put it in my hair when we got to the aquarium today, chased Munchkie around the aquarium all day, came home, took a nap and then took pictures in my bathroom mirror to see what it looked like.  I have to say that I am impressed with how well it held my hair, it did take a couple attempts to get it to feel tight.  And it was much more comfortable than wearing a ponytail.  The only thing is that I'm not sure if it makes my hair look fun or if I look like a Duggar

I decided the best way to show these clips was just to post a lot of pictures.  So here I go.

I didn't quite understand how these clips work.  The two parts are attached and then the pin part has grooves in it that keeps it in place.
See how it's attached to the figure eight part?  Then you push the pin under your hair, as close to your scalp as you can, and push it through the loop of the figure eight part on the other side.
The figure eight part is very flexible and so can bend around different styles of hair.
I tried out the small one on Munchkie.  It's small, but just a little too big/heavy to stay in her hair like this.  I think it will work out well on my hair if I'm just going to do it halfway or maybe even just a ponytail if I can get all my hair to fit.
I did a twist with Munchkie's hair and stuck it in.  This was the hairstyle that held up until Jillian's 30 Day Shred started, and the jumping jacks were just too much for it.








These are my hair in just a simple twist.  My hair stood up a little too much for my liking. 


















And then the basic ponytail.  Nothing too exciting.












Here's a random twist.
And then of course the classic french twist.

And then this is my hair after today's activities.  I didn't look in the mirror and had no idea what it looked like until I got home and took pictures.




So.  Tell me your thoughts.  What do you think about this clip?  How does it look?  Do I look like I should be wearing a long skirt?

Tuesday

Spring Cleaning

This weekend we took advantage of the Gap Get & Give discount and did some shopping to update our wardrobes (it's amazing the freedom you feel to have a monthly car payment off your shoulders!).  Since most of my clothes were bought off a clearance rack, therefore awkwardly fitting or just plain didn't fit at all, I needed to add some pieces to my limited clothing selection.  Munchkie's Daddy and I are looking forward to a trip we are taking in May for our anniversary (five years already!) so we also had to make sure we had appropriate clothing for the dress requirements and extreme heat of a Riveria Maya resort.

We first headed to the aquarium to let Munchkie have some fun and tire out.  Then we headed to the outlets for some serious shopping.  After several hours pouring over racks and revisiting dressing rooms we finally arrived home with our purchases.  I, of course always have to analyze the things I spend my money on and so laid out all of my clothes to make sure that they all had my approval for a second time.
Then I explained to Munchkie's Daddy the importance of cleaning out our closets, that we have clothes we haven't worn in a long time. One of my favorite blogs, and the one that introduced me into the world of blogging, SimpleMom.net, is having a several week serious of cleaning out your home.  This past week's was the closet and I realized that our closets do need some attention.  Although I have taken several garbage bags of clothes to various clothing drop boxes over the past several months, I still have clothes that I go to put on and realize that they are no where near fitting me anymore.  Time to free up the oh-so-precious-and-quite-limited closet space.  So after standing in our closets throwing clothes behind us, my pile looked something like this.
How does one even have space to hold all of these misfitted articles of clothing?  We have had our bed raised so we could fit storage containers underneath our bed and that is where most of my clothes have been stored.  This is an especially bad place to keep them because it's out of sight, out of mind.  Thankfully I had brought it down to two tubs previous to this extreme clean so there wasn't nearly as much to go through.  I had to tell myself as I pulled each article out to examine.
When did you last wear this?  How do you feel while wearing it?  Does it flatter you?  Is it even in the right size? 
If it didn't pass these questions.  Behind me it went.  It took several minutes to muster up the courage to throw some of them behind me.  It's a little piece of history that's being discarded and thrown out of your life.  There were several times when I knew something needed to go, but couldn't do it, so I would hold it up for Munchkie's Daddy and say "What do you think of this?"  Each time hoping that he would say, "Oh I love that, don't throw it away."  Those words never came out of his mouth.  I think once he did say "Well that is a nice dress" and it wasn't even something I wanted to keep.  Haha!  By the time I was finished with this closet massacre my closet looked quite bare and I wished that I would have looked a little harder while I had that coupon available.  It is actually kind of fun to shop for clothes now that I can get normal sizes.  I don't have to be embarrassed by how I look in something or what size I have to find.  I've been dreading it for so many years now that I go in, get down to business, and get out before many tears were shed.
This is now every article of clothing that I own.  Other than socks, underwear, etc.  I have the above tub of Tshirts, pj pants and hoodies that will go back under my bed.  The pair of capris will hang right there on my closet door.  Those are my next motivator.  I bought them because I can button them, but they definitely aren't comfortable or well fitting yet.  I need something to look at and to motivate me to not late night binge or unnecessarily carb load due to stress induced cravings and moments of lost self control.  I hope that these capris are just the motivation that I need.  Although, it would be better to hang them from the pantry or refrigerator, I will have to settle with my closet door.    
After our cleaning time we filled three trash bags full of clothes.  I will need to finish up all of our laundry so I can pull out the items I have been wearing that I shouldn't be.  Such as the burnt orange XXXL top that looks hideous.  Needless to say, it makes me feel very good to have a closet with some nice looking items in it.  It is cleaned out and organized just the way I like it.  I can go up into our room and sigh, because it's not an overwhelming mess or a job too big for me to tackle.  It's already taken care of.  And I can pull any item out of my closet and feel confident wearing it.  No more hours spent trying on and then discarding clothes in front of the mirror attempting to find something in my closet that is wearable.

Sunday

Sometimes Kitchen Disaster Strikes

I have not had very good luck in the kitchen lately.  Everything I make turns out very poorly from yogurt to birthday cake and I am getting pretty discouraged.  When practicing for Munchkie's bday cake the initial trial run was horrible.  The outside was crispy and close to burnt while the inside was a formed uncooked dough.  Then when it came time to make the actual cakes for her party they all got burnt and I had to cut them all up to get the burnt pieces off.

Last night my inlaws were here and when everyone had gone to bed I realized that we had literally nothing for breakfast.  I had two overly ripe bananas and so decided to make banana bread for breakfast.  First I took it out once the toothpick came clean and when I went to get it out of the pan liquid batter came out.  Neat.  So I put it back in the pan and cooked it for another half an hour.  By this point in time everyone had been asleep for hours before me.  When we woke up, I put Munchkie in her high chair.  Got her all psyched up for bo-non-a bread.  Cut into the bread.  Solidified dough.  Literally dough.  

So then I cut off a couple pieces and put them in the toaster oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes in the hopes that it would cook.  Nope.  Basically just firmer dough with burnt edges.  Still not edible.  So then I had to go wake Chris up and send him to go get bagels for breakfast, which is what I was trying to avoid by staying up making banana bread.

So my lesson learned.  When baking, don't mess with the chemistry because I almost failed chemistry in both high school and college.  I was so tired that I made some mistakes and tried to mess with the chemistry of baking.  I only had two bananas and the recipe called for 3 1/2 so I added two chopped pears.  I then added an extra 1/3 cup flour because it was easier to put 2 cups in instead of 1 2/3 cups.  Then I dumped in baking powder when it was supposed to be baking soda.  Bad decisions.  It was supposed to be amazing banana bread.  If someone wants to make Flour's Famous Banana Bread and let me know how it goes when the recipe is followed I would appreciate it.

I finally was able to make something successfully tonight and it gave me hope that maybe I am not a kitchen failure.  We had bought a pound of ground buffalo a while back and defrosted it yesterday so I tried to think of something to make with it.  Much to Munchkie's Daddy's chagrin I decided to make meatloaf.  I don't know that I've ever had meatloaf and I've definitely not had buffalo so I did a quick search to find a recipe.  I looked at it, then decided to do my own thing.  I hate ketchup and that was definitely not going in or on anything I was going to be eating.  This is my recipe and it turned out delicious.  We both really liked it.

Hidden Veggie Buffalo Meatloaf

1 pound ground buffalo
1 bell pepper (not green, too strong of a flavor)
1 cup chopped carrots
1/4 onion
2 egg whites
1/3 cup bread crumbs (I crunched up 8 crackers)
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
3 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 cup shredded chedder cheese
1/3 cup marinara sauce

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Put bell pepper, carrots, and onion in a food processor.  Puree if you're like us and don't like chunks of veggies or just chop up if you don't care.
  3. Once chopped add basil, garlic, onion powder and Worcestershire sauce and food process until mixed.
  4. In a large bowl mix together puree mix, ground buffalo, egg whites, bread crumbs and cheese.
  5. Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray/oil.
  6. Press mixture into loaf pan and then pour marinara sauce over the top.
  7. Cook for 1 hour or until center of meat is 160 degrees.
  8. Let sit for 10 minutes before cutting.
And here comes my favorite part of recipes.  The nutrition information if there are 6 servings.
Calories- 178
Fat 4.9g
Cholesterol- 56mg
Sodium- 188mg
Carbohydrates 7.4g
Fiber 1.2g
Protein 24.9g

Friday

The Stress of Uncertainty

I don't deal well with uncertainty.  I don't like when I don't know what's going to happen, whether it be plans for a weekend or the next five years of my life.  I have been trying very hard to calm myself down and not allow myself to get caught up in the stress of not knowing, but it is very difficult.  Our lives are in such an unstable place right now that it is wracking havoc on my ability to be in control.  Throughout the entire application process for PHD programs I have chanted "God has a plan, God has a plan" to remind myself that sometimes I am not always the one in control.  However, when the decisions started pouring in, and they weren't the decisions that I had planned on, it wasn't easy.

After several days of hardly getting a word out without crying, I am finally at a point where I can go about my daily business without Munchkie coming up and putting a hand on me saying "Mommy ok?  No crying Mama."  She is so sweet!  While our future is still completely up in the air and we have quite a few difficult decisions to make in the upcoming months, I have to remind myself that "God has a plan" and so I need to move on and pray that we can make the best decisions based on what his plan is.  We didn't plan on Munchkie, but what an AMAZING blessing she has been in our lives.  I can only hope and pray that we continue to be bestowed with more blessings as amazing as she (without there being more kids involved, haha).
I found the lyrics to this hymn tonight and it really spoke to me.

I Know Who Holds The Future
~Ira Forest Stamphill

I don't know about tomorrow,
I just live from day to day.
I don't borrow from it's sunshine,
For it's skies may turn to gray.
I don't worry o'er the future,
For I know what Jesus said,
And today I'll walk beside Him,
For He knows what is ahead.
Many things about tomorrow,
I don't seem to understand;
But I know Who holds tomorrow,
And I know Who holds my hand.
Ev'ry step is getting brighter,
As the golden stairs I climb;
Ev'ry burden's getting lighter;
Ev'ry cloud is silver lined.
There the sun is always shining,
There no tear will dim the eyes,
At the ending of the rainbow,
Where the mountains touch the sky.
Many things about tomorrow,
I don't seem to understand;
But I know Who holds tomorrow,
And I know Who holds my hand.
I don't know about tomorrow,
It may bring me poverty;
But the One Who feeds the sparrow,
Is the One Who stands by me.
And the path that be my portion,
May be through the flame or flood,
But His presence goes before me,
And I'm covered with His blood.
Many things about tomorrow,
I don't seem to understand;
But I know Who holds tomorrow,
And I know Who holds my hand.

Thursday

Meatless Meals That Taste Great (Ultimate Recipe Swap)

I read this post a while ago and decided to go ahead and post it now.  With the Lenten season underway and no meat Fridays along with the rising cost of groceries, especially meat, I thought this might be helpful.  I haven't actually tried any of the recipes, but I am willing to try them if it means healthy for less!

Meatless Meals That Taste Great (Ultimate Recipe Swap)

Tuesday

Hilarious RePost

I read this blog today and I loved it.  Since Munchkie just recently acquired a lot of stuff we don't need our house is feeling even more cluttered and uncomfortably small. 


How to Clutter Your Home
http://www.makingthishome.com/2011/03/07/how-to-clutter-your-home/

Saturday

Happy Birthday Munchkie!

My feet and back are killing me from standing in the kitchen for the last 5-6 hours working on Munchkie's birthday cake.  Munchkie's Daddy had the living room covered with play kitchen parts, instructions, screws, boxes and tools.  I think we are finally almost ready to go to bed after an exhausting evening of prep work.

My little oops is two.  I just can't believe it.  I can't believe how fast the last two years has gone and how much our lives have changed.  Since I have been reminiscing in my head, I thought I would share a little of Munchkie birth day with you.  I have been trying really hard not to cry for the last several days. I think I have been doing a pretty good job of holding it together.  Posting these pictures is definitely going to make me loose it though.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUNCHKIE!!!

March 12, 2009 12:44am 8 pounds 20 inches
Love at first sight

My precious bundle of joy
















Yep, I'm crying.

Tuesday

Came across this

www.vitalicious.com
The other day I took Munchkie to Target to get her picture taken and forgot to grab anything to eat on our rush out the door.  When we got to Target I wanted to find something to eat that I wouldn't have to feel guilty about (and there wasn't a Starbucks inside, what Target doesn't have a Starbucks these days???).  Walking past the frozen foods to get to the portrait studio I saw these muffin tops that I had glanced at before when buying things from the frozen natural food section before.  I thought I would give them a try and see how they were.  I have to say that I was pretty impressed.  

I grabbed the CranBran and when I flipped the box over I could read, understand and even pronounce every single ingredient (Water, whole wheat flour, organic sugar, egg whites, whole wheat flakes, cranberries, molasses powder, soy bran, oat fiber, wheat protein isolate, oat bran, inulin, leavening (potassium bicarbonate, sodium acid pyrophosphate, monocalcium phosphate), wheat gluten, fruitrim (grapejuice, brown rice), acacia gum, natural flavor, sea salt, cinnamon, xanthan gum, lecithin, vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, folic acid, iron, biotin, zinc) .  Amazing.  That is really hard to find on the backside of a box these days, which is why I usually tend to stay away from boxed foods.  The nutrition facts weren't that bad either.

They really filled me up and tasted pretty good too.  I can remember my mom bringing home foods from the health food store in town when I was little and it was disgusting flavored cardboard.  Things have come a long way.  I might actually keep some of these in my freezer for the day I run out of Homemade Granola Bars and don't have time to make more.  There are also a lot of different options if you look at their website at www.vitalicious.com.  When you look at their website on the side is a little walking man and it says that it only takes 13 minutes of walking to walk off one of their 100 calorie vitatop muffins.  That definitely eliminates any guilt you might have.  Thirteen minutes is nothing!

I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Lenten Sacrifice

With each year that passes the season of Lent becomes more meaningful to me.  Throughout the year I find that I am making sacrifices for a variety of reasons.  Some are selfish, some out of necessity and some because I'm a wife and mother.  Each year there is a period of time in our lives that demand us to spend some serious time focusing on sacrifice and bettering yourself in a way that is different than the time of resolution making for the New Year. I realize each year how important it is to have this designated period of time to focus on how I can become a better and stronger individual, wife, mother, family member and friend. 

I recently read this article from KitchenStewardship.com and it made me start thinking even more about the importance of the preparation for Lent.  I did a quick google search which of course took me to the most reliable source, Wikipedia.  So naturally that's where I decided to get my basic Lent information from.  The time of Lent is in remembrance of the 40 days the Jesus spent in the desert alone.  For this time he fasted for the forty days and was tempted by Satan three times.  While he was tempted he was able to prevail against the devil by using scripture as his arguments.

So this means to me that I need to focus for these forty days on several things.  I need to figure out what is something I depend on that would be a difficult sacrifice for me to make.  I need to examine my life and find what consumes my idle time, keeping me from becoming a better person and christian. Then I need to focus strengthening my relationship with this man who made so many sacrifices for me (and I don't mean my husband or father).

After much examination I have determined my plan of attack for this season of Lent.

  • I will be giving up sweets because this is something that I crave and feel like I "have to have."  I have given up sweets each year but I also struggle with it each year because I am tempted every time desert crosses my path during these forty days.  
  • Munchkies Daddy and I have decided to give up TV.  We know that we spend a lot of time wasted in front of the television and want to find other valuable, productive ways to spend our time.  
  • During this time I am also going to spend time daily in prayer and devotion.  I find time daily to waste time online, in front of the TV or doing who knows what.  I want to spend some of that wasted time studying the Bible so that I can have the strength to get through difficult times in life.
So for tomorrow, Fat Tuesday, I will spend my last day until Easter eating chocolate and watching chic flicks with a good friend.  And then my plan of attack starts Wednesday morning.

Thursday

Homemade Playdough




A while ago Munchkie made homemade playdough with her Nana and Aunt.  The playdough is still doing good and she enjoys playing with it.  Munchkie's Mimi emailed me the recipe because her preschool kids love to play with this playdough as well.

Homemade Playdough
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 cup salt
  • 3 teaspoons oil
  • 2 cups boiling water
  • 2 packages Koolaid (unsweetened)
 


  1.  Mix dry ingredients together.
  2. Add water and oil.
  3. Knead.
  4. Can be kept in a ziploc bag for months.
  5. Refrigerate for a different texture.