Live out loud.

We bought socks! Ü

I don't have that heartwarming story of how when I was was growing up, I had that strong desire to be a mother. I never really desired to have more than one or two children. I never even considered being a mom, really - I guess I assumed when the time was right, I'd make the decision to become a mom (like that happened). As a matter of fact, years ago I distinctly remember talking to my employees & making the comment "I'll love my children, but they'll be in daycare as soon as I'm able to return to work!" Oh yes I did! Ha! :)

I did know I always wanted a girl. I didn't/don't have that gushy-gushy relationship with my mom & I guess down deep, I always hoped to have a girl so I could do things differently. I got my girl. I got two girls! And who woulda thunk I'd have girls who adore bright colors & desire to wear funky mismatches? Right up my alley. And I've learned to so appreciate their innocence, so appreciate that they don't care what others think & how they like to dress to make themselves happy. Isn't that the way it should be?

So funky socks it is. Funky anything it is. I don't desire to tell them no, I don't desire to take their individuality & I don't desire to change them & make them something they are not. They are perfect! And so are their socks. Aren't these fab? No, this isn't all of them, the others are in the wash. Ü



And can I just add that I am tickled pink that Jaguar never wears a matching pair? I don't even pair her socks up anymore because she'll just separate them. She is (unfortunately), however, becoming more aware of her appearance & she's now putting pinks with pinks, etc. Except for today - she wore pink shorts with a red shirt. And totally unrelated socks. I couldn't have been more proud.

So what do I think? Live out loud! Wear those funky socks. Be true to yourself. Who cares what others think! One thing's for certain, I'm going to learn a lot from my girls. And I can't wait. ♥

Moments.

(Cell phone shot. I'm having to send my camera to Canon for repair. Sniff. And that's her fake smile.)

Remembering 9.11.01. Moments.

I love our town. We've lived here 13 years & it continues to grow by leaps & bounds. Currently, it's one of the most sought after places to live in the US. We moved here only because of location & as long as I live in Texas, I hope to stay here. Yesterday, we drove by the Town Hall & discovered a beautiful tribute to those lost on that horrific, undeserving day. I'm proud to live in this town. ♥







This, below, broke my already broken heart.





I was home that morning, feeding our 5 month his bottle. Everything after that is a blur, other than my mother phoning. She was panicking. I offered to bring her office a television so they would have access to the footage. She declined. And as the rest of the world did, I watched the footage throughout the day, keeping my husband updated. I know so many of us went to bed that night & laid in silence. Praying.





And to this day, we continue to pray. Living life, just a little fuller. Tomorrow is not a promise, it's a gift.

May God continue to bless those & their families affected by such a horrendous, selfish act.

For my children. My life, my world, my loves.

Ten years ago, when my first 5 lb. 13 oz. baby was born & placed in my arms by one of the most selfless women I've ever met, I vowed that this song would forever be dedicated to them, my children. The lyrics are actually printed & placed in Bentley's baby book. This song makes me cry & this song brings me to my knees. This song is exactly what my children do for me.



I am so grateful for my children, I am so grateful to God for allowing me the privilege of being their mom. There are no words to let them know just how much I adore them & I hope this song will remain in their hearts, forever.

My children - have I told you lately that I love you? No matter where life takes you or what challenges you encounter or the mistakes you will make. You are amazing. You are beautiful. You are strong. You make me: think, cry, smile, melt, frustrated, laugh, angry, hurt, focus, determined & proud. You make me strive to be more, to push on & go further. My prayer is that I do the very same for you. The fun & love we share is immeasurable, true & pure. You make me a better person, you inspire me & you complete me. And I thank you so much. I love you. For eternity. ♥

Neutrogena "Rapid Wrinkle Repair" Moisturizer.

I love all things girly. I have always been a girly-girl - love makeup & hair/beauty products. That said, I am not one of those girls who believes you must purchase the most expensive beauty product(s) & makeup to look & feel your best. Over the years, I have tried almost all expensive name brand & drugstore brand makeup. To me, I found some of the expensive brands worse than drugstore brands & the others just 'ok'. As a matter of fact, a few years ago I returned all of my new MAC makeup because I disliked it. It just wasn't worth the money. If it's just 'ok' in my book, and/or not better than my drugstore makeup, it's going back. Not only that, but I lead a very busy life. I don't have the desire nor time to traipse to the mall everytime I run out of my favorite makeup or product. In my opinion - drugstore brands are sufficient. Keep in mind, it's not necessarily what you purchase, it's how you apply it. So if you don't/can't apply your makeup adequately, it will matter none if it's expensive or less expensive. Oops. Got a little sidetracked there. :)

I have always heard that the best product to use to reduce/minimize wrinkles is Retinol. Retinol, Retinol, Retinol. So, I found this "Rapid Wrinkle Repair" Moisturizer, by Neutrogena, which contains Retinol. I have been faithful to Olay for many years, but I decided it was time to bid farewell (sniff) & give this amazing wrinkle repair product a try.



Per Neutrogena's website, this is what the product claims to do:

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

Visibly fade the look of stubborn wrinkles with our fastest Retinol formula available! So effective, 100% of women tested had noticeable results in just one week.

Featuring its unique combination of Retinol SA, Glucose Complex, and Hyaluronic Acid, Rapid Wrinkle Repair Moisturizer moisturizes and renews the look of skin throughout the day, and helps to smooth wrinkles fast and diminish the look of age spots. This super charged formula is combined with UVA/UVB SPF 30 for daily sun protection.

Skin is left feeling smooth and looking younger.


Accelerated Retinol SA
Fades the look of stubborn wrinkles
Brightens skin tone
Smooth fine lines & texture

Well now. Not only have I used this product now for "just one week", I've used it for a few months. Three things.

1.) The price is fabulous. I got this for around $10 (much less than Olay!) at Walmart.

2.) "Wrinkle Repair"? Um, no. Not one tiny bit. Can't tell one single change or fade, after having used this product for a few months. Recently, I began really focusing on some deep, long wrinkles (thanks Mom!) around my eyes, to see if that would help. Nope. Nothin'.

3.) A few weeks ago, at Meet the Teacher night, there were a lot of parents/kids shoved in a very small hallway that hadn't had air conditioning for months. It was hot, to say the least. Everyone was sweating (heck, we were almost panting, truth be told ;o) & I noticed my face began to burn. Severely. It was horrible & I was so uncomfortable! I know the culprit was this moisturizer - but I'm not sure if it was the actual Retinol itself, or another ingredient, that provided the burning sensation. It was so awful, I wanted to run home & wash my face just to get some relief! I have never experienced a burning sensation like that on my face before.

So on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being mah-vah-lous?

I'd give this product a -0-. Not even a one.

Moisturizers, eye creams, wrinkle repair & the like may be one area I'm willing to splurge in if I can find a product that truly does what it claims to. This is one area I don't have a lot of experience in, since I've always been so faithful to Olay. I think that Olay's higher end face lotions/creams contain Retinol, so that will be my next step. I've looked at Pro-X (many mixed reviews on this product, however) for a few years, but could never find one that claimed to be a 'moisturizer'. I want moisture & I didn't know which product is comparable to a moisturizer, so I have yet to try it. Unless something comes along between now & then, I'll definitely try the Pro-X next.

Happy moisturizing! ♥

To Galveston we went!

Friday. Got the kids off to school. Fed Mercedes. Rushed to shower. Had packed snacks the night before (Bentley spotted them & I had to fib to my kids - which I never do! - told him I was cleaning out the pantry. Ha!) so that was done, but had to pack all clothes & toiletries, etc. Got it all accomplished (ahead of schedule, thank you), dropped the dogs off at the vet, checked in with hubby, went & withdrew Bentley from school first (but never told him why & Mercedes didn't even spill the beans! Good girl. :) & then went & picked up the other two. Mercedes did reveal the secret at that time - "we're goin' to the beach!" she exclaimed. They were all so excited, screaming & yelling with their hands in the air; that is why I do what I do! That is why I adore spontaneous adventures. That is why when others deem my adventures 'ridiculous' - oh hell no. I do it because of them. And that will never change. I have no desire for it to. Surprising them, no matter how short the adventure is (or how old they are!), I will do forever. And my children love our spontaneous fun! ♥

So we came home, grabbed the hubby & off we went! Nintendos packed, movies packed, snacks ample - we headed out for a 5 hour drive. Which turned into a 7 hour drive due to traffic, construction, dinner, blah, blah, blah. But who cares! We didn't. :)

Got in late evening (you know, not planning for a little trip = no reservations ;o), found a room, scoped out the room & the balcony, got everyone set & hit the bed. Beach on Saturday!

And beach we did. It was so very windy! An overcast day, very warm temps & to the beach we went. I wanted pictures galore - so this trip I packed my camera bag (typically I don't) & all my camera lenses (typically I don't). Woohoo! I was ready for some beautimous photos! But my freshly camera battery died. Kapoot. Deader than a doorknob. I was just sick. I didn't get one dadgum photo with it.

So, we chilled at the beach, swam in the pool, chilled in the room & then readied for dinner at Gaido's! We ♥ Gaido's. Everyone looked so cute all ready for dinner & I forgot to snap a photo of everyone with my cell phone! Grr. It was raining by Saturday evening & rained all night. Complete awesomeness.

Sunday around 4:00 a.m.'ish, I was (quietly) screaming & gasping with stomach pains. I woke hubby up because I seriously thought something was wrong. Waking hubby up = waking everyone up. Ugh. After vomiting numerous times (you're welcome for that little tidbit of information :) all was ok, but none of us got much sleep after that (Mercedes also woke up @ the very same time, screaming with tummy pains! Her issue though is requiring a GI Specialist's assistance). You know what I love so much about hotels? The continental breakfasts. We won't stay in a hotel that doesn't offer it. Hubby always takes the kids down to breakfast & brings me back my breakfast. Love that! Sunday turned out to be an icky day - actually very chilly (felt great!), raining & the wind again was tremendous (on this trip, the wind blew my new prescription sunglasses on the concrete & chipped the lenses, & blew my cell phone on the concrete cracking the glass! Oy.) We decided to pack it up & head out - taking our time on our way home & stopping along the way if there was something we wanted to see. Our trip home was actually much quicker than going.

And that - was our crazy, unplanned, last-minute adventure! I'm so glad we did it. And so glad we'll be doing it again. Galveston is one of our most favorite places ever! ♥

Here are the few random photos I snapped with my cell phone:

Our clean, organized room:



Saturday at the beach:

(The water was as dirty as the sand due to Tropical Storm Lee. And look how far back our chairs/umbrella were! I kept telling hubby the "ocean is low". Ha! I just noticed this - see the four children who all have a foot in the air? Those are my four. LOL :)



The amazing rainbow as we headed to dinner. If you look very closely, to the right, you will see a double rainbow! Oh how I wish my Canon had been working. They were just beautiful, but my cell phone was unable to capture the true beauty & clarity.



We visit Galveston often. One particular visit, five years ago to be exact, I had to see a dr. because I needed an antibiotic. Guess what arrived today? The bill. Five years later. LOL :)

Make it a happy week! The choice is yours. Ü

Leaving on a jet plane!

Ok, that's a lie. We're leaving in a Tahoe. Ü



We didn't really take a vacation this year - we had our first 'staycation'. Yearly, on Labor Day, we head to the lake. Not this year. With the drought/lack of rain/extremely high temps = unsafe, bacteria filled lakes. Not going to risk it. So at the drop of a hat today, I decided to get the kids out of school early tomorrow & head to Galveston for a few days! I've got the dogs scheduled to board & other than that, we're just winging it! I'll drop the dogs off tomorrow a.m., pack clothes & necessities, check the kids out, load up the hubby & off we go! The kids have no idea, as I've kept it a secret.



They will be thrilled! Woot! :)



And because a post with no photos stink, here's a snapshot I took a few weeks ago after baths.







I hope to return with lots of photos! Indulge in some spontaneity & have a beautiful weekend! Ü