MOVING

we moved this week and we are LOVING our new casa! it's almost twice the size of our teeny apartment and it has a big backyard of endless dirt, which makes luc a very happy kid. today we even had a cloudy, cool day to enjoy, which was amazing! we went out at 7am and watched it rain from the porch, it was heavenly. i'm so looking forward to winter. we are going to live outside! we are still in the process of unpacking/organizing so no pictures yet, but hopefully soon. moving/unpacking with two kids is no joke. all i want to do is get it all done as fast as possible, and i can't because i have to keep stopping to take care of the kiddos. which of course, is fine because they are most important, but the controlling side of me is having a hard time leaving things undone. i keep reminding myself that it's a process, and it's ok if it takes awhile. 

conference was incredible this weekend. it always is, but this year there were two talks on that really resonated with me. i've already listened to them again and probably will several more times over the coming months. i'm so grateful that i don't have to travel on these journeys of womanhood and motherhood by myself, that i have personal revelation and the encouragement of prophets to help me along the way. it makes all the difference in the world!

here's to a new home, a new week, and a fresh start to be better!

LATELY

lia is a crawling machine! she started about 10 days ago, and is already up to full speed. it's super adorable, and she's been tons happier since she can now follow me around the house as she pleases {as she feels pretty strongly about being within eyesight of mama at all times}.

luc is loving preschool. he has such great stories to tell me everyday, and he's been bringing home some awesome art projects. it makes me so happy that he enjoys it. he has struggled a bit with listening to his teachers here and there, but he's making quick progress and this week he's been awesome. we are so proud of him!

we are still in summer mode, thanks to this 102 degree arizona fall. we are swimming and splashing and wishing for cooler temps and breezy park days. yesterday it was only 80 degrees {thanks to a nice long thunderstorm in the middle of the night} so we spent three hours at the park, running and playing and getting so dirty. and we LOVED every minute. it was lia's first time in a swing, and she wasn't sure about it. but she loved crawling around eating sand, so you know, whatever works. 

we've been staying in a lot of afternoons lately, thanks to lia's extra long naps {i think she's working on teeth?} and we have a newfound hobby- baking cookies! luc is great at helping me measure out the ingredients, he's a pro butter-unwrapper, and he loves to turn on the mixer. and we both love eating them when they're done, of course!

luc and lia have started to 'play' together- meaning he runs in circles around her, acting silly, and she giggles and giggles. it's my favorite thing ever. they're growing so fast and i adore their little personalities! i hope they're always best friends.

orlando is working hard at his jobs, and i am starting to pack- we are moving! again, yes again. but not far this time, just to a house a few blocks away. it's in our ward, it's bigger than our apartment, and it has a fenced in back yard for luc to run wild and free. WE ARE SO EXCITED! 

FRIED

this summer has fried my brain. and not in an entirely bad way either, we've had lots of fun swimming and splashing, but just in the way that i can't write anything, i can't remember anything, and all i want to do is sit and read an entire book, uninterrupted. also, i'm so done packing up a swimming bag and schlepping it, along with towels and floaties and water bottles, down to the pool. i love the actual swimming, just not the massive amount of prep it takes to get the three of us poolside. next summer, i'd like to hire a swimming nanny, who's sole job it is to get everyone and everything ready for the pool, and then put it all away/do the laundry after.

this is the time of year where my brain greatly benefits from the change in the seasons, and the new pace fall typically brings. and so far, this is my only complaint about arizona- there is no fall. of course, when it's 72 degrees in november, i won't mind, but the month of september just feels reeeeeeaaaaaalllllllly long and hot because you're itching for that crispness in the air and soup days and falling leaves. this is the time of the year i am most homesick for utah. i love utah in the fall- however short-lived it is, it's pretty perfect.

anyways.
to make up for my terrible writing, here's my cute kids.
luc said to me this morning before preschool: "take a picture mom, we best friendses!'
i hope they're always best friends!

ADULTHOOD

i've arrived.

orlando and i were talking in bed the other night, trying to make sense of the myriad of decisions we have to make in the coming weeks, and it hit me that my own parents must have done this exact thing hundreds of times- whispered worries in the dark, trying to figure out the best thing while not waking the kids.

i don't think you realize how much stress and worry and concern and responsibility your parents carried for your family until you're there yourself. and here i am. it's hard mental, emotional, and physical work, steering this ship. the world is big, the worries are real, and we are the two people responsible for the success and happiness of our family. i knew adulthood wasn't easy, but i underestimated all the planning, decision-making, and mental energy it entailed.

though i know that Heavenly Father is mindful of us and that He will guide and bless us, i often find myself wishing i knew more in advance. i wish He would tell me ahead of time how things are going to unfold so we would always know exactly what to choose for our family. for me, the uncertainty is the hardest part. but then i have to remind myself that we need to exercise faith for a reason. to always know would be to never grow. faith is what bridges what i don't know, and what i trust He does.

i have faith. i am learning patience. i love my stewardship over my little family, i can't think of anything better to lay awake at night working about.

10 THINGS I SAID I'D NEVER DO

thanks for the great post idea, stacy!

as i've jumped into this 'two kids' gig, i've noticed that i'm doing quite a few things i said i'd never do. and i do them a lot. i think its called survival mode? some of them relate to parenting, and some don't, but anyways, here are ten things i said i'd never do, in no particular order:

1. back when i was single and naive, i always said i'd never EVER let my legs get prickly/hairy once i was married. no way was i going to let my husband feel legs that weren't meticulously and perpetually smooth, how embarrassing would that be?!

BAHAHAHAHAHA! i laugh out loud at my 20-year old self.

funny story: as i was pushing, just before lia was born, i thought to myself; 'gee linds, you really should have tried to shave once in the last three months so that your husband and nurse didn't have to hold such 'au naturale' legs right now.' but then i was giving birth so i promptly forgot about such things. plus, i like to think that as you get older you get a better perspective on what's really important in a marriage. that, or nothing really embarrasses me anymore...

2. before i was a parent, i said i'd never let the television babysit my kids. i grew up in an almost tv-free home. we didn't have cable {my parents still don't have cable!} so there was never anything on except the news, and my mom was really strict about screen time. we had family movie night almost every week, and i went through a phase where i watched saturday's warrior every chance i could, but that's about all i remember. how awesome is my mom, btw? anyways, i was determined that i would raise my kids the same way... but in real life, the tv does babysit my toddler. on the days he decides not to nap, it gives us both one hour of 'quiet time' and since baby sister arrived it's the one way to keep him from destroying the house while i nurse. i confess, i don't love it, but i am grateful for it.

3. i always said i'd never go on a diet. i declared i'd rather be chubby than give up chocolate and ice cream and all those glorious carbs. but then i really struggled to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight after i had luc and it was rough- my energy levels were down, my self-esteem was down, my emotional eating was way up. i felt gross constantly- bloated, too full, cranky, and tired. so i dieted and added a little exercise to my life, and besides the bonus of losing a few pounds, i learned how to take care of my body, how to eat what i needed to physically thrive instead of eating my feelings in the form of endless chocolate bars. actually it was incredibly freeing to realize that i didn't NEED to eat all the time, that i could give up all the snacks and not starve.

4. i was never ever going to co-sleep with my babies. i love my sleep and there was no way i was going to share my bed with a wiggly, sweaty baby/toddler who likes sleep on top of me. that is, before i actually had that wiggly, sweaty baby who didn't sleep at night unless he was sleeping on top of me, and then after he was finally sleeping through the night as a toddler, decided that 6 am was an appropriate time to start the day. PUT HIM IN MY BED AND FOR THE SAKE OF ALL THAT'S HOLY, LET ME GO BACK TO SLEEP became my new mantra.

5. i declared i'd never go a year without traveling somewhere amazing. i love to travel. i'd much rather spend money on an experience than on things like clothes or shoes- i'll pick a trip over new stuff every day of the week. and from the middle of high school to college, i was on a hot streak. french canada, italy twice, france twice, england, mexico, and spain, 5 years in a row. but then orlando started law school and that became our new expensive 'trip' on the east coast. and now we have our babies and its harder to leave. hopefully we can sneak off to someplace fun the next year or so, fingers crossed!

6. i said i'd never like kettle corn. popcorn should be so buttery and salty it could induce a heart attack. that was my strict rule-i didn't even like caramel corn!- until we moved to cleveland and i tried the hundreds of flavors at campbell's sweets. my favorites turned out to be the kettle corn and the dichotomy corn- white cheddar and caramel corn mixed. i could eat an entire bag by myself in one sitting. it was amazing, and i'll forever be converted to sweet popcorn. {anyone in cleveland want to mail me a bag of campbell's dichotomy popcorn?}

7. i said i'd never wear workout clothes anywhere EXCEPT working out. yeah, that one bit the dust when luc was born. i could exercise OR get ready, but never both. now with two kids, i can't do either. so i've lowered my standard to 'its perfectly acceptable to wear workout clothes everywhere, regardless of whether any exercising actually happened'

8. before i had kids, i always said i'd never forget what it's like to be a kid. then it hit me this week- i forgot. i hurry luc along when he sees an interesting rock and wants to stop. i don't understand his need to be the noisiest train on the planet as he 'chuffs' around the house. i don't share his fascination for taking things apart/making a huge mess, and i say 'not right now' way too often. if not now, when? i'm working on this one, i want to be more like him, he's way more fun.

9. growing up with curly hair in a decade that wasn't the 80's was hard, and for the majority of my life, i said i'd never love my hair. i daydreamed about permanently straightening my hair for YEARS. thankfully, i married a man who loves my curls, and because he loved them, i gradually started to love them too. and now i wouldn't dream of straightening my hair!

10. i said i'd never work outside the home while i had little kids. i love being a stay-at-home mom but i do admit that while it is incredibly fun and fulfilling and wonderful, it is only one facet of who i am. so when we moved to arizona at the end of the summer last year and finally felt settled for what may be a large chunk of our lives, i started thinking about life down the road and what i wanted to do. on a whim (at 39.5 weeks pregnant no less) i looked online at some of the local museums to see who was hiring. honestly, i had no intentions of actually finding something, i was looking 'just for fun'. but there was this open part-time (like 10-20 hours a month) position at the children's museum (which we LOVE) and i suddenly knew i had to apply for it. there was no question, i knew something perfect like this wouldn't come around again anytime soon. so i applied right then, and they called me the next morning to come in and interview. i interviewed on my due date haha! they were awesome and offered me the job and then kindly gave me six weeks off to have a baby :). i've only worked one event (i'm on the museum event staff) so far but i love it. it's a good balance for me right now, to be home 95% of the time AND to have a few hours here and there to get out and do something else i enjoy.

A LOVE LETTER TO ARIZONA

dearest arizona,

my darling, you've outdone yourself. i thought you were fabulous when it was 80 degrees in november. i wanted to kiss you when we went to the park on christmas eve in short sleeves. but after having a newborn in january {what should be prime shut-in-the-house time} and three weeks later kicking it at the park as a family, soaking up the perfect 75 degree sunshine, i'm completely head-over-heels in love with you. and i promise to love you always, even when we're roasting in july. because it will all be worth the perfection that is february in the desert.

february- and arizona- you are my new favorite!

kisses, 

lindsey

OVERFLOW

i'm feeling all sorts of emotional tonight. it's partly hormones, partly my natural aversion to change, and partly all the buttons this little man has been pushing the last couple of days. he has been such a turkey and i have cried frustrated tears more than once. but then he snuggles up to me like this and i start crying again- but this time because i feel so blessed to call him mine and because i know baby sister will only fill my heart even more and it's already overflowing as it is. i feel immeasurably honored to be their mama and at the same time completely unequal to the task. how does one imperfect mother nurture two perfect little souls adequately? i'm grateful heavenly father trusts me enough to let me try and yet i still feel so inadequate.  

NESTING

all kinds of crazy organization projects going on over here, thanks to this sudden burst of energy i've had the past few days. pretty sure i'm making it worse, though only time will tell…

whether by c-section or vbac, baby girl will for sure be here in 50 DAYS at the very most. hopefully less, but even if she decides she wants to stay in forever like her brother, we are still only 50 days away from meeting our sweet girl.

ONLY 50 DAYS!

hooray and hallelujah! 

32 WEEKS!

days like this, i'm so glad i keep up with this blog. i went back and looked through my posts while i was pregnant with luc, especially week 32. it was fun to see how similar i've felt both times- read it here.

i am most definitely feeling like i can't possibly get any bigger, though i know i will. luc was way down in my pelvis all the time, but baby girl is all up in my ribs. sometimes when she kicks me, i feel like she's hitting my lungs, gasp! she is moving more and more often, and she's so strong. and BIG! at our ultrasound last week, she was head down and measuring at 4lbs 10oz- that's almost an ENTIRE POUND bigger than luc was at this stage. she's in the 70th percentile and luc was only in the 30th! of course it's not an exact science, but it did make me happy to hear that she's growing nice and big.

also at 32 weeks:

-still craving sweets nonstop, though i think i could also live on turkey gravy for the rest of this pregnancy. i don't know if it's because i'm pregnant or if mimi's cafe really makes the best gravy on the planet, but it was most definitely the best i've ever eaten. i'm going to cry when my leftovers are gone!

-my back isn't so sore this time around- instead it's my butt that hurts haha. that sciatic nerve pain is no joke, ouch!

-i've had a lot of braxton hicks surges and super uncomfortable cramping this past week. everything checks out fine, it just seems like my body is way more keen to do the whole labor thing this time. which makes me happy, since trying to get labor started last time was like pulling teeth. i'm getting nervous about whether a VBAC will really happen like i'm hoping, but i'm trying not to dwell on it, since it's pretty much out of my control.

-i can feel the exhaustion coming back. now when i sit down, it's really hard to talk myself into getting up and doing something productive.

-we're finally down to single digit weeks! i know my pregnancy with luc felt long, but if possible this one has been longer. hopefully the holidays help this last bit go by quicker. i can't wait to snuggle our baby girl!

WINTER…BUT NOT REALLY

it's a winter unlike any i've ever experienced. 67 and sunny every day of the week. it's one of those seasons that makes you feel super guilty on the days you don't go outside, because you just wasted a perfect day. we LOVE it. i know it comes with a trade-off {scorching summer} but right now, i'll take it. luc begs to go outside daily, and i m only too happy to oblige. though i will confess, it has made it harder to get into the whole 'plan thanksgiving dinner' and 'decorate for christmas' spirit, because i keep forgetting it's november. november 20th no less! my birthday is in two weeks, but i can't seem to wrap my head around it at all, with these sunny days and short sleeves.

but i mean, if that's what i can complain about, i've got it pretty darn good. and i'd love to share the goodness- if you're dying to escape the snow and freezing cold this winter, we love company!

A WEEK INTO NOVEMBER

i'm sure i said this about october too, but i will say it again. i can't believe it's already november. thanksgiving is right around the corner, christmas lists are being written, and i can hardly wrap my mind around the idea that 2014 is quickly coming to a close. we haven't been up to much- orlando is putting in as many hours at work as possible, i'm still growing this baby girl, and luc is as mischievous as ever, which keeps us laughing. this week especially, we are soaking up as much of this 70 degree weather as we can. is there anything better than winter in arizona? so far, it's seriously winning.

at almost 29 weeks, i'm feeling pretty good. baby girl is active but a lot calmer than her brother, and my insides are grateful. i'm starting to feel like we are finally {FINALLY!} nearing the home stretch with only 11 weeks left, and that's super exciting, because i'm dying to see her cute face! i found a practically new baby swing on craigslist this week and am on the hunt for a double stroller, so the baby shopping has officially commenced! my craving for sweets is large and in charge these days- we've been eating lots of chocolate frosted donuts {luc can't resist a good donut either!} and the halloween candy was gone by the end of the weekend {that was all me}.

luc has been going through a papa phase the past week or so. the first thing he says after he wakes up to find papa has gone to work is 'mommom go work. papa stay home with luc' with this intensely moody frowny face {see picture} that seriously cracks me up. and throughout the day, whenever he gets in trouble or i say no to something, he says 'i need papa now, get him. i need him.' hahaha! sometimes my pregnancy emotions make me want to cry about it, but most of the time, it makes me laugh, and i love that he loves his papa so much.

we got flu shots this week and luc astonished us all by not even flinching when he got his shot. he looked at his arm/the needle while the nurse gave it to him, and i waited for the tears, but nothing happened. he didn't even blink. in the car, he was proudly holding his treat and he told me 'luc have owie mom' very matter-of-factly. haha this kid! he's the best.

and that's our november so far. i'm working on some homey projects that will hopefully be done soon so i will have something exciting to blog about. until then, xoxo!

PRIDE

what's that saying? 'pride will be your downfall'?
something like that. 

pride- this one specific kind of pride- can sometimes be my downfall.

i am not a particularly stubborn person, though, like just about everybody, i can be on the rare occasion.  i find saying sorry a pretty easy thing to do, and being the first to apologize never bothers me. i hate confrontation and tension and fighting and hurt feelings, so whatever ends it fastest, i'm almost always willing to do, and do it quick. 

my pride tends to take a different direction, a more vain direction, if you will. for example, i was so prideful about the fact that i could get my pre-pregnancy jeans on {unbuttoned of course} throughout my entire pregnancy with luc, that i didn't buy a single pair of maternity jeans or shorts. the last four weeks of that pregnancy, i paid for that pride with every uncomfortable minute i had to wear clothes. and THEN i had a c-section, and the very idea of putting my tight pants on over my incision made me want to cry. but my pride was strong. i took JEANS to the hospital, people. SKINNY JEANS NO LESS. SKINNY JEANS to wear home after birthing a baby. everybody told me not to- friends, baby magazines, my mom- everybody told me to pick the sweats, but my pride wanted to be squeezed back into those jeans as quickly as possible. bless my dear mother, who walked to the target across the street from the hospital, and bought me two pairs of yoga pants, and then insisted i wear nothing else for weeks. thank heavens she was bossier than my pride that time, that really would have hurt.

it's something i've been working on, trying to find a more reasonable balance, when it comes to my pride. so this pregnancy, in an act of self-improvement and out of a sincere desire to not be so darn uncomfortable all the live-long day, i bought maternity jeans. you know, those special pants they make specifically for pregnant women because our miraculously growing bodies aren't meant to be squished into our regular pants? {duh, lindsey} yeah, those ones, i bought those. AND I LOVE THEM. they are so comfortable, so spacious, so stretchy and soft! they don't give me welts under my belly and they don't cut off circulation to my legs! glory hallelujah, they're the BEST PANTS EVER INVENTED! 

stupid pride, you kept me from this comfy goodness for far too long. but in the end you did not win, ha! i declare that i love maternity jeans, and i don't care who knows it! 

25.5 weeks in my new old navy maternity jeans. love at first try-on.

RANDOM

my current favorite picture of luc

lately, every time we go to the grocery store, we just have to stop at the bakery and snag two fluffy, fresh, chocolate frosted donuts- plain for me, sprinkles for luc- to enjoy when our sweaty task of unloading said groceries is done. truth be told, luc usually doesn't wait, and enjoys his liberally while mama finishes the shopping. this baby girl likes her sweets, and i have found myself completely helpless in front of a shelf of donuts- and luc is a kid after my own heart, he can't resist either. what a good pair we make!

my hair loves arizona! it's been awesome, like waking up from a three-year-long bad hair day. however, mine and luc's lips are so chapped, they're red and sore and i've had to smother us in chapstick hourly. still though, i'll take dry over humid any day.

luc counts everything now. 1, 2, 3 is on repeat all day long. sometimes when he's feeling adventurous, he'll go all the way to 10 {he knows how} but most of the time, he just says 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3 over and over- and no amount of bribing will get him to count to ten if he's not in the mood. hence, i have yet to successfully video his new skill for the grandparents.

since we moved and put luc in his own room again {after a looooong summer of he and i sleeping in the same room}, luc has had a little trouble falling asleep. some nights he talks for over an hour before he conks out, and other nights he cries and cries until someone comes in to rescue him. so we've been taking turns laying on the floor next to his bed while he falls asleep, and he and i have got a little system down. he sticks his little hand through the crib slats and holds my hand tight, and then one by one, lists to me all his favorite toys, and i, one by one, reassure him that they are sleeping.

luc: monster trucks

mama: yes, the monster trucks are sleeping

luc: thomas and edward

mama: thomas and edward are sleeping too

luc: yellow digger

mama: your yellow digger is sleeping. night night digger.

and so on and so forth, until he finally falls asleep and starts to snore. and while i do miss our much easier bedtime routine, these little conversations we have, him and i, in the quiet of the night, have become little treasures to me. someday soon,, he's going to be falling asleep with his headphones in, so i'm going to enjoy this while i can.

double stuff oreos + chocolate milk = holy hannah!

apparently it's monsoon season here and it's amazing. the rain is warm and the fresh earthy smell is at the very best. as weird as it sounds, i love the smell of a wet desert.

1002

sometimes i really wonder why i'm still blogging. blogs seem like they're on their way out, i rarely have enough time to write the kind of in-depth posts i want to write, and when i do spend time blogging it takes up valuable nap time to post regularly… so i ask myself, do i really want to keep doing this? who am i doing it for? but then i look back at all the days and moments that i wouldn't remember if the weren't written down here, and i'm so glad i have them. so i guess i'm doing this for me and i'm going to keep doing it because i still enjoy it and someday i won't remember everything luc said as a two year old and being able to go back and read all about it will be a treasure.

aaaaand all this rambling to commemorate my 1002nd post. hip hip! it only took me five years :)

cheers to the next five!

WHILE YOUR HUSBAND STUDIES FOR THE BAR…

what do you do while your husband is studying for the bar and you're feeling lonely and pregnant and frumpy? besides eating cartons of haagen-daz {which you definitely do}, you decide to finally do that one thing you've always wanted to do but never had the free time to do it! {because now you do!}

binge buy all the hair products you can find at target and try every one for a week, narrowing it down to your favorite, which you will then use for the rest of time because it makes your hair look dreamy in a way you never thought possible.

anyone else always wanted to try this? maybe it's just me. but you will be glad i did, because i am going to tell you everything i have learned and what not to buy and what you need to buy right now, and then you don't have to spend hours of nap time doing your hair different ways and then washing it to do it again. you're welcome.

since arriving in san diego the third week of june, i have tried:
pardon this terrible picture. i just couldn't justify using nap time to try all these hair products AND photograph them.

1. big sexy hair root pump mousse and hairspray
2. suave captivating curls spray gel, mousse, and hairspray
3. fructis sky-high mousse and beach chic spray
4. not your mother's kinky curls cream and volumizing hairspray
5. shea moisture curl and style milk
also, not pictured
6. herbal essences totally twisted mousse and hairspray
7. dove hair therapy mousse and hairspray

1. big sexy hair root pump mousse and hairspray. when they say big, they mean BIG. this hairspray had some serious hold, which would be great in humid/windy places like cleveland. it definitely made my hair crunchier than i would have liked though. as for the root pump mousse, i loved the spray feather, so much easier to apply evenly! it adds definite volume but left my hair frizzy at the ends and on top of my head- lots of flyways. and my hair texture was really stiff. i think this would be better for healthier, less frizz-prone hair, or for short hair where you want lots of volume and don't need much product. i liked it, but didn't love it, especially considering it's the most expensive one i tried.

2. suave captivating curls spray gel, mousse, and hairspray. this got great reviews in allure magazine and is super cheap so i was excited to try it. ICK ICK ICK. i didn't even use it for a week, it was so bad. both the mousse and the gel gave me really crunchy flat curls, and then halfway through the day the product would start flaking all over my head and clothes. attractive! and the hairspray didn't help, it just added to the heaviness. i definitely do not recommend this line at all.

3. fructis sky-high mousse and beach chic spray. first let me just say that the beach spray was an epic fail. my hair was nothing but frizz. however, i may not have the right hair for those hot beach waves, so this might work on someone with less curly hair. the mousse was only ok. it wasn't awful but didn't do anything spectacular either. definitely no 'sky-high' volume and no great curl definition either. i'm not a fan, but you might be.

4. not your mother's kinky curls cream and volumizing hairspray. i really wanted to like this one because i'd read it was healthier for hair than most products and it's pretty affordable. the first few days, i really didn't like it, my hair was SUPER frizzy and though it was soft and shiny, it didn't have the hold i wanted. but after playing with it a bit, i found a way that worked SO WELL for my hair and now i seriously love it. the trick is to apply the cream after your hair is about 50% dry. so i diffuse it a bit first and then apply the cream and it holds fabulously. my curls are bouncier and more voluminous and frizz is minimal. WOO HOO! i will say though, the cream smells way too grape-y for my taste, i don't love it.  and the hairspray doesn't hold as well as i like it to, so i've been using a little spray of the big sexy hairspray when my hair is completely done, just for a little more hold.  my hair tends to flatten throughout the day so i like more hold near my roots. i highly recommend the cream though, you may have to play with it for a few days to find out how it works best for you, but it's not too expensive.

5. shea moisture curl & style milk. when used by itself, this left my hair really frizzy post-diffusing, but softer than i'd ever imagined my coarse hair could be. and it smells divine. so when i read on the bottle that it can be used as a leave-in conditioner OR a styling product, i decided to go the conditioner route, and I LOVE IT. i put it on my damp hair BEFORE i diffuse it and put on the kinky curls cream and together it's magic. my curls are soft and shiny but defined and not too frizzy {let's be honest, there will always be a little frizz. i'm learning to embrace it.} and it's only been a week but i feel like my hair looks healthier already. it's a little more expensive, but a little goes a long way so i'm hoping it lasts awhile. i recommend this one for everyone- it's amazing and you'll love it, no matter how you use it.

6. herbal essences totally twisted mousse and hairspray. this has been my cheap go-to product for years. it has good hold, smells great, and doesn't leave my hair too crunchy. it never made me head-over-heels in love with my hair, but did the job fine. i've always dreamed about finding something better though. it's worth a try, you might love it.

7. dove hair therapy mousse and hairspray. i generally really like dove products so i thought this would be a slam dunk. but it wasn't for me. it left my curls way too frizzy and gunky feeling- like the product was always sitting on top of my hair. i could feel it all day. i even tried the shampoo and conditioner too, but then i felt like i always had that on my hair too- it didn't ever seem to wash out all the way. i had to wash my hair with ivory dish soap to get all the stickiness out. so i wouldn't get this one, if i were you. i threw all of mine away.

i have to confess, this was really fun. i could totally be a product tester for a living. especially if that product was ice cream…

good luck with your frizzy beast, all you curly/wavy haired girls, let me know what you love! maybe i'll try it!

IF YOU EVER TAKE THE BAR...

just know that it will be the longest, most strenuous two months of YOUR ENTIRE LIFE. you will be poor and stressed and mentally exhausted. your family will miss you. your brain will be fried. you will see flashcards in your sleep.

i'm sure when orlando passes, it will all be worth it, but i'm letting you know in advance that it's hard. really hard.

and i'm not even the one doing all the long and mentally exhausting study sessions! i'm in lovely san diego, taking luc to the zoo and the beach and eating tacos. which is all very fun and i feel incredibly blessed that orlando is doing the hard stuff for us, but it's still stressful and long and so incredibly hard to be apart.

i guess what i'm saying is that i'm so proud of orlando for graduating from law school and grateful he is working so hard to pass the bar. but i don't ever want to do this whole 'being apart for weeks and weeks' thing again. once is enough for me!

in happier news, this came in the mail and i got a little teary eyed, i'm so very proud of my amazing hubby! he's OFFICIALLY a JD now!

SO UMMM...

luc is napping and i really want to blog. sitting down to write a bit always helps me feel more balanced- it's a good reminder that somewhere under 'wheels on the bus' and 'popcorn popping' i have an intelligent mind. it's a good outlet for me.

my problem today is that i have nothing to blog about. we're in that limbo stage of checking off to-do lists right before the big stuff happens. orlando is busy preparing for finals. i've been packing and going through all our closets, getting ready for our yard sale and luc has been watching word world and despicable me {have i mentioned that movie is his very favorite thing of all time? he asks for it everyday and mimics the different characters. it's pretty cute.} and helping me by emptying boxes as i fill them.

i have been taking luc out everyday for our fill of sunshine, and its usually the best two hours of my day. he's so happy outside and i stop being busy and play with him and it's a little slice of heaven. if it would start being warmer than fifty degrees, we would stay out even longer. today we went on a walk and stopped to watch the loader and the dump truck working on our street. we sat on the grass for almost an hour and watched while they dug and dumped dirt, and luc was enthralled the entire time. we waved and clapped and had the most wonderful time, just hanging out, talking about big trucks and dirt. he kept grabbing my hand and gesturing excitedly, looking at me to make sure i was just as excited. i love his newfound passions and it makes me so happy when he wants to share them with me.

also, we got orlando's graduation announcements in the mail and it was kind of a shocking reality check. he is really graduating. we are really almost done with school. IT'S REAL! i'm having a hard time believing it, i keep opening the box to see if they're still there and this is really happening.

i wish i could say i'm ready for all the changes ahead, but i'm a comfortable person and it's really comfortable here in our little house on clifton blvd. so while i'm excited, i'm definitely not ready.

but it's coming, ready or not.
27 DAYS LEFT!

watching the trucks this morning. i love his face.

THINGS I WANT TO DO/BUY

as far as blogpost titles go, this one is awful, but nap time is too short to spend much time thinking up clever titles. you can have a clever title or a clever post, but not both. that's not to say this post is clever. it's not. but these are all things that have been racketing around in my brain this week so i'm writing them down in an effort to quell the intense spring fever/wanderlust/stuck-inside-itis and its accompanying agitation. daydreaming about a few of these is going to get me through the next 6.5 weeks.

-i want to buy a cute little house and move into it and then NOT MOVE AGAIN for at least five years.
-i want to cruise around the neighborhood my cute little house is in with my family in a madsen bicycle.
-i want five more darling babies to put in my madsen bicycle.
-i want to take a tropical anniversary cruise/vacation with my hubby.
-i want to eat tacos el guero in tijuana.
-i want to take luc to mission beach for an ice cream cone on the boardwalk.
-i want to wear flip flops and shorts on my birthday in december.

that's not too much to ask, right? ;)

46 DAYS TIL WE MOVE!

FAREWELL FEBRUARY

hasta la vista february! is anyone else glad that february is such a short month? i think its a tender mercy because i don't think i could stand three extra days of february. i mean, march doesn't often start much different than february ends but even just the name is happier. like we're marching into spring, hallelujah! all together now- three cheers for march! am i right? of course i am.

as we wave goodbye to the last official winter month and get ready to greet spring with open arms, here's a little buffet of pictures from our february. to be fair, it wasn't terrible. how was yours?

luc become obsessed with selfies

he stayed in nursery all by himself, the whole time! hip hip hooray!

and he had a few cute dates over for some one-on-one time ;)

these dimples made the gray days better

luc learned to expertly navigate the grocery store

and we got family tattoos

for valentine's day, my handsome man and i went to a movie and enjoyed divinity in the form of a banana split and a warm brownie sundae. i'm a lucky lady!

luc is finally forward facing in the car and we both love it!

his current loves are trucks and diggers so when he saw these at the dollar store, there was no way we were leaving without them

another dollar store score- watercolors! such a fun activity- i might enjoy it more than he does haha!

easter candy is here, HOORAY!!!!!

more forward facing & selfies- definitely a big part of our february

also, he's a mountain goat and climbs EVERYTHING. and in three seconds flat too.

and on to march! 

A DAY IN MY LIFE

i'm not sure anyone cares about an hourly breakdown of a typical weekday in my life right now, but i want to record it so that someday i can look back and remember exactly what these wonderful, happy, long and crazy days were like.

8:00am luc usually wakes up right on time. if i'm lucky, he'll sleep until 8:30. {no idea how i got a kid who doesn't like to sleep in} orlando has usually already left for school/work so it's just me and the little man.

8:05 i stumble into the nursery, get luc out of his crib, and put him in bed with me, handing him my phone in the hopes that he will entertain himself for ten more minutes and i can doze off again.

8:15 luc is done playing with my phone and is pulling on my hand, begging for agua. i get up, grab my glasses, and climb over the baby gate into the kitchen to pour him a sippy of milk. if he woke up happy and i'm feeling cheery, he gets strawberry {nesquik} milk, just for fun.

8:17 diaper change

8:22 have i mentioned i'm not a morning person? we usually spend our mornings snuggled up on the couch, watching curious george or super why or thomas. that way i don't have to fully function just yet.

9:00am the tv goes off and i leave luc playing with his trucks or trains while i make breakfast.

9:15 we eat. i eat quick and do dishes/clean the kitchen/mop {some days} while luc takes his sweet time, playing with/eating his food.

9:50 luc is done eating and the floor is messy again. he plays with pots and pans while i clean the high chair and finish up the kitchen.

10:00 diaper change

10:05 playtime! books, trucks, puzzles, balls, coloring- whatever makes him happy. {i miss summer so much. i miss our morning walks!}

11:05am having exhausted all ideas for entertainment, i resort to sticking him in the bathtub with a ton of bubbles and he is in HEAVEN. if don't need a shower {i'm an every other day showerer, i confess} i do my makeup while i sit by the tub and watch him play.

12:00pm i pull my very wrinkly little guy out of the tub. he picks out his clothes {a recent development} and i get him dried and dressed.

12:10 it's snack time! really this is like a mini lunch- something like a cutie, a string cheese, and half of a nutella sandwich.

12:30 hooray it's nap time! i wrap him up in his blankie, give him his binkie, and we cuddle on the couch while watching thomas or lightening mcqueen. after about 20-30 minutes, he's asleep in my arms and i lay him down on my bed.

1:00pm so there are two versions of nap time- the productive version and the non-productive version. in the productive version i do any assortment of the following: plan my YW lesson, scrub the bathroom, sweep the floors, clean the house, wash and fold laundry, shower, get ready, eat lunch, blog, call my mom or friends, read a book. in the non-productive version i: take a nap with luc, watch a jane austen movie on netflix, waste time on facebook/blogs/instagram for the entire two hours, eat chocolate.

3:00pm luc has an amazing internal clock. recently he's been waking up after a two hour nap, almost to the minute. seriously, it's crazy how precise he is. 2 hours, not five minutes more or less. he wakes up and comes out of my room to find me, it's so cute watching his little sleepy shuffle, dragging his blankie.

3:10 he's a slow waker, so we always have to snuggle for a few minutes so he can adjust. i hold him and we talk about how he slept and what he dreamed about and what he missed while he was sleeping.

3:15 diaper change

3:20 he asks for agua, so we head into the kitchen for a sippy and lunch {second lunch}.

3:45 this is the part of the day that's hardest for me. we've been inside all day, papa won't be home for three or four more hours, and i'm out of new and exciting ideas to entertain us. some days we run errands- grocery shopping or the library and the like. some days we pop popcorn and watch a movie {cars or despicable me or pitch perfect are favorites}. on days when i'm non-productive during nap time, i try to do something productive while luc plays, but he's not great at entertaining himself so this doesn't last long.

5:55pm somehow we've made it through the last two hours. they are seriously the longest of the entire day! but we've made it and papa will be home soon! i do a little dinner prep and luc plays with the tupperware, or i pull a chair up to the sink and let him splash while i prep. we snack on whatever we want, and i turn up pandora {disney channel!} so we can dance.

6:30 orlando is home! hip hip hooray! luc is just as thrilled as i am. he and papa play while i get dinner ready. it's awesome.

6:35 daddy's turn to change diapers!

7:00 dinner is served!

7:30 i clean up dinner while papa entertains luc. this suits me just fine, i like the small break from entertain luc duty.

7:40pm family playtime!

8:40 time to get the little man ready for bed! diaper change, pajamas, teeth brush, stories, scriptures, and family prayer.

9:15 luc's bedtime. either mama or papa takes him in the nursery, rocks him in the rocking chair and sings a song {i sing 'i am a child of god.' orlando sings garth brooks songs}. then we lay him down with his blankie, binkie, and his elephant and he goes to sleep.

9:20 we collapse together on the couch and mindlessly watch tv {hooray for olympics and hulu!}

11:00pm we finally crawl into bed, asking ourselves why we didn't go to bed earlier.