Just found this awesome site and wanted to share it with those few that are still following.:) It's called esalon and it's a new way to do hair color. I have read that many salon owners are a little upset at this site and what it offers because the color is blended for your hair alone, the same as a salon would do.
You go to the site and answer a few questions about yourself, what is your natural color, what color you like to use when you color your hair and how often. it makes a profile and you are ready to order your color just like that. the best part is that for $19.95 there is a colorist that will review your info, answer questions you want to ask now, they blend your color (put your name on the bottle):) and ship it to your home. No more going to the store and standing in the hair color aisle to choose your color. The colorist are also available for questions if you have any when you start the process.
I know, the price is a bit higher than the boxes you buy in the stores, but here is the best part, if you click on the link below you can get your first order for $9.95 with money back guarantee!
Happy coloring!
click here for special offer
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Monday, July 22, 2013
Staycation and summer vacation
In April we took a 2 day stay-cation to a local hotel. We all had been sick with colds and the flu a few weeks before and we needed a fun weekend to just relax and chill at the pool. We surprised the kids by picking them up from school and going straight to the hotel, they were completely in shock and then completely excited.
We stayed at a 2 bedroom, 2 bath with kitchen hotel and it had a GREAT pool. Even thou we were close to a lot of fun places to visit we pretty much stayed close to the hotel and used the pool. the kids had a blast and Nate talked about the hotel for weeks afterwards. He loves to stay in hotels and he told everyone about our stay and the fun he had.
our hotel room
the pool area
wearing new goggles at restaurant
visited a large mcD's game area and restaurant
We have had a great summer so far, we have been keeping the kids really busy. This summer Nate will be attending 3 VBS and 2 summer camps. He is having a blast and loves so much to learn the new songs and do the crafts at the VBS programs. The girls have gone to 1 VBS and 1 summer camp. They are still a little young and most churches don't provide much for their age group. Nate also started swim lessons and is loving the water and learning to swim. We take him and his sisters to the pool on the weekends now to practice. The girls have started ballet/creative dance lessons and really love the class. They are adorable in their leotards and ballet shoes. We went on our first family vacation, (another post about that) and we had a great July 4th (another post about that coming soon). The kids have about 1 more month left before going to school and they are very excited about starting school.
first class
love to go to this restaurant
We stayed at a 2 bedroom, 2 bath with kitchen hotel and it had a GREAT pool. Even thou we were close to a lot of fun places to visit we pretty much stayed close to the hotel and used the pool. the kids had a blast and Nate talked about the hotel for weeks afterwards. He loves to stay in hotels and he told everyone about our stay and the fun he had.
practicing some moves
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Have a great trip
A good friend of mine will be traveling to China this week to adopt her baby girl, Chloe. I am so excited to see Katie and her husband Nick travel to Henan China to meet their little girl. Talking with Katie has brought back so many great memories of our trip. We loved traveling there and enjoyed the country, the sightseeing and the people so much. I know that Katie and Nick are going to have a wonderful trip and their two boys are going to be great big brothers. Can't wait to meet Chloe!
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It has been over two years since we traveled to China. So much has changed since then. Our Log in date was May 19, 2006 and we waited almost 5 years to travel to our daughters. Currently they have matched families with LIDs up to Oct 26, 2006. It's taken them over 2.5 years to match 5 months worth of families to Non-special needs babies. I think the wait is 6.5 years to adopt a baby, and the wait time is only getting longer. Sending all those still waiting a big hug, it must be so difficult and seem never ending.
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It has been over two years since we traveled to China. So much has changed since then. Our Log in date was May 19, 2006 and we waited almost 5 years to travel to our daughters. Currently they have matched families with LIDs up to Oct 26, 2006. It's taken them over 2.5 years to match 5 months worth of families to Non-special needs babies. I think the wait is 6.5 years to adopt a baby, and the wait time is only getting longer. Sending all those still waiting a big hug, it must be so difficult and seem never ending.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Happy New Year
Wishing you all a Happy Chinese New Year. We have lots of plans for this weekend. The kids are having a great time. Hope you have a great weekend too!
Monday, February 4, 2013
Ikea mudroom bench
New Update and changes to mud room: April 2014
From the very beginning of purchasing our house i have been planning to put a bench in our mudroom/laundry room. This room was large enough to do so, and the builder had put a key drop table that was too high and just at the right height for my children to ram their heads into the pointy corner.
We got a quote from Lowes for a custom built unit and the total was nearly $3,000 (insert gasp here)! We considered building the entire thing from scratch, the bench and upper cabinet. I have seen many pictures of people doing this, however it scared us a little because we probably didn't have all the tools it took to make that happen.
I found a few pieces at different stores that i liked but the prices and sizes weren't right. Pottery Barn had a great bench and coat rack but the price for both was nearly $600. I found one at Pier One that was really great but it was way too small for the space we had to fill. The wall we wanted to put this on was 60" long.
Pottery Barn $600 for both and only 50" wide
pier one $399 and only 32" wide
I finally found a bench at ikea that was made as a TV stand but would work great as a bench, it also had a matching top cabinet. the bench is Hemnes, reg $199 we got it for $130 with ikea family card. the top part is Hemnes wall/bridging shelf, $120.
I think the whole thing cost us $500, including one gallon of semi-gloss paint to make clean ups easier $30, the wainscoting, $40, a special saw for cutting wainscoting for plugs and outlets, $99, wood for behind the coat hooks, $25, the 5 coat hooks $20, the 3 corbels, $20, some corner moldings that we haven't put up yet, $20, and a few bucks for some glue and nails. The baskets i already had.
So here is what we have so far. It is the main place when we enter from the garage where all our things get dumped; shoes, book bags and jackets. We plan on lowering the bench a little, the kids have a harder time getting on it right now. i also plan on making a cushion for the bench and hanging a key and mail basket. I love that the bottom bench has drawers, none of the other options we looked at had this! I can't wait to add some color with the cushion i am making.
From the very beginning of purchasing our house i have been planning to put a bench in our mudroom/laundry room. This room was large enough to do so, and the builder had put a key drop table that was too high and just at the right height for my children to ram their heads into the pointy corner.
We got a quote from Lowes for a custom built unit and the total was nearly $3,000 (insert gasp here)! We considered building the entire thing from scratch, the bench and upper cabinet. I have seen many pictures of people doing this, however it scared us a little because we probably didn't have all the tools it took to make that happen.
I found a few pieces at different stores that i liked but the prices and sizes weren't right. Pottery Barn had a great bench and coat rack but the price for both was nearly $600. I found one at Pier One that was really great but it was way too small for the space we had to fill. The wall we wanted to put this on was 60" long.
I finally found a bench at ikea that was made as a TV stand but would work great as a bench, it also had a matching top cabinet. the bench is Hemnes, reg $199 we got it for $130 with ikea family card. the top part is Hemnes wall/bridging shelf, $120.
Here is what the area looked like before we started. Just a large key drop table.
So here is what we have so far. It is the main place when we enter from the garage where all our things get dumped; shoes, book bags and jackets. We plan on lowering the bench a little, the kids have a harder time getting on it right now. i also plan on making a cushion for the bench and hanging a key and mail basket. I love that the bottom bench has drawers, none of the other options we looked at had this! I can't wait to add some color with the cushion i am making.
New Update and changes to mud room: April 2014
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Some Favorites
I'll keep this post short, but wanted to post a few of our favorite pictures. most were done about Christmas time. We took most of these when we were trying to do our Christmas card photo. The kids really had a great time playing in the park, it has huge trees with lots of shade, a playground and it makes for a great spot for pictures. The kids are getting more difficult to photograph lately, their patience is shorter and they can move around so much quicker that ever before.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
We're Back
It's been a roller coaster ride the last few months. Some Highlights: Buying a new house, packing, closing on the house, the holidays, gift buying and wrapping, Christmas cards (sorry if you didn't get one, i tried) moving 2 days before Christmas, putting up a Christmas tree at the new house, unpacking, and 5 birthdays in between it all. Finally, things are starting to slow down a little. We are still working on the old house trying to get it ready for rental and we are still slowly unpacking and decorating the new house.
So i will share some new photos of the new house (sans furniture), we are so very happy with it. the kids have their own play room and all the bedrooms are upstairs. We love all our selections for the interiors and slowly trying to find where each piece of furniture should go.
We had a few small medical issues with the kids over the last few months too. Besides colds and coughs, Paige put her teeth through her lip and needed 5 stitches. We rushed her to the only emergency room open on a very early Sunday Thanksgiving Weekend morning. She is my strong high tolerance for pain child, she cried after the initial fall, but after we looked at it and could see it was serious she went into the car and emergency room without much crying. She even had the stitches with just a topical Novocain no needles of pain meds. She looked terrible for about 3 days, but after about 7 days the stitches were falling out and scabs were healed and she looked better. There is a small scar.
Both girls went for a Tdap shot in early December and both had severe reactions. Both had huge, red, hot, swollen legs where the injection was. We went back in and the doctor was very concerned. She recommend they not get any more vaccine shots. EVER.
The kids are all doing great, Nate is riding a two wheel bike with no training wheels, the girls are counting to 10 and know most of their colors. Nate is writing his full name and the date and can count to 100 with just a little help needed. The girls love their tricycles and picking out their own clothes. Nate turned 5 in January and the girls turn 3 in March.
So i will share some new photos of the new house (sans furniture), we are so very happy with it. the kids have their own play room and all the bedrooms are upstairs. We love all our selections for the interiors and slowly trying to find where each piece of furniture should go.
We had a few small medical issues with the kids over the last few months too. Besides colds and coughs, Paige put her teeth through her lip and needed 5 stitches. We rushed her to the only emergency room open on a very early Sunday Thanksgiving Weekend morning. She is my strong high tolerance for pain child, she cried after the initial fall, but after we looked at it and could see it was serious she went into the car and emergency room without much crying. She even had the stitches with just a topical Novocain no needles of pain meds. She looked terrible for about 3 days, but after about 7 days the stitches were falling out and scabs were healed and she looked better. There is a small scar.
Both girls went for a Tdap shot in early December and both had severe reactions. Both had huge, red, hot, swollen legs where the injection was. We went back in and the doctor was very concerned. She recommend they not get any more vaccine shots. EVER.
The kids are all doing great, Nate is riding a two wheel bike with no training wheels, the girls are counting to 10 and know most of their colors. Nate is writing his full name and the date and can count to 100 with just a little help needed. The girls love their tricycles and picking out their own clothes. Nate turned 5 in January and the girls turn 3 in March.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
New house update
Last weekend they made some headway on the new house. Thursday and Friday were the first two days we didn't have rain, the hurricane sucked out all the moisture and kept it dry. On Friday they started putting up the wood structure inside and the support beams for the second floor. It's funny that in each stage the house feels really big, and then somehow so much smaller. DH said he couldn't believe the house could fit on the property, then with just the slab it felt huge, now with the second floor beams it seems a bit smaller and dark again.
Here is the schedule of things that have happened on the house so far:
July 14 cleared the property
July 17 Design Center meeting
July 27 laid in the pipes and prepped for slab
July 31 poured the slab
Aug 5 dropped off the bricks for the exterior walls
Aug 10 the exterior walls go up
Aug 13 the wood for the second floor and walls is dropped off on the property
Aug 27 hurricane Isaac brings lots of rain
Aug 31 the second floor beams and interior walls go up
Sept 3 Labor Day Holiday
Here is the schedule of things that have happened on the house so far:
July 14 cleared the property
July 17 Design Center meeting
July 27 laid in the pipes and prepped for slab
July 31 poured the slab
Aug 5 dropped off the bricks for the exterior walls
Aug 10 the exterior walls go up
Aug 13 the wood for the second floor and walls is dropped off on the property
Aug 27 hurricane Isaac brings lots of rain
Aug 31 the second floor beams and interior walls go up
Sept 3 Labor Day Holiday
the bulldozer was removing the grass and dirt and leveling the property out. we could see the actual property boundries.
ok, i had to get the kids into one of these pictures, the blocks are on the slab of the house.
front of the house, garage is on the far left.
wood framing goes up, second floor beams go up.
the interior, far left will be the kitchen, that beam of light shining in the middle will be the stair case
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Back to school
the kids took their first "back to school" picture together. i hope to make this a tradition. the girls are going to preschool and nate is in pre-k. so far they are loving it, both classes are very full with learning but i think what the girls love best are their backpacks. :-) this week they walked around the house with their backpacks on for about 1 hour before we had to leave, they love them!
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