four years, really?!?

Working on Annie's birthday party invitations and looking through photos of her over the past four years.... tears. 

 

Really?

Think I'm going to start a new blog all about "things I never thought I'd say outloud"...

4/23/14 "What did Daddy tell you about being naked in the front yard?".

insider secrets

 I have to share a few things that have made my life a little easier (and more girly... if that was needed??) lately.

Beware, these secrets are not cheap. :)

Ok, so in the Fayetteville mall there is a kiosk by the food court (I can't remember the name!) that is selling curling wands (and straighteners) that are truly amazing! I'm not even kidding.

On the rare occasion that I wake up on time, I will have Audrie and Annie sit on the couch and watch a highly educational video about how to be perfect children... or Spongebob.

Then I take a handful of their hair, wrap it around the hot wand, count to ten, let go (repeat til all strands are done... usually takes me 5-10 minutes). And, I am telling you, their hair looks awesomely curly.

The BEST part is... it lasts for DAYS. The first day, it's springy curls, they sleep on it, wake up the next day to soft curls, and the third day (if they are not too stinky and I have to wash their hair) it will be wavy curls. 

These curls last through recess, PE, trampoline, etc, for days. Good stuff!

(FYI- also the same effect on my hair)

Ok, the catch is. They are not cheap. But I will say that this kiosk will majorly barter the price down. Maybe it's my honed Chinatown shopping skills, but I talked them way down on the price. Let me know if you need me to go with you! :)

 Also, this kiosk sells a Moraccan hair oil that I am in love with. I've started using it on the girls hair after bathtime and it has SERIOUSLY cut down on tangles in the morning.

Which has cut down on tears and my time spent screaming "DO YOU WANT ME TO USE THIS HAIRBRUSH ON YOUR BACKSIDE??!".

Ok, here is another super cool invention that I am LOVING. Have you heard of Jamberry nails? Um, totally awesome. 

Basically they are nail stickers that you heat wrap to your nails. (Reminds me of the shrink wraps you put on your Easter Eggs!!?).

 I friend of mine at school had some of these and I was admiring them. I bought some and they are so awesome. You stick them to your nail, cut them down and file them to your nail shape, blast them with a hairdryer and they are stuck for good!

They work so good for me because I play the piano all day (banging the correct note at off-pitch jr high tenors all day will do a number on your nails!). But these things last for about two weeks on me- which is amazing.

And on my toenails they've lasted so long that I finally just took them off so I could try a new design. 

Of course they are great for Audrie and Annie (Jamberry sells a Junior size in the strips).

Ok, there you have it! My latest discoveries. :)

Enjoy!

books and bikes

 Pretty much every morning when I'm getting Annie dressed for pre-school, she complains that her dress isn't "big enough" or not "spinny enough". Oh my.

So I saw a sale at Old Navy on their spring dresses and I tried to find a few that were big and spinny for this little diva. :)

Annie getting ready to go to a friend's birthday party.

Audrie getting a lesson in determination.

 Last weekend, we decided to let Audrie take the training wheels off her bike and see how it went. At first, she was super frustrated (because somehow she has in her personality that she has to be good at everything and is impatient when things are not going perfect immediately... not sure where she gets that..? ha) But she didn't give up.

The second day of trying- she had that magic moment where you could honestly see the light bulb go off and she "got it". Now there is no stopping her. She has a few serious bruises for her efforts, but her proud smile is pretty awesome.

I did get teary eyed watching her learn this... such a milestone in life.

Audrie's reading has really taken off, too. I am a little sad because before she learned to read she used to sing herself to sleep at night and now she reads. I mean, that's all fine and stuff (ha!), but I miss hearing her made up songs from her bedroom.

Jamie rockin some sweet socks.

Met two of my dearest friends for a night out last weekend. I miss teaching with these amazing ladies, but happy we still get together regularly for girl therapy.

That's all for now. Hope your week is going great!