Happy birthday, Noah!

This is only.. a month late, but it's better late than never, and I SERIOUSLY hope to blog a LOT more now that things are going {pretty} well in our new house now! This is just going to be a birthday photo dump for tonight, since I just did a makeover on my blog! I hope you all enjoy it!

Hai??

It's been.. 20 days since my last post. I need to change this, because I plan on having this blog for a long time, and want to actually be able to look back on these things, which, is impossible if I never blog!!

Anyways, things have been pretty great around here. I've been spending tons of time on instagram, buying nail polish and other stuff I don't need, and trying to get little Noah walking. He isn't really interested in walking; or standing unassisted. Actually, he doesn't even want stand assisted. He had his 12 month checkup last Friday, and the doctor isn't worried, so I'm not worrying too much. He will walk when he is ready!

Cody is going to be... 5.. yes, FIVE in just over 2 weeks. Where has the time gone?! ): I've got all of his papers filled out for kindergarten, I have to drop them off on Wednesday. This Friday is his last day of school, then I have a kindergartner. He's so smart. He doesn't really listen to us, but he is excellent in school. I'd rather him be a crazy kid at home, and so good at school. His teacher told Nate that Cody is the best student she's ever had. She is ALWAYS raving about Cody. I am so so so proud of him. He got glasses last Thursday. He doesn't like keeping them on, at all. Hopefully, we can work on that. 

Here are a few pictures from the past couple weeks :)

 walking with the family!

 I never noticed the difference between cheap nail polish, and ones like Essie and OPI. Essie wins.

 My boys got me this for mothers' day :)

 We got these for Noah, and went to 3 different walmarts to find matching ones for Cody. 

 Cody and his glasses!

Weekend trip with my hubby (kid-free!)

Well, this past week, my in laws were in. My brother-in-law and soon to be sister-in-law got hubby and I a night in a downtown bed and breakfast while they were in, so that we could have a mini vacay by just ourselves. Lord knows how much we needed that. I really really do love my kids dearly, but it gets really hard never ever getting a break, since we don't have anyone to watch them, especially that we trust.

On Fridays, Nate has a half day at work, so we ate lunch when he got home, and were on our way. We stopped at the bed and breakfast before the movie we planned to see started (21 jump street).

Walking up to the bed and breakfast!

Checking in!

After we checked in, we started walking downtown. We got to our movie ~30 minutes early, so we got some ice cream. I got birthday cake. I love anything cookie/ cake flavored.

We got some popcorn, and soda's, and headed into our movie (after taking cheesy photobooth pictures) We saw 21 jump street, and it was HILARIOUS. I loved it. (Okay, and maybe Channing Tatum, just a little ;P)

After our movie, we were getting kind of freaked out with the beggars and little gangs down there, and I just wasn't comfortable walking around there at night, and still having to walk back to our room, so while there was still a little daylight, we walked back and got our car, and drove around downtown a bit, deciding what we wanted for dinner. 

We decided on trying out the local casino buffet. It was alaskan snow crab night, so it was 25.00 a person. I was very very disappointed. I hardly ate a thing. I had 2 salads and 2 pieces of thin, crappy pizza. 

casino

We drove around for quite a bit after diner, and decided to go back to our room, have some shots, and relax. I had 3 shots, and laid down, and fell asleep very shortly after, lol.

The next morning wasn't super eventful, my allergies were driving me NUTS, so I was absolutely miserable. We planned to take the train up to Santa Fe, get food, and then come back. We never get to ride on the train alone, and we wanted to enjoy the relaxation of it, lol. We did go get food, and came back to do eggs with the kiddos :)

Pictures!!

Hello!

I've been trying to think of blog posts for what seems like forever. I need to just blog, and not think so much of a good post.

Things are well. My in-laws flew in on Friday, which is always nice to have the company. I was supposed to have a maternity photo shoot at 1 that day, but, once again.. I had another person cancel on me. We ended up going to the location with the family, anyways, and walked around. It was at old town. (pictures later, I'm on my laptop, which is awful for editing and uploading photos).

Nate had to go get his Genghis bowl, his very last one, so me, my in-laws, Cody, and Noah went to chick fil a for lunch. I started learning to read a crochet pattern. I got nearly to the end of a hat & wasn't happy with the way it looked, so I ended up unravelling the whole thing. Woops. I did get the hang of it though, so I've been looking at tons of patterns. (I did end up making a SUPER cute owl hat, though ;D)

Saturday, Nate had his final weigh in for the health contest he is doing, and afterwards, we went to Santa Ana Star casino, and went to their buffet. I was definitely impressed, and happy with the selection and quality of the food, which isn't common with me and buffets.

Monday, Nate took off work, and we went up to Santa Fe. It ended up being cold, and windy. Sigh. We went to the mall, got Noah a few outfits, and headed off to lunch. The place we really wanted to go was closed until dinner (5:30, and it was only 3:30 when we got there). So, we headed to Horseman's Haven Cafe, where Nate had went with his work before, and got lunch there. I got green chile, and it was ridiculously hot, almost ridiculous to eat. We headed home after, and just relaxed.

Follow me on instagram! ~lovebodysoul is my username. (It just came out for Android yesterday!)

                                       Stuff for slutty brownies!    //      Owl hat I made!

Truvía® natural sweetener Product Review

I've kind of become to like this whole review thing ;)

Anyways, my review today is for Truvia, also for my Influenster love vox box ;) It is a calorie free sweetener. I'm cheap, and recently, my husband and I have been buying Coke Zero, to save on extra calories. It took some getting used to, but we fully enjoy it now.

When I drink coffee, or tea, or pretty much anything, I add a lot of sugar. In turn, making pretty much anything that could be healthy, unhealthy, and loaded with calories. I had some coffee with truvia, and used one packet. It wasn't as sugary as I'd usually make it, but, it was perfect.. and.. calorie free! I didn't add another packet, or add sugar, just one packet! I had recently used sweet n low for some limeade recipes I had, and I could hardly stomach the artificial taste. Truvia tastes exactly like the sugar we normally use.

As I mentioned, I'm cheap, and truvia is pricey, compared to white sugar, so I probably never would have tried it otherwise. I probably wouldn't use it in every baking or anything (only because of the price), but I probably will pick up the packets, for coffee, and other drinks!

Busy-ish, simple weekend

This weekend was.. well.. simple, but pretty busy. On Friday, Cody had a field trip to "Petland", which is, very obviously, a pet store. I really wanted chick fil a, but they were SO packed, we ended up not eating before the field trip. Cody's teacher mentioned that she had Dion's Pizza, and Nate really wanted that, and convinced Cody he wanted pizza, too. So, we got pizza afterwards. The kids chowed, and it was delicious. Then, we went back to the other side of town, to our other mall. I got a bathing suit, a maxi dress, and an outfit to go out with the hubby on April 6th, for our night at a bed & breakfast downtown, curtosy of my brother-in-law :)

Then, we ended back up on our side of town so I could print a Hobby Lobby coupon. Then, we went back to the other side of town to Hobby Lobby, so I could pick up some yarn to make newborn hat props, and a hat for Ashley.

Here is what I finished last night:

I had a newborn session set up, and she flaked on me. Also had a maternity session, and she cancelled. I'm not sure why so many people flake on free stuff, but oh well, I guess! :/

Product Review! Kiss Nail Dress

Yes, another one. Get used to it, ok? :) It helps me earn badges on Influenster, and it helps you decide whether or not to bother with certain products! I'm like a guinea pig, yes?

I (obviously) received this from the Influenster Love VoxBox this month! In the Holiday VoxBox I received, I received some stick on nails, which are really hard for me to keep on with 2 little boys, so these appealed to me much more:

I know, I was really excited about the design, also! My finger nails are all breaking and what have you, so, I decided to try these on my toes! I hate feet, I mean hate hate hate, especially mine. So, anyone who sees this, you are lucky to see my feet. However, I like my toenails to be CUTE. Weird, right?

Anyways, with BOTH boys awake, I did these. They took me maybe 10 minutes to perfect. They were incredibly easy. It really made me wonder why I spend so much time toying with nail stampers, and toothpicks to decorate my nails! My (almost) 5 year old was pretty interested, and took the pieces I trimmed, and put them on his nails. He also wants me to add "these are so bue-ful!". And, he "loves them".

I definitely see this as a product I will actually purchase. I love being able to test this stuff, because I would probably never purchase them if I hadn't!

Here is "Fashion that Sticks!":

On in minutes, off in seconds without remover. Nail Dress is available in 18 different styles, many of them featuring 3-dimensional jeweled designs. Check out Peplum, a deep black with multi-colored gems for a pop of color, or Babydoll, for a golden and glamorous jeweled look. Skip the topcoat, Nail Dress has it built in.

With 28 strips in each package, you can cut up your extras to create designs that can be used on top of polished or artificial nails. Nail Dress doesn’t dry out the way other polish strips can, so you can save them to use on your next DIY mani. A nail design booklet is included in each package, just in case you need a little inspiration.

And don’t forget about your feet! Nail Dress looks awesome on toes, too – just use the square side of the sticker for a perfect fit.

Where to Buy

Nail Dress’ suggested retail is $6.99 and is available in all major drug chains and mass retailers like WalMart, CVS and Walgreens.

Product Review: Gillette Venus w/ Olay!

Well, it's that time again! Another VoxBox from Influenster!! That means.. product reviews!! Yay! Okay.. this one is for the new Gillette Venus with FIVE blades.. AND Olay moisture bars. What?! Yes, I said it!

I don't know about you, but I absolutely HATE shaving my legs in the winter, especially here in New Mexico. It's already always so dry, and my legs just.. don't like it! So, when you mention moisture bars plus a razor? Um, yes, please! I used mine tonight!

Here is this bad boy (in the package):

And, here, is the nakie picture!:

I was almost afraid to use this razor.. I couldn't even feel the blades, it felt like I was shaving with a bar of soap. Really really smooth soap! My legs are so incredibly soft!

My ONLY downfall, that I'm not so sure will convince me to actually purchase this, is the price. 5.00 per blade is a bit more than I am wanting to spend, BUT, it may convince me if it lasts for awhile! We shall see!

Here are the "specs" of the product :

• Venus’ five-bladed razors shave you close and adjust to women’s curves for a smooth and comfortable shave, even over tricky shaving areas like knees and ankles.
• Olay Moisture Bars contain skin-enhancing elements found in Olay products: Petrolatum helps lock in skin’s moisture for less dryness and Glycerin helps offer that goddess glow! Just wet the razor to release a light lather – no separate shave cream required.
• As with most Venus razors, new Venus & Olay also features a rounded, pivoting head designed for women’s curves, and a soft-grip ergonomic handle for confident control, even in wet and soapy environment

Where to Buy

A refillable Venus & Olay with one replacement cartridge sells for approximately $8.99-$10.99. Packages of three replacement cartridges are available for about $14.99 - $19.49.

Venus & Olay will be available starting March 15, 2012 at food, drug, convenience and mass merchandise stores throughout the United States.  

Terrific Tuesday?

I woke up this morning, tired, and not feeling so well. Hubby ended up saying he would come home on lunch and just stay here. I ended up feeling better after I ate breakfast, but he came home anyways. We went to eat at Genghis (he has to eat there every day for his contest), and went to Walmart, and Starbucks. I wanted to replace Cody's cucumber seeds, since I have been totally forgetting to bring our plants in at night, and it's still been getting really cold at night. Woops ): I also received some of my photography props in the mail. (newborn angel wings & halo, and 2 hats). I had already bought some black microfleece and a wicker basket for newborn props :) (I used Curious George for my model ;P) I've wanted a nice tumbler for awhile now, and was browsing online at Starbucks this morning. I found a few neat "customizable" ones, but one was too small, one didn't have very good reviews, and I just liked the one I chose better than the other.

I qualified for the Influenster Love VoxBox, so I am waiting to get it, and I can't wait to share some more reviews! :D

Hello, December!

I know it's not beginning of December, and it's been here for a little while now, BUT, I'm just getting around to this. I have been busy as a bee with my business. Making cloth diapers! I've had quite a few orders lately. Not that I'm complaining, but between that and my kiddos, I don't have much time for anything else. My in-laws were in for Thanksgiving. Which, was a nice change. We usually spend Thanksgiving alone, and this year, it was full with family. It was nice. Husband and I had a few dates, and it was nice to sleep in a few days!

I decided to decorate for Christmas this year, even though we will be up in Michigan. I love decorating, and I did for Halloween, so I figured why not. My mother-in-law got a groupon for a 10.00 picture package with Santa, so we did that while Nate was at work one day. The camera was broken, of course. I asked if I could take some of my own, and she said I could. They got it working, so my mother-in-law could get her coupons worth. I took a whole bunch by myself, though. I also set Noah's room up for Christmas card pictures. They came out pretty cute for bedroom studio pictures.

I've definitely decided that I love taking pictures, and I think they turn out really well. I don't "edit" hardly ANY of my photos anymore. I thought of making a facebook photography page, just for fun. I just enjoy doing it, and don't need to make it a business, but just a hobby.