Life is Beautiful

Motherhood, Sewing, Family

Sunday Best

~ Etc.

Dress: BCBG | Heels: H&M | Bag: Kate Spade 
Do you notice my hair is a little different? I recently got my hair dyed & got the keratine straightening treatment at Pureza Salon & Medi Spa. The picture below is right after my straightening treatment.
I wanted this treatment not for the straightening effect but for shine and while my hair is much straighter and less frizzy, I would say my hair’s only about 10% shinier than before the treatment so if you are looking to get a Keratine straightening treatment mainly for the shine, I wouldn’t recommend it. But if you have curly hair or wavy hair and want your hair straighter and less frizzy, I say go for it! I did find the process a little excruciating because with the straightener, they pulled on my hair for 3 hours and every time they ran over the straightener on my hair, several hairs would get pulled out, no matter how many times I told them my hair was getting pulled out.
Pureza Salon & Medi Spa also pampered me with their Pureza Signature Facial and that one I would do again! It felt so relaxing and my skin felt smooth and glowing afterwards. The facial provides a thorough cleanse, followed by extractions and then layer upon layer of anti aging and fruit enzyme exfoliation to rejuvenate pores and firm the skin. I wished the shoulder and the neck massage was longer but I might just request more of the massage next time. 🙂
Thank you Pureza Spa for letting me have my me-time! I don’t get to pamper myself often but what mother doesn’t need a little pampering now and then? 😉

Making new girlfriends is just like dating

~ Etc.

Do you have a hard time finding friends who you truly connect with? I do. I mean, I like everyone and I can get along with everyone, but I feel like it’s hard to find a friend who I truly connect with, like my soulmate that’s a girl. Now that I am typing this, I guess it makes sense that it’s hard to find one since soulmates are hard to find and you’re lucky if you find one in your lifetime! Haha. There’s a new show I came across last week when I ran out of all my tivo’ed shows(especially since it’s Summer and most shows won’t start until this coming Fall, cry me a river!), and it was just a preview and I thought it was pretty funny so I watched one episode and it passed. So I’ve been watching it every week, it’s called Odd Mom Out. I mean, it’s not like the best show ever in the history of television but it’s pretty funny and I can relate so much as a mother.
Anyway, it’s a show about a mom with 2 kids living in NY who deals with a snobby MIL and SIL and not feeling like she fits in. There’s one episode where she meets another mom and they instantly bond and they decide to go out to dinner together and it ends up being a disaster. It supports what I always say to people that making new friends is just like dating! You come home after hanging out with someone for the first time and you think to yourself, “Did I talk too much? Did I not talk enough? Was I funny enough? Does she like me? Will she want to hang out with me again?” It’s when you’ve hung out 4-5 times when you can now relax and be like, “Okay, she likes me. I think it’s safe to say we are official now. Officially friends.” And it’s a lot of work to make friends and keep friends! You need to make sure to let them know that you care about them, that you are thinking of them, initiate hang outs, you need to cultivate the relationship or it kind of fizzles out. I mean, unless you’ve been friends for forever, then you can relax more and know that they’ll always be your friend no matter what. 
And I am not sure if I am just being a spoiled brat or feeling entitled, but if I consider you one of my best friends, you also have to feel the same way about me. If I consider you my best friend, you better consider me your best friend too! Is that bratty? No, right? Because making new friends is just like dating, so heck yes, it has to be reciprocated! 
Lately, I feel like I don’t have that many friends. Most of my best friends have moved away from me and no longer live in UT. One of them live in Salt Lake and we hardly get together because of the 40 miles distance and each of us having 3 little kids who we chauffeur and can’t find the time to meet up in between all our kids’ activities. Then the weekends come and we are busy doing our own things and spending time with our husbands and the kids. I play phone tag constantly with my girlfriends because when I call them, it’s a bad time for them and vice versa. It’s not like motherhood is a scheduled job, it’s constant and there are always surprise accidents, cries, fights, or messes to clean up. I feel like everyone else has best friends already and are not looking for new best friends.  Like everyone is already comfortable where they’re at in the friendship department and not out and looking for a relationship. And I am not the person to just be friends with 100 people on a semi-surface level, I’d rather have 1 true friend who I can count on and rely on, just as much as they do with me. 
So I’ve been trying to get out of my comfort zone and making an effort to make new friends. Or be closer friends with some of the girls I already know. So does this mean I gotta play the game and make myself not too easy? Play hard to get? Haha, no, I am actually pretty forward(which is the opposite of how I was with boys, I had no game & never even talked to them first) with girls I want to get to know and become good friends with, I just straight up say to them, “I think you are so cool and I really like you. Can we hang out more?” It’s worked great so far, you should try it! But just don’t be creepy about it of course, use a little humor and sarcasm so you don’t come off creepy. No one likes creepy stalkers! Well, unless you’re a hot guy, I’ve always said if a guy likes you and is ugly, then he’s labeled a stalker. If he’s good looking, then he’s not a stalker, you are flattered! Am I right or am I right?
So do you feel like you have enough friends? Or do you sometimes feel a like a loner like me? Or in the words of Mindy Kaling, is everyone hanging out without me?
*I was to write about any entertainment topics & tie it into my story and was not asked to mention Odd Mom Out. It’s just a new show I came across on my Tivo and thought you might find the show funny too!

My son's first official haircut

~ Etc.

This was my boy today getting a sucker after his first haircut at a salon & his second haircut in his lifetime. Tears would not stop as I was looking at my little boy and I said to the hair stylist, “I’m not the only mom who cries, right? Or am I?” She assured me I wasn’t the only one.
I had mixed emotions of sadness and happiness(more sadness than happiness) when he was finished until we came home and I kissed the back of his head & said to my daughter, “Ooh, I actually like that his hair is short now, because instead of kissing his hair, I get to kiss his scalp!” “What’s a scalp, mommy?” she asked. “A scalp is the skin on your head.” “Eww mommy, that’s gross. And a little creepy.” Haha, please tell me I’m not the only creepy mother!

Our 4th of July Party is going to explode!!!

~ Etc.

So I was contacted to write about this online fireworks site located in Provo and was to receive part pay and part in products to write this post. Then my husband who is OBSESSED with fireworks told me to ask them if we can receive the ULTIMATE BLOCK PARTY package and no pay in exchange instead and they agreed. I would have went with the original offer of part pay and part products, but man, I am such a good wife. Haha. But seriously, the party package is $1372.50 worth of products!!! Holy cow!!! So Jay and I were contemplating about throwing a 4th of July party but after this, oh, the party is on!!! 
And for once in my lifetime, Jay is super happy I blog! Ha! He went on their website  www.provofireworks.com and told me the prices were actually really good. Jay could spend $1000 on fireworks easy, and he loves to buy fireworks every year for the 4th of July and he said he would definitely buy from them next year and from now on. Jay is actually going to buy fireworks from the site for our party this year, because apparently $1370 worth isn’t enough. I freaked out and he assured me he’s only going to buy small ones for the little kids such as sparklers and poppers and such. Whew.
The store is for online only and it’s free to pick up in Provo or it’s $5 delivery if you live in Utah County. It’s free shipping for Utah County for orders over $100. They also have videos of the actual fireworks you are buying so you know exactly what to expect before buying them! They’re able to give very good prices because they’re not paying for the overhead of a tent, staff member, and a parking lot lease. The owner will give you his phone number, his email address, and even his home address because he stands by his products and if something is wrong, you’ll be able to contact him and he’ll refund you or make it right. Isn’t that awesome? That makes me feel so much better about buying from him since if you were to buy from a tent, you’d never see them again. 
So I am really excited to find out about this wonderful online store for fireworks, and I’ll be telling my family and friends about it, so I thought you might love to know about it too!

Go on their main page and watch the video to get 10% off any bulk packages. 

What are your plans for the 4th of July? B.B.Q? Hosting a party of your own? Any fun family traditions you have? We don’t have any special traditions for this Holiday but I’d love to get some ideas!

Am I done having kids or do I want one more?

~ Etc.

The girls’ scooters and my son’s 3-in-1 scooter are c/o Micro Kickboard. 
My daughters own the Micro Maxi Scooter and my son rides the Micro Mini 3-in-1.
I love having 3 kids. The best thing about having 3 kids? It’s a party all the time. With 2 kids, it was awesome with things under control and well balanced, but I always considered my family a little family of 4, just me and my husband and 2 kids. But with 3 kids, it’s chaotic, busy, overwhelming, but so much fun, rambunctious and it’s a party all the time! I don’t consider my family a small family anymore, oh, it’s way too chaotic to be considered small! 
And depending on the day, I want another child. Today, not so much, Ha! They were so moody today, but so was I! Sometimes I worry my little boy will grow up feeling a little lonely, wishing he had a brother or a sister closer to his age. My two girls are 16 months apart and are best-est friends whose interests are exactly the same. Then when my two girls were 4 and 5 years old, my son was born, so I feel like I need to have another child that’s closer to his age since his sisters are basically twins and so close.
Before my son was born, we got the girls these scooters and my son would just watch them or I’d have to bike around with him since he always wants to play with his sisters and adores them. So we got him this little scooter, and you should have seen the first time he rode around with his sister, he was beaming left and right! He was so happy he was “same same” as his older sisters. And the last picture, he had just learned minutes before that if he lifts up his legs, he can go down fast and he doesn’t have to walk his legs while going down on his scooter! He was so proud of himself. He tries so hard to keep up with his sisters and the girls are so sweet, they always come back around to him to go with him or to wait for him. It makes me feel less guilty that he’s kind of the odd one out and the third-wheel. He’ll be fine being the only boy in the family and having two sisters who are 4 and 5 years older than him, right? He wouldn’t feel left out right? And his sisters will always make sure to include him? I don’t know. It’s something I am constantly debating about. Why can’t we have children without ever going through the pregnancy, the labor & the recovery, breastfeeding and getting practically no sleep for 6 months and all the poopy diapers? I’d have 10 kids if that was the case!
But then I look at these adorable pictures of my cute kids that I am completely obsessed with, and I think to myself, ‘Every single pain and frustrations and hardships I went through to have them and raise them has been worth every single bit and more. And the happiness and the laughter they have brought to my life triumphs all the hardships by ten fold.’ So right when I am thinking I am ready to have another kid, someone spills cocktail sauce on the carpet and two of them get in a fight and start crying……
Do any of you ever debate over whether you’re done having kids or not? What is your dilemma? 

*While the scooters were gifted to us, I was not paid to write my experience with the scooters.