Life is Beautiful

Motherhood, Sewing, Family

My son loves his daddy more than me

~ Etc.

It’s the hard truth.  My son loves his daddy so much.  So much that as soon as daddy walks in the door after work, he runs up to dad with the biggest smile on his face and then never leaves him.  Literally.  He will be right by his dad the rest of the night until he falls asleep.  It’s cute and all and I am glad they have this father-son bond, but I will be lying if I say I’m not a little sad that he’s not a mama’s boy.  
A couple months ago when it was that time of the month, I cried one morning after Jay left to work and my son was crying by the door and wanted nothing to do with me.  How could he do this to me?  I’m so nice to him!  I take care of him all day, clean up his messes all day, cook for him and feed him and play with him and make sure he’s happy!  So I did what any mature mother would do- I was mad at him for an hour or two.  I withheld affection from him and while I was nice and kind, I wasn’t kissing his cheeks every second like I usually do or giving him hugs or giving him big smiles and giggles and playing with him.  I took care of him, fed him, cleaned him, held him when I needed to but I wasn’t ogling after him and being obsessed like I usually am.  He and I both took a nap together and when I woke up, I realized how immature that was and went right back to ogling him and kissing him all over and squishing his cheeks.  Because no matter who he loves more, I cannot control how much I love this boy!
So while I do sometimes wish he was a mama’s boy and only wanted me sometimes, I am so grateful for his relationship with his dad.  They have such a solid, tight relationship and I think it is the most adorable thing in the world to watch.  And can I really blame my son? Jay is such a fun and sweet dad, I would want to be with him all the time too!  I love my two boys.  So so much.  And I’m so glad they have each other. 

Nioxin Review

~ Etc.

Anyone else experience hair loss after having babies? I know I have.  So I participated in reviewing the NIOXIN Challenge to see if it would work on me as a member of One2One Network. I received compensation for my time but as always, the opinions are 100% my own.  Spoiler: I didn’t like it.

Thinning hair affects men and women of all ages. The cause is often genetic, and can also be triggered by certain life stages. Addressing thinning begins with understanding what causes and contributes to it, and the early warning signs to look out for. More info available here. (Genetics, Nutrition and diet, Stress and trauma, Health issues, Medication, Environmental factors, and Postpartum)
My Hair isn’t considered thick by any means and is more on the thin to average side. I have always wished I had fuller, thicker hair and envied the people that do! But I have never used any products that give your hair volume, I am very low maintenance and don’t like spending a lot of time getting ready so simpler the better for me. For example, I was recently given a fiber mascara to try but you have to put on 3 coats and I said forget it! My make-up literally takes me 1:27 seconds total, I counted it(powder on my nose, blush, eyebrow liner, curl my eyelashes and put on one coat of mascara. If I want to be more dressed up, I put on pink lipstick sometimes which will add about 12 seconds ;). I have only had my nails done one time in my whole life which was for my wedding day. I don’t use anything on my hair, just blow dry. And a curling iron once in a while to curl my hair.

Before using NIOXIN:
After using NIOXIN for 30 days:

The Nioxin products was pretty low maintenance which I liked. It’s a 3-part system kit that includes a shampoo, conditioner and a scalp treatment you put a dab on your hair after you towel dry your hair and style as usual. I wish the conditioner came in a bigger quantity because I ran out of conditioner way before I was even 1/2 way done with the shampoo and the scalp treatment. I do like using a good amount of conditioner on my hair and my hair is long, so maybe that’s why? I didn’t really notice a change in my thickness after using the products. Looking back at pictures, I guess it did make my hair look fuller a little bit, but it wasn’t enough for me to really notice it in person. I did notice my hair looked duller and less shiny which I did not appreciate. I would rather personally have a shinier, thinner hair than voluminous and dry, dull hair. So would I buy this and use it for myself? No. Would I recommend it to my family and friends? Probably not. It might work for other people’s hair so it’s not a definite no but I wouldn’t rave about it to my friends and tell them they have to get it. And that is my honest opinion.
Nioxin does guarantee that you’ll have fuller, thicker hair after using it for 30 days but if you’re not satisfied with the results, they’ll give you 100% money back. So I guess there’s nothing to lose in trying it out for yourself, it just might work for you, who knows? It seems more often than not, people do notice fuller, thicker hair using it and it just didn’t happen to work on me.  And I am giving one away so you seriously have nothing to lose!
We are giving away One NIOXIN hair system kit that’s a $44 value to one lucky winner! This giveaway is open to US only and the giveaway ends on March 25th. The winner can choose one system kit out of 6 that are available(according to your needs and hair history). You can use the NIOXIN’s online consultation tool to find which System Kit best fits your needs: http://www.nioxin.com/en-US/consultation-tool-page.aspx Each system addresses three key factors that are crucial in understanding and treading the appearance of thinning hair: [1] scalp and hair environment, [2] the role of hair health, and [3] the change of hair structure over time.
To enter the giveaway, simply fill out the rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

$3500 Albion Fit Retreat Giveaway

~ Etc.

HUGE GIVEAWAY! Have you heard about the @albionfit retreat, SOULSTICE? We are giving away one lucky winner and her BFF a trip to this amazing retreat at the 5 star @steinlodge each valued at $3500. You’ll begin your retreat with a welcome basket that will blow you away(ifit, arvo, salt of the earth & more), an Albion Apparel gift card for a weekend’s worth of premium fitness, swims, and loungewear, @awakenretreats will be teaching reformer pilates, anti-gravity, barre classes, SUP yoga in a crater, and special guests teaching oil painting, photography, lectures by Melissa Hartwig and Stephanie Nielsen, and enjoy exquisite cuisine with fresh, local ingredients hand crafted by America’s fines chefs. Doesn’t it sound amazing?!! To enter: Go on my Instagram post: https://instagram.com/p/0Y2ye3ryim/ and follow @albionfit @steinlodge and @awakenretreats and @sarahtyau, tag your BFF. That’s it. For a bonus entry, repost this post and tag @soulsticeretreat. Relax, recharge,refocus, retreat. GOOD LUCK! PS Early bird pricing available NOW at soulsticeretreat.com.
RELAX. RECHARGE. REFOCUS. RETREAT. For 4 days, and 3 nights, immerse yourself in one of the world’s most pristine mountain settings at the exclusive, Forbes 5 star, Stein Eriksen Resort and Spa in Deer Valley, Utah.  Begin your retreat with a welcome basket, brimming with fabulous fitness and beauty gadgets and accessories. Enjoy an AlbionApparel gift card for a weekend’s worth of premium fitness, swims, and loungewear. Exercise your body under the watchful care of Awaken Retreat instructors, industry-leading professionals available around the clock to help you set fitness goals and create a plan to achieve them. Create your own schedule from a broad selection of fitness activities: Start your day with a sunrise Vinyasa atop a mountain overlook at 9,000 feet. Sign up for daily pilates reformer classes with hands on instruction. Experience weightlessness for the first time in aerial yoga, gracefulness in a barre class, or hit the mountainside in an adrenaline-boosting trail run.  Alongside elite fitness classes, Soulstice also offers a wide variety of intellectual and soulful workshops, providing experiences and memories to take with you beyond the retreat. Have fun with new friends learning healthy eating tips from a New York Time’s best selling author, taken an oil-painting workshop and create a landscape portrait to hang on a wall at home, or learn how to use natural light from a professional photographer.  In your free time, take hot air balloon ride over the Wasatch mountains, go horse-back riding on aspen-laden trails, or pamper yourself at the 5 star spa and get a 90 minute, hot stone massage. Enjoy exquisite cuisine with fresh, local ingredients hand crafted by America’s finest artisanal chefs and shop on Park City’s historical Main Street.  At Soulstice, your time is yours, to spend as you please.

Sunday Best surprise

~ Etc.

You guys, can you believe it?  My very first Sunday Best post where it’s not within 10 ft. proximity of my house!  Now, don’t give my husband too much credit just yet, there’s no way he would ever agree to go to another location just to take my Sunday Best pictures, after we came home from church, we decided the weather was so nice we should go somewhere like the duck pond!  So I brought my camera and Jay while sighing agreed to take quick pictures for me.  After he snapped some pictures of me in a sidewalk, he said, “Okay, we’re good now right?  Let’s go home.”  And I gently pointed to the benches and said how I wanted to take pictures over there too.  Then he said, “What? We took enough pictures already, why do you need to go somewhere else?  Fine, then hurry up.”  Hahaha, oh men…. or more like oh, my husband.  

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Christmas Without Presents

~ Etc.

many presents we donated are not pictured, but look at these great stuff!
Look at the snow outside!  We woke up to a White Christmas!

the beautiful Christmas tree by King of Christmas.
Like I told you guys on the Christmas 2013 post, ever since I was 16, I dreamed of having a Christmas without any presents.  I was 16 when I read an article in a LDS magazine for youth about a family who spent all the Christmas money they would have spent on themselves to buy presents for an orphanage and dropped off all the wrapped gifts on the front door before ringing the doorbell and  running away. The author was not excited at the time of the prospect of no presents but after hiding in the bushes and seeing the children’s faces light up when they opened the door, she said she felt so much joy and that Christmas ended up being her most favorite Christmas of all time.  I was so touched when I read that story and promised myself that I would do that one day when I had a future family of my own.  That I wasn’t going to do it just once, but to make it a family tradition every several years. 
So after much coaxing, my husband was on board with me!  He loves, loves, loves spoiling me and the kids with presents and surprises, so it was really really hard for him.  But after telling him how it was my childhood dream and how much I wanted to do it, he agreed that he would do it this time and THIS TIME ONLY! This will be the first and the last year we would ever do such a ridiculous thing.  Haha.  Well, we will see about that! 😉  We also told our family and relatives to not get presents for us but to donate for our cause(I sent them a list of possible ideas), or just skip us for Christmas, but at the last minute I did change my mind and told our parents that they could get a present for our kids(but not for me or Jay) since we all met up at my parents’ house afterwards to open presents and the thought of our kids just sitting there while they watched all their cousins open presents was a bit too sad for us.  
The main reason why I wanted to do this was because I didn’t want my kids to automatically associate Christmas with getting presents, making a Santa’s wish list and all the materialistic things.  Because that is not what Christmas is about.  Christmas is the opposite, it’s all about giving.  And sacrificing.  Because that’s what Jesus did.  All he did was give and sacrifice when he was on this earth.  And we are celebrating his birthday so we should give a present to him.  That is what it’s all about.  And the best present we could give him is our choice, our free agency to choose the right.  To serve and help others.  To love others.  To do good to others.  When you think about it, God gave us everything we have.  Every single experience, possession, wealth, happiness, it is all because God had given it to us.  So what do you give to someone who has everything in the universe and has the power to get everything he wants?  Our agency to choose the right.  Because that is one thing he can’t take away from us.  That is one thing he cannot control.  It is the only gift we could give him that is not his.
So now that my two oldest kids are old enough to understand, and I didn’t want them to associate Christmas=presents for themselves and what they want to get, I wanted them to associate Christmas=Jesus Christ. Celebrating his birthday by giving to others.  Because what we do to others is just as what we do to him.  
I am aware that it’s mid-March and I am posting our Christmas day post just now.  I kind of wanted the Holiday season to be completely over before posting, because I didn’t want people to think this was a big deal and I didn’t want to draw too much attention over this. I personally believe in doing good without people knowing and doing it in secret.  To me, that is the true spirit of giving.  Some people give in front of other people for the sake of gaining respect or attention, and that is just not the right way to go.  You should give to others because you want to help them.  You shouldn’t have a motive to boast to others what a good person you are, or to gain attention. I wanted to keep this a secret and never blog about it, but last year on that Christmas post, I promised that I would keep my readers updated so I have to keep my word. The second reason is because I thought it’d be great to contact the companies I’ve worked with in the past and ask for donations! I was always the one receiving gifts from companies for myself, but I thought it would be great to have them donate for me to give to the people in need. And I realize there’s something they need to receive in return, so I promised them that I would list the companies and credit them. It was fun getting gifts using our own money, but I knew I could give to more people if I had the companies donating as well.
Anyway, so on Christmas Eve, we wrapped up all the gifts and put it aside, and we put one present under the Christmas tree that was for us, and one present for each of our kids that was from Santa, that they got to open but they knew they’d be donating their gifts to others.  The present we got to keep was a picture of Jesus Christ with a scripture of John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  Kinda cheesy? Haha, I love it!  Then we watched a video about Jesus’s life on earth and focused on the Atonement.  It was a short 5 min, video and that was it!  Short and sweet(It was also neat that a Christmas video our LDS church made for Christmas 2014 couldn’t have fit our Christmas better!  I thought that was really cool).
Then the fun part began, we started delivering the gifts.  I wanted to donate to orphanages but to my dismay, there are no orphanages in UT! So we selected people in our community who were struggling(by word of mouth, we had random people’s input into our selection). I wanted to doorbell ditch so they wouldn’t see what we looked like, but I wanted my kids to experience the happiness that comes from giving and seeing the person’s face light up, so we rang the doorbell, said Merry Christmas, handed them the gifts and left.  We then went to my parents’ house to spend Christmas with our cousins and family.  It was the best Christmas yet.  And I can’t wait to do it again in 4 years, right Jay? 😉
Much thanks to Blendtec for donating a blender, thank you to Solly Baby for donating two baby wraps, thank you to Provo Beach Resort for donating a $15 giftcard, thank you to Blickenstaff’s for donating an Angry Birds game, thank you to Malawaii’s Pizza for donating a $30 giftcard, and Freshly Picked for donating a pair of moccasins.  I hope you know that your donations made someone’s Christmas day.