Beauty Wise Wednesday: Nail Polish Review

I want to start experimenting with beauty products but in an affordable way. To keep me motivated I've decided to bring my blog readers along for the ride as I discover new products. **A bit of a disclaimer I am extremely inexperienced with beauty products.** As a teenager I loved doing all my friends make up and hair but as I grew older and started paying for things on my own I discovered how expensive beauty products can be. I got discouraged from trying new things because I would spend the money on a product and then discover I didn't like it and be frustrated that I was out the money. As I move forward in my career and as an adult I realize how important your appearance can be (as shallow as it may sound) so I am going to try and find my own style, while reviewing products on my blog.

My first beauty product review is a simple one. NYC nail polish in 212 Mulberry Street. This is a sparkly nude tone. This nail polish says it claims it will dry in a minute and I have to say it lives up to it's claim. I love that because I have to do my nails between feeding Sloane and with a regular nail polish it would never be dry enough by the time she started getting fussy.

I painted two coats on my nails and then soon after took a shower. Now I will say there was a little bit of marking on my nails from the shower but not nearly as much as a regular polish. I painted a third coat on after my shower and my nails looked flawless. (well as flawless as I can get them) The polish is thin so it will dry quickly and it goes on quite smoothly.  It is a nice light pearl color with just a mild sparkle, which I really like and think would be a great color for any occasion.

The nail polish lasted a week without chipping. I then decided to change my nail color so I'm not sure just how long the polish would last but I'm thinking till it wore off, rather than chipping. The next nail polish I put on wasn't a quick dry and it was a disaster! Sloane of course woke up just as I was getting my nails done. I redid them once she was asleep again, let them dry (or so I thought) and went to bed. When I woke up I had imprints in the polish. Looks like I'll be sticking with the quick dry stuff for now on.

What is your favorite nail polish and why?

Mommy Monday (on Tuesday)

 

To Our Darling Daughter,
         You are now 2 months old. You are 24.5 inches long and weight just over 10lbs. This month has been so exciting to watch you grow. You have started holding your head up really well and you give us the most bright smiles we could ever ask for!
         You celebrated Christmas this month, it was a bit overwhelming for you but you enjoyed seeing all your friends and family. You big gift was from your grandparents; your rocking horse.
         You sleep through the night with only waking a couple times for a quick meal, mommy and daddy are very thankful for this. You also have been awake a lot more during the day which give us plenty play time. You love the play mat you got from Santa.
         You are growing so fast and we are loving to see all your new developments! Can't wait to see all your new things in month three.
                                                                                                     Love you lots
                                                                                                                  Mommy and Daddy

My YouTube Obsession and Vlogs

People usually think that Youtube is just a bunch of random videos and nothing you really would get too attached to. I've learned that YouTube is a little community where people share their lives and interests on daily videos. I have come to find that it is better than TV. Only one "commercial" at the begining of the video and you don't have to wait a whole week for the next episode because most of these people vlog daily.

This past year I have gotten closer to a friend, Ashely, who has introduced me to vlogs on YouTube. I had watched videos on YouTube in the past and had a few channels I followed but never regularly watched. One day when Ashley and I were getting ice cream at Menchies she mentioned that she noticed that I followed Karen Alloy on twitter. She was the first real person I followed and became a subscriber of on YouTube. That led to her suggesting a few other vlogs for me to follow.

Shaytards: This is a man, Shay Carl, and his family (Collette, Sontard, Princesstard, Babytard and Rocktard) who have been vlogging their daily lives for nearly 4 years now. They started in Idaho but have since moved to California and made vlogging into a real buisness. Thay have even co-started at production company named Maker Studios. This family is so fun to watch because they are genuin. They have an amazing family dynamic and they just raise your spirits.



CTFxC: This is a vlog about a newly married couple and how they go about thier daily lives. They have been vlogging for over 4 years now. These two people are so fun to watch, their relationship is so adorable. Charles became the base player in a band called We the Kings the past year and the vlogs have taken you on tour with him in Europe as well as on tour with Warped Tour in the US.






 It's Judy's Life: This is a vlog I just recently started following. It is a couple who lives in the Seattle area and have had a baby girl right around Sloane's age. They are so fun to watch because they both have great personalities. Judy has a beauty channel and her husband has a food/cooking channel. It is also fun to watch a vlog with a baby around Sloane's age to see how their child compares to mine.

A fun part of YouTube and the vloggers is that it is a community. All these vloggers I mentioned also link you to many other vloggers or channels that are fun to watch. The Shaytards and CTFxC have family members that have vlogs and other special interest channels. The possiblity of what I can watch videos of is endless, giving me hours of entertainment while I nurse and pump.

So what kind of YouTube videos do you watch? I am always looking for new vlogs and tutorials or what not to subscribe to.

Sloane's birth story Part 2

This is the second half of my birth story. If you want to read the first half click HERE.

The nurse arrived to take me to my room and we slowly followed her back, stopping once to let a contraction pass. Once we arrived to the room it seemed like everything was flying by. We were asked a bunch of questions, my vital signs were checked and I was hooked up to monitors for my baby's heart rate. While checking in, lunch arrived and the tray looked so good with an amazing looking lemon bar calling my name. I had only eaten a pack of peanut butter crackers so far that day. I so badly wanted to eat it but the nurse strongly suggested I didn't because it was likely I could get nauseous during labor. I sadly agreed not to eat. Once we were checked in I decided I wanted to labor in the tub.

The nurse filled it up and I quickly climbed in and turned on the jets. This tub is the only thing that got me through my labor is believe. The warm water and the jets really helped to relax me. During this time I was also receiving texts from family and friends letting me know they were on their way, I wasn't really able to concentrate on texting back however but Mat was letting me know what they were saying. Linnea was the first to arrive followed by my Grams and then my parents and Kristin were soon after. They all gathered around me in the tub as my contractions were rapidly getting stronger. I remember getting annoyed that they all kept offering their seats to each other and quickly I made a rule that there would be no talking while I was going through a contraction. While in labor I remember yelling "I don't like this" and "I'm so stupid, why didn't I want drugs?" It was hard for me to remember why I was going for an all natural birth while in pain. I wish I could discribe the pain I was in but it was really just a lot of discomfort. They say you forget how much pain it was and I will agree with that. I know it was a lot of pain but I can't really remember what kind of pain it was and so, in a way, I have forgotten how bad it was.  It was nice because Mat was being so supportive and not letting me give into the pain. I thought for sure once I started saying I should have taken drugs that my nurse would have offered them to me, and I would have given in, but she was didn't really make it seem like drugs were an option which was good. I feel like having my birth plan really helped with the way my nurse treated the experance. The headline was; "I'm just dramatic, I'm sure I'm fine." I also stated to not offer me drugs, that if I wanted them I would ask for them. I hear from friends that my nurse was a bit rude, luckily I don't really remember that. I was brought cranberry juice to drink and it was very tasty but quickly the contractions became so strong that I started puking from the pain and I couldn't even keep down ice chips. I was happy that I hadn't eaten that lemon bar earlier. My Dr arrived and started talking to me about my options. She suggested that we could break my water to get the process moving a bit quicker. I was a bit nervous about that so I decided to wait it out a bit longer. By the time my dilation was checked I think I had been in labor for 4 hours. I was at 7-8cm and it seemed like things were progressing pretty well on their own. I climbed back into the tub to make it through the rest of my labor.
I decided I wanted my water broken a little while later so I got the nurse and let her know. They got me back out of the tub and checked me again, I was 9 and 3/4cm so the Dr broke my water and a few minutes later I was pushing. My mom and grams where holding my right leg while Mat was holding my left. Pushing was the hardest part of labor by far, so exhausting having to push so hard. I pushed for 30 minutes total. The last two pushes were the worst, I felt like I was literally ripping in half, I sat up, screamed and nearly jumped off the bed but my Dr grabbed my attention and very firmly told me that I had to push and that it was almost over. With the last push I felt the most amazing relief I've ever felt. There was suddenly no pain just pure relief. When they broke my water they had noticed that Sloane had pooped while still inside me so they had extra nurses in the room in case she was born with issues. As soon as Sloane was out she cried and we knew she was all right! Sloane Lori-Lee Evans was born November 7th, 2012. She was 8lbs 8oz and 21in long. My labor totaled 6 hours (not including the time I spent at home feeling light contractions.) They quickly placed her on my chest for skin to skin while they worked to get out the after birth. Sloane promptly pooped on me, she is quite a poop machine still.

The first few moments after Sloane was born is a bit of a blur after going through so much pain. There is video of me holding her to my chest talking to the Dr about when she should get her ear pierced. (for the record I vote for her getting them when she is around 10 yrs old, as a right of passage.) After getting me all stitched up it was time to start breast feeding. Sloane took to it quite well, and once I was comfortable at what I was doing I let all the rest of my family and friends gather back in my room. It was amazing how many people came for Sloane's birth. I'm so grateful that she has so many people that love her. I was especially excited that Mat's aunt from California was able to make it up here for the birth.

I'm so proud of myself for making it through an all natural child birth. I hasn't known that is what I wanted until I was pregnant. It just felt right to, I don't know, earn my child. Like people say the best things in life you have to work for. Now onto the best adventure of my life. I can't wait to see who our beautiful daughter will grow up to be.

Sloane's Birth Story Part 1

I had been waiting to go into labor for what seemed like months. I was put on bed rest at 28 weeks for being at risk for going into pre-term labor. It seemed ever since then I had been waiting for our little one to arrive. I wanted her to make her appearance before Halloween because it would have been so much fun to celebrate with her. Well November 6th, 2012 arrived, her due date, and she still was no where to be seen. I felt like I might have been having contractions, I hadn't really felt any during my pregnancy thus far, but being a first time mom I really had no idea what labor felt like. I went to my regularly scheduled Dr appointment at noon. Told my Dr that I thought I had been feeling contractions, hoping that she would just send me to the hospital that day. She checked me and saw that I was dilated to 4cm (I had been dilated this much for about a week or so already). She hooked me up to monitors and saw I was having contractions but they weren't very strong or very regular so she sent me on my way. I was determined to go into labor after trying a bunch of old wives tales already. Mat and I headed straight to our favorite Thai restaurant, Chantanee. We ordered or regular; Heavenly Beef, with the full 5 stars (spicy foods are said to bring on labor). Sadly no real improvement in my contractions so we headed to Bellevue Square Mall to walk around. I think we walked every inch of the mall and I thought my contractions were getting a bit stronger but still no real pain. I wanted to be able to just go back to the Dr's office but it didn't seem like the time so we headed back to our house to rest. I was on edge cause I knew something was happening but it just didn't seem like enough to call the Dr about. Much to my dismay any pain I had been feeling faded as we relaxed at home. Seems it was all just from the exhaustion of walking so much, so we headed to bed. Around 4am I woke up feeling more pressure than before but still no pain. I decided to get up and move to the living room to let Mat sleep and see if it was possible to time the contractions. The first few hours they weren't really regular but as time passed the pressure seemed to come anywhere between every 2 to 4 minutes. I was pretty excited once Mat finally woke up but still pretty sceptical because I wasn't in pain and everyone who had talked to me had said "You will know you are in labor. it will hurt!" but after a full hour of contractions coming every 3 or so minutes I called the Dr's office and they instructed me to come into their office to be monitored.

We arrived at the office around 10:30am November 7th, 2012. Upon seeing me my Dr said "You don't look like your in enough pain to be in labor" I'm pretty sure she had made up her mind then that I wasn't going to the hospital that day. She checked my cervix once again and I was still at 4cm. I was once again hooked up to monitors. While we sat there my contractions were becoming more and more painful to where I had to stop what I was doing till they passed. My Dr still wasn't convinced and was talking about sending me home. I told her the problem with that was I wouldn't be sure when real labor had started if what I was going through wasn't it cause I already felt a good amount of pain and pressure. She said she would check my cervix one more time to see if I had gotten any closer to the 5cm I needed to be sent over to the hospital. As she was checking me she said that I still hadn't gotten all the way to 5cm but if I really felt like I needed to go to the hospital she would "fib" for me when she called the hospital to tell them I was heading over. Her final words as I left to head to the hospital were "make sure to look like your in pain so I don't look bad for sending you over." I was relieved to be finally heading to the hospital. Mat and I slowly walked through the underground tunnel that attached my Dr's office with the hospital. We did have to stop a couple of times to let contractions pass. We arrived at the hospital and they called up a nurse for me. As we waited I was texting all of my friends and family, and calling my mom. This was it, I was finally being admitted to the hospital.