Spaphile presents Wine & Spa at Fifty Seven Degrees

A few weeks ago my friend, Joann, sent me an invite to a Wine and Spa event. As soon as I saw these two words together I knew I wanted to go. Then she mentioned that I would also have a chance to meet some wonderful ladies she knew and I RSVPed right away. You see I'm finally starting to realize how important it is to network and get my name out there.

Yes, my blog is a personal family blog but I also like to have input and comments when I have a question or need help with a solution to a parenting (or life) problem. I have known for a while that while I or one of my friends might not know the answer there are a LOT of people out there who may. Plus I also want to learn more about blogging, networking and branding so that I can improve my blogging skills not only for this blog and my food blog but for the blog I run for my husband's cousin.

You see, I really like this blogging thing. I LOVE to get out and socialize and "getting out" doesn't always mean getting in the car and driving to meet people. I can stay home with the kids and still play with my friends at the same time. So with all that being said I was very excited to attend this Spaphile event at 57 Degrees wine bar. I made plans to leave the kids with Grandma since the hubs was at Comic Con, threw on some chap stick and headed out to have some fun.

The lovely Heather of Baby Bump & Beyond - Photo Courtesy of Laura Lohr

When I first got to the event I checked my email first and found out that Joann would have to miss the event. Ok... now what do I do. I was on my own for a bit. So I made the most of it and grabbed a glass of wine and then signed up for all of the mini-services being offered. Let me tell you I was very excited to have a few of these things done. Not only did they have one masseuse chair, they had two. And I could sign up for a chair massage at both! So that's what I did.

Stephanie Lee of Stephanie Lee Massage was there and not only did she do a wonderful chair massage, she also scented the cover she used for the face pillow so the whole time I was being massaged I would breathe in these wonderful scents. Oh it was heaven in 5 minutes! Definitely something this tired mama needed to keep her going! The glass of wine might have helped with the relaxation too but we'll talk about that later...

Heather, Me, Mandy, Kari and Ali - Photo Courtesy of Laura Lohr

After my first massage I got a facial cleanse from ASerenity and an eye treatment. Basically they take a rotating brush with some cleanser and the brush moves around your face allowing for a deeper penetration of the product. And the eye cream made me feel fresh and hydrated. They even gave me a sample of the cleanser (Vital C by Image Skincare) to try at home. How awesome is that?

Once my face was all hydrated and the kinks in my neck were taken care of I made my way over to The Beauty Bar's booth for some hair care. When asked by Desiree what I was looking for I said to do anything. And she turned my hair into a gorgeous updo of curls and tangles. I think it took her all of 15 minutes to make me look even better than I did on my wedding day. I really want to go back and get my hair done for some fun special occasion whenever should occasion come about. I'm hoping to have some good pictures of the back of my hair soon :)

After I got my hair done it was time for some mingling. I had seen another mama friend I met at Signs class and went to find her. After a bit of talking we decided to grab another glass of wine. This is where the fun began. When we went up to the bar to order there was hardly any room to squeeze in and grab a bartender. So we had to lean in a bit and talk in between two people (they weren't together, there was a chair empty in between them). I asked to order a glass of the wine I had before and he immediately asked for all of our IDs. Not a problem, we all got them out and showed him we were well above the legal limit. Then I told him what I wanted again and he replied back that they were all out of it but were subbing something else. Fine, we'd go with that. We're easy.

And then the woman next to us made some snide comment about us watching our volume (later I found out she was just playing words with friends on her phone... why be so rude when we weren't even interrupting a conversation and it was obviously impossible for us to order any other way) and the bartender replied back to her with something the two of them laughed about. Fun. Not only are they out of the good stuff, the bartender has a bit of an attitude as well.

Then when he told us our total we paid. Separately. Because we wanted to order separately but the guy just didn't want to listen to us. Or help us much for that matter. After I gave him my money I told the ladies I was going to sit down to wait for my next service. I gave him more than the total so he could keep the change as a tip. My friend came back and gave me my change explaining that if he was going to have that hard of a time helping us and if he was going to share rude comments about us with his customer then he wasn't too worth of a tip. I felt bad for a split second (I have never not given a tip before...) and than went on chatting with the girls I had met in between all of this.

We chatted a bit and sipped our wine before it was my turn to get some airbrushed color on my eyes (again by The Beauty Bar). After my makeup was done I got to know a few of the gals who sat down with us. And they ended up being part of a Mommy Blogging group that I joined online. How awesome! I got to meet them anyway. For a few more pictures of the event check out Laura's post on the event here. After a bit I was starting to get hungry so we braved the bar again to order some food. And we thought we were in luck. The other bartender was coming over to help us. Then he gave us a menu and left. Leaving our favorite bartender to help us again. And there was no denying the disdain in his voice. He did not care for us at all. What fabulous service!


As the girls and I chatted we indulged in some yummy focaccia bread with different fun toppings. The last service I received was an eyebrow shaping by the amazing Josue. Seriously... my brows haven't looked this good in a while. I have to come to him for all my eyebrow waxing needs in the future! I forgot how fun it is to look so put together. And if you head to The Beauty Bar make sure to ask for him! They're also having a happy hour event in August that I'll post more info for soon. 

So to make a long story short I am truly grateful and thankful to Spaphile for putting on this great event! I really needed a night out with the girls to relax and indulge in a bit of adult conversation. And while I wish I had better things to say about the service at 57 Degrees, the wine and food were great.

*** To any of my local mamas who are interested in getting a $1 off Pretzel Crisps purchase please email me and we'll get in touch! These coupons expire at the end of the month so I want to get them all out this week ***

Last NASA Shuttle Launch

Today is a sad day in our household. I honestly never thought this day would come in my lifetime and hope that this isn't really the end. Today is the last NASA space shuttle launch. So please tune in to watch this historic event! There is a possibility that due to weather it will be postponed. I'll be watching with Ethan and Molly.

A good friend of mine, Helene, has written (in colaboration with a few others) a few tributes to this last launch. Check them out on GeekMom. She also has another cool project under wraps to come out soon so I'm sure I'll be mentioning her in the future.

A Typical Sibling Moment

My two beautiful children love spending time together. Even if it's just hanging out on the couch watching Saturday morning cartoons and eating breakfast/playing.

My little imagineer!

E didn't have a train big enough to fit all of his Where The Wild Things Are stuffed toys so he imagined up a train big enough... what do you think?

I asked if I could get a picture of him with his train

This is what he gave me when I asked him to smile.

And his reaction to me asking for a real smile :)

A close up of the bunch!

If You Give A Mom A Muffin

A friend of mine shared this with me and I thought it too cute (and true) to pass up so I wanted to pass it on...

If You Give A Mom A Muffin

If you give a Mom a muffin, she’ll want a cup of coffee to go with it.

She’ll pour herself some. Her three year old will spill the coffee. She’ll wipe it up.

Wiping the floor, she’ll find dirty socks. She’ll remember she has to do laundry.

When she puts the laundry in the washer, she’ll trip over boots and bump into the freezer.

Bumping into the freezer will remind her she has to plan for supper.

She will get out a pound of hamburger. She’ll look for her cook book (101 things to do with a pound of hamburger)

The cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail. She will see the phone bill, which is due tomorrow.

She will look for her checkbook.The check book is in her purse that is being dumped out by her two year old.

She’ll smell something funny. She’ll change the two year old’s diaper.

While she is changing the diaper, the phone will ring. Her five year old will answer and hang up.

She’ll remember she wants to phone a friend for coffee.

Thinking of coffee will remind her that she was going to have a cup.

And chances are, if she has a cup of coffee, her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.


Original Author Unknown*

* If you know who originated this please let me know and I'll be more than happy to give them credit!

I love autocorrect...

Cousins - Friends for Life

Cousin A came over yesterday to play with E for a bit before naptime. Grandma Ann is on vacation this week so she took A for the day. E was sooo happy that his cousin was coming over to play. He LOVES playing with his cousin and asks to go to his house just about every other day. So when we can get the boys together I know he has a good time.

E didn't really care much for the wagon but enjoyed pulling his sister and cousin around the neighborhood. Too bad he couldn't pull them forward, he just pushed them backwards. Grandma had to take over after a few steps.

Cousin A told Grandma Ann that he loves holding babies. I guess that includes Miss M. I don't think she minded either. She just quietly looked around the whole time shew as in his arms enjoying the ride.

 

Do you know how hard it is to get three kids to look at you at the same time? This was the only picture out of about 20 that they all looked at the camera. Miss M surprised me and was looking at the camera for every shot! Too bad this is the one shot that was the least flattering for her. But they're all looking!!

3 Years to Complete 30x30

Since it's my birthday today and I'm now 3 years shy of my 30th birthday today I thought it'd be fun to write down a list of 30 things I'd love to accomplish or do before the big 3-0. As I do each thing I'll update the list and check things off... So here's my 30 things to accomplish before I'm 30:

Cooking/Baking:
1. Donuts (purchased a donut cutter) 
2. Bagels
3. Frosted Sugar Cookies
4. Pita Bread
5. Take an ethnic foods cooking class

Travel:
6. Go to New York City
7. Go to Vegas
8. Go to Hawaii
9. Staycation in San Diego
10. Take the kids to to Washington (to make my mom happy :))
11. Take the kids to South Dakota to visit family

Health/Fitness:
12. Lose 70lbs and reach my goal weight (Lost 30 lbs)
13. Work out 3 times a week every week for at least 30 minutes a day (joined the YMCA)
14. Eat at least 5 fruits and veggies a day (started)
15. Consume at least 80oz of water a day (started)

Relationships:
16. Date Night at least once a month with the hubs - even w/ the kids present (started)
17. Girls Night at least once a month (can be included with bunco/game night) (started)
18. Call my mom at least twice a month (this can be reciprocal!)
19. Start to call friends instead of just using social media
20. Start to write letters to friends and family more often

Sewing/Crafts: 
21. Sew an apron (started)
22. Make curtains
23. Make a dress for Molly (started)
24. Make flannel pajama pants for the kids
25. Learn more crochet patterns

Other:
26. Do more volunteer work
27. Re-vamp the food and personal blog (maybe hire a blog designer) 
28. Own a grown up wardrobe (i.e. get clothes tailored and only buy what fits properly!)
29. Take more classes on photography
30. Buy more camera equipment

Any suggestions on where to start? Do you have a list of things you want to accomplish by a certain point in your life? Share with me!

The New 'Do

So it's done! I got my hair cut and had a fabulous time too. Debbie is always such a pleasure to work with. Seriously... she's awesome. Not only does she know my hair she also can suggest ways of using my inspiration and turning it into something that will work for my hair type and my face/body/lifestyle.

I told her exactly what I wanted. A short cut that I could still put in a small pony tail. I wanted to be able to either wash and air dry OR style curly or straight. And she looked at the pictures I posted, chose two to combine/go with (#2 and #4) based on my hair type. I also told her what Joseph said since he was super worried we'd go to short and she took that into consideration as well.

Here's a before (shot minutes before I left with no styling whatsoever... just a quick brush):

Before

And here's the after:

After - Back

After - Front

I love it. When I wash and let it dry natural it'll be about an inch and a half shorter. I was worried it wasn't short enough but she reminded me that she blow dried it straight so it is showing more length. Plus she knew that keeping that extra inch plus would please Joseph. As she said, "Men like feminine and long hair is more feminine to them." This is exactly how Joseph thinks!

The best part about it is that if I don't like the length (want to go shorter) or want more layers I just call Debbie up and come in for a touch up so I'm completely happy with the cut. What other hairstylist would be this dedicated to their art? Seriously... if you need a new hairstylist go to Debbie!

And in the near future Debbie will be on Facebook and Twitter so I'll be able to link pictures of her work soon!

It's Time For A Change!

In hairstyles that is! Today's the day I get my locks chopped. And if I have enough length I'm going to donate them to Locks of Love so another person can enjoy this beautiful hair.

Below are a few styles I am looking at. I'll show them to my hairstylist (the fabulous Debbie Levie of Summer Salon in Little Italy). I really want a cut that will be fine if I just let air dry and hairbrush as well as something I can either curl or straighten and still achieve a nice look. My hair is hard though... it can be frizzy at times and has wave AND curl (curly underneath and wavy or straight on top). But I have faith in Debbie and her skills :)

More pictures to come later today of the results...

"That Kid"

So my two year old was "that kid" on the playground yesterday. You know... the kid who BITES other kids who try and take what he's playing with? Yeah, that kid. And I was totally judged for it.

E has recently taken to hitting, kicking and pinching other kids. Sometimes because they take something from him, other times for no apparent reason at all. I've been told it's their age. I pray he grows out of it fast... 

Whenever this happens and I catch it (or am told about it) I react the same way. I tell him he cannot hit/kick/pinch/bite his friends and that because he did so he has to sit on time out. I give him a 60 second time out in which I count to 60 while he sits down in a time out area away from other kids. After the time out is over I explain to him again why he was on time out and tell him he has to say sorry to the person he hurt. He usually does this with no prompting other than for me to tell him to say sorry and even adds a hug in the end (if he hurts Joseph or me he usually kisses the place that got hurt).

So yesterday we were at the zoo and E was playing at the Children's Zoo playground. A few minutes earlier a child kicked him in the face. He started crying but I couldn't quite get to him since I had Molly in my arms and he was up in the play structure. Another mom assured me her husband was up there and would bring him to me. Thank God for the help of other parents! Turns out the mom and dad helping us out were also the mom and dad of the little girl who kicked E.

I consoled him, asked him what happened and he just said "knee hurt" so I kissed it hugged him a bit more and let him go on his way. A few seconds later I see a little girl run up to our stroller and say "sorry baby" and than I heard her father say "I think it was our daughter who kicked your son, she'd like to say sorry." I told him it wasn't a problem, and called E over so the little girl could apologize. I than looked at her mom and said, "It's totally the age, no big deal."

Then a few minutes later I heard a scream in Ethan's area. He was playing with a periscope type toy that swiveled and a little boy had put his arms and body in between E and the toy trying to take a turn. I guess my child decided at that moment that he may be a cannibal and just went in for the bite. The mother of the child raced over and I walked over as well. The little boy cried out that E bit him and sure enough there was a bite mark on his arm.

I picked E up out of the area and told him that we didn't bite other children and that he needed to go on time out and apologize to the little boy and that after that we had to go home because we don't bite other children at the zoo. I apologized to the mother before I went to take E to a quiet spot. She than proceeded to give me ugly stares while getting out her antibacterial wipes to wipe the superficial "wound". As soon as 60 seconds were up E raced over and said "I sorry, no bite" to the little boy and than said "hug?" and hugged him.

We packed everything up and headed to the exit. The whole time we packed up to leave the mom (and her mommy friends) gave me dirty looks. I don't understand that. Her kid had to be either the same age or older. Hadn't she experienced this in some way or another before? I'm pretty darn sure that my kid isn't the only one who bites/kicks/hits other kids at this age and I'm also pretty sure it wasn't a malicious act. Your kid was trying to take something from my kid. And yes, my kid should share but still... it's the age!

I don't understand the nasty, blatant judgment. Sure it wasn't verbal but the reaction to the situation and the glances I received definitely showed her opinion of me and my child. When another child hurts my kid I try my best to not show my initial reaction because more likely than not it's not very nice. Sure, in the heat of the moment, I think bad things since they just hurt my child but they're kids! If it was a 5 year old beating up on a two year old, that's one thing. But it's usually the 2-3 year age group that my child hangs out with so we all kinda know that this happens.

So how would you react? How have you reacted in the past? Did I do something wrong? I really don't think I did in either situation.

Enjoying Dessert

Ya think he enjoyed the smores I made the other night?

Spreading the Love

Got my first unprompted kiss last night from E as he was going to bed. And then this morning got my first unprompted "lub you, Momma"! Swoon... I think my heart is now a puddle of goo.

Then E may or may not have gone up to Scout right after talking to me and kissed him and told him "lub you, Scout!"... Sigh...

2 Weeks Already!

I cannot believe that little Miss is two weeks already. Seriously... where does the time go? She's just fit in perfectly into our little family. It's like she's always been here. Well, at least it's like that for me. E seems to be in love with her and so is Joseph but I'm not quite sure how well E is taking things since he seems to be acting up a bit more. That could also just be him entering the life of a 2 year old (Oh my gosh! He'll be two in two months!!).

M is doing great though. She's gaining weight like a champ. At her 1 week check up she was 5oz above her birth weight. She seems to be eating great as well. She's also sleeping! Which every parent loves in a newborn. She gives me a four hour stretch and two three hour stretches at night. And once she gave me two four hour stretches in a row!

We still aren't sure on her hair color. Some is brown (dark and light), other patches have blond and even some red tint to it. But one thing is for sure... she has blue eyes. At least for now :)

She's super strong just like her brother. She wanted to hold her head up on day 2 and is pretty good at getting it where she wants to be. She leads her body with her head if she wants to roll down to eat or go from her side to her belly.  She seems to love hearing her brother's voice and sometimes it calms her down better than I can. He goes to her when she cries and says, "It's ok, Molly! Ok!" Makes my heart melt every time. I cannot wait to watch them grow up together :)

Zoo Outing with Daddy - in pictures

Sharing the Deals

A few "internet friends" shared the Amazon Mom program with me and I couldn't NOT share with my other internet friends :) And even though I use cloth diapers (and soon to be cloth wipes) I'm sure this will help some mommas out! Moms (and any other caregivers ) can join for FREE here.

Benefits:

Amazon Mom members receive exclusive discounts on a variety of products and categories. Discounts and promotions will be e-mailed to your Amazon.com e-mail account or made available on the Amazon Mom membership page at www.amazon.com/mom. Benefits include:
• 30% off select diapers and wipes: As an Amazon Mom, you receive an additional 15% discount on top of the standard 15% discount on Subscribe & Save when you sign up for Subscribe & Save delivery. Subscribe & Save shipping is always free, and you can change your delivery schedule or cancel at any time. No fees, no risks, no obligations.
• FREE 2-day shipping with Amazon Prime: When you join Amazon Mom, you will receive FREE Two-Day Shipping with Amazon Prime for the first 3 months of your membership. For each $25 you spend within a single order in the Baby store, we’ll grant you an additional month of Amazon Prime shipping benefits. You can earn up to one year from the date you joined Amazon Mom.


To sign-up, visit the Amazon Mom sign-up page at www.amazon.com/mom. Once you submit the sign-up form, you'll receive an e-mail confirmation.

Original blog post found on Living on Love and Cents

Miranda's Visit

E's godmother has been in town for the past two weeks so we've spent some quality time with her. On our first meet up at Balboa Park we got a few pictures together with her and Meghan/Sophie.

We had a great picnic and some good walking/talking time too!

Changes

So I'm thinking of changing up a few things around here... I was considering blending my cooking blog with this blog and highlighting a recipe of the week instead of blogging all of the new recipes I make. I'll switch it up... baked goods one week, savory dinners the next, and maybe a few fun breakfasts and restaurant reviews as well.

I was also thinking of doing different reviews. On products we use, items we buy and places/hotels we go.

Good idea? Would this be something you'd enjoy reading about? Of course I'd throw in cute pictures of E and would still blog about our adventures but I thought this might be fun to start doing!

Big Boy Room Almost Finished!

We're almost done with E's big boy room! We just need to get a few prints on the wall, hang a shelf and get a dresser to match his bed. Sooo exciting to watch it all fall into place.



This weekend we went to Costco and got this great organizer for all of E's toys. Everything (including toys from the living room and soft books) fit into these bins.



When we get the shelf up we'll put the sail boat bank, Dream sign & evening prayer on it. I loved Joseph's ideas of putting E's books on top of the organizer so we're going to search for some cool book ends to keep the books off. We also need to find a cute lamp for reading bed time stories. His room light is too bright!



We're replacing this dresser (used to be Joseph's before we upgraded our bedroom set) with a dresser that matches E's bed. It will most likely go where the chair below is placed (tall vs. wide). We will then move the organizer to the wall where the dresser is currently.



We will also be getting new closet doors for E's room, the front bedroom and our hallway. Daddy wants to get shaker style doors in alder (meaning he'll have to replace the trim w/ alder as well!). If he wants to he has the green light from me...

Eventually we will put hardwood in all of the bedrooms and the hallway. Daddy still isn't sure if this will happen before or after baby #2. We still need to get the front bedroom cleaned out and made into a makeshift office/nursery. Lets hope we start on that first before picking up any other new projects! More pictures to come as things progress.