The Un-Designer Girl - RockStud Tote

Hey all. I've recently become obsessed with following fashion bloggers. Silly me buying into their every whim and affiliated product post. Not that all of those things are bad. I understand that they generate revenue for all the hard work that goes into producing a quality blog! But over the weekend I saw something that just made my stomach turn. As a stay at home mom and full time college student, every penny counts. So, when I see the vast majority of fashion bloggers posting links to their outfit breakdown why do I get excited when I see "UNDER $100"?! At that rate purchasing two shirts a month is pretty close to reality. So when I see bloggers not paying the proper respect to certain items from their closet (that a lot of us can never dream of being able to afford) I get a little bit miffed.
 In terms of handbags my budget is Target and my taste is Chloe, so my splurge is the likes of Kate Spade or Rebecca Minkoff. I saw a notable fashion blogger over the weekend post a picture of a certain designer's $2,000 handbag on a dirty street in a pile of dirty leaves next to her $1,000 Valentino flats. My eyes seriously rolled out of my head. If that handbag were mine I'd probably put it in bubble wrap to carry it; therefore, no one would ever see the designer label!
Then I started to think a little harder. There are a lot of fashion bloggers (or really the entire fashion industry) that have lost touch with what the middle class can afford. We all like to look nice don't we? So I've decided that since I spend enough time seeking these things out and trying to relieve my blood pressure over price tags, that maybe I can help a few out that face the same dilemma. And so the Un-Designer Girl series is born.
This week's picks begins with the few that I uncovered this past weekend. The first is a tote bag. Totes are almost a must with four kids. I like to keep a smaller bag for the times I leave the house without children, but for all other times I need something that can hold a few diapers, wipes, snacks, a medicine cabinet, etc. And I despise diaper bags. I really don't know why there is still a market for those?! Let's face it, I don't want to can't spend thousands of dollars on something that is going to end up a mobile trash can for cookie crumbs, candy wrappers, and coffee spills. Here I'm providing you with the beautiful instafamous Valentino Rockstud Tote. Yes, I'm drooling too. It's gorgeous.

It gives a little bit of an edge to a casual outfit but isn't overly structured to where it'll look ridiculous with the daily standard of athletic wear. Here are two more affordable options. One here at a mid-range price point, is still made with real leather, but isn't an exact dupe. And one here at a much more affordable option (and on sale!), closer to the same design, but is made from polyurethane...but that can also be great for our vegan sisters. I'm thinking about grabbing it in the red option although it's not on as deep of a discount.

I hope you liked this post and want to continue seeing more like it. Affordable options with the ability to also look on trend for the season is something I haven't seen. Reality check, advertising a pair of jeans under $100 as an affordable option isn't reality. Yes, I can understand the buying quality is always the better option argument, but when trend is the reason for a purchase sometimes those big splurges are the poor choice. I look forward to posting more affordable options through the Un-Designer Girl series!

Too Faced Natural Eyes Vs. Hard Candy Natural Eyes

I'll start this off by saying I haven't shopped at Wal-Mart in ages. We live across town from the only one we have, Target is just down the street, and frankly I just love Target more. But when I heard that Hard Candy had a possible dupe for Too Faced Natural Eyes Palette, I decided to break my streak and  make the drive. (Why is Hard Candy only at Wal-Mart anyway?!)

Let's just get right on with the comparisons!

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Too Faced Natural Eyes retails for $36 USD at Sephora and Ulta, among other places.
Hard Candy Natural Eyes retails for $8 USA at Wal-Mart.

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As far as the packaging is concerned they are both made of metal. The Hard Candy palette has a strong magnetization. I'm not sure if my Too Faced palette has lost some since I have owned it for close to a year now, but the Hard Candy palette was attaching itself to my Too Faced palette when I stacked them. This obviously isn't important, but it could be a slight annoyance if it's attacking all your palettes where it lives. No one likes a bully.

 Upon opening the case up, Too Faced definitely holds the edge with the packaging design. It's made of nice hard, durable plastic where the shadow pans are anchored. The Hard Candy pans are anchored by flimsy cheap plastic that could bend and crack if too much pressure is applied in the wrong spot. Both come with look books, but the Hard Candy Natural Eyes is accompanied by eye shadow primer, a double ended sponge applicator and a black pencil eye liner.

One more thing that the Too Faced Naturals palette has going for it that Hard Candy doesn't, is that the shadows have names.  Luckily, Hard Candy lined up the colors symmetrically to make it easy for me, so the Hard Candy swatches below do not have names on them as the Too Faced swatches do. Let's get to the swatches.

  

Let me first forgive my paleness. Heaven is there, it's just the same color as my skin, sooooo....

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Heaven vs. Hard Candy

Heaven is a cream matte. It is definitely cream while the Hard Candy has peach tones. Hard Candy is a more buttery consistency, while Heaven took a little more finger power to get a good swatch.

Silk Teddy vs. Hard Candy

Silk Teddy is a beautiful champagne pink shimmer. Hard Candy definitely came close in color, but the texture and pigment is off. Silk Teddy applies effortlessly, while Hard Candy just gives a wash of color.

Nudie vs. Hard Candy

Nudie is a great warm buff matte, but it is definitely darker than the Hard Candy shadow. Funny enough, they have a similar consistency. Both have great pigment and texture.

Cashmere Bunny vs. Hard Candy

Cashmere Bunny is a medium taupe matte. Here we see the opposite of the above swatches, where the Hard Candy is darker than the Too Faced. Again, similar consistency, both with great pigment and texture.

Push-Up vs. Hard Candy

Push-Up is gorgeous mauvey brown with pearl shimmer. The Hard Candy is also a mauvey brown shimmer, but has gold sparkles instead. Without that tiny detail this would be pretty much a dead on dupe, but a cool versus a warm undertone turns these colors into two different colors once applied.

Honey Pot vs. Hard Candy

This is where I knew from sight these were two completely different colors. Honey Pot maybe be my most beloved shadow of all that I own. It's buttery and metallic and just the perfect neutral gold, shimmery without being sparkly. The Hard Candy has obvious chunks of reddish toned shimmer. The Hard Candy shadow is much warmer in nature.

Sexpresso vs. Hard Candy

Sexpresso is a matte dark chocolate. Hard Candy is also a matte dark chocolate. I say dupe.

Erotica vs. Hard Candy

Erotica is a deep chocolate brown with gold shimmer. Hard Candy is a deep chocolate brown with gold shimmer. The base color is slightly cooler than Erotica.

Chocolate Martini vs. Hard Candy

Chocolate Martini is a cool toned medium brown with green and gold reflective shimmer. The Hard Candy is a medium reddish brown, almost sepia with bigger chunks of green and gold reflective glitter.
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Overall, this is close to a dupe at first look. If you really want to get down into the nitty gritty details, I'd say the Too Faced Natural Eyes palette is more cool toned and the Hard Candy Natural Eyes palette leans warmer. Honestly, with the difference in price though, if you are loving the Too Faced palettte but can't justify the price tag, the Hard Candy palette is close enough.

MAC Bao Bao Wan Collection Review

My makeup hoarding and collecting has officially reached new levels. Yes, now I'm one of THOSE who stays up at all hours waiting for these collections to release so I can get my grubby paws on things that may or may not be available an hour later. The most recent collection that MAC released was Bao Bao Wan. If you aren't familiar with Bao Bao Wan, she's a Chinese socialite and jewelry designer. Her background in jewelry design is apparent in her color selections for this collection.
I didn't get the most highly coveted lipstick colors, Lavender Jade or Forbidden Sunrise. Maybe if I take another jump and grab these things for pure collective purposes, I'll start purchasing the more far out there colors I'd never dream of wearing on my pasty skin. For now I'll forgo the lavender and bright orange lipsticks.
What I did grab out of the collection was the profusion eyeshadow palette Bao's Jewels, the beauty powder Summer Opal, and two of the four lipsticks Burmese Kiss and Romantic Breakdown.

The standout from this collection that I've seen a lot of people wanting was the beauty powder, Summer Opal. On most of the blogs and swatches I've looked out it appeared much more like a bronzer than it is in actuality. It's a very nice highlighter, that could easily be compared to some of Becca's shade range. It swatched nicely, and had a great texture. I have yet to actually apply it, but I will update you all when I do.

I also purchased the deluxe pearl fusion eyeshadow palette in Bao's Jewels. Bao's Jewels are all considered a frost. I honestly don't know why there hasn't been more hype over this palette! It swatched gorgeously with the exception of the lightest color. The lightest color isn't awful, just sort of powdery. It's more for a great accent highlight for the inner eye or brow bone, and I think would be a great dupe for the shade Dust in Urban Decay's Naked 3.
The swatches are below. From left to right it's the lightest to the darkest shade in the palette, and then on the very far right is Summer Opal. Summer Opal doesn't show up all that well, but as I stated it just gives a great highlight and doesn't have a heavy bronze pigmentation.

I chose the two colors of lipsticks that I thought I could actually wear Romantic Breakdown and Burmese Kiss. Romantic Breakdown is a sheer nude luster and Burmese Kiss is a great bright coral pink matte. It doesn't look so much coral in the photographs, but in person it definitely is coral.

I'm extremely pleased with what I purchased out of this collection. The packaging is a beautiful matte duo chrome of chocolate brown and teal that just gives a hint of shimmer. The formulas are all great. As of this moment right now Bao's Jewels and Romantic Breakdown are still available for purchase on Mac's website. If you just click on the names it'll take you to the page for purchase.

**All products shown here were purchased with my own money. All images are my own. No affiliate links. Please link back if you choose to use any of my images.

I managed to squeeze in a post, and squeezed in buying a house too!

Just because I haven't been around doesn't mean I don't think about writing. I actually think about posting something practically every day. The time to be able to sit down and do it on the other hand is non-existent. Richard got back at the beginning of October. We geared up to move for the remainder of the year (while in school full time and taking care of four kids full time), and trekked cross country in January to Arizona. We've basically just been suffering through our few months of living here in less than desirable circumstances. All the while still in school full time, taking care of four kids, and Richard being inaccessible.
We recently added another giant stressor on to our plates, but this one is kind of exciting. We are under contract on a house for our upcoming move! Here's a picture of the front. I think it's super adorable.
It's move in ready although to me it still looks like a blank canvas ready for me to make it mine. It's actually the second house we've been under contract on in the past few weeks, but I'll leave that nightmare of a story for another moment in time.
The sellers offered to paint the master bedroom and bathroom prior to closing. I found out that they want to paint it this weekend, so I've been scouring the ends of the 'net for paint colors that can be found in that small town. What a nightmare! Okay fabulous decorators of the online world, we get it, Benjamin Moore paint colors are fabulous. Not all of use can just up and find a Ben Moore reseller! So, I settled with the decision on either Glidden or Sherwin Williams since I know both can be found easily.
I quickly settled that I wanted a dark gray for the bathroom. Gray is kinda my favorite color. I didn't realize until looking for the perfect gray that it's everyone's favorite color too. Ugh. So much for sticking to my guns about being original! But I love it, so I'm going with it. I finalized that Sherwin Williams Peppercorn was going to be the color in the bathroom.

Traditional Bedroom by Columbus Home Builders M/I Homes
I know it's on the dark side, but I'm going to refinish the cabinetry in white and eventually do white subway tile with dark grout. At least that's the plan. I know how quickly that can change!
After knowing *this* was my color I then spent way too much time trying to find a coordinate to go with it for the bedroom. I decided this morning that I was just going to go with my gut, and if I don't like it when we get there the worst thing is that I'll have to repaint. So the bedroom color I chose is Sherwin Williams Sea Salt. It can either go gray or green depending on the light. I guess we will see what color it decides to be when we get there!

Traditional Bedroom by Hilton Head Island Home Builders Ellis Construction Co., Inc.
This is the grayer tone it leans.

Traditional Bathroom by Rehoboth Beach Home Builders Echelon Custom Homes
And here is looks a little greener.
Now I just have to break it to Richard that I want all new furniture....

In recovery

Tap Tap....  Is this thing on???



Okay, don't throw things at me.  I've had a really good excuse.  My husband came home.  I'm in school full time.  AND I have a baby that turned into an evil mess the minute my husband stepped off the airplane.  It's been a full, very stressful two months.  I was under the false pretense that the minute he got home relief would set in.  But it didn't.  I had to learn how to live with him again all the while he was doing his best to help me with the older three kids to keep my sanity.  Life doesn't just fall into place sometimes the way you want it to unforunately.  I'm still in "recovery".  But if you can't learn from it, you don't grow from it.
While I've been gone I've been learning, and learning a lot.  Hopefully in the next few months to a year you won't recognize it around here anymore.  I've already vastly improved my photography skills, and I'm currently learning how to build a website and Adobe Illustrator.  I'm super excited about my future career.  I can't even begin to explain it.  I've been a stay at home mom for so long, and before that I had a super boring job.
Other than sharpening my technical skills I've learned I haven't been taking very good care of myself.  I've focused all my energy into raising kids and making good grades.  Things I would have been disgusted with two years ago have become commonplace lately.  So here it goes, another goal list:
Number 1.  I know a lot about nutrition, and I've been ignoring my knowledge lately.  Consuming wayyyy too many grams of sugar daily.  Enemy number one?  My morning, afternoon, evening, any time of the day coffee.  I've thought about it long and hard and it's come to my attention that I don't really like coffee.  If I liked coffee, I'd drink it black, right?  But I don't.  I drink it full of sugary syrups and fatty cream.  I drink it with artificially flavored, chemical loaded, bottled non-dairy creamer.  What I do like is the effect of caffeine.  I'm sort of dependent on it with an infant and a full time load.
Do you know what I like that has zero calories and caffeine?  Tea.  Plain old tea, hot or cold.  Nothing else needed.  So, one of my goals for a healthy change is to drink more tea and less coffee.
The adjustment to less coffee should help with eating less pastries and donuts haha.  That's a whole lot of extra calories!  If I don't go to Dunkin for a coffee, then I won't end up with a Dunkin donut in my belly.  Tea is tea.  Tea at home is no different than tea out of the house.  That gives less of an urgency for a Starbucks crafted coffee.  What the difference is there are no blueberry scones, raspberry swirl bread, cranberry bliss bars, or pink cake pops.  I'm revealing a lot here aren't I?  I like pastries more than most food, and unfortunately I know it's crap.
This brings me to point number 2.  Even when I was taking really good care of myself...even when I was going to the gym 5 days a week,  eating clean and wearing the same size I wore the day we got married, I was neglecting something.  My skin.  The largest organ on our bodies, and it gets abused more than any other.  Sun, chemically laden liquid soaps, shampoos, creams, lotions, make up, nail polish, etc.  I honestly can't tell you what things I've done to myself.  I did it all ignorantly.  All I can say is that I smelled good and looked pretty while I did it.  Now I feel like I'm paying the price.  I keep covering up the problem instead of fixing it.  I can't keep patching problem areas and expect them to eventually miraculously disappear.  I've started reading and researching how to love make up and hair products, to still be and do the things I enjoy,  naturally.  I want to learn more.  Learn from it, grow from it.
My first caveat (yes I'm adding a caveat to a goal list!) is everything in moderation just as anything else in life.  I'm not so stupid to think that I can manage to go completely without a delicious, sugary coffee for the rest of my life.  I also know that I probably won't go totally natural with my skin care.  Sure, it's ideal, but that's like trying to eat all organic.  I'd love to, but it's not realistic.  I'll be better off in the end even with little changes.
I guess with all this rambling what I'm try to say is that I plan on doing a lot of growing and learning with these changes and I would like to review and document it here.  Maybe I can help someone besides myself learn something.
If you see me at the mall buying the Naked 3 palette when it releases, don't point the finger about what is in and not in the ingredient list.  I will do that research on my own and then still probably decide that I NEED it because by gawd it's the Naked 3 palette.  What I do need you to do is point and laugh at my sweaty pits, tell me that I smell, and my natural deodorant isn't working.  Deal?  Deal.

Thrift Store Haul

I'd been tossing around the idea of hitting some thrift stores in my head the past few weeks.  A friend texted and asked if I wanted to go with her, and that was just the swift kick I needed to go.  I went with an open mind, but with the hopes of finding either shelving or something incredibly off the wall a la Jonathan Adler to add to the house.  We were traveling with three kids, so we were only able to hit up the Waterfront Rescue Mission and Goodwill before it was time to head home for snacks and naps.

This is what Addison enjoyed doing while thrifting...

She's lucky she's so darn cute.  There was an employee following her around feeding her ego.

Here are my finds for the trip.  

First I found the mirrored perfume tray at the Waterfront Rescue Mission for $4.99.  It wasn't on my mental list of things to look for, but the minute I saw it I needed to bring it home with me.  It's in really nice shape and didn't need any cleaning up.

I also got the glass vase for $3.  It's nothing special.  A glass vase that I think someone got from 1-800-flowers.com, but it's a nice heavy, weighted vases that was the shape I was looking for.  Much cheaper than going to the craft store and buying a vase.  I have plans to up the ante on it slightly for decorative purposes.  It won't look the same the next time I show it to you.

Next we hit up the Goodwill.  I went there looking for a white or off-white throw blanket for another project Gillian and I have had planned for ages now.  Struck out on that one.  There was an amazing chair in the furniture section, but I don't feel secure enough in my reupholstering skills to take on a project like that just yet.  Besides, the Goodwill seems to overcharge in my opinion.  They get Target's no sell clearance items, but they have them priced higher than the lowest price Target clearances them.  First time I realized, my opinion of the store was ruined. I understand that it's charity, but they are receiving most if not all of the items as donation.  For them to charge more than the original retailer is asinine, in my opinion.  Off my soapbox now, I was striking out everywhere I looked for anything I originally left the house to look for.  As we were heading out towards the front of the store, the mirror caught my eye.  It was sort of an impulse purchase at $7.99. 

I thought it was an interesting piece that I could refinish into something amazing.  The metal has a few yucky spots on it.  I originally thought about redoing it with some Rub N Buff, but I think with those spots I will prime, paint and seal to make sure they don't spread.

Before we went home, somehow the girls and I ended up at Hobby Lobby.  Addison insisted I buy "Ariel" instead of the underwater diver's mask I had in my hand to purchase.  She said it was creepy.  Much to her dismay, I had to explain after we returned home that Ariel was not for her room.  Ariel was still very much her mermaid, but we were going to display her out in the main family area so she can show it to anyone she wants.  Ariel was 50% off, so no skin off my teeth.

I found myself picking up the quirkiest things in Hobby Lobby and wanting to bring them home.  I seriously considered this lamp, but after seeing the price take of $79 and knowing I'd replace the shade it wasn't worth it to me in the end.  Can't you see painting the base a really awesome gold and replacing the shade with a drum shade?  Ugh, maybe I still want it....I'll have to wait for the right sale.

So, that was my "haul" for the week.  I spent a total of $24 for my purchases.  Not bad considering I could spend that in my first five seconds of walking into Target.

I can't wait to go back to the Waterfront Rescue Mission.  That place is HUGE and full of things, even brand new furniture.  If you are in Pensacola and looking for furniture, I'd check there first to see if they have anything you like.  The nice thing about them is they are the charity that does a drive by donation pick up once a month here locally.  I had a feeling, if most people are like me, there was a bigger likelihood there would be nicer stuff people wanted to get rid of by setting it at the end of their driveway instead of hauling it off for donation.  I know I don't have time for that.  I actually get excited when I get the little yellow card in the mail telling me when their next pick up is.

Until next time!

Audrey

A Year of Surviving

If your husband, wife, or significant other had to leave for a year, what would you do?  And you don't get a 'Get Out Of Jail Free' Card.  You have to put on your big girl panties.  Even if you don't want to wear your big girl panties or if you think that you aren't built to fit into the ginormous bloomers, they are strapped on with a pair of suspenders.

I can tell you, now that I'm on the tail end of this deployment adventure, at the beginning you make plans.  Even before 'they' leave.  I made plans in my head.  I wrote plans down in a journal and in my phone.  I made plans to exercise.  I made plans to take more adventures with the kids.  I made plans to experiment with new healthy recipes.  I made plans to go back to school.  I made plans to have fun and to enjoy myself the best I can.  I made plans to dye my hair a fun, unnatural color.  I made plans to try and forget that one side of our bed would remain cold for a year.

Then, before I could even start acting upon my plans, my plans were set ablaze.  I should've known.  "The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry".  So then I modified all the plans written down.  Maybe I will try to exercise, but I probably won't turn into the bikini model I had planned for the future...that'll have to wait.  And maybe I won't be able to spend all summer in Destin with the kids, but I can watch them in the pool from the sliding glass door in the A/C.  As far as healthy recipes go, peanut butter and banana sandwiches are a form of health food, correct?  School is still very doable.  I won't quite scratch that one off yet.  Having fun may just get limited to weekend slumber parties with the kids on the living room floor.  And maybe I won't get awesome blue tipped hair, but the silver color at my roots is coming in nicely.  I wonder how far I can spread out in the star position and take up the entire bed on my own?

The dreaded day comes and goes.  Time to start a new phase of life.  A very foreign way of living.  For me, I immediately came home and cleaned out the fridge.  Because that seemed like a very sane thing to do.  I dropped my husband off to fly half way across the world for a year, drove four hours home bawling my eyes out to Taylor Swift the entire way, and walked into the house only to start throwing food away and bleaching glass shelves.  I realized the minute I pulled into the driveway plans were a good way to occupy the mind from the undesirable, but the only way to get through it was to simply survive.

We've gone through every important holiday once through, living separate, starting with Halloween.  I stayed up the night before, way too late, sewing ruffles on a petticoat.  If he was home, I would get scolded for not going to bed.  There wasn't anyone to make me go to bed.  Lesson #1 of the year learned just a few days in, my husband helps me have a sensible bedtime.  I stay up doing irrelevant stupid crap, and next thing I know it's 2AM.

I have a year under my belt full of not-so-extravagant memories (well, other than that whole having a baby thing).  Many nights of sitting on the floor next to the couch while my daughter practiced braiding my hair.  Overhearing arguments on which flavor the kids want to sprinkle on their popcorn.  I potty-trained a toddler and got her to give up her blanket sucking habit.  I watched the same little girl squeal with glee as she rode her first "bike" through the house, because I couldn't harsh her reality and reserve the bike as an outside toy when it made her so happy.  I did car repairs, 6 months pregnant, in the driveway with my husband helping me via Facetime.  I hugged a little girl with a tear stained face and promised her she wasn't the worst daughter in the world.  Lots of colds to medicate, lots of booboos needing kisses.

Dishes have sat in the sink overnight and my living room rug has been covered in Angry Birds stickers for weeks.  It's not a glamorous life, but I survived.  I didn't need a superpower to get through it.  The only power I have is love for my husband and our family.

This journey is almost over.  I'll probably clean out my fridge again before I pick him up at the airport for old times sake.

The Great Mug Swap of 2013

My BFF Megan, who I met in Hawaii after bonding over the fact our girls were born on the same EXACT date, is hosting a mug swap over on her blog.  We would love you to join!  Anyone is welcome to participate, as long as you can promise to mail something out!  Click on the button above and it should direct you to her blog to enter the swap.  I'm so excited, I started looking for a mug already!

Bayou Marcus Water Reclamation Facility - Great Florida Birding Trail

Welcome to story time with Audrey.  This post has nothing to do with hair, make up or intentional snark.  Just writing about a day I spent with my kids.  I got some amazing pictures of them prior to them heading off for their first day of school, but once they got to school this is what I got....

Endangering small children everywhere taking drive-by iPhone pictures.

I decided I wanted to go back up to the school on the weekend and get better pictures of them at their school.  This may seem unimportant to some, but this is the third school my oldest has attended since she was in kindergarten.  Pictures at the school may be some of the only visual memories they have to hold on to for that particular life experience for them.  I also am starting to get deeper into my core courses for my degree program and needed to practice with my camera and play a little more with photoshop.  I can make excuses for anything.

The universe had other plans.  The school was sealed off tighter than my dogs teeth on her rawhide bone when my husband tries to steal it with "the hand", her arch nemesis.  Pad locked gates, no dice.  I turned the car around and we toyed around with the idea of going to the beach to take pictures, but they had on good shoes and didn't want to get them sandy.  We then thought about Fort Barrancas.  I quickly changed my mind.  I've been told about a wetland birding area that was a good place for the kids to run around.  It has an elevated boardwalk, so hopefully no danger of the creepy crawlies that tend to co-habitate in the swampy areas.

We quickly found the Bayou Marcus Water Reclamation Facility Great Florida Birding Trail (what a freaking mouthful).  Another family was getting out of their car to go for a jog right in front of us, so we had to get creative with the shots at the beginning to keep them out of the background until they got far enough ahead of us.

For it being a birding trail, we saw absolutely zero birds.  We saw ten zillion dragonflies, a few giant fuzzy bees (yes, that's the technical term), and a couple lizards that moved too fast to get a picture. 

The boardwalk was built over the Bayou Marcus Wetlands where the Water Reclamation Facility provides an abundance of clean, fresh water for the many different species living within the habitat.  Evidently there are many animals that call the wetlands home, although we saw none of them.  Obviously there is a large and diverse bird population with it being a birding trail, but there is also testament of there being deer, turkeys, gray foxes, raccoons, rabbits, beavers, bobcats, otters, snakes and alligators in the area.  I'm personally happy we didn't encounter the latter two of that list.  I probably would have flipped my shiz. 

It provided a nice background for pictures of the kids too.

Overall, we all had a blast.  One kid complained of the heat and another came  home with several bug bites.  We are planning on revisiting this area for sure in the future.  The girls want to take their dad when he comes home, and I think my dad would love it too.  It would be nice to actually see some wildlife other than bugs.  And next time I promise we won't be dressed for a fashion show.  Well,  Addison most likely will.  That kid marches to the beat of a different drum.

If you would like more information on this or other local birding trails you can visit http://www.floridabirdingtrail.com.

Wonder Week 12

I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on this baby business stuff.  I've had four and each one has been a completely different experience; each came with their own challenges.  I'm still trying to figure out when Ashton Kutcher is going to hop out  of my pantry and tell me I'm being punked, and hand me my real screaming, projectile vomitting baby. Ev is ah-mazing.  So super amazingly easy.  Last week that was not the case at all.  Cue Ashton Kutcher scene.

I had a friend on facebook mention in a status update that she thought her daughter was going through a Wonder Week.  Before even replying to her, I had to google Wonder Week.  Fourth kid and I had no flippin' clue what the hell a Wonder Week was.  Never heard of it.  So, I guess there is a book that breaks down a baby's fussy periods into Wonder Weeks or developmental growth periods.

Ev was about five weeks old at the time, and had been unusually fussy.  Typically we would point to these moments and say growth spurt and shrug our shoulders.  This Wonder Week stuff was making sense though.  It seemed to me that Ev was going through Wonder Week 5 at that time.

I won't lie.  I still haven't read the book, but I continually go back to the blog that I orginally found the information Who's That Mom.  I know I mentioned in my post about refinishing furniture, that Everlee was extremely fussy after the girls returned to school.  She turned 12 weeks the day that she turned into a turd.  After referencing the Wonder Weeks chart, this is what weeks 12 consists of:

Wonder Week 12 Developmental Milestone The World of Smooth Transitions: Baby's movements become less jerky; She is able to perceive more nuances in her senses Behavior May be quieter than usual; Sleeps poorly; Is clingy; Decreased appetite Activities Focus on sounds; Help baby grab/reach for objects; Help her feel different textures/fabrics

In our case she wasn't quieter than usual.  Well, I guess you could say she was in a sense.  She wasn't cooing as much, but she was screaming constantly when she wan't sleeping or eating.  Actually, her sleep wasn't bad and her appetite never decreased, but let's talk about how she's changed since she quit screaming.  She's making new sounds.  I left her laying on her playmat for visual stimulation the other day, and she started making these new cooing sounds.  She's definitely making more "yelling" sounds now instead of outright crying.  I can tell the difference between her crying and her complaining at this point.  She also seems to be able to tell the difference between our faces.  She obviously knows my face, but she reacts differently to each one of her sisters.  She has a favorite.  I'll keep that my secret.

Her motor skills are the shining star of improvements for this Wonder Week.  She's batting at her toys with a purpose, trying to grab for them.  She's purposely attempting to shove her fist in her mouth to suck on her fingers, all the while going cross eyed trying to watch her fist go in her mouth.  She's grabbing at her ears, and pulling her hair while she nurses.  And the cutest thing that she's started is placing the bottoms of her feet together and rubbing them back and forth when she's sitting in her chair.

It's only been a few days since I started noticing these changes.  It's amazing to be conscious of the small developments she's making as she grows now that I've familiarized myself with the Wonder Weeks theory.  Now to work on getting her to take her pacifier again.  I refuse to have another blanket sucker.  One blanket sucker is enough for any family.