Ipsy

Last month, my friend Shannon over at Sitting in a Tree posted about Ipsy gam bag. If you haven't heard of Ipsy before, it's basically a program where, for $10 a month, you receive a "glam bag" containing five beauty products. I had heard of Ipsy before, but never really thought about signing up, and Shannon's post inspired me to check it out for myself. 

In general, I don't buy stuff for myself very often. If I need something, sure, but usually I spend money on the boys. It's more fun to buy them clothes that will look so cute on them or toys that will bring fun and entertainment to our home. Buying something just for me sounds great and all, but I prefer not to spend much money on myself. But Ipsy is only $10 a month. I can handle that. Ten dollars for a little surprise in my mailbox every month - something just for me - sounded like fun.

Also, I don't tend to wear much make up. Up until about a month or two ago, I only wore eye shadow and mascara on a daily basis. Foundation, blush, etc. was pretty much reserved for things like pictures, date nights, weddings, and special occasions. But when I developed this weird oil deposit below my eye, I started wearing make up more to try and hide it. I thought trying Ipsy would be good for me to step outside of my little comfort zone with make up and see if I find something I might love.

My first Ipsy glam bag arrived last week. I had expectations based on what Shannon got in her bag, but mine was very different. Not better or worse, just different. (It's supposed to be different though - you fill out a survey when you sign up so that the person purchasing your items has an idea of what you might like.)

What was in my bag, you ask?

1. Hair Lift Thickening and Strengthening Mousse from Oscar Blandi - I don't use any product in my hair except for shampoo and conditioner. No hair spray, no treatments, nothing. I'm boring that way. My hair is super straight and doesn't do anything very exciting, so I just leave it that way. I was excited to try this to see if it would really give my hair more volume. My first impression was that I didn't love the way it made my hair feel. My hair is very smooth, and this made it more coarse. But it did give me a little lift, so I was cool with it. It's not something I would use every day, but I'm glad to have it around.

2. Glam Glow Thirsty Cleanse - I wasn't all that excited about this item at first. Oooooh, face wash. Whoopty-do. But I actually kind of love the stuff. You put it on your face dry and then wet your hands and lather it a bit on your face and then rinse it off. It did leave my face feeling softer and more hydrated and it smells amazing! There is coconut in it so it smells like the beach. I dig it.

3. Jesse's Girl Pure Pigment Eye Dust in Brown Sugar. Eye shadow is definitely my number one make up item. I use it every day. I tend to go with natural shades, but I was worried this would be too dark for me. It's hard to see in the picture, but it's a rusty color. Also, it's a matte shadow and I prefer a little shimmer. I tried it though, and it wasn't super dark. I put some of my own lighter shadow (with shimmer) above it and it looked like something I would have picked out myself. I like it. And every single time I put it on, I sing "Jesse's Girl." I'm not sure yet if that's a good or bad thing.

4. Eye Shadow Brush - I have an eye shadow brush that I use daily, so this was kind of anti-climactic for me. I use it with the eye shadow above and it's fine, but nothing special.

5. Klorane Smoothing and Relaxing Patches - each of these packages contains two under eye patches. I tried them as I typed this post. They feel cool when you put them on. I'm not sure that they relaxed my eyes at all, but they are supposed to "reduce puffiness, smooth away lines, and brighten the eye area." I'm not sure if they did any of that because I only had them on for 10 minutes instead of 20 (they were kind of itchy). I'll try the other package another time. It's not something I would buy for myself, but it's something different to try.

Overall, I'm happy with my first Ipsy glam bag, and I'm looking forward to seeing what I get in June. If you have an extra $10 a month, you might want to try it out too.

Little Chickies

Three weeks ago, we placed 27 chicken eggs in an incubator in my classroom. We hoped and hoped that they were fertilized eggs (there's no way to know until they've been in the 'bator for a few days).

After seven days, we candled them (put them over a special flashlight) to see if anything was happening inside. Most of them appeared to be doing something so we remained hopeful.

After a few more days, we candled again and, again, they appeared to be developing. Hurray for chickies!

On the 20th day, I noticed two chicks trying to hatch.

Later that day, my class and I returned after and hour and a half out of the room to find one sweet chick in the 'bator, which Leland named Peeper.

The next morning, we had another chickie.

We named him Nugget. He was equally as cute as Peeper, but had some problems. One leg was a little deformed, his toes were curled under, and he had a kind of growth stuck to him, which we later learned was probably an unabsorbed egg sac. 

Not a great picture, because of the lighting under the heat lamp, but you can sort of see his right foot curled under.

We were optimistic that he might be okay. But the next day, the toes on his other foot were curled under, and we just had to wait for the inevitable.

Which left us again with only one chick, hoping some more would hatch.

Here, you can see the one trying to hatch, as well as one egg with a big crack in it. The one with the crack ended up being a bad egg that exploded, I think. 

And one did! This one took over 50 hours to hatch, which is a looong time. I've read that they usually hatch within 24 hours, and Peeper hatched super fast, so I was worried this one was going to die. You're not supposed to intervene with chick hatching, because really, just about anything you do to "help" will likely end up killing the chick. But I was worried that this chick was drying out, even though the humidity was pretty high in the incubator. He just wasn't making any progress. So I did a little research and found that it would be okay to squirt a few drops of warm water into the opening to help the chick "unstick" from the shell. So I did, and was very careful to keep the water away from its beak (so it wouldn't drown). It hatched within two hours.

We now have two chickies: Peeper and Slow Poke.

They are so cute, very noisy, and not distracting at all. We're waiting a few more days to see if any other chicks hatch, and then I think one of my students will take them home.

Leland loves to hold the chicks.

This has been a very fun process. I think I would like to try it again next year. Maybe with chickens again, or maybe with ducks. I'm not sure how Kindergartners will handle all the excitement though. We'll just have to see.

Saturday Morning Fun

On Saturday, we met our friends for a play date at Bright Blooms, a new-ish indoor play place in town.

I hadn't been there before, but I have several friends who have raved about it, so I was excited to see what all the fuss was about.

And, oh my gosh, the place was awesome. There were about 8 or 9 different rooms to play in, each with a different theme: trains/trucks, kitchen, dress-ups, pirates, etc. Leland's favorite was the farm room. There were small tractors to play with, one big tractor to climb on, a rocking horse, and the like.

There is also a room with some large motor activities, like a slide and this trampoline. Leland's favorite thing these days is to jump in his crib. We were okay with it at first, but now that he's jumping really hard, we don't like it - he's totally going to break his bed. So he loved having something that he could jump on.

Now the wheels in my head are turning thinking about getting one of these for Christmas. All I have to do is convince Dave.

Upstairs from Bright Blooms is a Kindermusik studio. They were having an open house that day so we could try it for free. We decided to give it a try. I know that Leland and Alden love music, but they're not necessarily great at organized play (well, obviously, in Alden's case). I just figured we would see how it went and we could leave if it wasn't working.

But both boys seemed to really enjoy it. They danced around, and Leland even tried to do what the teacher was doing. He enjoyed the different instruments and things that they played with, and did a great job of putting them away when it was time. So perhaps we may try Kindermusik again sometime.

We had such a fun time. I love finding new places for indoor play. Winter is just around the corner, and it looks like it's going to be a doozy again like last year. We will need some fun indoor places!

Ice Cream Truck

We've had a great weekend so far, and I love that we still have one more day of family fun. But before I do a weekend recap, I had to share about one of the most exciting things that happened this weekend. It wasn't a huge, once-in-a-lifetime event, but it's a fun one for sure.

Saturday afternoon, Leland had his first ice cream truck experience.

We were all out playing in the yard (and washing cars) when we heard the ice cream truck coming. I wasn't going to get Leland anything because I didn't have my wallet with me. So we just watched it go down the road. Leland didn't care - he had no idea what that truck was for. He just liked the music.

But because our neighborhood is shaped sort of like a figure-eight, and we live on the middle road, I knew it would come around again. So I grabbed my wallet (and my phone for a picture) and we caught it when it came back around.

Leland got an ice cream sandwich.

And he loved it.

He was hesitant to share it. He's been pretty stingy with his treats lately, but eventually he gave mom and dad each a bite.

He only ate about half of it, which was fine with me. I wasn't intending on giving him the whole thing in the first place. But he was definitely a fan.

I love living in a place where the ice cream truck comes around. When I was a kid, we lived on a busy main road and the ice cream truck didn't come by our house. It's a magical piece of childhood that I'm glad my kids will get to experience.

It's Madness!

Mustang Madness, that is.

Friday night, I participated in our school's Mustang Madness athletic fundraiser, where staff and varsity basketball teams face off to see who's got skills. Out of my five years at GTA, I have played three years. I wasn't able to play the last two years, due to a sick Leland one year, and being pregnant last year. So I was really excited to get back on the court and play.

Photo before the game - a few staff members weren't there yet.

Before the game, there was a silent auction and pizza buffet. Dave and the boys came to enjoy that with me, and then Dave took them home for the night before the game started.

Leland loved wandering around the school and my classroom, and he especially enjoyed meeting our mascot, Mighty the Mustang.

The game was tons of fun. We don't take it too seriously, since the whole point is to entertain the audience who are helping fund our athletics department. During the game, we do a few comic relief activities. This year, some of these activities included us stopping the game to take selfies, as well as stopping to do the chicken dance (chicken dance flash mob, if you will), and having another staff member join the game on his unicycle. It's all fun!

We do get some serious ball playing in though. This year, the staff was winning by 3 points right up to the last 4 seconds, and then a varsity team member made a 3-pointer. So it was tied.

We broke the tie with a half-court shoot-out. The first team to get a shot from half-court got 5 points. And, well, the staff team pulled it off.

As always, I had so much fun playing in the game. I'm more out of shape than usual, as I haven't exercised in almost a year. I didn't score any points for my team this year - I'm usually good for a couple - but I still ran fast to block those varsity shots.

After the game, my superintendent took the staff team out for drink. I opted to go home to my babies. Maybe next year.

Homemade Play Dough...

When I was a kid, my mom had a home daycare. We used to make play dough pretty frequently, which involved boiling water, so the kids couldn't always help.

A few years ago, when I worked at a daycare, I stumbled upon this recipe for microwave play dough. It was super easy and fast, and was a lot more kid-friendly. I don't remember where I got it from, but I've been using it ever since. I used it when I taught preschool; I used it at summer camp; I used it as a math lesson on measuring once. And most recently, I used it in my classroom for a Valentine's Day fun activity. It was nice to have a non-sugar activity to do with the kiddos, and they were way more excited about than I thought they would be. Wahoo!

I figured I would share it on the ole blog for anyone who has little ones that might enjoy making (and then playing with) homemade play dough. (P.S. I like that with this recipe, if it gets licked/eaten, it's really not terrible. It won't taste good, but at least there aren't weird chemicals in it.)

What you need:

• 1 Cup flou
• 1 Cup water
• 1/2 Cup salt
• 2 tsp. cream of tartar (Contrary to the name, it is not cream. It's a powder that you can find in the spice aisle.)
• 1 Tbsp. cooking oil
• food coloring

What to do:

Mix all of the ingredients, except food coloring, together in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute. Stir. Microwave for 30 seconds. Continue this 30 second heating pattern until dough pulls away from sides of bowl and is no longer soupy. Knead until smooth.

Use gloves or a ziplock bag to mix in food coloring. It is hot, so be careful if children are mixing. You may want to let it cool for a few minutes before letting children mix the coloring.

I have known some people to add vanilla or peppermint extract for scent. And glitter. You can totally add glitter.

Store your play dough in a ziplock bag or air tight container. It will last for a long time. When it starts to get dry, just make another batch. :)

Enjoy your homemade (cheap) play dough, friends!

26 Acts...

Several weeks ago, I heard of this really cool thing that people were doing to honor the victims of Sandy Hook: twenty-six random acts of kindness.

Twenty-six acts for twenty-six sweet souls. A way to not feel so helpless or so sad. A way for their deaths to turn into something good. I way for them to be remembered, instead of remembering the one responsible for their deaths.

I was immediately inspired to join in and complete my own twenty-six acts of kindness. However, it seemed really overwhelming at first. I had a hard time getting started because I wanted every act to be significant and really impact someone's life. But that's hard to do twenty-six times over, especially without endless supplies of money.

I had to get over that and just decide to try to brighten someone's day {twenty-six times}.

I have now completed twelve acts of kindness. Nothing major, but I hope that they helped twelve people smile. For these acts, I mostly used things that I already had. I used a gift card that was given to me to buy some $5 Target gift cards and baby clothes. I used loose change and few $1 bills from my wallet. I used blankets and toys that were given to me for Leland that we never used. I'm still thinking of what I'm going to do for my next fourteen acts, but here are the ones I've done.

Act #1: I taped some quarters to one of the kiddie rides at the mall.

Act #2: I taped a dollar to the token machine at the mall carousel.

Act #3: Left a $5 gift card in a basket at Target.

Act #4 & #5: Bought two newborn sleepers (on clearance and purchased with my Target gift card) - one for a boy and one for a girl - and delivered them to two random NICU parents. I know how sad the days in the NICU can be, so I wanted to bring some sunshine to their days.

Act #6: Donated unused baby blankets to families in need.

Act #7: Left a children's book in the maternity waiting room at the hospital for a new brother or sister.

Act #8: Donated new and slightly used baby toys/clothes/gear to the Goodwill Inn. I wanted to donate there because families in need can have them for free, whereas at the Goodwill store, people have to buy them.

Act #9: $5 gift card taped to a package of diapers at Target.

Act #10: $1 taped to a vending machine.

Act #11: Left quarters at the car wash for someone.

Act #12: Brought cupcakes to the NICU staff. {Again, the NICU has a special place in my heart.}

It felt good to complete these gestures for others. I keep thinking I would love to see their faces when they receive them and read my note about what the acts of kindness are all about, but that kind of defeats the purpose of a "random" act.

I have a few ideas for acts 13-26, and I'll let you all know when I complete some more. I also post pictures of them on instagram (ID: rcnowak), so if you follow me on there, you'll see them.

The House That Dave Built...

My husband is an incredibly talented carpenter. I'm not just saying that because he's my husband either; the things he builds simply amaze me. And he can do/has done any and everything when it comes to building. He has done framing, drywall, roofing, siding, and has done mostly trim work for the last few years. He also dabbles in plumbing, heating/cooling, electrical, etc. at our house.

The company he works for builds fancy schmancy homes for very wealthy people. Homes that I can only dream of living in.

They recently had a home in the Parade of Homes, and they won almost {maybe all...I'm not sure} of the awards for high-end homes.

The company posted a virtual tour of the house on their website, and I just feel the need to share. It's a pretty gorgeous house, and not even close to the best I've seen them build.

Also, here are pictures of the house that they just finished.

So proud of my husband and all of his hard work.

New Crafting Adventure...

My friend, Corinn, is having a baby in September. Her third boy. I got to thinking one day that I wanted to get her a gift for this baby, since no one does anything after the first, especially if they're the same gender.

After some thought, I decided I wanted to get her shirts that said little brother, big brother, and biggest brother on them. I looked around online {Etsy mostly}, and discovered that custom-made shirts/onesies are a little expensive. I randomly stumbled upon someone who made graphics that she printed on iron-on transfer paper and would ship them to people. Only problem was that I didn't love her graphics. They were ok, but not really my friend's style {or mine}.

I asked my friend, Katie, who makes custom prints for people to design something for me. She came up with several adorable designs within minutes. I chose one and she customized it. Then I bought the iron-on papers and shirts and set out to do it myself.

I was super excited to try this. The instructions seemed really easy and I just couldn't wait to make these and give them to my friend.

I got out my stuff, printed the graphics {mirror image} and prepared to iron my little heart out.

The first one turned out perfect!

I was so pleased and so anxious to do the other two!

But the other two didn't quite turn out. I wasn't sure why. Maybe I didn't iron long enough? Maybe I didn't use enough pressure? Maybe I didn't spend enough time on the edges making sure they really stuck?

So I tried again.

And again.

And again.

And failed miserably. Eventually, I ran out of the transfer papers and onesies. I was so frustrated and thought that I would buy a different brand of transfer paper and see if it worked any better. Then I re-read the directions to make sure I didn't make a mistake. But it seemed I had done everything right. So what the heck was wrong?

I then went to the good ole internet to see what in the world was going on. The first page I visited, I immediately knew what was wrong. The instructions say to do the project on a flat surface. I thought my ironing board was flat enough, but apparently, it had to be a hard, flat surface. I also think that maybe my iron wasn't hot enough. You're supposed to have it on the hottest setting for cotton without steam, but my iron doesn't give the option to turn off the steam, so I had it on a lower setting.

The next day, I purchased more paper and onesies and tried again. I did it on my kitchen table, and I turned my iron up higher (and made sure the water tank was empty). And they turned out absolutely perfect!

I liked them so much that I decided to use the extra onesies and transfer papers to make a gift for my friend, Rebecca, who is having a baby in October, and whose baby shower was coming up quickly. She and her husband, Steve, love Jeeps {and they are the ones that got Leland his Ford onesies at my shower}, so I decided to make her some Jeep onesies. Again, I enlisted the help of my friend, Katie, and she came up with some wonderful graphics for me. Again, in minutes.

I loved them! Remember, Katie is the friend who also made Leland's name blocks, my hand-stamped necklace with Leland's initial, and a couple of other custom prints for me. She's pretty crafty. Seriously, you need to check her out on facebook {Katie Bug's Custom Creations} or e-mail her at katiebugscustcreations@yahoo.com and see what she can make for you!

The last thing on the instructions was to wash them in cold water and tumble dry low. So I did. And the colors bled on one of the shirts. UGH! I had one more chance with my transfer paper, but was out of onesies. Then I remembered that I had a few 0-3 month onesies that Leland never wore, so I used one of those. It's a different brand than the 18 month onesie, but I was not about to go buy another set of onesies!

In the end, they mostly turned out great.

Some color bleeding still, but not terrible. The idea behind this project was great, but the actual outcome didn't turn out as perfectly as I would have liked. I'm not sure how I would even fix it in the future, but I doubt I'll be in a rush to try this again.

I just love when a fun, crafty project turns out nicely. Just wish I had paid closer attention at the beginning so I wouldn't have screwed up so much! And I wish that I knew how to prevent the colors bleeding.

But mistakes and imperfections aside, they still turned out cute, amiright?!

Cherry Festival...

This week is the National Cherry Festival, right here in Traverse City. It is Leland's first Cherry Festival, but he's a bit young to enjoy most of it. I usually go downtown to take in the festival a few times during the week {mostly for the food...I love food}, but this year I just went down one day.

Leland and I headed downtown yesterday for a few hours. I got some food, of course. Though I skipped my usual favorites {Gibby's fries and an elephant ear} and got a hot dog and cherry pie flurry instead...delish! Then I got Leland his first Cherry Festival shirt! I wanted one that said "My 1st Cherry Festival," but they only had them in t-shirts, and I wanted a onesie. I ended up getting this cute red one that says "Cherry Sweet." He doesn't own anything red, so I guess this was a good choice.

After that, we went to watch the parade. There are two parades during the Cherry Festival: the Junior Royale Parade on Thursday evening and the Cherry Royale Parade on Saturday. The Junior Royale Parade is a bit shorter than the Cherry Royale, and is mostly kids in it. Each elementary school in the area decorates a float and has a first grade prince and princess to represent their school. I haven't been to a parade since I was a kid, but I was excited to go this year because one of my students was the prince for our school. And, as it turns out, my niece, Natalie, rode on the float for her school as well {Not as the princess. Maybe next year after first grade.}.

Leland seemed to enjoy the parade overall. He didn't love the car horns or the helicopter, but did fine with the other noises {marching bands, music, police sirens, etc.}. Here are some parade pictures...

He slept through a bit of the parade. He even slept through the police and fire truck sirens!

My adorable niece, Ella.

Playing with the grass.

It starts!

My student, Prince Parker. Such a sweet boy.

My school's float, decorated as Virginia.

Our friend's girlfriend, Meg, is on the Cherry Queen court.

The next few pictures are from my sister-in-law, Melinda.

Natalie on her school's float. They were Utah. (Melinda had to run across the street to get this one.)

Leland wouldn't look at the camera...

Happy first Cherry Festival, Leland!

And it's Madeline's first festival, too! Happy Festival, Madeline!