Aveda Institue - LivingSocial Deal

I love going to the Aveda Institue. Facials, pedicures, it's wonderful. Especially pedicures because you get to keep the nail polish, which is OPI.

Check out today's Living Social Deal to get a $60 voucher for $30!

How I came to love $22 lip balm

$22.50 is an extreme amount to pay for lip balm. I realize this. But Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment is more than lip balm. This lip balm is glorious stuff. It's super smooth and has a fantastic scent. I sort of want to eat it. Which is not at all healthy and sort of pica like.

But if you don't want to pay $22.50 for lip balm (and no one in my income bracket does or can) sign-up to be a beauty insider with Sephora. It doesn't cost anything. It's more of a points/freebie tracking system. The last couple of years they've had really great birthday gifts. Last year it was Happy Birthday shower gel from Philosophy and this year's birthday gift (drum roll please ...) is a duo of Fresh Sugar Lip Balms - clear and rose.

If anyone has an extra $22.50 burning a hole in their pocket and wants to buy me something, look no further :)

Lemon Tree Photography

These are a few of Lucan's 10 month pictures that were taken by Cristi of Lemon Tree Photography. This is the first time since our wedding that we've had professional pictures taken by someone other than one of our friends. Last Mother's Day I won a gift card from Lemon Tree and I figured it was time to get it used. You can tell that Cristi loves what she is doing and is a total pro. She made us feel right at ease and it was a really fun shoot. She definitely has a gift! We did a combo location, we started out at her in-home studio in Des Moines and then we finished up at Water Works park. Lu did pretty well, despite having a double ear infection and being totally distracted by the cars and bikers at the park.

For more pictures from the shoot, click on to Lemon Tree's website!

Lucan: 10 month update, almost a month late

Lance, the husband, who likes to say that blogging isn't the best use of my time, told me that my blog sucks because it's been so long since I've posted. SO SORRY LANCE. :)

Month 10 has been one of the most challenging months to date. Not because Lucan has suddenly started getting mouthy or turned into a kung-fu ninja, but because he has been sick. I know that it sounds trite to be complaining about such infantile things like ear infections and colds, but they have kicked our butts in this household.

Around the end of March, we noticed one night that Lucan was coughing some. Not a lot, but any coughing from Lucan is a sign of concern. At the beginning I wasn't too worried, I figured it was just a cold. No biggie, all kiddos get colds. But then my spidey-mom sense kicked in and I started wondering if Lu had an ear infection. I didn't really want to take him to the doctor or have him go back on antibiotics. I probably waited too long, but with Lucan it is hard to know when he's sick enough to go to the doctor. He typically doesn't have nighttime sleep issues, run a temp, or get overly crabby when he is sick. So I held off taking him in. Then by the time he did go in, Lu had a full blown double ear infection. Round one of antibiotics. 10 days late and 1 visit to the chiropractor too, still no signs of improvement. Lu was still coughing, periodically throwing up and still tugging on his ears. And OMG my sweet, easy going child turned into the most high strung crabby version of my child. Cue round two of antibiotics. Still no real signs of improvement and he was still coughing quite a bit. Second chiropractic visit and another trip to the pediatrician. Ears are "better" but Lu was still coughing and throwing up. So the ped put him on predisone - a steroid that has a tendency to make babies edgy and crabby. Just great. We did the full five days of predisone and thought he was doing better. But then he spiked a temp again (and was still coughing), so Lance took him back to the doctor. They said that his ears looked good ... No more meds. But Lu is still coughing and the other day spiked another temp and threw up all over himself mid-day. I haven't taken him back to the ped, but we are going to the chiropractor one more time. We'll see. Lu lu, feel better.

That being said, illness and crabbiness aside, Lucan has made some progress this last month!

• Crawling! Lucan started army crawling mid-March. He has been in hot pursuit of Fire ever since :) L doesn't really get up on his knees and crawl, which I would think would be easier than pulling himself around by his arms.
• With the start of crawing, we finally put up a baby gate. With much nashing of the teeth, we put up a gate that installs right into the wall. Oh, and the nashing of the teeth- that was Lance. My friend Jessica pretty much laid down the law one day when we were babysitting her daughter and told Lance that we had to put a permanent one in, not just a pressure gate. Apparently the information coming from a disinterested third party parent, had more of an impact than me. Whateve.
• Waving! This is recent, just in the last week has Lucan starting waving with his right hand. It's pretty adorable.
• Being sick, Lucan hasn't really put on much weight. In fact, I'm a little concerned he might have lost some.
• Total teeth count: 4 on top, 2 on the bottom.
• No movement on the sippy cup front. Lu is pretty stubborn about his beverages. I tried to give him Pedilite when he was sick and he would have none of it. Not even out of a bottle. I wonder where he gets his stubbornness ... probably Lance.
• We are still nursing. It really seems to soothe and settle him.
• At the end of the month, Lucan got his third haircut. Man, this kid has hair!
• One of L's favorite games is to remove everything from outlets. Nightlights, air fresheners, cords ... You name it, Lucan will remove it.
• Second favorite game: playing with the spiral spring door stoppers. I remember liking these too. But my parents wouldn't let me play with these. But I let Lu, I'm not really seeing the harm in it.
• Going to the doctor's office so much, L also discovered his love for shredding the tissue paper on the exam room table. I've often found myself being embarrassed about the mess Lucan makes of the tissue paper. But don't worry, I always clean it up. I'm not one of those parents :)
• His favorite toy are the stackable rings. It's an oldie, but a goodie.
• When he was sick, we went on a lot of walks. Distractions helped Mr. Crabby Pants. Except for the time L fell asleep in his stroller and then woke up when I was resting on a park bench (it was an hour and a half walk, I got tired!). L seemed to be of the opinion that I had tricked him into napping and was ticked at this.
• Ugh. Lucan has started intermittently grinding his teeth. It's a horrid noise. Absolutely horrid.
• We've taken a break on introducing new and table foods. With so much vomiting and crabbiness, it seemed to be the best idea.
• During his sick period, we had some issues with separation anxiety. Meaning, if we set him down and walked into the kitchen, Lucan would freak out and start crying hysterically. Fortunately, I think the worst of it has passed.
• We started putting a blanket in Lucan's crib with him. He adores his blanket. Lucan's face just lights up when I spread it over him.
• Lucan has also discovered that he can make noises with his lips. Lots of fun watching him motor boat about.
• Lu also loves playing with the cords on his blinds. I know, not safe.
• We had 9/10 month professional pictures done at the end of March. They are pretty much awesome. But then again, I'm totally biased that my son is the most ADORABLE baby ever.

And in other news, I started a new job at the beginning of the month. Same company, different department. The major bonus has been my new 30 hour work week. One day a week I stay home with Lucan and we chill together. I'm looking forward to when he's healthy and back to his old cheerful self!

Did someone say I was crabby? I don't believe it!

Reach for the stars outlaw!

I am solemn and serious. I am giving you all sorts of model face. I'm America's Next Top Baby Model - male edition

Continued: Things I've Learned about Motherhood

1. Unsolicited advice doesn't end. Or get less annoying.
2. I get all sorts of weird reactions about Lucan's appearance. "Wow. He doesn't look very Asian." I'm just not sure how to react to these things.
3. Breastfeeding. Some people think it's weird that I'm still doing it. Other people think it's just plain weird.
4. People who like to "encourage" by saying "Oh, it only goes down hill from here..." Thanks for the uber-helpful comments people!
5. We are willing to make a payment to daycare every month that is comparable to our mortgage payment. Who would have thought.
6. I totally think that Lucan's bowel movements are an acceptable topic of conversation. Because of past poop issues and constipation, I feel compelled to encourage and cheer Lucan on when he's trying to poop and then share this with the general public :)
7. There are right reasons and wrong reasons for wanting to be a stay-at-home mom. The right reasons include wanting to be your child's primary caregiver and because you can't imagine missing their day to day life. The WRONG reasons include wanting to get more household tasks done during the day or because society dictates that "good" moms are stay-at-home moms. This topic really irritates me, so if you want an earful, just ask how I really feel about it.
8. As organized as I try to be, sometimes I am just going to drop the ball. For example, a couple of months back Lance signed us up for treats for Sunday School without my knowledge. He did mention it to me in passing, but I forgot. As a result, 20 minutes before church started, we made a panicked run to Wal-Mart for wax doughnuts.
9. Comparisions will drive you crazy. Really, they will. I live a life where over a dozen of my friends have had babies in the past year. If I start comparing Lucan's development or their lives to my own, I start getting a little bit whiny. Or a case of the Jones. As in "keeping up with the Joneses."
10. It's okay to say no. I work fulltime. I have a husband taking night classes two nights a week. I have a baby who wants to be loved. I admit though, I am still working on saying no. I felt totally guilty for not volunteering to head up a couple of different committees at church.
11. Unless you want to hear about Lucan, my life is less "interesting." Meaning, we don't go out to fun, trendy restaurants. We aren't going to concerts, movies, or sporting events. I'm spending less time in the kitchen, but researching more ways to maximize my crockpot. I don't have the time to do massive projects. Do you want to hear about Lucan's poops instead?

12. People still ask really stupid questions. Like "do you just automatically know what to do once you take your baby home?"
13. I admit that our baby is really great. But I think that all moms, for the most part, think that.
14. I view the common cold like malaria. If you have a cold, you deserve to be locked in an isolation chamber. Stay away from me and my child!
15. My child is different than yours, my parenting techniques are different than yours. Lucan is on a schedule, we do not co-sleep, Lucan has never taken a pacifier, no do not believe in rocking him to sleep. And that's okay. Yes, I may think that you could do a few things differently, but that does not give me license to tell you that. Unless you ask for advice. Then all bets are off.
16. Each stage of Lucan's life, I think is more fun than the last stage. I wonder when that wears off. But right now, I'm really enjoying it!


To my friends who are new moms or will be a new mom: motherhood is a life changer. It will stretch you in ways you didn't think possible (and I'm not talking about stretch marks either!) and force your life to revolve around an 8 lb bundle.

Pride & Prejudice & Jane Eyre as children's books?!?

I don't understand. How do you condense Jane Eyre into a children's book?

Especially an illustrated one? Do you leave out the part where Bertha Rochester stabs her brother with a knife, tries to burn Mr. Rochester in his bed, or finally succeeds in burning the top story of the mansion down in its entirety? Or do you just gloss over the whole wife is a raving lunatic locked in the attic? Or maybe you just leave out the whole polygamy part ...



Here's the item description:

Cultivate a love for classic literature with this sweet set of two books. Inspired by Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre, this darling duo is designed to help little ones learn to count with the help of two timeless tales.

Includes Little Miss Austen: Pride & Prejudice and Little Miss Bronte: Jane Eyre
Written by Jennifer Adams
Board book / 22 pages
Recommended for newborns to age three years

Don't get me wrong, I love Jane Eyre, I list it as one of my favorites. But it's a little twisted for a children's book, especially ages newborn to three years old.
If you are interested in purchasing these two books and letting me know how they've been made age appropriate, they are on sale for $11.99 at zuily today!

Outdated pictures

These pictures were taken some time ago. Obviously as we've had the world's mildest winter and the world's earliest spring. But I think these pictures are fun.

My mom bought Lucan a snow suit. Truth be told, he didn't need it. But he is darn cute in it!





I had a hard time keeping his hat above his eyes. Lucan didn't like it when his hat slipped down over his eyes and would shake his head back and forth, just making the situation worse.

I think the idea behind this picture was "snow angel."

Instead I got "flailing baby who was upset about being abandoned in the snow by a camera wielding mom."

In this last picture, Lucan has given up and accepted that being the firstborn means having to endure silly photo opportunities.

Champagne tastes

I have champagne tastes on a beer budget. Wait, I take that back. Not even a beer budget. More like a lukewarm, tap water budget.

Take this bag for instance. It's beautiful. It's the Coach Bleecker Legacy Leather Weekend Tote. It retails at $598. It costs just a little less than a month's worth of daycare. Which is our second highest bill after our mortgage.

I can almost imagine the soft, buttery feel of the leather. It would be the perfect work bag, schleping my planner, receipts to submit for reimbursement, my Kindle Fire, a magazine and my makeup bag. Professional and polished. So if anyone comes into a sudden windfall, you know where to find me.

One of my favorite games to play is read a magazine article, pick my favorite item featured in the article, and then see if I've picked the most expensive option there. Usually I can hit it spot on. It's a gift I have.

Nicole and I had a good conversation the other day about consignment shopping. One of my favorite consignment stores in Des Moines is Worn. It only carries current, high end designers. I purchased some of my favorite things there. Nicole also mentioned two other stores: Restyle on 7662 Hickman Rd. in Windsor Heights and the Repeat Boutique on 3913 Ingersoll Ave in Des Moines.

How do you sate your champagne tastes on a tap water budget?

Poison

This is Lucan's face as I try to feed him Apple Strawberry Puffs. Obviously they are poison.



It must be the rough texture that he is so against.


I must be the meanest mommy in the entire world.

Lucan: 9 months old

If there is a word to categorize Lucan's growth and development this month, it would be inquisitiveness. As Lucan has become more aware of his world, he has become more curious about his surroundings. In this instance, curiosity killed the cat. But not literally. Poor Fire, he doesn't get much peace with Lucan around. Lu is chattering and laughing and is constant pursuit of Fire. Lu lu just wants to give Fi Fie a little love. In the form of pulling handfuls of hair.

Fire isn't the only thing that Lucan is curious about. Lucan has also taken to spending much time in front of the entertainment center cabinets. Open the door, close the door, open the door, close the door, open the door, slam the door shut. He's also discovered that he possesses the ability to take DVDs out too! Lance is going to need to figure out the childproof door pulls ASAP. I suppose that's not as bad as this morning when I found Lucan pulling out ant bait from the microwave cabinet.

In addition, Lucan also has discovered my camera lens. Oh goody.

• Lu Lu, skip to my Lu. He makes my heart melt with his sweet smiles, his patience and his exuberance for life.


• At his 9 month appointment, he weighed 20.5 pounds. I think he would have weighed more, but his mid-month bout with an ear infection hindered progress. This puts you in the 50th percentile for weight.


• He is a long boy. I need to double check, but he was in the 70th percentile for height/length. Hopefully this means he won't be short like his momma :)


• Lucan continues to have a ginormous head. Just like his daddy. Lu's head size is in the 90th percentile. Shocking.


• The nurse called Lucan lazy. It ticked me off. Yes, Lucan doesn't feed himself, hold his own bottle, crawl, or wave goodbye. He just doesn't want to. Leave him alone.


• We survived Lucan's first ear infection. All in all, Lucan took it in stride. Much better than I did. I've never seen so much green snot for one little baby. Lucan loved amoxicillin. It must taste good to him, which I find bizarre.


• Lucan has done a couple of art projects at daycare, namely finger painting. Tracy says it goes well, however Lucan does want to try and eat the paint on occasion... The art now proudly adorns our fridge. My mom never put my art or tests up, so I'm making that change early on!


• His bottom two teeth are fully in, but the top two have broke through and are working their way down. Lucan does really well with teething, just a lot more drooly than normal.


• Lucan's favorite food are pears. I'm still making all of his baby food. I will readily admit, it's somewhat of a hassle. But it's really good for L, so I'm in it for the long haul. He's eating a variety of foods: sweet potatoes, squash, peas, spinach, applesauce, avocado, bananas, peaches, mangoes, oatmeal and rice cereal. We've also given him bites of pork roast, steak, chicken, and Lance's idea, not mine - bacon. I also tried to feed L a tiny bit of chicken tetrazini, but he wasn't impressed. We've also given Lucan plain cheerios and some apple/strawberry cereal puffs. He's not a fan of the texture.


• We are still nursing, but Lucan is more interested in his solid foods. I've frozen enough breast milk for kingdom come. I'm not kidding either. Lance thinks I should try and sell some off.


• We need to start babyproofing. L is getting into electrical cords and is pretty mobile, despite not crawling. He loves the remote and my cell phone. Oh and how he gets upset when I take them away from him. He knows he's not supposed to have them, but that doesn't stop him.


• L is still taking about 3 naps a day, anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and 45 minutes. L is just a great sleeper overall. He will sleep an average of 10 to 12 hours each night.


• Speaking of sleeping, Lucan is never in the same place as where I lay him down. I think that he must get really excited at some point and then he flops himself about like a fish. The pediatrician said that I could start putting a loose blanket on him at night. But I think this excites him even more because I can hear him banging his legs against his mattress when I first lay him down. Basically, a blanket gets Lucan really wound up. It's the small things in life folks!


• Mobility issues. No, he's not really crawling. He rolls and pivots very well. But forward motion, not so much. In the past couple of days L has made strides in getting closer to crawling. His idea of crawling is pretty similar to a thirsty man crawling through the desert for a drop of water.


• He got to meet his Great Grandma Ganfield for the first time this past month. They got along pretty well, but L was a little cranky and wasn't really in the mood for smiles or cuddles.

This is Lance and Lucan's latest game. It involves Lance laying his head down on Lucan's high chair and Lucan trying to pop Lance's head off.




I guess it's pretty fun. It must be, it elicits lots of laughter.




Lucan is pretty proud of being able to balance on his tush and raise both legs into the air.




"Mom, I'm cute. You just can't help but love me."