So I thought I’d better remind myself of all the wonderful things going on in my world today and every day.

For instance…

Love. True Love.

My new super comfy, super ugly, garage sale find.

Bath Time…. AFTER bath time…

Big Boy Haircuts

Lipstick marks on little cheeks. And freaky baby teeth coming in…

Best friends

Great friends.

Tickle fights. Stealing bananas. And pillow forts.

TUMMY TIME!

Those eyes….

Painting our house

Brotherhood

The best mother’s day morning ever

Watching a man be a daddy

Comparisons

And above everything else… just being a mother.

A huge congrats to our top 5 pins from last week! Grab a featured button!  

DIY Zippered Pillow Covers {that even a beginner can do}

Tissue paper candle craft

DIY Poppy Teapot

Quinoa Pizza Bites

Grow Your Own Gutter Strawberries

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But the truth is that right now I am fighting to keep depression from taking me over. It is something I’ve dealt with for years, but its been a long time since I’ve felt it this strongly.

So while I try and work through it, I hope you will all forgive me for being MIA.

Thank you all in advance.

I know – cute, right?!

But the sad truth is that I don’t really put a lot of effort into my style a lot of the time, so I actually look more like THIS most of the time:

Aw, boo! Let’s call this “Katie’s Sad Hair.” Bit of a difference between the two photos – not even mentioning the fact that I am wearing contacts right now because my glasses weren’t cutting it in the bright Florida sunshine today, even being WalMart’s best transitions lenses. Clearly WalMart are lying bastards! Or my eyes are just super sensitive. Whatevs.

(Also – I am getting twitchy noticing that I’ve managed to create a total run-on sentence which also happens to be a sentence fragment and not a real sentence at all… Seriously – I hate being a grammar Nazi sometimes, and my greatest fear is that my blog will one day turn into an incoherent mess featuring fAke ritin’ witch is totes misspelled & lyk compleeeetly gramatically uncorrect. 4 reals ya’ll.)

I digress.

So anyway, I was asked to watch and post ANOTHER video about styling bangs, and I figured this time I’d show you the results. Because I’m awesome like that. So here goes.

Easy, no? Wet the bangs, blow them out with a funky comb, add a couple of pins and a headband and BIBBITY BOBBITY BOO!

Except I don’t have a headband handy right now, and I’m too lazy to go and get one. In fact, I’m not even using my normal styling tools, as they are all downstairs in the master bathroom, and really I just would rather walk the four feet to the kids bathroom and do it there. So no photos of the wet to dry stages here.

BUT – here I am de-banging myself.

Behold my stunning lack of success…

Wait – what do you mean you don’t see any pins in my hands?

What do you mean you don’t think I really blew-dry my hair?

What do you mean you think I just took a few photos of my greasy hair and pretended to follow the video?

I mean… really! Come on! I have never been so insulted… I plan to talk to my lawyer about this. I’m calling him right now, and I’m going to totally sue you for insinuating I can’t follow directions…

Okay, fine, you win. I didn’t actually wet my bangs or blow them dry. I just kind of finger combed them sideways. But the grease is almost like wetting them down! And my bobby pins are SO FAR AWAY. I’d have to go ALL THE WAY downstairs, and then the KIDS would see me, and they’d be all like, “Mama mama mama mama,” and Mark would be like, “Are you done blogging YET? Because these kids are like totally hard work.”

And frankly, if I could deal with all of that drama, then I would have already done my hair today instead of going on day three without a proper wash…

Anyway, the video gives me big ideas for tomorrow, and maybe I’ll actually take the time to do my hair for once. But probably not. Hope you enjoy it anyway!

** This has been a sponsored video post. I have been compensated for posting the video.

Sweeps Rules

Prizes and Promotions Page on BlogHer

Thank you for joining us for our 6th Pin It Tuesday!

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1. How to Organize Basement Storage

2. 31 Days to Organization – SUCCESS!

3. Craft Tutorial – Turn a Glove into a Plush Bear

4. Party Time – 7 Lego Theme Ideas

5. Potato Tower – Living Big on Less Money

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Here’s how it works.

We open on Tuesdays and close on Fridays.
On Saturday the top 5 are pinned into a Special Pinterest Board for repinning. :)
On Tuesday the same top 5 will be featured in the link up for the new week!

What are you allowed to pin?

Food Recipes, Crafts, DIY, Kids Activities

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Please visit at minimum 2 other blog posts and pin at least 2 to your pinterest boards.
Follow our hosts on Pinterest
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Grab our button and spread the word to help the pinnable post link up grow!

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I have mentioned in passing that we were having issues getting things sorted and closing on our dream house. Well, it finally came through, VERY last minute, and we moved in about 10 days ago. And while we really and truly LOVE our new house, it does have more than a few funky pitfalls. Namely – it needed a top to bottom clean, and a new paint job besides!

Well, painting 30 foot high walls from floor to ceiling isn’t something we want to do right now, so we had to settle for a thorough cleaning. And let me tell you – we were helped HUGELY in the process by the kind folks at SC Johnson who sent us a fantastic new product to try out.

The Smart Twist™ Cleaning System is a brilliant new product which has THREE different types of cleaning products in one easy to use system. I was given the Kitchen/Bath system, which included Windex®, Scrubbing Bubbles® and fantastik® concentrated cleaner cartridges and a sprayer. With it, I was able to clean my ENTIRE house, which includes a lovely (yet filthy!) kitchen and FOUR bathrooms! And with a TON of windows, we had our work cut out for us.

The SC Johnson Smart Twist™ Cleaning System is a breakthrough, innovative tool that lets you have three cleaners in one hand. Twist, spray and wipe to clean your entire house with one system:

• No more lugging a bucket full of cleaners around the house
• No more searching for the right cleaner
• Saves space under the counter

My personal cleaning arsenal included the SC Johnson Smart Twist™ Cleaning System and a ton of paper towels!

The Smart Twist™ Cleaning System is available in the following varieties at the Smart Twist™ website.

Kitchen/Bath System
- Includes Windex®, Scrubbing Bubbles® and fantastik® concentrated cleaner cartridges and a sprayer for $24.99

Living Spaces System
- Includes Windex®, Pledge® and Shout® concentrated cleaner cartridges and a sprayer for $24.99

Cover Every Base System
- Includes two Windex® Glass Cleaner concentrated cleaner cartridges, and one each of Scrubbing Bubbles® Bathroom Cleaner, fantastik® Kitchen Cleaner, Pledge® Furniture Cleaner and Shout® Carpet Cleaner concentrated cleaner cartridges and a sprayer for $34.99

Total Easy Clean System
- Includes two Windex® Glass Cleaner concentrated cleaner cartridges and one each of Scrubbing Bubbles® Bathroom Cleaner, fantastik® Kitchen Cleaner, Pledge® Furniture Cleaner and Shout® Carpet Cleaner concentrated cleaner cartridges and two sprayers for $45.99

Replacement concentrate cartridges are also available for $7.99 for two or $11.99 for three cleaners of your choice.

SC Johnson Smart Twist cleaned all FOUR of my bathrooms with no trouble

SC Johnson Smart Twist helped to clean my kitchen (even my floors!)

I used the kitchen cleaner to make sure my table was clean for my family to eat at

To use the Smart Twist™ Cleaning System simply fill the tank with water, and then snap the concentrated cleaner cartridges into the Smart Twist™ Cleaning System. Twist the carousel until the cleaner you want clicks into the front position. For best results, pull the trigger back quickly and fully. Spray and wipe surface to clean. If cleaning a small surface, spray the cleaner onto a cleaning cloth.

The great thing about the Smart Twist™ Cleaning System is its ease of use. Smart Twist™ brings added convenience by automatically adding the right amount of water, giving you one less thing to worry about.

SC Johnson is offering free shipping on all Smart Twist™ Cleaning System orders and any purchases $24.99 and above. This offer is valid at the Smart Twist™ website.

Full disclosure: this article is financially supported by SC Johnson

A big congrats to our top 5!

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  DIY floating acorn cap candles

How I Clean My Front Loading Washing Machine

No Bake Chocolate Oat Balls Recipe

DIY Tablet Stand from Old Cutting-Board

Blueberry Muffins

 Join us again this week!!

Here’s how it works.

We open on Tuesdays and close on Fridays.
On Saturday the top 5 are pinned into a Special Pinterest Board for repinning. :)
On Tuesday the same top 5 will be featured in the link up for the new week!

What are you allowed to pin?

Food Recipes, Crafts, DIY, Kids Activities

Rules & Guidelines.

Please visit at minimum 2 other blog posts and pin at least 2 to your pinterest boards.
Follow our hosts on Pinterest
Please link your post and not your blog homepage.
Grab our button and spread the word to help the pinnable post link up grow!

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On Monday morning, I dropped Dexter off to his daycare around 9 AM, as usual. We’d had a lovely family fun filled weekend, and although he was a bit reluctant to go into his classroom, I didn’t see anything unusual in his behavior.

Two hours later, as Daniel and I cuddled together on the couch, my phone rang. My heart dropped into my stomach as I noticed the caller ID – “Dexter’s Daycare.” Immediately I knew SOMETHING was wrong, as they’d never called before, and any time they’ve ever needed a word, they have left me a note on the sign-in sheet.

I answered the call and it was Carrie, the owner. She said that Dexter “was throwing up,” and she sounded sort of upset. I assured her I’d be right over, and I told Mark to watch the baby while I got in the car and sped over. As I got up to the doors, I saw my little man walking toward me with Carrie. He gave a big smile and started to run, but then his face went pale and he slowed back down again, clearly not feeling well.

I assured Carrie that he’d been fine all weekend and that I’d never have sent him if I thought he was ill, and she assured me that he wasn’t the first and wouldn’t be the last to paint the nursery in splashes of vomit.

I brought the little guy home and immediately noticed that despite them having made use of the change of clothes we send with him every day, he STUNK. So I decided a bath was the best thing for him.

The bags under his eyes and the sallow skin he sported were so much worse when he was soaking wet. He suddenly seemed so very small and meek. Just the day before, Mark and I had been talking about how pudgy he has become, with a tiny little pot belly and a chubby little chin. But I couldn’t see it at all anymore… My baby was sick, and though it had been only a couple of hours, I felt he was wasting away.

After his bath, I went to put him in some pajamas, and I was astounded when he put up no fuss at wearing his footie PJs, which he usually doesn’t want to wear.

I gave him a glass of pink lemonade with a crazy straw, and I let him suck on his brother’s pacifier, and he slipped one of my flowery headbands on his head. He seemed quite well in himself, so I sat him on the couch and put on his favorite cartoons.

It wasn’t long at all before the lovely pink lemonade made a reappearance. The kid puked every last bit of it up, along with whatever he’d eaten that morning. He sprayed it all over himself and all over me. A change of clothes for both of us was in order, but it was no time at all before he threw up again. And again.

All day long, he was sick. Punctuated by covering his eyes and laying on the floor for short periods before he would raise his little head, look across at me pitifully and then be sick all over again. Mark started trying to teach him to throw up in the toilet, and it broke my heart each time, because you could see that Dex really wanted to please us by doing so, but a two year old isn’t quite equipped to make it to the bathroom when they need to vomit.

Toward the evening, and after a full day of him rejecting every drink I offered, I finally thought to give him some popsicles. He downed THREE of them in no time at all, while pedalling his bike out on the balcony. And he managed to keep them down! I was very pleased, and he started to look like his normal self again.

Mark suggested giving him some food, and I was adamant that the only things he could eat were what you’d find on the BRAT diet – namely, Bananas, Rice, Apple Sauce or Toast. And we had none of it.

So I headed out to the store to get some supplies. I figured I ought to pick up some Pedialyte, as well, just to ensure proper hydration. And I wanted to have a look at the pharmacy to see if there was anything a toddler could take for nausea.

When I returned home with bananas and bread, as well as some Baby Emetrol, I was excited to get him fed up. But no sooner had he followed me into the kitchen that he threw up all over the floor. As I stared at it, I started to wonder about what I was seeing… it looked to have bits of chicken in it. He hadn’t eaten chicken in the last few days, so what was going on?

And then Mark said that he’d fed him a chicken quesadilla.

!!!!

What?!

Apparently in the short time I’d been gone, Dex had shown an interest in Mark’s food and instead of heeding my BRAT guidelines, Mark figured the food would be fine. Clearly it wasn’t. Grr.

A banana was devoured, but it, too, came back up. The kid wouldn’t take any of the medicine I’d brought, either, nor did he really want the pedialyte. He clearly just had enough.

After he threw up in his bed as we tried to get him to sleep, we finally decided that Mark would sleep in the living room with him while I kept the baby in the bed with me.

Sadly, Dexter spent much of the night being sick everywhere, and Mark had to deal with it all.

The next day was much better, in that after his last bout of vomiting at 5AM, he finally managed to get some sleep. He spent the whole day in a corner of the living room, having made himself a little bed out of couch cushions and hiding his head under a frisbee.

I did try and get him in to the doctor, but I wound up taking him to the Urgent Care centre when we couldn’t get in. After waiting an hour in the waiting room, I got a call from Mark saying that our doctor had called in a prescription for anti-nausea suppositories and I should just leave. So I did. We went home so he could rest some more.

Occasionally, he’d come sit on my lap, holding me as tightly as he could and cuddling my bosom. I held him tightly right back, offering him small sips of pedialyte when he needed it, and after many many hours, he started to improve.

Sleep was pretty much the best medicine, and he had an awful lot of that.

The rest of the day passed pretty easily, and though I’d had a small worry when Daniel threw up green liquid all over me and the rocking chair, it turned out to be a one-off and not an acquired illness. Whew!

We did have slight concerns when Mark went in to change his diaper and found a giant mess of diarrhea, but it seems to have been the final clean out he needed to get his spirits and good health back.

Today he is back at daycare, and hopefully he will be okay. He seems much happier in himself, and I am pleased to have got through such an awful couple of days with a sickly toddler. Truly there is no greater sadness for a parent than knowing your baby is poorly.

But similarly, the elation you feel when they get better is almost unparalleled.

A big congrats to our top 5!

(selected by clicks in the linky)

 Grab your button here!

Craft Tutorial – Birds Nest Necklace

Lego Maze

Mixed Fabric Raglan T-Shirt Tutorial

Lunes de Chocolate-Chocolate Mondays

DIY Glass Insulator Candle

 Join us again this week!!

Here’s how it works.

We open on Tuesdays and close on Fridays.
On Saturday the top 5 are pinned into a Special Pinterest Board for repinning. :)
On Tuesday the same top 5 will be featured in the link up for the new week!

What are you allowed to pin?

Food Recipes, Crafts, DIY, Kids Activities

Rules & Guidelines.

Please visit at minimum 2 other blog posts and pin at least 2 to your pinterest boards.
Follow our hosts on Pinterest
Please link your post and not your blog homepage.
Grab our button and spread the word to help the pinnable post link up grow!

Pin It Tuesday Host: {Pinterest}

Pin It Tuesday Co-Hosts: {Pinterest}

 

Share This Pinterest “Pin It Tuesday” Link up!

Tweet

 

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