Crest 3D White Strips...Compliments of the amazing Influenster!

A few months ago I joined Influenster.  If you aren't a member of this network... Shame on you!  It is a fairly new website that allows you to create a profile and read reviews of different products.  The best part is that you can review products absolutely free!  I received an email back in October, letting me know that I had qualified to review the Crest 3D white strips.  I was beyond excited, because life with an 18 month old has turned my occasional cup of coffee into a staple in my morning routine.  Needless to say, my choppers were in need of a little TLC.  My voxbox arrived quicker than I had anticipated and I could not get it open fast enough.  The 20 day supply of white strips was welcomed with open arms.  I have tried other whitening products on the market, but only to be disappointed that I had spent money on a product that delivered little results.  I have to admit that I was skeptical that the Crest 3D white strips would be any different.  However, I noticed a slight improvement after the first use.  I do tend the leave the strips on longer than the recommended time frame, although I would not recommend doing so if your teeth tend to be on the sensitive side.  I have missed a few days, so I am still using the last of my supply, but I cannot say enough good things about these powerful little strips.  The new year is quickly approaching, so I will be using the last of my supply over the next few days.  I mean who couldn't use a brighter smile for the new year?!  If you have been thinking about trying a whitening product I would totally recommend opting for the Crest 3D strips!  Feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think.  I hope you experience the same awesome results!... After all, if you aren't whitening, you are yellowing :-)

Ciao

Update from a Slacker... Many more to come!

So, the title pretty much says all.  I cannot believe that I have not written a blog entry since March 1st... Shame on me!  Needless to say, life has been a whirlwind... I will do my best to bring things update.  Travel with me, if you will... back to the month of March.

Most mornings I was dropping Phoenix off at his Gigi's house, so that I could make it to my workout class at Pure Barre(this place deserves its own blog entry).  Well, we are just about to get down into ab work, when one of the instructors comes and pulls me out of class.  Of course I am freaking! I'll cut to the chase and tell you that Phoenix had swallowed a PAPER CLIP.  I rush to my grandmother's house in complete distress, not knowing what to expect.  Alas, I get there and he is PLAYING on his play-mat!  I franticly plop him in the carseat and rush off to the emergency room.  Naturally, he falls asleep in the car.  Once we get there, we have a zero wait period.  The nurse proceeds to wand my child down with a metal detector, while the doctor on-call proceeds to ask me what happened.  I of course start feeling like I deserve the mom-of-the-year award as I say, "um.. well... um I wasn't there!" Luckily my mom and grandmother were in tow with me, so my grandmother chimes in, and explains that she was carrying Phoenix around on her hip when the phone rang. With him still on her hip she sat him on the counter and before she could stop him, he picked up the paper clip and popped it in his mouth.  I should now mention that my child is freakishly quick.  If I didn't know any better, I would think that I procreated with The Flash!  Thanks to the wand not picking up on the metal that was floating around in my child's abdomen; I had the beautiful experience of getting the 3rd degree regarding any possibility that I could be pregnant because I was about to embark on the excitement of pinning down my chubby baby so that we could both be exposed to radiation.  Yay us!  I held down my wailing child for not one, but two X-rays.  If I never hear the word paper clip again, it will be too soon.  So anyway, I am finally able to console my officially pissed off baby while I wait for the doctor to give us an up date.  As you already know, there was indeed, a paper clip located in my child's stomach.  Now for the really exciting part... I had the luxury of digging through every poopy diaper for 3 days (who said being a mama was glamours), because the doctor ensured me that his body would work wonders and form a mucus around the foreign object, thus causing zero injury to his little tush (Thank God).  Finally, on day 3 I found a little treasure!  I have pictures, but I will spare everyone.  Although, I must admit, that I considered framing the paper clip and hanging it in his room.  Okay, I am joking(kind of).

P.S.
Did I mention that all of this took place days before I was about to head to New Orleans to watch my Cards play the Cats in the final four?  Mustafa assured me that Phoenix was in good hands with MiMi (my mom), and that at least we knew he was strong, I mean after-all the kid can freakin' eat metal!  Sorry parents my son is tougher than yours =)

Struck Gold at Dollar General

Okay, so not gold, BUT to my surprise they have more deals than I had expected.  Yesterday, after all of the nasty weather Phoenix and I broke out the bugaboo and took it for a stroll.  25mins. later I found my self wandering the isles of the Dollar General, or as my mom likes to call it "General Dollar."Surprisingly, they have some steals on brand name baby items: diaper rash cream, Hyland teething tablets were marked down to TWO DOLLARS, and Huggies brand wipes were deeply discounted.  I could go on and on about this store.  They had a gazillon things for adults as well.  If you are a frugal mom like myself, you may want to check out your nearest Dollar General or General Dollar, which ever you prefer to call it.

Giving back

I took a few hours out of my usual lazy and gluttony filled Sunday, to head downtown in the city that I admire and grew up in to give back to the community. I spent a few hours serving a hot meal to some members of the community that are less fortunate. Needless to say, it broke and opened my heart simultaneously.

I spent the first few minutes feeling sorry for the men and women that sat before me patiently waiting to consume a hot meal. I wondered what, why, and how things had gone wrong in life to lead them to this moment. Then is dawned on me that my feeling sorry for them would not be of any service. With that thought I decided that I would spend every second that I had with them treating them with kindness, dignity, and respect. I waited on the men and women as if they were patrons in a fine dining restaurant, as if I were working for tips to provide for my family. I know that my kindness may be the only kindness that the experienced all day or perhaps all week. I pray that for even just a moment the men and women I served yesterday felt like human beings as opposed to garbage that has been thrown away by society.

I could continue talking about my experience, but Phoenix is starting to wake from his nap. I have decided that no matter what city I happen to be in, I will Give back in some form at least once a week.

Here is a man that just happen to see her shoe was untied and he eagerly tied it for her and went on his way.

Ahoy!

So, I have been slacking on the blog front thanks to my current obsession with Phoenix's 1st birthday. It is still 5 months away, but I want it to be perfect, not to mention I love a party.   Phoenix's birthday falls on a Thursday this year, so we will have his party that following weekend which happens to be right before the 4th of July. So, as of now I have decided to go with a "little sailor" theme complete with a red, white and blue color scheme.  Pintrest has been my latest go-to website for cute, easy, diy ideas.  I have been checking out little sailor-ish outfits for his big day and it makes me oh so excited.

I am obsessed with this number, but I think it will be too big (insert sad face here)



















This is super cute as well and may be better due to Phoenix having his dad's genes and being hot natured

Ok, off to do more idea hunting!

Nawlins here we come...Again!

So, we are super excited to be traveling back to New Orleans.  Mustafa booked an episode of Common Law that comes on the USA network, and N.O is where the show films.  We are heading down tomorrow and I cannot wait to be in warm weather with the best fried(yeah I'm healthy like that) seafood you could ever put in your mouth.  BUT, I am totally freaking out about leaving Phoenix for 5 days.  He is staying with his MiMi (my mom), but 5 days in mommyland feels more like 5 months!  Alas, I am sure we will have a slamming time-did I mention that you can walk down the street with an adult beverage? Its like Disneyland for adults. Here are a few pictures from our last trip.

Welcome Baby Jaxon!

A few months ago my dear friend, whom I have been friends with since high school asked me if I would be in the delivery room to photograph the birth of their first born child.  Needless to say, I was beyond thrilled and honored to share the extremely precious moment with her and her family. She has no clue, but I actually shed a few happy tears after we got off the phone.  I know I know it sounds so sappy, but since I had Phoenix 6 months ago I have turned into little miss waterworks. Anyway, the entire month of December, Jaxon gave everyone the run-around.  I surely thought that he would bless his mommy and daddy with his presence before Christmas, but this little guy was comfy and cozy.  However, his mama was quite the opposite!  Finally the big day arrived and Mustafa and I literally sat around the house all day trying to wait for the shindig to really kick-off.  If you have kids or know someone that does, then you know that labor is anything but quick. Mustafa and I headed to the hospital around 9ish and waited through the night.  Finally, our dear friends welcomed their little boy Jaxon Stanley into the world on Jan. 6th, 2012 at 5:32am.  He weighed a surprising 9lbs. 1oz, and is beyond sweet and PERFECT!  Mustafa and I are beyond thrilled to have our close friends join us in this journey called parenthood and cannot wait to watch Jaxon and Phoenix run around, play, and occasionally beat each other up.

Congratulations Katie and Dave! We love you guys!

 

Wait, is Christmas really over?!

It seems like just yesterday that I was sitting around watching my body grow day by day thinking, I should start a blog and document my pregnancy as well as the joys and struggles of being a new mom.  Well, now I am sitting here looking at my son completely in awe and slightly sadden by the fact that he has his first Christmas under his belt and in 2 days he will be 6 months old!  WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE???

Lighting Speed

So, it seems like just yesterday that I was sitting around watching my belly swell wondering if we would be welcoming a little girl or boy into this frightful world.  I never gave the wicked ways of this world too much thought until the day that I found out that we would be bring another life into this madness. My pregnancy was a breeze up until the last 2 weeks when I literally felt like my hips were going to shatter into tiny little pieces.  After having contractions for 2 days and 40 weeks and 4 days Phoenix finally decided he was ready to make his grand appearance.  Mustafa and I stayed awake the entire night timing contractions waiting for them to get closer. To aide us in our wait we decided we would look online to find the longest movie we could to watch for FREE. So after a quick search we settled on Malcolm X (thank you Spike Lee).  As soon as the film was over (3am) it was time to head to the hospital.  Fast forward to me laying in triage praying that they don't send me home when the nurse comes in and checks to see how much I have progressed in the past hour. WELL there was progress as well as the presence of meconium (poo).  This discovery resulted in the dreaded c-section UGH!  Nothing against mamas that opt for c-sections, but it just wasn't the way I had envisioned the delivery of my child.  We had arrived at the hospital at 3:30am and had a baby in our arms at 8:18am.  Later we found out that the cord was wrapped around his neck twice and had I tried for a vaginal delivery the outcome more than likely would have resulted in a c-section or worse.  Needless to say I have never been so thankful for poo in all of my life!  Now, I am sitting here completely in awe of the fact that Phoenix is 6 months old and he is the happiest, sweetest little guy around.  I feel beyond blessed. Can someone please tell me where the time has gone???