17 weeks!

Starting the maybe-a-little-corny chalkboard/survey posts! I kinda wish I had started earlier but.. ya know.. it is what it is. 

Everything is moving SO FAST so I need to starting documenting! I can't wait to look back and see all the changes!

WEEK 17

How far along are you?
17 weeks down, 23 to go! 

How big is Baby? 
 About 5.1 inches long and 5.9 ounces.

Weight Gain? 
 Well I was gaining pretty fast but it's slowed down (thank you, morning sickness)

 Gender?
Will find out in 3 weeks!! Cannot wait! Want to narrow down names and start shopping!!!

Maternity Clothes?
Love them! So comfy! Living in my cute maternity jeans and long tops.

Stretch Marks?
Not yet. But using Bio-Oil to attempt to fend them off!

Sleep?
  Refresh me, what is "sleep"? :)

Symptoms?
Mucho vomiting the past week..  Always nauseous. Headaches. Pain in my abdomen which is apparently "round ligament pain".. whatever you call it, its not so fun. I DO have super thick hair though, thank you vitamins and hormones. :)

Movement?
Started feeling little "flicks" about a week ago.  Don't feel it consistently.

Food Cravings?
 Chicken fingers, pork roll and FRUIT, FRUIT and more FRUIT! 

Labor Signs?
No, too early. And since my little nephew Matthew decided to come 8 weeks early, Peanut and I had to have a little talk.  No scaring your mama, child!! 

Belly Button in or out?
 In

What I miss?
Being able to sleep on my stomach. Not having to go to the bathroom every 12 seconds. Not being so diligent about everything! (i.e. food, vitamins, chemicals, sleep, etc..)

What I am looking forward to?
Being a mom!!

Best moment of the week?

A good report from the doctor! 

Exciting news!!

So I finally got to announce my pregnancy to my friends and to Facebook. It was touching to see how excited and emotional some people became upon hearing my news. My church family has been through my medical ups and downs along with me and I know at some points my future looked bleak. 

But, God does amazing things in His perfect timing! 

I am just so excited about starting this part of my life.. One that I was not so sure would happen for me. God is SO GOOD!! Will be blogging through this crazy journey!! 

Chop it up...

So.. I ombred it but... it didn't cut it.. excuse the pun.. After my meds had massacred the health and thickness of my hair, I had really been craving a "real" hair cut. I wanted to chop it all off so it would all grow in healthy.. Well I LOVE it now. I wasn't sure what I would think of it... but I loaded my phone with tons of Pinterest shots, and ended up with a healthy haircut that I am fond of! Score!

Before and after!

 

Ta-da!

Hair chalk? I think not..

I really love the look of "hair chalk" .. It's hard not to, it's ALL OVER Pinterest and everywhere else.. When I was at the store buying bleach for my ombre look, I saw "hair shadow", a similar product for $10. It was a little tiny pot, like an eyeshadow.. No way. I had seen on Pinterest that someone had used chalk and a flat iron. Well I have art chalk (conté crayons) so I knew I didn't need to spend that money.. And I have a lot of colors. I also had a hunch (based on the other pinners experience of having to make a "paste" with the chalk) that watercolors may work. 

Watercolor paint

So, I started with the watercolors.  I took a short handled (oil color) paintbrush and just got a good amount of color, and painted it onto a strand of damp hair. Easy-peasy. I let this sit while I tried using the chalk pastels on two strand on the opposite side.

Artists pastels

This was a little more difficult. I tried wetting my hair and coloring on it.. no dice. I ended up coloring on my hand and pulling it through. It was a little "chunky" in my hair.. felt kinda wierd. 

The wet pastel side:

The wet watercolor side:

Then I dried them both with my hair dryer. (Next time, I will be sure to comb through each piece while wet.. I didn't and it was pretty tangled.) When dry, I flat ironed them. (I read somewhere that this would seal-in the color.. that doesn't really make sense to me, but I did it b/c I just wanted them straight.)

The dry pastel side:

The dry watercolor side:

 

Although both worked fairly well, I definitely give the edge to the watercolors.  MUCH easier to use and the color is MUCH more vibrant.  Both made my hair kinda crunchy feeling, but this may be b/c I just bleached the ends and they are very dry. 

The color is fun and will only last until you shampoo.  Grab some watercolors and go to town!

Ombré .. It was time

So you DO know what ombre is.. If you don't, please let me know how you escaped the hype of this trend. Anyway, it is a graduated color change from your roots to the tip of your hair.  I went back and forth about it.. Mostly, I thought I would kill my hair or screw up very badly.  But this week I REALLY wanted to cut all my hair off.. like Carey Mulligan short. Unfortunately, the hubby is NOT in love with that idea. So.. I figured if I messed up ombre, I would cut it.. not quite as short as I want, but at least it would be a change either way.  

So today I had free time and a sudden surge of confidence so I ventured to Harmon and picked up my supplies.

What I bought:

 L'Oreal Super Blond Lightening Kit

Neutrogena Triple Moisture Pure Strength Conditioning Treatment (this line of products has saved my hair on multiple occasions)

I anticipated needing to tone down the brassiness so I bought 

L'Oreal Brass Banisher Color Balancing Gloss Treatment - but I liked the result so I didn't use it. 

I also bought Clairol Natural Instincts Shine Happy Clear Shine Treatment but before using it I read the instructions which say not to use it on bleached hair for 3-4 weeks after bleaching. So I will use this but don't want to put anymore stress on my hair yet. (P.S. I have used this product before and LOVE it.)

So anyway.. this is what I did.. maybe not exactly how everyone else does it.

Step 1:

Mix Bleach

Stick to the package instructions and combine bleaching solutions.

 Apply to unwashed dry hair. (I don't know why it has to be dry but I wasn't fooling with bleaching.)

Step 2:

Apply to lower half of your hair (or wherever you want the HIGHEST point of color to be) and drag through to the ends.  I also took random strands and held them closer to the root and pulled bleach down them. The idea is to be somewhat messy with your application to achieve the "natural" look.  When you are happy, let sit for 20-30 minutes. You should be able to judge how much color has been lifted (unlike dye). Rinse hair and blow-dry on low heat.

Step 3:

Apply bleach again, concentrating on the ends.  Don't let the bleach come up as high as your did last time.  This is how you acheive the graduated effect. 

Let sit for 30 minutes and rinse again. Blow dry on low again.

Step 4: 

If you like your result, stop now.  If not, repeat Step 3. Keep in mind bleach does dry out your hair.. Don't create unneeded stress on your hair. 

Step 5: 

Condition. Condition. Condition!! Use a hair mask, the conditioning treatments all over Pinterest, or your usual deep conditioner but anticipate dryness. 

Ta- da!

Pony Bead Bowl

This is a really fun craft to do with kids.. or not :)  This can also be modified to make Christmas ornaments, jewelry, etc.  This was the first time I had attempted the bowl.  It's fairly easy.

What you'll need

Pony beads
Aluminum foil
Round cake pan
An oven-safe dish
 
Step 1

Line the bottom of a cake pan with aluminum foil.  Pour pony beads in the pan until they fully cover the bottom of the pan.

Step 2

Put the pan in the oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes (or until melted).

Step 3

Let cool and remove the foil.  Take disk (it can still be slightly warm..) and place over a foil-covered dish.  Place dish with the pony bead disk on top on a cookie sheet (or back in cake pan) and place back into oven.  

Step 4

As the beads melt again they will droop over the bowl.  When it has formed to your liking, remove and let cool. 

Ta-da!

Beautiful Metal Art

I saw this idea on Make It.. a Wonderful Life  but wanted to try it with canvas boards (I much prefer them to cardboard), and using far less steps.. The original poster did this with a children's art class. They drew their pictures on paper, traced it onto tracing paper with ink, then covered the other side with graphite and then traced onto the cardboard. This is a great technique to use, but I just don't have that kind of patience...

What you need

A canvas board (or cardboard)
Tacky glue (other glues will not work)
A glue stick
Something with a dull point (I used the end of a paintbrush)
Shoe polish (I used a sponge applicator one)

Step 1

Make a design on your board or other surface with the glue. ( I like doing it this way because you end up with maybe some crazy unanticipated design that you will love.) Let glue dry overnight.

Step 2

Glue needs to be fully dry. Cut your aluminum foil to size (with a border to fold over - about an inch or two). Cover one side (either) with the glue stick.

Step 3

Press the foil over your design. Push in the edges with your fingers, lightly (you don't want it to tear). After you have smoothed most of the bubbles out, fold your edges over the sides.
Take your dull point and press down around your design. Try to push the excess out. Make designs in the flat foil (this will catch some of the shoe polish later and make your design more detailed).

Step 5

Apply ample shoe polish all over your design. After a few seconds, wipe off as much as possible with a paper towel.

Ta-da!