Bloglovin'

Sometimes I'm a little late on the trends.  For instance, I just started using Instagram and still haven't found a groove with using it regularly.  There's another great trend going on for blog writers/readers like me and it's called Bloglovin'!  I'm sure I'm late finding this site too but today I want to share it with you.  It's a place where you can scroll through and read blogs that you follow.  It looks similar to a Pinterest page but rather than pins, it's all the latest blog posts from your favorite blogs to keep you up to date.  It even suggests other blogs to read based on what you are currently reading.  So check it out.  Click this link and join the Bloglovin' revolution.  Have fun reading blogs you love and finding new ones.  There's even an app for your smart phone.  And while I am plugging them, I'll plug myself.  Just click the "follow me on bloglovin' link" on my blog's sidebar and start following me on the site.  Hope you like this new find as much as I do!

Foundation Match

After I started my venture into make-up I got lucky and found a foundation that I really loved.  It's Loreal true match lumi and the main reason I loved it was because they make it somewhat easy to match your color.  You have to decide if you have yellow or pink undertones and then choose a shade based on that.  Their system at least narrows down the choices.  I decided I had neutral undertones because I can see both blue veins (typically means pink undertones) and green veins (typically means yellow undertones) in my arms.  I also decided that I don't burn easily (pink undertones) and while I can get tan (yellow undertones), I still burn sometimes.  You can google all kinds of things to help you decide if your skin is more pink or yellow based.  This is the first tip to picking the right foundation.  

While I was happy with my choice I kept reading reviews and watching youtube videos of all these other great foundation brands so I tried some others...and returned some others...this just taught me that reviews are a good place to start but it always comes down to what works for YOU! I tried revlon color stay mousse in the shade sand beige and I think it may have oxidized on my skin because after a few minutes of wearing it, it looked more pink/orangey than I thought.  This may have been the result of adding my bronzer and illuminator as well and the colors just didn't blend well.  

I also tried (and returned) revlon photo ready in the color nude.  I totally thought this was going to work based on some google searching to match my color but again it was too orange for me.  My friend suggested I go to MAC or Sephora and get matched for my foundation color to stop this madness.  That's tip number 2: go to the MAC store and ask them to match you to a foundation!  I found this to be super helpful and found I was the color NC25 in MAC Studio tech foundation.  One day when I leave my cheap drugstore ways behind, I'm buying that!  The big thing we noticed at MAC is my face has some redness and that can make it look pink but my body is clearly more yellow so we went with a yellow based foundation because it's important that your face matches your body.  That's tip number 3, match your body.  Side note: NC 25 may very likely be my summer shade as I'm a little tan so I may go and get re-matched in the winter to see what happens.  

Ok so now you know what color you are in MAC...how does that help with buying other brands?  Apparently the internet is full of people who wear MAC and has lots of information about if you wear this color in MAC, then you may be this color in another brand!  Cool eh?  Here's a fun website that I can't guarantee results but it's worth a try. 

Foundation matching website

I used this website to see what color I was in the Loreal true match lumi that I already knew I loved and it just put me one shade darker from what I picked originally still in the neutral category (the name is natural buff).  Here I am wearing it and look how it matches my body as I hold up my arm. (note: don't actually match your foundation to your arm...the photo was just to show you how it looks against my body.  I have heard matching to your chest is good but I'm still figuring it out...this is why I went to MAC and let them find my match.)

I do still like this foundation in the lighter shade that I have and will likely be wearing that in the winter as my small tan fades. I think the name is classic ivory or something like that but it's the lightest in the neutral series. Here are my two shades...at least I hope I am doing it right now!  (I guess I should add that there are also people all over the internet who say MAC did not match them correctly but the person I had tried multiple shades on me and asked what I thought as well as her opinion so hopefully you get someone good!)

Toddler Busy Bag Exchange

Today some friends of mine were so nice participate in a busy bag exchange with me!  I must have seen the idea on Pinterest a while back and couldn't wait to try it.  We simply exchanged our (previously made at home) busy bags at the park with a potluck of snacks while the little ones ate and played. We all felt like our first exchange (assuming we will have more) was a success. Here's hoping all of our little ones enjoy what we made!

I made a car-track out of felt that the kids can puzzle piece together and then push their little car around.

Selena bought us all little doctor kits.

Katy made two busy bags.  The first is popsicle stick puzzles with a picture cut apart then a piece is stuck to each stick. The second is a felt maze with a little marble inside to move through the felt (that one even involved a little sewing).

Melanie made us magnets (by sticking magnets on the back of erasers) on a white board with a dry erase marker.

Anjela also made two busy bags.  The first is matching the color on the clothespin with the color of the paint swatch.  The second is the numbers 1- 10 with the corresponding number of dots on each card and the child can put the corresponding number of beans on the dots.

 

Anna made popsicle sticks in the colors of the rainbow with velcro on the ends so the child can create shapes, letters and learn their colors.

An emotional rant on my decision to be a SAHM

With the school year fast approaching and numerous teaching job posts popping up in my life, I find myself struggling with my decision to be a stay at home mom (SAHM).  I get so excited thinking about the possibility to interview for a new teaching position and being able to share my years of experience from teaching inner city to the beautiful Somali population in Minneapolis, to teaching online, to teaching ESL in the Dominican Republic.  I just want to share it all and nail an interview or two!  You can barely get an interview in Minnesota without connections and after over 6 years of teaching in the state, I finally have some connections and just want to use them.  I went to school for another 6 years and got my Masters degree and feel like I want to put it to use for longer than the 6-7 years I taught.  (I heard a statistic once that most people with a teaching degree don’t last past 5 years in the field so maybe I shouldn’t complain about my 6-7).  Tonight I am feeling nostalgic for my old life…well, just my old career.  With so many teacher friends returning to work and the back to school sales and job postings, I can’t help but miss it.

I know that being able to stay at home with Joaquin is such a blessing and there is so much good I can do. I know that my education will be useful in teaching my children and it has already proven useful in other areas of my life.  This isn’t to say I won’t go back ever, I just don’t plan to full time while I have small children.  Even when I write that, I question it.  Sure it’s great to be a stay at home mom but I’m sure daycare could also teach Joaquin just fine…not to mention maybe he wouldn’t have the separation anxiety, or whatever it’s called, that he’s facing right now.  I could say that my teacher salary wouldn’t cover the cost of daycare but it would, maybe not for multiple children but at this point there are not multiple children.  That’s another thing; sometimes I feel like a mom with more than 1 kid is more justified to be a stay at home mom than me and thinking that too is terrible because I know that’s not true. 

It’s 1:30am and I can’t sleep.  I have this rant going through my mind and I need to get it out in a public forum so you can help me.  I need help remembering why it is good to be a stay at home mom even for one small, one and a half year old boy. There’s even this guilt I feel asking for that help because deep down I know I am lucky to have such an important calling to be a mother and I know of the significance I can do.  But sometimes, like tonight, I need help remembering.  Maybe you can share with me some great talk or quotes on motherhood or maybe you can tell me my feelings are justified or that you have felt something similar.  As much as I miss my career, I just can’t trade it for being able to be home with Joaquin.  If I could, I think I would have done it by now but this stay at home mom thing has me wrapped around its' little finger.  Thank you for your thoughts.

Silky Mama

I recently read a friend's post on Facebook that said this: "I co-sleep, I breastfeed a toddler while I breastfeed a 3 month old, I wear my baby, I question vaccination schedules, and take a visit to my essential oil supply before a trip to the doctors office. We are alive, we are healthy, and we are happy!"  To me this implied that she believed for doing the things she listed, others may perceive those as things that wouldn't keep her and her babies alive, healthy and happy.  I often have this same thought...that there are people who believe I am not doing what is absolutely best but for me it's because I am not doing the things my friend listed above. So we each have the same thought, that others may think our way isn't best while we are both doing different things...silly. (Apparently the mommy wars stuff gets into a lot of our heads one way or another).  I guess I do things the mainstream way and while you may think mainstream is popular, I haven't felt this way at all.  I think it's because most of my friends here lean towards being a crunchy mama, which is how I would define my friend of the original Facebook post above...if of course we're labeling.  So what's the opposite of a crunchy mama?  What am I?  According to Urban dictionary, I am a silky mama. "Modern mother who prefers medicated hospital birth, bottle feeding/part time breastfeeding, disposable diapers, crib sleeping, etc. One who follows the advice of established medical authority; often tend to be working moms who rely on modern products for convenience and time management."  I truly don't believe one way is better than the other.  The best way to raise a child is what keeps you all alive, healthy and happy.  I just find it interesting reading all these definitions and seeing where I label myself on the parenting spectrum.  

There are quite a few things that intrigue me about crunchy mamas like baby wearing and cloth diapering and I think we will just have to see how I am when another child comes along.  I do feel like my parenting experience was almost limited in a way, moving back and forth from the Dominican Republic during my child's first year and a half of life. We survived with the bare minimums for him like diapers, bottles and a few toys. We finally gave in and got a high chair but buying things was hard knowing our life in Dominican Republic was temporary and we couldn't ship items back and forth.  I also feel like I didn't have time (or make time) to learn about all the different ways to raise a baby.  I was too busy learning the culture, the language, trying to make friends and just figuring out daily life like how to pay my bills and get around.  I've noticed so many things since moving back that I just didn't have there.  First being all the cool baby products.  I recently saw a bib that has a lip to catch food in and rinses right out.  Did you know I had never seen one of those?  I don't mean this in any negative way but most of our friends with babies lived in poverty and did not have all these amazing products so of course I didn't see them.  Another thing here in the US are all the playgroups and mom meet ups online.  Internet and especially computers, are limited there so I definitely didn't have that!  There is even a group of moms here that have a Facebook group for baby wearing with a baby wearing library where you can check out all kinds of ring slings, mobys and backpacks.  Maybe for the next baby... The US also has internet shopping for some awesome baby products and cloth diapers but shipping internationally is much too expensive and most of the places I'd look don't ship internationally anyway.  So maybe I'd be a little more crunchy had I had a different experience with Joaquin but who knows because honestly this silky mama thing has fit my life perfectly and myself, dad and baby are all alive, healthy and happy so for now I'll just keep on doing what I'm doing.  Silky-silk-silk. :)

Wisconsin Dells take 1

Want to know why this blog is titled take 1?  Because in another month I'm going back to Wisconsin Dells but to a different resort with different family members so a whole new trip to look forward to!

I always get surprised when I talk to people from MN who have never gone to Wisconsin Dells!  It's only a 3.5 hour drive and it's the water park capital of the world!  I've been going almost every summer the past few years and I really like it.  But hey, I'm a sucker for tourism and waterparks specifically are always fun.

This past weekend we went with the family my brother married into.  Let me just tell you what a wonderful family this is.  For as long as I can remember they have invited my mom and I to do things with their family.  We often celebrate holidays together and use to take a trip together every summer.  I'll never forget the packed minivan and car loads of our group 12-15 big going to Chicago Six Flags or Wisconsin Dells each summer.  Well it's been a couple years since we've gone on our traditional summer trip or at least since I've been able to come and this year was the first year my husband and baby got to come along for the experience!  This family really is one of the most hospitable I know and I've seen their kids grow up, some are still growing, and they are all turning into such quality people.  I'm so impressed and feel so grateful my brother found Yung for his wife and I get to be a part of their family.

Soooo....what did we do?  Jesus, Joaquin and I began our trip Friday afternoon because we did not want to join the others for a Saturday 4am departure.  Jesus and I checked in our overpriced Super 8 (because it's summer in the dells and you need to book early for any decent price or place) and then headed over to the outlets.  I got jeans for $10 and a couple other things.  We also went to this huge fun zone full of rides, video games, bounce houses, go carts and more.  Perfect for kids and all of the bounce houses and giant jumping pillow were a hit for our little one.

On Saturday our big group arrived where we ate at Mr. Pancake for sake of tradition and sake that it's delicious.  We then headed over to Mt. Olympus resort.  This was a new park for us. It has several waterparks, an indoor and outdoor theme park with roller coaster and go-karts.  It really has it all.  Yung's family caught a great two bedroom room with fun bunk beds for all the kids.  We shared a room with Richard, Yung and their baby and it was a standard hotel room but not as new so not as nice.  Probably a fifty dollar room that we paid much more for but oh well...the included admission to the parks was worth it.

Mr. Pancake

Here we are same place five years ago but I'm taking the photo.  Look at the changes!

Some of the kids exploring their cool bunk beds

The first day we hit the waterparks but Joaquin was getting over being sick...maybe he was still sick...ok so the day before he was very sick and I was so selfish hoping he'd be better on time so I could go on rides on my vacation and not have to chill with a sick kid the whole time.  Obviously I wanted him better for his own comfort as well!  We couldn't keep him in the water too long and while we found a kid area, turns out there was a better one for smaller babies that we missed.  Eventually Jesus was kind enough to take Joaquin to nap and I got to go on some watersides with the others.  Jesus and I didn't have time to do much together because at least one of us needed to be with Joaquin and he's not big enough for the big slides and he was sick which made things even harder.  It was a bit of a downer but still not bad of a day.  

Our big group entering the parks...you can see some of the greek tourist style of Mt. Olympus

The second day we went to the theme park with roller coasters and go-karts.  Jesus threw out his back the night before so couldn't do much here.  He was a fun dad and took Joaquin on all the kid rides which was a blast.  I made it onto one roller coaster with Yung but then Jesus, Joaquin and I  headed home because the lines were each an hour wait and again...hard to do with a little one.  When we went home the rest of the family stayed and went on a jet boat ride but the age limit was 4 so we skipped that too.  So you can see how things change with children eh?  However it just takes a little extra planning for what activities you can all do or some baby sitting swapping and it all works out.  The best times really were the times we found great rides and activities for Joaquin...and maybe the roller coaster I went on. ;)  There is plenty for toddlers in WI Dells, don't get me wrong, probably just better when they aren't sick.

El tren

Baby Richard

There was no shortage of spinning in circles mid air for Joaquin on the balloons

Even Baby Richard got to go on the hot air balloons

Some of the big kids and adults supporting the babies on the kiddie rides

Now to do it all again in another month with my Aunt, uncle and cousin from Chicago.  Let it be known here that the plan is to go zip-lining but will my fear of heights win out?  We shall see...

PS I feel like this post is almost negative complaining about my little guy...not my intention...you know he's my world!  And I can't believe I don't have pics of water slides...

4th of July in Chicago 2014

Our first Chicago trip since being home in the USA.  We knew Jesus had the 4th of July off of work so what better way to celebrate than get out of town?  As we were searching for hotels all along the North Shore we realized my mom was searching for flights to Chicago.  We made a happy compromise and drove mom to Chicago so she could see family and we could go on a vaca!

We began our trip dropping my mom off with my aunt in Lake Forest, IL.  It was our first time to this city and it is beautiful!  It's on the beach with gorgeous homes and a cute local town with small cafes and little shops called, Lake Bluff, nearby.  We ate sushi at some trendy spot in Lake Forest the first night and then found overpriced lemon bread french toast at a a cafe in Lake Bluff the next morning.  We made a photo stop at the beach on Lake Michigan and played at the park before making our way to downtown Chicago.  We drove along a road called Sheradon to get downtown, which I highly recommend, for a beautiful drive down the coast with amazing homes!

If you can't read Joaquin's lips, he now says "cheese" for photos!

We arrived downtown and stayed at the Hyatt.  I will say this is a great location if you want to stay downtown and be tourists as we did.  It's minutes from Millennium park and Navy Pier.  So....apparently the 4th of July weekend in Chicago is VERY crowded.  Since I have so much family in Chicago, we go once or twice a year, and never have I seen this many people!  Luckily we had been to Navy Pier before because we sure were not able to stop and do anything there this trip.  We fought the crowds just to walk to the end of the pier and there definitely wasn't time to wait in lines for any attractions.  Millennium park however, while crowded, was much easier to navigate probably because of the open layout as opposed to a skinny pier.  The fountains were the biggest hit!  Joaquin had a blast running back and forth and getting soaked amidst the beautiful skyline.  We also managed to get a few photos with the famous bean.  Other highlights included shopping on Michigan Ave. where I bought a jean jacket from H and M and making a stop at the Chicago Cupcake truck parked nearby our hotel.  We saw the Navy Pier fireworks but watched from a street corner closer to our hotel which still managed to be over populated.  We ate bao buns from a fast food bao bun place food court style in the Water Tower Place mall and later ate crab legs from our hotel's fancy restaurant.  It was a really great food vacation in addition to all the entertainment.  Oh I can't forget to mention the seagulls.  We wanted to kill some time before dinner one night and when I saw those seagulls in the park, I knew that was just what my little toddler needed to blow off some steam.  He could chase birds for hours...with no fear...quite the opposite of his mommy.

The fountain sculpture splash pad thing at Millennium park...I don't know what this thing is really called!

Random photo downtown before the fireworks in the jacket bought while shopping the Magnificent Mile.

Joaquin in the original chairs from Wrigley Field that are now used to decorate the city.

Photos with/in the Bean at Millennium Park

                                      

Navy Pier

Finally after being tourists in Chicago, we met back up with some family to pick up my mom and return to MN.  We had a lovely lunch at an Eastern European restaurant in honor of my late Grandpa's birthday with grandma Lee, aunt Joan, uncle Ben and my cousin Benny, my aunt Luli and my mom.  Not only was it great to see everyone but I get nostalgia every time we eat at one of these Eastern European restaurants as I've gone to many with my grandparents when I've come into town.  Before lunch we stopped at the beautiful Bohemian National Cemetery to visit Grandpa and several other relatives.  I am glad I got to share that with my husband and still wish he got to meet my grandpa before he passed. Grandma sure did enjoy seeing little Joaquin and that made me very happy!

Finally on our way home, as we pulled out of a gas station and were already halfway into the street, an old man on a bicycle came out of no where and struck the side of our car.  Thank goodness he wasn't hurt and didn't fall off the bike besides losing his footing.  He assured us he was ok, and repeatedly commented that this is why he wears a helmet.  I hate to sound bad but it really appeared to be a situation of an old man that shouldn't be biking in the city alone.  Our new car took a nice hit but we just finished getting it repaired today and it looks as new again.  A bit of a hassle we had to go through but it's done now.  Other than that, yay for vacation!  Can't wait to write my next post after vacation to WI Dells with my sister in law's giant Mexican familia in another week or so!