Yes, I have twins in my family.  However, the cousins on my mom’s side are Identical.  Mirror Image Twins at that!  Identical twins are monozygotic, meaning that they started as one single fertilized egg.  Through a malfunction of the normal development process, the egg splits into two.  This is a, for lack of better terms, spontaneous and freak accident in nature.  Not in any way hereditary.

Fraternal twins are dizygotic, meaning two eggs, each of which were fertilized.  Hyper-ovulation, having the tendency to release more than one egg during ovulation, could be identified as genetic.  In families where women have a gene for hyper-ovulation, genetics could explain the increased rate of twins in said family.  There is conflicting information on whether this gene only runs on the maternal side, or if it can also run on the paternal side of the family as well.  If so, it’s said that the gene would pass from grandmother to granddaughter.  For example, if a woman has twin boys, the boys are not any more likely to have twins themselves.  But, if they each have a daughter, the girls may have inherited the hyper-ovulation gene.

Although I recently found out that there are twins on my dad’s side of the family as well, I have no idea whether they are Identical or Fraternal.  Even if they are Fraternal and were born from a mother with the hyper-ovulation gene, it’s unlikely that they are close enough relation that I, too, would have inherited the gene.  As in, it’s not likely that I would have inherited it since I would have to inherit it from my paternal grandmother.

So after that quick lesson – what kind of twins are my twins?  Dizygotic/Fraternal, so yep, I released more than one egg.  But it’s not heredity thing in my case.

A little more than two years ago, Ryan and I set out on a journey.  One in which we had no idea what we would be facing.  The terrain was rough and there was no definitive end.  We were excited and hopeful in the beginning; most are.  But after month upon month of disappointment, we started to get beat down.  Probably me more-so than him, but there is no doubt it was hard on both of us.  After a year, I kind of expected some of what we’d be facing next, but not all of it.  So after surgery, a miscarriage, and many months of treatments, we’re finally able to say we are blessed to make it to a point were we can see the finish line.  (For a more detailed story on my “Journey“, I wrote it all out on my pregnancy blog… A Baby Train  See specifically Journey for the process, A Day of Threes for information about our triplets, and 9 Weeks for the quick discussion of the loss of Baby B)

My twins, or rather our twins, are definitely a miracle, just not the random act of one egg splitting into two kind of miracle.  A miracle nevertheless.  It took the intervention of doctors, medications, and science to make me release more than one egg… but it still took the miracle of life for them all to fertilize and attach.  Even though we mourn the loss of our first pregnancy in April, and the loss of Baby B from this pregnancy, we are over the moon with where we are with these two babies.

So there you have it… there is the rest of the story.

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Dior Addict Lip Glow is a Color Awakening/Reviver Lip Balm. What does that mean exactly? Well, according to the Dior website it means that it’s “A made-to-measure lip balm that beautifies and durably enhances the lips’ natural color. A customized color result : thanks to its Color Reviver technology, Dior Addict Lip Glow reacts directly with the unique chemistry of each woman’s lips before releasing its color ingredient. Lips seem revived from within, amazingly fresh, full and radiant. In addition, its formula enriched with wild mango and luffa cylindrica continuously protects and moisturizes. A universal balm for all lips.”

I pretty much hate the texture and the suffocating feeling my lips get when I wear a heavy lip stick; I prefer plain ol’ Chap-Stick. I was quite interested in this product.

The review-

First, let’s talk about the color. The stick of balm itself is a light pink-ish, peach-ish color. Once it is on my lips it is a bright, almost medium pink. Close to the Barbie pink you could say. Not a color that I would normally pick to wear, but it is supposedly supposed to be enhancing the natural color of my lips.

I don’t know how exactly this balm is supposed to react with my chemistry of my lips to release its color ingredient. There is no doubt that it releases color, I just don’t get how the reaction works. Honestly, I don’t think that is completely true. Every time I open my balm to use it, I notice some darker pink around the edges. (Seen in the picture on the left.)  I really have a feeling that this lip balm turns the same color for everyone, but since it is so light and sheer, it ends up looking a little different on everyone that wears it.

Now let’s discuss its texture. Adore. I now adore Dior. (Yep, I just did that.) It has such a nice smooth, light texture that is simply wonderful. It has a texture that is much more similar to Chap-Stick, or another plain lip balm, than to heavy, creamy lipstick. It is light and breathable… if that makes sense. It doesn’t make my lips feel like are drowning in lip product although it does keep my lips moisturized!  This is a perfect lipstick alternative for me!

{Edited to add:  I really love the smell of this lip balm also.  It has a hint, a tiny hint, of a minty smell.  Also probably a little Vanilla.  The smell of lip balms, glosses, and the like really matters to me.  There is nothing worse than wearing something that has a smell you can’t stand.}

So all-in-all I really do love this lip balm; my favorite lip product ever.  I will probably never use another colored or tinted lip balm/stick ever again… at least while this is still in production.  (On a side note, I love the Lip Glow so much that I bought the Dior Addict Lip Maximizer Collagen Active Lip-Gloss.  Possibly a future product review… who knows.)

Also-

As a follow-up to yesterday’s product review, I was going to talk about my newest Tasty Lies review that had gone up.  Instead I had been working on some nifty new buttons and it got late, so I never had a chance to post it.

Ok, so you won’t actually find the review here in this post, but you will find yet another link to Tasty Lies.  That is where you will find my review of the Raybern’s New York Deli Style Roast Beef Cheddar Melt.

Did I love it?  Hate it?  Click ->here<- to find out!

According to the info page on their website for this shampoo (as well as the conditioner), Bumble and bumble suggests that this shampoo is for almost everyone, except those with very dry or coarse hair.  It’s ideal for frequent bathers, which I assume means those who wash their hair daily since it says “daily”.  It’s even color compatible.

Now, I wash my hair every other day, occasionally every day so I think that this will work fine for me.  Although I am no longer one who colors their hair, it’s nice to know that it is color compatible.  Who knows, I might get back into coloring it.

Onto the review-

I have to be completely honest… I love this shampoo and conditioner set.  I love the smell; my hair smells as if I am in the salon when I finish washing it and I love going to the salon.  I noticed while washing that I had a pretty knotty mess before I added the conditioner and after a few minutes of the conditioner doing its thing, they were gone when I went to rinse.  It was as if the knots just slipped apart magically!

Did I mention that I love that my hair smells like I am at the salon?  Anyway, brushing it out is pretty much a breeze.  I’ve learned that I need a large tooth comb to start and then a gentle brush while I an brushing my wet hair.  Since the conditioner took care of a lot of the knottiness, it’s not too bad brushing it out before blowing it dry.  Once I am finished, my hair is nice and soft.

Overall, I absolutely love this shampoo and conditioner set.  I will definitely be buying more Bumble and bumble products.  In fact, I am kind of looking forward to trying the Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil!

On a similar note – now that it is getting colder outside I want to start wearing my hair down again.  Also, now that it is getting a little longer, I want to start straightening it out again.  I may have mentioned this before… or maybe it was only on Facebook… but I am in dire need of a new straightener/flat iron.  I mean DIRE.  The one I have is a cheap-o and it is about six years old.  Any suggestions?  I might buy one and review it!

Check out my review of Bagel Bites: Microwave vs. Oven, and be sure to check out the rest of the site as well.  Maybe you’ll find out that the one frozen meal you’ve been thinking of trying just isn’t worth it!