Mommy, Ministry, and more

Ainsley Update 6 month

2015-07-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

Little Miss has been growing so FAST!! Of course, and no matter how hard I try I can not slow it down. She is officially 1/2 way to her first birthday and we just had our 6 month check up. Here is an update on how she is growing!!

Our friend Myk captured this amazing pic!!

Weight: 16lbs 13oz (64%)

Height: 25"

Head: 42.5"

Clothes: 6- 9 month

Diaper: size 2

We started solids at 4 months. I prefer to make my own baby food although it has been a little slow, this making it, due to our busy schedule. So far we have had, banana, avocado (not a fan), sweet potato, butternut squash with a little cinnamon, applesauce (today), and oatmeal cereal. I have in the works to make carrots and beet soon. Also, I have given her puffs, few bites of sister's mac and cheese and bites off my ice cream.

She is a rolling machine and can get anywhere she wants, as long as it is to the right of her. HaHa! For some reason that is the only way she rolls, although she will scoot around until desired object is on the right side of her and then proceed to roll. She also has gotten onto her hands and knees once.

Sleeping through the night is a NO! Although, I do blame myself. Since the 4 of us share a room I was always afraid to let her fuss in fear she would wake up Mackenzie. In the last few months I have learned Mackenzie sleeps like a rock, therefore no need to worry. So, I have started to sleep train with her. I let her fuss for no more than 15 minutes (although this is not a solid cry, more of a whine or talking to get attention) then I give her binky and rub her back for 5 minutes, usually she will go back to sleep. She still scares herself when she rolls over in the middle of the night. I think when we can get her into her crib where she has more room this will solve the problem. Also, she wakes up at 5 am sure thinking she is starving. Goal is to first deal with the 1 am wake up (that is the above routine), then deal with the 5 am feed. Also I am soon to work on putting her in bed not all the way asleep. Girl, loves to be snuggled and cuddled all day, errday.

Napping is a hit and miss, she is tired every 2 hours and will sometimes sleep 15 min at a time and then take a good 1 to 3 hour nap later in the after noon. I need to work on a schedule but, I find this challenging with a toddler. Mackenzie will go in her room and wake her up or we are out and about and a noise will wake her up.

Our very loose schedule (this happens about 3 days a week. I am hoping to make a consistent one in the next month)

5 am snack and go back to sleep

7-8 am wake up

8 am breakfast (cereal and BF or 4 oz)

930 am nap (15 min or if lucky can get up to 1 hr)

(sometimes a few powernaps and maybe a bottle in between)

12 lunch (just started this, fruit or veggie and BF and 4 oz)

1 pm nap (This one can be up to 2 hours once it was 3!!)

330 pm snack (BF)

5 pm Watches us eat dinner and has a few puffs (if she can get them in her mouth or guilt gramma or gg into feeding her)

7 pm another power nap

730 pm bath (we shoot for T, Th, Sat)

8 pm Dinner ( cereal and veggie, BF or 4 oz)

Get ready for bed

830 - 9 asleep.

1 am wake up (see above notes)

Ainsley is an extremely happy baby! She loves to smile at every one, laughing can be more challenging. She is in love with her older sister and just stares at her all the time. Especially in the car!!!

To go to sleep she likes her taggie and a blanket no matter the temp! She also must be held to go to sleep. No sleeping while playing!!

Ainsley,

It is a joy and honor to be your mommy! You love to make people smile and always brighten up every room! People love to talk to you! Mommy and Daddy and Sister have always and continue to pray for you! You are a blessing and anointed. I know you will do great and mighty things. Mommy loves you more than cupcakes!

Birthday!

2015-06-17T10:47:00.002-07:00

OMG! Life has been busy! Not anything special, looking at houses I think is a second job. Life has just been busy. I didn't mean to take a break from the blogging world, I couldn't find time to write. My fingers have missed this, they have been itching to write. Blog, blog, bloggity, blog, blog, blog. They are so happy.

During this time somebody turned 3!! Can you believe it! No better way to celebrate a new post but, with a birthday update!

Since we live with my parents, I didn't feel like crowding their house with people to celebrate a birthday. So, with that we went to Chuck E. Cheese!!

I will admit Chuck E. Cheese is a little too much for a 3 year old and wouldn't necessarily recommend it. Overall it wasn't too bad. I really like their ways of protecting the kids. Nobody can take the kids out of Chuck E. Cheese without an adult with a corresponding stamp. So, the few times Mackenzie got away from one of us to go play more games, I didn't panic and wonder if she ran out of the restaurant. They also do ~~all~~, ~~ALL~~, ALL of the work for you. It was great!!! I didn't have to do anything!! They give out a bunch of tokens for all kids and the birthday kid gets a bunch of tickets! I think she got 1,250 just for being a birthday girl. Which got her a Chuck E. Cheese doll and 1,000 sticker set. The cost wasn't that bad, no more than I would have spent decorating a house and getting food. She did freak out about Chuck E. coming towards her but, later on when Chuck E. was dancing she went and danced with him. She loved running around playing games. Overall I would give the complete experience a 7. I think it would have been given a higher number if she was older and if the rest of the day wasn't so crazy. See more below. First, pictures!!!

I should say knowing the day was busy we started out with donuts and chocolate milk at home. Chuck E at noon and then right after that a wedding. The wedding was beautiful!! It was at a vineyard and with a no nappy 3 year old I let her play in the dirt next to the seats. She was quiet, that was all I needed. We left the wedding before the reception due to the heat and again did you read no nap 3 year old!! YUCK!!! As we were leaving both girls fell asleep in the car. So, Mondo and I hit up a drive thru and sat in the car to eat while they slept. Picture perfect date!! HAHAHA! Next, was a Shock game!! This year the Shock are not doing very good, so the joy of the games is watching Mackenzie dance and cheer!

morning before party

at the wedding

shock game!

Overall, it was a busy, successful, stressful, fun day!

Mackenzie is 3! Here is a short update.

Weight: 27 lbs
Height: Just shy of 3 feet. 2' 11.9"
Just so you know 3 year check up is the first time they get blood pressure checked and BMI checked. BMI is perfect and blood pressure was a little high because home girl won't stop moving! Doc said she wasn't worried about it.

Wears a 2T, shoes 7.

She likes Tacos (nachos), mac and cheese, pizza, chocolate milk.

All things princess are her jam!

She is a great big sister!

She dances and sings and says things that make us laugh all day.
Another Mackenzie said post will be coming!

Mackenzie the amount you have grown up the past year is phenomenal. I love you more than ice cream!!

You can email Mackenzie at mackenzieayako@gmail.com

Conversations with Mackenzie

2015-05-13T09:17:00.000-07:00

I have a pretty funny almost 3 year old. Everyday we have the funniest conversations. I wanted to share a few of those with you.

On Daddy's "toys"

Me: Kenz do you like Star Wars

K: No, Daddy like Star Wars Kenzi like Frozen. Daddy has a lot of Star War toys

Playing outside

Me: Why are you holding your hair?

K: It's Windy I don't want it to blow away.

looking for her football book (Shock program)

K: Where's my football book?

Me: I put it where all your other books are on the book shelf.
Gramma: Actually, that's GG's book. She took it from GG at the game.
K: GG took my football book. She stole it.

Looking for the Ipad

K:Where's the Ipad
Me: I don't know. Where is it?
K: Daddy took it!
Me: I don't think daddy took it.
K: He did. He put it in his backpack, took it to work.
(same story with anything she misplaced that day)

Sitting in my lap like baby sister

Me: look GG I have a new baby
GG: Oh, Hi cute baby. What's your name?
Me: Let's call this one George.
K: Look GG new baby (points to sister)
GG: What that baby's name
K: Let's call her Ainsley

Daddy vacuuming
Mackenzie named the vacuum Prince Philip from the prince in Sleeping Beauty.
She gets a plastic sticks (a sword) starts hitting dad with it.
K: Dragon, Dragon stop hurting Prince Philip

These are just a few of the hilarious conversations I have daily with my daughter. I want to document these so I won't ever forget them.

I plan on making this a continuing series.

An Ode to the Super Mom

2015-05-06T09:12:00.000-07:00

Some days as a mom you feel like a failure, or question your every move. I have even had moments where I have doubted any ability I have to be a mom. I am pretty sure a few things I am doing I will traumatize her for the rest of their life, or a a least require expensive amounts of counseling.

It's days like these that it is hard to remind myself; that with God all things are possible. Even the impossible job that feels like parenting. Or even that I am made to be more than a conqueror, I am fearfully and wonderfully made (that's for the days I can't remember if I brushed my teeth or that all the clothes I am wearing have miscellaneous stains). So, this is an ode to those days where life just keeps spinning.

Super Mom!

The women who can accomplish any job while holding a baby.

Including cook, eat, and clean up a whole entire meal.

Whose super powers include super hearing, including knowing when a toddler is too quiet.

Being able to function on little to NO sleep and a few sips of coffee.

So kind hearted to share the above coffee, and all other needed treats.

The lady with eyes all around her head to spot the child sliding backwards down the slide and the other one about to flip off a swing.

Another super power of super speed for when any child tries to run the opposite way of mom.

Negotiating skills to calm an unreasonable threenager into eating broccoli even if it's only one bite.

The woman who can heal with a gentle kiss and dry some tears with kind words and a hug.

One who can navigate a crazy tornado of toys to spot the little much needed binky.

Finally, the lady who can rock spit up on her shoulder like no other!

I know there is so much more I can hit on and that is just a few things that we do on a daily basis. Just remember you are amazing and you rock!!

Have a great mother's day week! Use those super powers!!

Whole 30 and me

2015-04-15T12:30:00.001-07:00

As you know I did Whole 30 back in October. You can read all about that here. I decided to do Whole 30 again to try and lose the baby weight. We started the Monday after Easter and I have been sticking to it for the past week.

Here are some of the meals I have ate.

When I read about people who did Whole 30 for a second time a lot of them said the second time was harder. I actually didn't find this to be true. Whole 30 the second time was a lot easier for me. I had a caffeine headache day 2 other than that no issues.

I really like how I feel on the Whole 30 I sleep better (unless baby is going through a growth spurt or sick and need held or feed every three hours), my sleep feels more productive. It's easier to wake up! The biggest one for me is I don't feel like a sugar monster. Before I started the Whole 30 this time around, I wanted sugar and I mean a lot of sugar, like 3 boxes of girl scout cookies a day was not enough. Now, I don't feel like I need it and when they had free cookies at work it was easy for me to say no!!! Although on one high stress day I did want a coke and ice cream. Scratch that I still want a coke!

Mondo also likes how he feels on the Whole 30 and we were talking about how to make this more of a lifestyle change. So we decided not to end after 30 days and to stick more to the spirit of the law. So when we went out to eat we wouldn't worry so much what the food had been cooked in but made sure to not eat non compliant foods. If that makes sense, example, we went to Mcdonalds for breakfast which their sausage has sugar and the eggs have diary so it's not compliant but, eggs and meat and potatoes are, so we got a big breakfast ate the eggs, sausage and hashbrown not worrying about the fact that those eggs, that sausage, and that hashbrown were not technically compliant. We also decided we would do 2 weeks on and one weekend off. Everything was going great!

Until I hit day 8, then my milk supply plummeted! Like crazy! Ainsley wasn't getting enough to eat and I was having to give her 2 oz of my back up supply. Which isn't a big deal since I have A LOT!! Still, I didn't like this idea. At first I chalked it up to lack of water over my weekend (Sunday andMonday) lack of pumping, and a sick baby. Two bloggers I follow did Whole 30 while breastfeeding and claimed an increase in supply. Tuesday night I did some research and realized that I was missing some stuff from my whole 30 diet while I was breastfeeding. I need more fat, more calories, more starchy veggies, and more carbs. I missed the fact that both bloggers stated they sipped on full fat coconut milk throughout the day, more eggs (I was usually doing one maybe 2 they did 4 or more.), and sweet potato with almost every meal.

Tuesday night Ainsley woke up every 2 hours to eat, with my milk supply being low this seemed impossible. Another google search and she has hit her 3 month growth spurt. So even though it completely broke my heart and actual tears were shed ( I resort this to hormones and lack of sleep) for breakfast Wednesday I had cheerios and banana. My child comes first and I need to up my supply. So my plan going forward is to add back in milk and grain Wednesday, Thursday, Friday(not adding in refined sugar), over the weekend allow the splurges like planned (Coke please!!), then on Monday if my supply is back up, return to Whole 30 Monday thru Friday, increasing fats, starchy veggies and carbs. Weekend (which will be spent in Seattle anyways) allow milk and grain back in. Then again on Monday back to Whole 30. Hopefully this will keep my milk supply up while allowing me to continue eating healthy.

One thing I want to mention during my 8 days of strict Whole 30 I lost 4 lbs. My goal is between Easter and Mackenzie's 3rd birthday (Can you believe she will be 3!!) which is May 30th. I want to lose 12 lbs (average of 1.5 lbs a week). Hopefully I will be able to continue the weight loss!!

Back to Basics: Bootie Edition

2015-04-08T11:56:00.001-07:00

I am trying to be more purposeful in my fashion buying. I find that I buy a lot of stuff I like and maybe doesn't last long. I also found I have a lot of trendy pieces and not enough basics in the mix or my basics I have had so long they are falling apart/ no longer fit or just flat out need to be replaced. So I am purposing to buy quality basics that fit correctly when I clothes shop instead of just buying stuff to make me feel good.

The first thing I found I need are booties. I also picked this item in hopes that this time of year would be a good time to get them since they should be going on clearance. So far, I have not had such luck. Although I do want to buy quality pieces my budget does not allow for high end brand items. I do believe you can get good quality at a good price I just haven't found the right pair yet.

I am specifically looking for black and brown booties. These are great pieces because you can pair them with anything, jeans, dresses, skirts, leggings. Here are my top picks.

image source google

Here are a few of my pinterest inspirations with black and brown booties.

I will post pictures of my booties once I find them but, for now the search continues.

Dorinda

Easter!

2015-04-01T11:54:00.000-07:00

Easter is hopping right around the corner!!

I love Easter and everything about it. Even the goofy made up bunny that may or may not poop jelly beans (have you seen hop?). Last Easter we did hide eggs for Mackenzie and she so did not get it. This year I can't wait because I am sure she will get it!!

We bought her a big easter egg to put all her presents in,because of those lovely youtube videos she is OBSESSED with! Have you seen them, do your kids obsess over them? I am sure she will be jumping for joy when she sees it.

Easter fashion is always cute! I plan on buying an Amelia dress at my LuLaroe party to wear on Easter. My mom bought the girls outfits, although I couldn't find a picture of Ainsley's, here is the top she got for Mackenzie.

Ainsley drools so much I am thinking of getting her this bunny bib to go with her outfit.

Target

While we were in Seattle we went to a Christian outlet store and bought Mackenzie these books:

You can find them on Amazon here and here. I have heard rave reviews from friends on the Jesus storybook Bible and Pinterest even has some great ideas.

We haven't bought anything for Ainsley yet but some ideas floating in my head are;

socks

bibs

book

little people toys
bows and headbands

More ideas for Mackenzie are;

stickers

hair clips

undies

nail polish

Last year I made my sister in law a basket filled with goodies.

It's a super easy project and works great for friends and or husbands.

You need a cardboard drink holder. I used Henry Weinhard or you can get wine ones at grocery stores. Cover the box in scrapbook paper.

Add in favorite drink on one side, I put in coke zero. Put grass in the other side.

Fill a couple of eggs with goodies. Candy, baby lips, nail polish, chapstick are great ideas.

Add a few more goodies and Viola a cute inexpensive easter basket!!

I made one a couple of years ago for my husband too. His, I glued the grass around the edge, or you can glue cheap Easter garland too.

I hope you enjoy this super easy tip and if you use it send me a pic, I want to see yours!!

Email me at mommyministryandmore@gmail.com

Girl's Update

2015-03-25T11:02:00.004-07:00

I haven't posted a girl's update lately so here it is. Actually, can we pause for a moment while I realize that I now have to say girls!!

Okay pause over, OMG I HAVE GIRLS!!!!!!!!

Mackenzie

age: 2 years and 9 months

Clothing size 2T and some 3T (I like to buy clothes big, especially shirts so I get more wear)
Shoes 6 but soon a 7
Diaper size 5 although 4 works and hopefully soon no diapers at all!!

Who needs talking when you can sing EVERYTHING!

This girl loves to sing and it is the cutest thing to listen to.

Loves her Disney princess, when asked which is her favorites she names all of them!!

Asks to go outside all the time!

Asks to play with play doh on a daily basis (thanks youtube)

Is the best big sister ever!!

She doesn't care what she wears on a daily basis but, lights up if I put her in a dress.

Loves to play with her princess magic clips and make them "new dresses" out of play doh

(again thanks youtube)

We are working on potty training but, she shows little interest in the process.

Baths are an all time favorite! When she is done she will put away her toys, drain the tub and wrap herself in her towel.

In the car she likes to say "Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom!"

When I finally get her to realize I am answering her she replies with "Look!"

I say look at what and she points and says ridiculous things like; "Ice cream cloud, or green dog."

It's quite ~~annoying~~, ~~obnoxious~~, cute.

She loves to help give big sister baths or bring her toys or wrap her in blankets.

Ainsley

age: 11 weeks

At her 2 month check up she was 11 lbs and 5oz and 22 inches.

Loves tummy time and really, really, really wants to roll.

Thinks Peek-a-boo is fun and makes the cutest face.

Sleeps 6 hours at night, although on the night's I have to wake up early I think she would sleep longer but, I have to wake her up to feed her.

Likes to cat nap but, will take one really good nap for me daily.

LOVES TO SMILE!

She also loves her sister and will smile like crazy at her.

She tried to laugh earlier in the week and I think her sister will make her laugh first.

I love being a mom to 2 girl's, I want to find them matching pjs, how cute! For mother's day I am so doing co-ordinating outfits!!

Maybe a post on that??

Spring Fashion

2015-03-09T15:34:00.000-07:00

Us in the Pacific Northwest have had some nice spring weather for a few weeks now. Then suddenly out of nowhere it snowed!! Only little, but it also got cold! The warmer weather though totally got me amped up for spring and summer. I took out all our winter gear and put it back in storage and pulled out my brightly colored tops. The transition though can sometimes be tough when it comes to fashion, so here are some of my tips.

image source: Pinterest

1. Add color

Winter can bring in some darker tones grays and blacks it's time to spice those up with pops of color. Add it in with your shoes or purse, even a necklace can do the trick.

image source: Pinterest

2. Add a sweater

Pull our those summer dresses throw a sweater over top and maybe a cute belt and you have a cute outfit!

image source: Pinterest

3. Put on rainboots or add tights

I had to borrow a picture from pinterest for this one because, I have yet to buy cute rainboots. Spring means rain and your boots can be the perfect accessory. They have tights in super cute prints now! So put on some printed tights underneath that summer dress and go!

image source: Pinterest

4. Do light layering or one less layer.

In the winter I am the queen of layers in spring it can be too much. So switch it up instead do some light clothing to layer up or keep the same cute winter outfit and take off one layer.

I hope these tips help with the transition and here's to hoping for some warmer weather coming up soon. Don't forget March is in like a lion and out like a lamb!!

You are Worthy

2015-02-25T10:25:00.002-08:00

source

In the book of John there is a phrase said 4 times and honestly it made me LOL! Literally I laughed out loud. It is "the disciple whom he loved." Now why does this make me laugh? It is not completely for certain that John wrote the book of John but, it is pretty certain. So, that means John said this about himself. At first I thought, "How arrogant!" Then after some thought, prayer and a sermon or two I realized this isn't his ego, this is knowledge. He knew he was greatly loved by Jesus. I don't think this is ridiculous of him to think. John was one of the three that Jesus would take with Him to close quarters. John was also found to be sitting on Jesus' lap, and at death Jesus asked John to take care of His mother. It's not hard to say these 2 had a close relationship and that he was a disciple whom Jesus loved.

Through this we can learn something from John. We can have the confidence to say; "I am someone who Jesus loves." Sometimes we forget how much we are loved by Him. We look at our mistakes, failures, shortcomings and we say; "God can't love me, or maybe God loves me but, I am not one of His favorites. Shoot! I am not even a blip on His radar." That isn't true, you are one of His favorites, He doesn't look at your shortcomings, failures, or even sins. He looks at you and sees you covered in Jesus' blood, He sees you as someone His son died for so that He could have a close intimate relationship with you. Don't believe me? Let's look at some scriptures that tell us what he thinks of you.

Jeremiah 29:11

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Psalm 139:13-14

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,

(read all of 139, it's great!)

Song of Solomon 6:3

I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine;

Matthew 10:30-31

And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

(replace world with me)

I could go on and on but, I think this is enough to prove my point. He created you knowing you would make errors and have mistakes. He spent time creating you and He did not make a mistake! He claims you as His! He has spent time counting the hairs on your head, planned out your future and sent His son to die so He could be intimate with you.

This week look in the mirror and say; "I am someone who Jesus loves." Every time one of your shortcomings, mistakes, sins pops up it's ugly head remind yourself; "I am someone who Jesus loves." Any time you feel lonely or unworthy shout out; "I am someone who Jesus loves." Repeat; "I am someone who Jesus loves." until it's so written on your heart that you won't ever forget that You, yes You, You are someone whom Jesus loves. Take a cue from John crawl up in His lap, hear His heartbeat and be reminded that He loves you!

source

Dorinda

Friday Favorites

2015-02-20T14:28:00.000-08:00

Sorry, I haven't posted in awhile life has been a little busy lately with the new addition. Before we get into Friday favorites here are few updates.

Personally; I went in for my 6 week check up and that nasty fibroid is actually coming out of my body. So I have to have surgery done to remove it! I am not at all excited about this. It is just a outpatient surgery but, still.

Ainsley is doing great, we got an ultrasound to check on her kidneys and everything came back normal and no need for future testing.

Mackenzie is loving being a big sister and is testing her independence. No I don't think she is testing us because of sister I think she's just at that age where she wants to learn how far she can go.

Family wise everything is going great! Our Pastor has been teaching about Money (listen to it here) and this last Sunday pointed out that although we are heading in the right direction financially we need to stay with my parent's longer than planned to keep going on this track. We are considering buying a mid size SUV soon though. I am super excited a SUV I think I have been asking for one since we got married (7 years!).

I also have not posted lately because I felt like my blog was getting away from my original intent and that I was posting just to post. So, I plan on posting purposeful content with better quality pictures. Now I am not a photographer and sometimes there will be cheesy phone pictures because we are out and about and that's what I get but, all my fashion and makeup pictures I plan on doing higher quality. I plan on bringing back more tips on life, family, mommyhood and kidmin although the focus will probably be more on family because that's where I am at in my life. I plan on posting more devotional ones and updates on the girls. I want to bring back more mommy/baby faves and outfit ideas for kids. I still have 20 lbs to lose from pregnancy and when I go on that journey I will post again. With that I vow to post more intentional content not empty fillers. I will still do Friday favorites because they are one of my favorites to do! So here are this month's Friday favorites.

1. Fashion Favorite

With having to breastfeed I have to wear clothes that make it possible. Anything button up works.

2. Girl Fashion Favorite

Not only is this one of my favorite scriptures but, now it's a shirt for my girls' to wear.

Favorite Blog

This is actually a friend's blog. I really love her recipes!! Also, her baby girl is way too cute!!

Wholesomely Fit

Favorite Podcast

I recently discovered all that the world of podcast could hold. I found this one series based on a true crime. I listened to all 12 episodes in 3 days, needless to say I was addicited.

Serial

Favorite Quote

Haha! Look at fashion favorite. This is everyday!!!!!

Favorite funny

We have had a mild winter here, and I love it. For those suffering though this is pretty funny. Kentucky Police issue warrant for Ice Queen

Kentucky Police

I hope you all have a great weekend! I don't have a lot planned this weekend but, I plan on enjoying some family time.

Dorinda

All things Hearts

2015-02-05T09:55:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted a shopping guide in awhile and the other day while doing some online window shopping I came across a bunch of super cute heart items. With Valentines day coming up I thought I would share!!

Toddler heart

Love dress/ heart overalls/ heart dress/ heart shoes/ heart pj's/ heart tutu
Mickey shirt/ King of Hearts pj's/ Monster heart socks/ plaid shirt/ Love machine shirt

The picture doesn't show it super well but those overalls have a heart on the front! Can I have those in my size? I also love the idea of having pj's for every holiday, why should Christmas get all the fun??

Baby Heart

#adorable outfit/ heart pj's/ pink tutu/ heart colo block dress/ heart hat/ heart blanket
i heart u pj's/ # heartbreaker onesie/ Major flirt outfit/ Hello ladies socks/ mommy onesie

Shopping for a newborn again has been so much fun! I forgot how small the clothes are!!! I love the blanket, it could go boy or girl, and I am all about the gray!! My cousin had a little baby boy the same day Baby A was born, so that's why I chose to do a boy section too. I love the gray pj's I think if you pair that with a red bow a little girl could rock them too! And, the mommy onesie, please, the cuteness is irresistible!!

Mom and Dad Valentine

lace top/ pink skinnies/ heart pj's
love boxers/ red pants/ red t shirt

Of course moms and dads are the hardest to shop for, so I went with pink and red. The mom outfit could so go together but, I do think if a dad was to rock all that red it might be a little scary.

I'm not sure what we plan for Valentine's day, probably something on the chill. For the girls I think I will get each of them a piece of clothing and a toy or book, maybe a small box of candy for Miss Max. Mondo and I always make something for Valentine's day, this year it will be either a chatbook or a shutterfly book. Need an idea for Valentine's day here is a previous one I posted for the inexpensive.

Also, a blogger I follow at The Little Things We Do, has issued a "Choose Love" challenge. It's spending 7 days showing your husband you love him. Each day has a new challenge. I want to try this and encourage you to try too. Check out the Challenge here.

What are your Vday plans??

My 2 year old has too much screen time

2015-01-29T09:17:00.000-08:00

I let my daughter play with the I-pad WAY too much, but I refuse to feel guilty about it. Here's why!

at hospital after baby sister was born

1. It's been a better teacher than me.

Since I have been busy being pregnant, working full time, or even taking care of a second child. My teaching time with Mackenzie has lacked. I was really good doing crafts with her, or teaching type activities, or even baking with her. With busy schedule, tiredness and more I haven't been able to do that. Her favorite thing to do on the Ipad is to watch "videos" (youtube), she chooses some videos that sing about colors, shapes, letters. Even the games we have downloaded for her help with those and I have seen a bigger improvement in her learning her colors, than when I was "teaching" them to her.

2. It's help her imaginative play.

Some of the "videos" she watches are the ridiculous ones where they unwrap new toys. Sometimes they play with them and create stories. I have been watching her take her "elsa and belle" dolls and mimic the play she has seen. In fact the other day Belle put Elsa down for a nap. She also loves the playdoh videos where they make things, food or new dresses for the dolls. She loves to "cook" for me or make her dolls new dresses.

3. Her vocabulary has increased.

Everyday she surprises me with a new word or phrase. Or even the new items she now knows what they are. Such as "My little pony", or garbage trucks.

4. It's a moment of bonding.

Her and her daddy will lay in bed and watch music videos every once in awhile. She loves it, she curls up next to him and picks out videos for them to watch. He loves to expose her to some of his favorite songs. She loves to watch Star Wars (rebels) with daddy. Even us as a family, we have been watching the latest season of "Once Upon a Time" together. Since it has Elsa! It's nice to sit on the couch, snuggle and have some settle down time.

5. It gives me a break.

It helps me to have a moment of pause, especially if the girls didn't nap at the same time. Or if I need to switch laundry loads. One day it allowed me to take a shower. Mackenzie had the Ipad and Ainsley was with me in the bathroom. I knew everything was fine, since she is glued to the screen. We took/take the Ipad to doctor appointments to keep her busy while I talk with the doctor. If Ainsley needs extra attention, I don't feel like I am neglecting Mackenzie if I let her play with the Ipad.

Now I will admit there are days where she has it way to much, and now that things are becoming more of a routine with 2 girls, I have limited the amount of time she plays with it. I also turn off the TV for a few hours a day and make sure I spend quality time with Mackenzie. If I can't give Mackenzie a huge quantity of time I want to make sure I can give her quality time. There are so many articles out there about not letting your kids have screen time, I used to feel guilty about the amount of time my daughter had in front of the TV or Ipad. I refuse to do that, it has had some benefits. Like I said I do try to reduce the amount of time, spent in front of the screen but, as long as the screen is not her parent and I am still getting in my quality time with her, I will no longer feel guilty for allowing my daughter to indulge a little. Hey, I do! Why not her too?!

Just Arrived; Ainsley Goe

2015-01-13T12:52:00.001-08:00

Ainsley Goe made her appearance in this world 10 am, Tuesday, January 6, 2015.

Here's her story!!

Warning: it's not short!

The Friday before, the doctor scheduled me for an induction Monday January 5th, 7 am. Fridayafternoon he called me back and asked me to reschedule for Tuesday morning at 7 am. I unwillingly obliged, hoping I would go on my own over the weekend. The weekend brought a lot of emotional turmoil as I tried to induce labor on my own, the only thing I didn't try was Castor oil, after some research I deemed it unsafe for me and baby and not worth the risk. Sunday morning I skipped church due to being in such a bad emotional spot. Sunday night I realized I was worrying too much and needed some prayer support from some of my church leadership. I texted 3 people that I needed to go into labor by Monday night to avoid induction. The actual induction didn't scare me, I had to have pitocin with Mackenzie to speed up labor, I just didn't want to be induced and have a long, hard labor. One of the people I texted was our Pastor, Monday afternoon he texted and asked if I had gone into labor yet, I replied "No, but my nails are done." he laughed at that.Monday brought a lot of sitting, hanging out with my family as our last day of 3 and trying to calm my worries. Tuesday at 3 am I woke to contraction pains, I found this odd because even though I had contractions for the past few weeks, they never bothered me at night. I started timing them because they were feeling intense, they were 4 to 5 minutes apart and 45 sec to 1 min long, borderline "go to the hospital," according to google. So I opted to ignore them since I would be there in a few hours anyway. 3:30 am, I couldn't sleep due to the contractions, not the pain, just the annoyance. So I decided to get up and finish packing; standing up made my water break! I woke up Mondo, finished packing and was at the hospital by 4:30 am.

They skipped triage and put me in a room almost right away. I had to wait in the waiting room for 20 or 30 minutes, annoying! They got me set up, asked me all the questions and finally checked me. Shocked to learn I was already at a 6 and handling the pain great. I don't really remember times after this. The contractions were getting closer together and intense, I opted to have an epidural. I got that and felt great, a little TMI on top of the contractions I was having gas cramps, the epidural helped with that too. After the epidural they put in a catheter, and a few minutes after that I heard a pop and a bunch of water rush out. I thought the catheter came out, my nurse said "no, the rest of my water broke." Apparently I have 2 sacks one up top that popped at 3:30 am and second lower one. After that popped the nurse checked me, I was 100% ready to go but, baby was still high. So she told me to sit there and let the contractions "labor down" the baby. This was hard because I did have the urge to push. Finally, she called the resident OB/GYN, baby was coming out at a weird angle so while I pushed the Doctor would turn her. They gave me an oxygen mask because after pushing it would take awhile for Ainsley to recover and her heartbeat come back up. After a few pushes they made me wait again for my doctor to show up. I had to wait for about 3 contractions before I could start pushing again. Once my doctor showed up I pushed through 3 more contractions on the final push of the 3rd contraction, they told me to stop, I was confused (why stop?) and then I saw her! 5 1/2 hours after showing up at the hospital I had a baby. I was warned by my nurse, next time let them know I labor fast.

After labor, I did tear a little so they had to give me some stitches. Then they found some leftover membrane inside me. So for 1 hour after birth, I had to sit there while they dug the rest out. I probably could have gave birth without the epidural but, my doctor said that I definitely should be glad that I had the epidural now. My mom, Mackenzie, and Grandma got to come in and see Ainsley. Mackenzie was super excited. My mom took Mackenzie home and they took me and Ainsley to our new room. After we were settled in our new room, Mondo went home to be with Mackenzie and put her down for a nap. I told him to go, not knowing what was going to happen next.

Once there the nurse was concerned about Ainsley breathing very fast, she called in a resident pediatrician who thought that maybe due to the fast labor and the fact that the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck, which was the cause of the slow heart rate return during labor, she might have some fluid still in her lungs. So, the doctor ordered chest xrays and extra labs. Then the nurse checked on me. I was bleeding way too much and had huge clots on top of it. During pregnancy I had developed a fibroid on my uterus. This was causing my uterus to not close up properly and for the clots to get stuck inside me. So they moved me and Ainsley closer to the nurse's station for constant observation. Both, the pediatrician and my doctor said this wasn't anything to be extremely worried about, just cause for extra concern. The resident OB/GYN spent some time "digging" inside me to get all the clots out and check my uterus. My uterus should have been closed up but, there was still room for 2 fingers. So, they put me on pitocin to cause contractions to close that up. With out the epidural any more, the "digging" hurt like no other. At this time I texted the same 3 people to ask for prayer again. I was simply too weak to pray on my own, I knew Mondo was praying too as I had called him to fill him in. They also gave me a shot for the bleeding, pain medicine because it was bad, extra fluid due to the amount of blood loss, and antibiotic for my positive Group Strep B and how long after birth I had been "left open". Under doctor orders every hour a nurse had to come in and push HARD, very very HARD on my uterus to get it to move down and to get the blood clots out. Ainsley had her extra labs done and they came in our room to do the chest x-rays. One nurse suggested lots of skin on skin contact with Ainsley to help us both recover and I must say it did. That evening, friends and family came to visit and I felt like a zombie. I could barely walk to the bathroom on my own. That night Mondo went home to be with Mackenzie and I was on my own to take care of Ainsley, I was thankful for the nurses. Ainsley also chose to feed all night long!!

Our view Tuesday morning

The next morning Ainsley and I both got a clean bill of health. Although, we would still have to stay for another 24 hours due to the Group Strep B and lack of anitbiotics during the quick delivery. Ainsley did have fluid in her lungs but, she worked them out on her own. I no longer had people pushing on my stomach every hour. Mondo and Mackenzie came in the morning with Cinnabon, and we got some family photos taken, our hospital has a photographer come around the rooms for a complimentary photo shoot. Although I had managed to put on makeup for the photos, I couldn't move from the bed, I hurt so bad. The rest of the day went by uneventful, Mondo and Mackenzie went home for nap, Mondo came back just him in the evening and that night Ainsley fed all night long.

Thursday morning we were discharged early and sent home. I got to take an actual nap, and spend time with Mackenzie. Although I was still in HIGH amounts of pain and my feet had swollen bigger than ever. I was told my swollen feet was due to the meds and the extra fluid they had given me. One week later and my feet are almost normal size. That evening we went as a family to Old Spaghetti Factory for a celebratory/ birthday dinner for Ainsley.

This is my complete labor story. As I look back I realize how scary in the moment it was, I never did feel scared or worried though, that would be the peace that passes all understanding!

Mondo was my rock during this time. How he stepped up and cared for his 3 girls is beyond belief to me. I barely had to move a finger which I believe helped me recover so quick. He made sure I got lots of rest when I got home and spoiled Mackenzie so she would know just how loved she is! Words don't cover the amount of love and gratitude I have for all he has done for me and his 2 daughters the past few days.

Mackenzie is completely smitten by her little sister. You can see signs of jealousy every once in awhile during this adjustment process. Actually, I wouldn't say it's jealousy it's more of not understanding, why baby sister gets so much attention, why mom can't pay as much attention to her, and why baby sister has stuff she can't use or that she has to share.

Ainsley came home with newborn rash, most of that is gone. She was low risk for jaundice and I still haven't seen a sign of it. She eats like cray cray, doesn't like her bassinet and still has her day and night backwards. I am sure at her doctor appointment tonight we will find out that she is back to birth weight. She was 8.5 lbs at birth 21" long. When we checked out she was 7.11 lbs. Just like her sister she pictures big but, she is very tiny. We had to go buy newborn clothes just so she would have some. All I could find of Mackenzie's was 0-3 months and those swim on her.

Me, I am glad to finally be returning to myself. I have survived my first day at home by myself with the 2 girls and am looking forward to getting back into some sort of routine.

Thank you for giving me some time enjoy my new little girl and adjust to my new role as a mom of 2. I do have some more posts planned and hope to get those out soon.

Until then,
Dorinda

2014 a year in review

2015-01-02T13:13:00.002-08:00

As I sit here and patiently wait for baby number 2 to make her debut, I pondered on this year. I can't believe it's over, another year in the books. This year although easier than 2013 brought a lot of struggles and joys in itself. I know 2015 is bringing some new challenges and joys, I will share those at the end. Here is 2014 in review...

P.S. I am having mild contractions as I type, maybe each time one comes on I should type ow,haha, just kidding that would be annoying.

January: This one was 12 months ago and I barely remember that far back. This month brought me back to a love of teaching kids, I am so glad I took the time off but this is where my gifting lies. Funny how I am taking January off of teaching though due to baby. This is also the month where Mackenzie really started to grow up, first by transitioning into a big girl bed!

February: This month I got to teach in front of some amazing women at our Church's tea. Biggest blessing ever, and Mackenzie got dedicated at our church. At this time I realized how blessed I was that God led us to this new church home after losing ours. I am continually thankful for Genesis Church and our Pastor Josh Bingle.

March: This month skated by without a lot of changes. Sometimes those months are nice. I did throw a nice surprise party for my husband, I love any chance to show him how he is loved by others.

April: This is the month we conceived Ainsley. I knew I was prego right away due to my extreme tiredness. Which never really seemed to leave me the whole pregnancy. This is also when Mondo started his new job at Carmax.

May: Was Mackenzie's first plane ride! We had fun in Minnesota. We also revealed to friends and family that we were pregnant at her 2nd birthday party.

June: Another uneventful month. We just started to prepare for some transitioning.

July: We moved in with my parents to save for a new house. I also posted one of my favorite posts from a devotional I did. Breaking out of the Beauty Mold.

August: Was the month we found out and revealed that we were having another girl. It was also the fun baby name bracket!

September: Mackenzie started getting into the holiday spirit early by watching "Santa Clause is coming to Town," on repeat.

October: Was the month of Whole 30, which I actually loved and look forward to doing it again!! This was a month I focused on settling down and enjoying each moment I had with my oldest little girl.

November: This was my first car accident. Which was bittersweet we lost our favorite car and became a one car family but, the damage done paid off the car and extra to pay off some debts. Mondo and I celebrated our 7th anniversary! Mackenzie saw her first movie on the big screen,Penguins of Madagascar, which she talked about for weeks afterwards.

December: I turned 31! I got to host my first big giveaway, again, Thank you to Lularoe and Kathy. I spent time with family and waited as patiently as I could for baby girl number 2.

It was a great year and as always challenged me. I learned how to parent a toddler, wait, I am still learning. I am looking forward to a new year. What I am most looking forward to is Mondo and I buying a house to call, make, and have as our own. Hopefully, we will also be able to buy a mid size SUV, to fit all the stuff we now need to tote around!! I am excited for our expanding family and to watch God bless us and change us in this new year.

I got this idea from a friend and fellow blogger at Simply Elegant. Here were my top 5 posts for this year.

1. Blogmas Day 1: Lularoe giveaway
2. What! I am pregnant with number 2!
3.Pregnancy Update and Baby Name Reveal
4. Baby Gender Reveal
5. Whole 30 and me

Thank you for reading my blog, it is a great outlet for me and challenges me to be a better person. I look forward to another year of blogging. This past year I also read a lot of books. I plan on reviewing some of those soon.

Dorinda

Pregnancy Update: 38 weeks

2014-12-30T16:38:00.000-08:00

Okay so FYI, I started making some changes to my blog on Christmas and I was updating the labels on the some posts, when it updated the post it changed the order of the posts and you may have gotten an email saying that I had made some new posts even though I didn't.

Back to our regular blog....

So I had my NST yesterday and the doctor brought up a word I am was not prepared to hear, "Induction". Apparently, they don't want gestational babies going past 40 weeks. So on Friday when I meet with my doctor again I have to set up an induction date for the following week. In shortened terms that means this is my last pregnancy update. It also means this may be the last post for a week or so, while I adjust to new a baby. I don't know when I will post again, hopefully one this week although I will be trying to induce myself, I don't really like the idea of pitocin. So, here's how this week has gone...

This was taken on Saturday we went to see the new Hobbit. This was my. "I am only dressed because I have to be." look. I was rocking the sweats!!

How far along: 38 weeks.

Gender: Girl!! Ainsley! I registered us at the hospital this week, so they will have a bracelet that says Ainsley on it!!

Weight gain:40 lbs, YUCK!!!! Good thing I was 10 lbs smaller this pregnancy because I still am 5 lbs under than when I gave birth to Mackenzie. Although I am 2 weeks extra prego.

Maternity clothes: Yes, when I try to wear regular t shirts, I always regret it. See picture above!

Stretch marks: yes. Still need to try those oils, I think I have given up hope though.

Belly button in or out: I think it is officially an outtie.

Sleep: Still no good.

Miss anything: I kinda miss work. KINDA

Cravings: Still carbonation!

Queasy or sick: Yes, I was sick early Saturday morning and my super sweet husband watched Max while I slept in. I didn't leave the bathroom from 4am to 6am. I fell back asleep at 6:30 am and didn't wake up until 9:30am. It was so nice. I still felt icky all day and was having contractions all day. I really thought Ainsley was going to come on Saturday.

Looking forward to: Being done I guess. It is so surreal knowing I am going to hold my baby girl within the week!

Last days of just us

I have so much to do before the week ends. I got Ainsley's bag packed but, not mine. I plan on posting pictures and a list of what I took and what I needed after I am home. I did bring up all the baby stuff, play pen, swing and we bought the new car seat. I started washing clothes and made a list of what we still need to find/buy or do. I am trying to soak up what little time I have left of just me and Mackenzie. We watch "Sleeping Beauty" daily, and do her new floor puzzles daily. It's nice just being us! I go through old pictures and reminisce about when she was a little baby. I am excited to expand our family and can't wait to meet this new little one.

Until next time,

Dorinda

Fight Like a girl

2014-12-25T13:30:00.000-08:00

The last Saturday of February I got to co-plan a church lady's tea! It was so much fun!! We had 55 ladies attend and I was asked to share a short devotional. I wanted to share that message with you. Although since I have more time on here then I had with the ladies I plan on going into a little more depth into each point. This week is the introduction!

Fight like a girl!

I recently turned 30. Now I realize that all you women reading this are 29 and under and I thank you for allowing me to share my 2 months wisdom with you! Something happened when I hit that age, to me age really is just a number and I in no way feel old or am going through a mid life crisis. Before, when I was in my 20's I felt like the song "not a girl, not yet a woman" was like my jam. I struggled with the well, I'm not that old or i'm too old for that. Then when I turned 30, I realized hey, that's the age when you ask a kid what's old they say 30! Or the age when I was a kid, the age my mom would tell me to act when I was acting up. Which I translated into to act like my grandma. At the age of 30 I suddenly liked tea, it was kind of the weirdest thing before 30... tea, uh no thank you i will pass. 30, tea? yes please with one sugar. At the age of 30 I kinda had this realization that I can't pass for college age any more, nor should I. At the age of 30 my prayers took a change too. In my 20's and also my teens I remember praying "God who do you want me to be?" Suddenly at the age of 30 my prayers became "God help me to be a better woman." I wish that God worked in my way, that as I pray He gives me a step by step plan to become a better woman. I love lists, I like to make them almost daily. Usually the first thing on my list is wake up; which I get to cross off almost instantly. I already feel accomplished. Next on my list is usually; make a list. Whoo hoo two for two today is a success. Third is get ready for day, sometimes that's a 50/50 (do I want to change out of pj's?) and fourth is eat, again 50/50 which also ensues a debate. Does a twix count as breakfast? God doesn't usually give me a list he just slowly reveals things to me as I go. I know I am not yet the perfect woman but I do know I am better today than yesterday. I don't pray to be a better wife or a better mom. I feel like as God molds me to be a better woman all those other things will click into place. As I pursue being a better woman being a better wife and mom will follow naturally. As I follow God in pursuit of being a better woman I will naturally become a better girlfriend, sister, daughter and such. In this day and age where we are constantly told we live in a man's world, I think the power behind being a woman has been lost. In this day and age being told you fight like a girl is an insult, instead of a recognition of a woman. One movie I have always liked, although it will never take the place of High School Musical or Step Up. There is a certain scene that stands out to me, It's the scene where a royal princess is standing in a battlefield where death lays about her. You don't recognize her as a royal princess because she has hidden her womanhood in a man's armor. She is there because she wants to help, she has practiced with a sword and is just as good if not better than most of the men. As the battle rages on she watches her father the king fall at the hand of an evil creature and it's rider. She rushes to her father's side but the creature prevents her, she begins to fight the evil dark figure. Just as the evil king thinks he won he claims, "You fool no man can kill me." At this time she rises up, takes off her helmet and claims, "I am no man." Stabbing the evil king, he had no reason to worry of a female presence on the battlefield. He shrivels up and dies. She hid her identity to come onto the battlefield but it was not until she showed her true identity did she become victorious. This scene has grown in importance to me as I have gotten older, the fact that she did not win until she revealed her womanhood. This scene is from the movie Lord of the rings the Return of the King (click the name to see the clip). We are living in a world where we are told to blend in a become like the man, to be successful you must act more manly. This is not the way we will win, this is not the way to success. It will not happen until we realize our true identity and power in being a woman. I may realize my prayer changing at the age of 30 but, God is calling all of his females to stand up and be proud of the women He made you to be. To stop trying to fit into the man's world and start fighting as He made women to fight.

I have 3 points to get you started.

1. What's our battle

2. Best Weapon

3. The way to win

I have been in love with this topic for as long as I remember and the book by Lisa Bevere titled Fight Like a Girl brought some new insight into my message. I would definitely. encourage reading it. I will continue this series trying to post each point once a week.

Before I go though I want to share with you a challenge our Pastor gave us this past Sunday, it is an easy one and one I know will change your life if you follow it.

It's called Rise and Nine. First thing in the morning instead of hitting your snooze start with;

3 minutes praise

3 minutes prayer

3 minutes reading

I hope you join our church in this challenge! I also look forward to sharing more with you on Fight like a girl.

Dorinda

Black Friday: Makeup

2014-12-25T13:29:00.001-08:00

See I told you I would blog again!

Let's jump right into it. Makeup, you want to keep this simple mainly because you haven't had your coffee yet, you still have a turkey coma and focusing on the mirror, wait is there 3 of you!! Ya, that's how I feel at 3 in the morning. To make it easy wash your face before bed. Keep it easy use some pre-moistened face cleaners found at any drugstore!! LOVE THESE!!

Step 1: Start with a clean face and add b.b. cream or your favorite tinted moisturizer.

Before we get started: Sorry for some of the goofy faces I make in the pics, but hey that's me!! Also, thank you to my mom for being the photographer!!

Here it is cold, don't dry out your face and save yourself a step by using a tinted moisturizer. Don't have one? Mix your moisturizer with your foundation for an easy application.

Step 2: add concealer to your problem areas. As well as; under the eyes around the nostrils, and down the nose. You want to brighten your face. It is 3 am anyways, you don't need to remind people you hardly slept!

Don't forget to blend

Step 3: Powder. T-zone only!!!!! Keep a fresh dewy look!

Step 4: Cheeks and Lips! Cover it with one product. Use lipstick as a creme blush! Place a dab on the apples of your cheeks and blend back. Then quickly cover those lips.

Step 5: Color those eyes. My favorite time saver product is an eye crayon! Great thing is you can find them lots of places now. Clinic has one, Revlon, Avon and Mary Kay. I highly recommend these!!

Start by filling the lid and crease

Then color underneath, simply a thick liner

Repeat the other eye

Step 6: Add mascara and gloss

There you go, finished face!! Now go SHOP, SHOP, SHOP!!

I'm dreaming of sales for friday,

Dorinda

Black Friday: Hair

2014-12-25T13:29:00.000-08:00

Last week passed by me in a blur. It wasn't anything special, nothing too busy, or exciting. Just suddenly it was Friday and I hadn't blogged, then it was Sunday and still no blog, before I knew it even Monday passed by. I am back though, I didn't intend for that to happen. So, to make up for it I plan to blog the next 3 days! Today, hair tips for your black Friday shopping.

I LOVE black Friday, for me it is the Olympics of shopping. Training is needed!! My mom and our ~~entourage~~ friends, hit the stores by 4 am. Which means leaving by 3:30 am. I still want to look good but, want as much sleep as possible. So, I wake up at 3 am!!! Here is how I do my hair quickly to allow extra sleep.

Step 1:

High ponytail, the higher the hair the closer to God. (hehe)

After you do this pull around the top to add some volume

Step 2: Add your sock bun around the pony. You can get these at Claire's or make your own from a sock. I used a thick headband that I triple looped.

after adding the sock bun spread your hair around to cover it.

Step 3: Place a rubber band over the top.

I also pulled my hair to make the bun part bigger.

Step 4: French roll the ends.

As you start to twist add hair as you go.

Place pins as you go.

Step 5: tuck the ends and pin, spray and pull some face framing pieces.

There you go.

Great hair in less time than it took to read this. If you miss the alarm clock or have some great day 2 hair, you can always go with a super cute hat!!

Come back tomorrow for my quick make up tips!!

Ready to shop,

Dorinda

One Piece Three Ways

2014-12-25T13:28:00.000-08:00

Guess What!!! I found my camera! I am so happy, I get to finally share this post with you.

One of fall's biggest trends is the baseball tee. I personally love the comfort of this top. A hint to keep this top comfortable, shop in the men's department. I found mine at Target in the Men's section, I love how it is a little looser and doesn't hug me so tight. This tee can come across as a basic jeans, tee, and flip flop look. I wanted to find some stylish ways to rock this look. Here is my new series called one piece, three ways.

The first night I wore this on a date to the movies and dinner with my husband.

How I rocked the baseball tee on date night: Faux leather leggings, cute flats, long tank underneath (since leggings are not pants!). I paired it with a big bag and boyfriend jacket. My hair is in a braided top knot. I chose statement earrings and stacked bracelets as accessories.

This is probably one of my favorites! I chose a flared skirt, kept my hair down and curly. I also added a statement necklace and nude heels. I wore this to church it's a great dressy casual outfit and would work in an office setting.

After church I chose to change into this to run some errands. Great outfit for shopping!! I paired it with jeans, rolling the cuffs up to make them ankle length. Black tennies, printed scarf and a statement ring finished this look.

This has turned out to be one of my favorite pieces this fall. Have you rocked the baseball tee? Send me pictures at mommyministryandmore@gmail.com

Do you like one piece three way? I have a couple more I am thinking of posting. Let me know in the comments below.

Until next time,

Dorinda

Blogmas: Surviving Christmas Morning Photos

2014-12-24T13:39:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas Eve!! Mackenzie this morning was telling everyone "Happy Birthday." I am not sure if she meant Baby Jesus but hopefully she was. Currently I am swamped in wrapping paper. I got all of the gifts for the family wrapped last night and today will be wrapping the remainder of Mackenzie's presents. We will be leaving right after her nap time for Christmas Eve festivities and won't be arriving home until later tonight. I am hoping to set up Mackenzie's presents before we leave so I can get to bed early. I still am not sleeping great. I am dealing with hip pain, so the earlier I get to bed the better.

Max's First Christmas

Christmas morning the inevitable will happen and the chances double when you have kids that pictures will be taken! In today's age they will be downloaded instantly to the interweb. So here are a few of my tips to surviving the dreaded first thing in the morning photo shoot.

1. Hold the family off for a minute. Okay maybe 10 to 15. Give yourself sometime to compose yourself. These pictures will be shown at your kids wedding, lets get some good ones.

2. Do a 5 min hairstyle. If need be sleep with your hair in a bun or braids the night before, in the morning you will have insta-waves. Try a top knot or fishtail braid. Tame that unruly hair, if you have a lot of fly-a-ways. A little bit of baby oil can help tame it.

3. Do a 5 min face. I love tinted moisturizer! Use some of that concealer, mascara, and maybe a little blush. Much better!

4. Put on some cute jammies. My family buys new jammies each year. If you don't do that, make sure you have something better on then your holey t shirt. If need be, leggings and a hoodie are a good backup.

5. Get some coffee or hot cocoa. Something to help wake you up.

6. Smile! If you want while you are doing your makeup put on some lip gloss. Also, try to remember these are family members taking the photos. There are going to be some funky ones.

Have fun and enjoy the moment!

Max Christmas Eve last year

Now what you really came here to find out. Who won the legging giveaway?

First of all I want to thank Kathy from LuLaRoe for sponsoring this giveaway.

Also, I want to thank everyone for entering! You made this giveaway a success. I hope to do more in the future.

And the winner is.........

Vanessa Reiter

I will be sending out your leggings soon!

Congratulations!

Have a Merry Christmas!

After Christmas I will be returning to my regular blogging schedule.

Blogmas: Pregnancy Update

2014-12-23T20:18:00.000-08:00

Activity: Deliver drink to Grandpa

Scripture: Matthew 2:9-12

9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

How far along: 37 weeks.

Gender: Girl!! Ainsley! World's cutest thing is Mackenzie saying baby sister's name!

Weight gain: 37 lbs, I am still 8 lbs under my birth weight with Max. Hopefully, I can keep it that way.

Maternity clothes: Yes and sometimes Mondo's. I definitely need the length of the maternity tees. She sits so low and sticks out so much, I am carrying her all in front and even tunic shirts are borderline too short.

Stretch marks: yes bleh. Still need to try those oils

Belly button in or out: I think it is as "out" or flat as it can get.

Sleep: Not good. Rolling over is a whole body movement. I have to sit up in bed to accomplish it! Since my hips hurt from the added weight I roll over a lot.

Best moment this week: Getting signed out of work. That's right I am on maternity leave. Home for the holidays!!

Miss anything: Honestly flexibility. Mackenzie wants me to play with her on the floor, which I love to do, getting up off the floor has it's challenges.

Cravings: Lately soda, and it's not the taste it's the carbonation.

Queasy or sick: No

Looking forward to: Christmas being over. I am really excited for Christmas but, I haven't been able to plan or pack for baby because I apparently can't focus on the 2 things. This makes me nervous. I did get a couple of things washed though.

This is officially the longest I have ever been pregnant. Mackenzie came 17 days early and right now I am 17 days away from due date. I am willing and want to wait, the further from the holidays the better. The rest of this adventure is uncharted territory. To help with the patience I remind myself that this is the easy part, the hard part is when I have to pack her around, pack her stuff, tot around a toddler, feed baby, sleep, and people will start to look at me funny when I eat 2 cupcakes.

See you tomorrow with the winner of the leggings!!

Blogmas: Our weekend in Review

2014-12-22T14:39:00.001-08:00

TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY!!

Here are the 2 links, number 1, number 2.

Okay back to our regularly scheduled blogmas!

Advent Activity: Wrap presents

Advent scriptures: Matthew 2:7-8

7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

Our weekend in Review

Friday started off the weekend fun, I went with my bestie to her work Christmas party! They had us play a game where you had to blow up 8 balloons, stick them in a nylon stocking, then someone on the team had to stick the nylon stocking on their head and sing "Jingle bells." Right when we got started I told my team don't blow up the balloons too big, because of that tip, we won!!! YAY!!! There was also a white elephant gift exchange done with a poem, and some yummy food. Overall it was a fun party!! We also decorated our Gingerbread house.

Saturday my family and I planned Christmas dinner, that evening the Charger's played the 49ers. We went to a restaurant for food and to watch the game. Chargers barely squeaked one by. This day was nice because it was also filled with napping!!!

Sunday was a festive day, we went to church where max and I wore our Christmas outfits. It was pretty much the same thing I wore to the party on Friday and since I forgot to take a picture that night I took a picture on Sunday. It was while we were at Target Mackenzie was dancing in the 3 way mirror, so I took a few shots of us. We also stopped at friend's house to exchange gifts, they got Max a Elsa barbie doll. She is in love and will not let it go. Then that evening was Mondo's work party. Which I wore a festive ugly sweater.

Overall our weekend was busy, relaxing, and altogether fun. I can't believe Christmas is only 3 sleeps away!! Tomorrow I will do a pregnancy update and Wednesday I will announce the legging winner!!!

Blogmas: Friday Favorites

2014-12-19T15:33:00.002-08:00

Can you believe, 6 days!?!? I am so excited. Monday ends the legging giveaway here is the link to enter, and here is the link to add an extra entry.

This weekend I am attending 2 Christmas parties, so I thought Friday favorites should be Christmas party edition. But first,

Activity: Bake cookies (I plan on making our favorite sugar cookies)

Scripture: Micah 5:2-5

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,

though you are small among the clans[b] of Judah,

out of you will come for me

one who will be ruler over Israel,

whose origins are from of old,

from ancient times.”

Therefore Israel will be abandoned

until the time when she who is in labor bears a son,

and the rest of his brothers return

to join the Israelites.

He will stand and shepherd his flock

in the strength of the Lord,

in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.

And they will live securely, for then his greatness

will reach to the ends of the earth.

And he will be our peace

when the Assyrians invade our land

and march through our fortresses.

We will raise against them seven shepherds,

even eight commanders,

Gift Exchange Poem: We used this poem at our book study group, it was so fun!!

Maternity Outfit: I was on the hunt for a lace dress like the one pictured. The closest I found was this lace shirt. I didn't get it instead opting for a pretty gold sweater. Tune back in Monday to see that!!

etsy

Ugly Sweater: Mondo's work party is an ugly sweater one. A girl at work made an awesome one, I should have posted a picture of that. I actually really like this sweatshirt and would rock it, ugly sweater party or not. I have a better one up my sleeve see it on Monday's weekend recap.

Toddler Christmas Party: I said this about Halloween and I will say it about Christmas, and maybe even New Years? I want to do a Kid's Christmas Party next year, here is my inspiration.

Christmas card: I like Tori Spellings card but I like Tiffany's family pose!! I know these aren't really Christmas party but, you can use the cards as your invites!!

Party type: I have two favorites, sock and ornament. When Mondo was youth pastor we always did a ornament exchange. To be played as white elephant/ dirty santa. Every year my girlfriends and I got together to play the same game but with fuzzy socks. Both are my favorite gifts to give/get.

What are some of your party favorites?

Here are the weekends Activities and Scriptures.

Saturday: Take pictures for gift tags and address Christmas card envelopes

Scripture: Matthew 2:1-2

Sunday: Horse ride downtown

Scripture: Matthew 2:3-6

See you Monday,

Dorinda

Blogmas: Silent Night

2014-12-18T17:45:00.001-08:00

Activity: Decorate a snowman

Scripture: Luke 2:19-20

19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

I started an advent devotional through the youversion bible app.

There is a devotional by Kim Walker-Smith for her new Christmas CD. My bestie loves Kim Walker-Smith so I thought I would check it out. This is the perfect rise and nine. I read the devo, read the scriptures, then find the song on youtube to worship a little, it's my favorite worshiping to Christmas carols, then I spend some time in prayer. I really liked today's devotional and wanted to share, the devotional is called "Christmas Overflow"

Silent Night

I absolutely love that in Luke 2, the Bible makes mention of Mary taking a moment to ponder all that was happening. She took the time to store up every precious moment as a treasure in her heart. My favorite line in the song "Silent Night" is "Christ our Savior is born!" in the moment Jesus entered this world, everything changed. From this point on, there was no going back. Jesus came into this world to save us all. Mary and Joseph must have felt the power of the moment and the stirring of overwhelming joy inside of them; nothing would ever be the same again.

In all of the hustle and bustle of the busy holiday season, it is so important for us to stop and just take a moment. Ponder in your heart the miracle that is Jesus and the beauty of what His birth meant for us. Take the time to let your heart feel the excitement and anticipation of what Jesus is doing in your life.

Scriptures: Luke 2:17-20

Kinda funny that the scriptures of the devotional and the the advent scriptures go together. I love when God works like that.

Don't forget to get an extra entry for the leggings in yesterday's blog, or just enter in the legging giveaway in blogmas day 1.