Three words for Valentine's Day

Best Husband Ever

Things we couldn't live without

These are just some things that we love right now and use everyday. None of these are things I've been sent or given and this post is in no way sponsored. I always disclose when I've been given something to review but just wanted to throw this out at the beginning for y'all.

Babylegs: Blondie Boy's eczema has really flared up over the past week and he's been so itchy in the crease of his elbow that he'd broken the skin. It's been pleasantly warm for Glasgow so I can't be dressing him in long sleeve tops in the heat.  I can stick on a baby leg with his t-shirt or pajamas and it keeps him from scratching away.

Pouches: Blondie Boy loves fruit pouches. I'll squeeze half a pouch into his porridge in the morning or he'll just walk about sucking on a fruit or vegetable pouch for a snack, too. Tesco has just come out with yogurt pouches as part of their new Goodness line for children which is great because it means Blondie Boy can enjoy yogurt on his own mess free!

L’Oréal Solar Expertise: It's no secret that I'm so white I'm basically translucent and really getting even a bit of a tan is quite an achievement for me. I've been using this after-sun and tan prolonging lotion since we got back from France; I actually bought it in 2007 but this is the first I've used it. It has the slightest bit of self-tan in it and I love it. I'm maintaining the little bit of tan I got and I'm not orange. I highly recommend it.

Duplo: Seriously Blondie Boy loves, loves, LOVES his Duplo. He'll sit and build all sorts of cars, houses, towers and who knows what for hours. It's the first thing he goes for in the mornings and I don't know if I'd get as much work done as I do during the day without them. It's been great watching his dexterity and building skills grow day by day as he plays with them, too.


Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Who doesn't like the Hot Dog Dance? MMCH is the only show Blondie Boy watches or even shows any interest in really. We always have a few episodes on the Sky+ and I love watching Blondie Boy dance along at the end and then wave/say bye to Mickey. He's started recognizing Mickey in the grocery store and we may or may have not came back with a case of Carrefour Pomme pouches because they had Mickey on them.

Lady Gaga: "Bad Romance" was number one when Blondie Boy was born and my oh my does he love Lady Gaga. He asks for "gaga" several times a day. We've got the video for "Judas" on Sky+, songs on our iPhones and keep CDs in the car. You've never seen such joy as when Blondie Boy busts a move to Lady Gaga.  We'll walk past a store with a Gaga song playing and he starts dancing in his stroller. When a song ends he signs "more" and says "gaga" over and over until you play or sing. He is quite possibly the Littlest Monster and if I thought it was feasible I'd take him to see her live because I know he'd love it.

JINNYlash Semi-Permanent Eyelash Extensions

If you are a regular reader of my blog you'll know I'm kinda obsessed with my makeup, especially mascara. I love long, lush dark lashes and have tried dyeing and I love the way my eyes look when the lovely Nancy from Brideface applies individual false lashes, but while they look fab they are a one night only deal.  So you can imagine my excitement when I got the chance to try JINNYlash semi-perminent eyelash extensions; seriously I could have peed my pants I was so excited (don't worry I didn't).

JINNYlash is the original, revolutionary technique in semi-permanent eyelash extensions and is suitable for anyone who wants to achieve longer, fuller eyelashes. JINNYlash extensions are renowned for their natural-looking finish and last between five and eight weeks. The treatment involves attaching up to 100 lashes onto each eye and because each synthetic lash is attached onto each natural eyelash, the end result is fuller, longer, natural-looking lashes.

Normally if I'm headed out of the house whether it's to Bounce and Rhyme or a nice night out I need to curl my lashes, put on mascara, eyeliner and eyeshadow. I love a defined eye and my eyelashes in their natural state are translucent. If I don't have on mascara you can't see them.  So you can imagine how exciting the idea of full, dark lashes all day, everyday would be to me.

The treatment lasts around ninety minutes and if you wear contacts be sure you have them out as you'll be laying down with your eyes shut the entire time.  I had my treatment at my absolute favourite salon in Glasgow: The Beauty Store.

The Beauty Store is an amazing hidden gem off of Royal Exchange Square and you'll feel like you're in the lap on luxury the moment you walk in the door. The salon is impeccably stylish with black and white wallpaper and sparkling chandeliers; I know they say not to judge a book by it's cover, but you can judge a salon by it's style and you trust me here you are in for a real treat.

I know it sounds strange but it was remarkably relaxing to have hundreds of lashes applied to my eyes and the end result, well judge for yourself but in three words: AH-MAZ-ING. The look incredibly natural, but glamorous at the same time. My eyes look larger and more defined and I haven't felt the need to put on makeup just to leave the house.

I've had the lashes in for a week now and while some have fallen out (there is no way of knowing what stage your natural lashes are in so some will shed) they still look full, dark and lush.  I was planning on flutter my lashes while I shook it at my friend's 30th birthday, but I got sick and couldn't go. I'm still in shock the lashes have stayed put since I got sick basically the evening I got them.

The Beauty Store charges £95 for a full application of JINNYlash lashes and included in the price is a touch up appointment (to replenish those that have fallen out naturally) 2 weeks later! Appointments can be made by phoning 0141 204 224 or you can book online. Let them know I sent you! JINNYlash is also available at the Jinny Salon in London and other fine salons in the UK.

Transatlantic Blonde was provided this treatment to review but the opinions expressed are her own.

Bossypants

I love Tina Fey and if this is anything to go by I can't wait to get my hand on her new book Bossypants! Here is her "The Mother’s Prayer for Its Daughter” that's been making the rounds.

“First, Lord: No tattoos. May neither Chinese symbol for truth nor Winnie-the-Pooh holding the FSU logo stain her tender haunches.

May she be Beautiful but not Damaged, for it’s the Damage that draws the creepy soccer coach’s eye, not the Beauty.

When the Crystal Meth is offered, may she remember the parents who cut her grapes in half And stick with Beer.

Guide her, protect her when crossing the street, stepping onto boats, swimming in the ocean, swimming in pools, walking near pools, standing on the subway platform, crossing 86th Street, stepping off of boats, using mall restrooms, getting on and off escalators, driving on country roads while arguing, leaning on large windows, walking in parking lots, riding Ferris wheels, roller-coasters, log flumes, or anything called “Hell Drop,” “Tower of Torture,” or “The Death Spiral Rock ‘N Zero G Roll featuring Aerosmith,” and standing on any kind of balcony ever, anywhere, at any age.

Lead her away from Acting but not all the way to Finance. Something where she can make her own hours but still feel intellectually fulfilled and get outside sometimes And not have to wear high heels. What would that be, Lord? Architecture? Midwifery? Golf course design? I’m asking You, because if I knew, I’d be doing it, Youdammit.

May she play the Drums to the fiery rhythm of her Own Heart with the sinewy strength of her Own Arms, so she need Not Lie With Drummers.

Grant her a Rough Patch from twelve to seventeen.Let her draw horses and be interested in Barbies for much too long, For childhood is short – a Tiger Flower blooming Magenta for one day – And adulthood is long and dry-humping in cars will wait.

O Lord, break the Internet forever, that she may be spared the misspelled invective of her peers And the online marketing campaign for Rape Hostel V: Girls Just Wanna Get Stabbed.

And when she one day turns on me and calls me a Bitch in front of Hollister, Give me the strength, Lord, to yank her directly into a cab in front of her friends, For I will not have that Shit. I will not have it.

And should she choose to be a Mother one day, be my eyes, Lord, that I may see her, lying on a blanket on the floor at 4:50 A.M., all-at-once exhausted, bored, and in love with the little creature whose poop is leaking up its back. “My mother did this for me once,”she will realize as she cleans feces off her baby’s neck. “My mother did this for me.” And the delayed gratitude will wash over her as it does each generation and she will make a Mental Note to call me. And she will forget. But I’ll know, because I peeped it with Your God eyes.

Amen.”

-Tina Fey

Photo and Words from Write in Colour.

Handle with Care

I love a good care package, especially one with American treats in it and I was lucky enough to get two recently! Blondie Boy and I got an awesome package from his Mimi Linda with a microphone, Little People Plane and Paul Frank monkey tshirt for him and Girl Scout Cookies and Peeps for NotBlondeHusband and I! If you don't know what Girl Scout Cookies are you are seriously missing out. I'll be calculating the Weight Watchers Pro-Points for these tonight that is for sure :)

Before I left for London last Friday I got an awesome package of Sugar-Free Goodies from the Appliances Online, who sell cookers and other appliances, Fairy HobMother! They wanted to send me a wee treat, but knew I was doing well on Weight Watchers and didn't want to mess that up so they got me a selection of treats from the Sugar Free Megastore! Most of the snacks are American so I was super excited! I got creme filled cupcakes, snack bars, licorice, chocolate mints--YUM!

If you are in need of a treat yourself you might just want to comment on this post as I've heard the Fairy HobMother's ears prick up when they hear of a blogger in need of a little sweetness in their life :)

Dear Lover Give me one last Painful Kiss

I know a lot of people don't like Valentine's Day, but single or taken I've always loved it. Holidays were a reason to dress up, have a special breakfast (pink milk anyone?) and get presents in my house growing up. I looked around for a cute Valentine's Day shirt for Blondie Boy but I literally didn't see one child's Valentine's shirt, so I took matters into my own two hands!

I like to think Blondie Boy's style is as punk rock as a 13 month old boy can get so I immediately thought of putting an edgy twist to a normally pink and fluffy holiday. I love anything with skulls so I drew out a pattern for a heart and crossbones.


I free hand every pattern I make- sometimes it takes a few trys, but it's definitely better to screw up a pattern then to waste fabric. I just use a bit of thick paper (or an ad for DFS in this case) so it pins on nicely to the fabric without ripping and then trace around it and cut out.

Normally I just use fabric glue but I decided to challenge myself and hand-stitch the edging. I was a bit worried since I knew there was no chance of each stitch being even in length and spacing, but I kind of like the kitchy homemade feel it brings. I won't lie it did take me almost an hour and a half to stitch, but I think it was worth it.


I can't wait to try it on Blondie Boy tomorrow maybe with a faux-hawk and a jean jacket and have a photoshoot while he dances around to some Social D.

I also made a rose corsage for Blondie Boy's Grandma as she and her fiancé were kind enough to babysit him while NotBlondeHusband and I went out for a Valentine's date on Saturday. I found the tutorial here and it was slightly time consuming, but really simple to follow. It is for a ring but I just made the circles slightly larger for a corsage.

I hope y'all have a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Stuff we love: Tommee Tippee

I'm lucky enough to get to review some amazing products, but I thought I'd let y'all know some stuff that we use everyday and love, too!

Tommee Tippee

We've used Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Bottles, Sterilizer and Soft Soothers (we call them pipkas) since Blondie Boy came home from the hospital. We've never had any problems with colic nor any problems with wear and tear.

I really like the Soft Soothers because now that Blondie Boy is teething it means he can chew on his pipka and it won't hurt his gums or teeth.

Now that Blondie Boy is getting bigger we also use Tommee Tippee sippy cups, spoons and bowls, too. We have several different types, but I think my favorite is the Tip it Up Cup. It's really easy for Blondie Boy to hold and it doesn't drip a lot.

I'd never heard of Tommee Tippee before we had Blondie Boy since I grew up in the USA (although it's now available in the US!) but I can't imagine our day-to-day without it!

Cotton

Happy 2nd Anniversary to the man who I love....

...even though he pulls stupid faces when I ask someone to take a photo of us!

Two years ago....

Today...

♥08.08.08♥

Reasons I love my Husband

I've been a bad, bad blogger. I have a couple of draft posts that I just haven't gotten around to finishing, but I promise to try and get them done and update this more regularly. I'm going to start with an easy one!

I love my husband (duh) and now that we have Blondie Boy there are things he does that reminds me why I love him so much. So here are some reasons why I love NotBlondeHusband, the Blondie Boy edition:

-He bought Blondie Boy "And Tango Makes Three" of his own free-will with no prompting from me

-He is fine with Blondie Boy having pink pacifiers, pink shirts and wearing BabyLegs

-He was totally fine with using cloth diapers and researched them for us

-I'm not the only one who gives Blondie Boy "pants-for-hair."

Wow/Wordless Wednesday

I realize this isn't completely wordless, but while the pictures speak for themselves, they needed some introduction.

My extremely crafty friend Amanda offered to make Blondie Boy a bumper after she heard about all my bumper drama (I ordered one only to be told it was sold out) if I found some fabric I liked.

I lucked out and found some super cute fabric from a seller on Etsy and had it sent to Amanda to work her magic. The bumper arrived today and wow, just wow, I am amazed. I knew she was talented, but the detailing and finishing is just amazing! She threw in a bunch of surprises for Blondie Boy, including a taggie blanket, blocks, shoes, a pillow and a new penguin friend for his ever growing penguin army :)

Thank you so much Amanda--you need to put stuff up for salen in your Etsy store immediately because you have mad skills!!

Thank you!!!

Ooh look at me!

Yay! I'm Makeup Bag Monday over at Brideface!

The fabulous Nancy from Brideface did my makeup for my wedding and my friend Dana's 80's party (check out NBH's makeup ala Nance, too!). She is absolutely the best and I haven't been satisfied with anyone else doing my make-up since!

Every Monday she reviews someone's make-up bag and suggests new products for them to try and this week it's me! I've got some giftcards from Christmas I've been waiting to use to get her suggestions, so I can't wait to try them out.

Do you want to be Make-up Bag Monday or do you need a fabulous make-up artist in the Greater Cincinnati area? Get in touch with Nancy and let her know I sent you!

Happy Valentine's Day

(Click here to enlarge)

Grandpas are comfy

Blondie Boy's enjoying spending time with his Grandpa John who is over visiting from Ohio; here they are taking a nap together this morning.

Beautiful Blogger Award

Thank you to the lovely Mrs. Bro who awarded me with this award. Y'all should go check out her blog and leave her a comment about how wicked cute her boy Thomas is!

Here are the rules for the award:

~Thank the person who nominated you and link to their blog.

~Copy the award and paste it to your blog.

~Tell us 7 interesting facts about yourself.

~Nominate 7 bloggers that you love and link to their blog.

1) I have elf ears (one is more pointy than the other) and I think it's pretty cute that I've passed it down to Blondie Boy and he has one, too!

2) I was in the Cincinnati Ballet Company's performance of the Nutcracker when I was 6.

3) I was the first ever Women's Studies graduate from the University of Cincinnati.

4) Jerry Springer sang "Puff the Magic Dragon" to my sister and I when we were little.

5) I kept my belly-button ring in my entire pregnancy and didn't take it out until I was literally in the operating room to have my c-section.

6) I'm right handed, but can only snap with my left hand.

7) I met Mark Paul Gosselaar at Kmart in the 5th grade and couldn't speak for an hour afterwards.

I award:

Mo: http://happiercows.blogspot.com/

Lorry: http://www.alteredsky.net/blog/

Shell: http://jmrockhill.blogspot.com/

Liz: http://itbeliz.blogspot.com/

Jessica: http://www.lovelyjubblylondon.com/

Andrea: http://andreaythomas.blogspot.com/

Cat: http://oldeggsandham.blogspot.com/

Blondie Boy's birth story

**This isn't going to be graphic, but I'm not going to censor it either. It's also going to be stream of consciousness and long, so if that bugs you, sorry. So that's your quasi-warning you can choose to read on or stop**

I guess it technically, possibly started on the 3rd. That Sunday night I couldn't decide if my water had broke or if I'd just pissed myself. After much deliberation and making some banana bread (I rationalized if I could stand up and nothing came out, gravity was telling me it was pee) we decided I was just leaking more pee than normal.

The next day we went to the grocery and that night we went to Ikea. I convinced NotBlondeHusband to push me around Ikea in a wheelchair since I was on crutches and as I was being induced the next day it would be my last chance to take such an advantage. For whatever reason he indulged me and pushed me around. I noticed that my back was hurting in Ikea, but I thought it was because I was in a crappy uncomfortable wheelchair.

After Ikea, NBH, Keith (my Mom's partner) and I went to Tony Roma's for my "last meal" before my induction. Right before our onion loaf came out I'm pretty sure my water broke. We'd just ordered and it's an odd thing to say at dinner let alone in front of your sorta Step-Dad so I just left it and went on eating and making frequent trips to the bathroom.

As we left Tony Roma's (which by the way was pretty disappointing food wise) I said to NBH that I thought my water broke and my back was hurting in waves. On the drive home NBH had me hit his leg when my back started and stopped hurting which he was timing at around every 5 minutes.

We got home and I snuck upstairs and called the maternity assessment hotline and told them we weren't 100% sure when my water broke but I was maybe having contractions every 5 minutes and was due for an induction tomorrow. They said to come in and get checked out, so I had NBH go downstairs and tell my Mom and he called his Dad to drop us off so we wouldn't have to worry about the car.

When we got there my back wasn't hurting as much, but they brought me through to be checked out. They decided my water had broken, but that I wasn't in labor. They did a trace on the baby, whose heartbeat was fine and called up to Labor and Delivery to see what they wanted to do. The verdict was since I was just at the 24 hour point (if my water had broken Sunday) that they would wait and induce me the next day; the midwife assured me this was good because sometimes the drugs they give you to get your cervix open enough to break your water can take up to 3 days to work, so I'd skipped that step.

They said I'd get moved up to the ward for the night, but I asked was I okay to go home and she said yes that was fine if I thought I'd get more sleep. I figured I had a much better chance of sleeping in my own bed than sharing a room with up to 5 others, so we headed back home.

The next morning I got up and took a shower and NBH's Dad picked us up again to get dropped off at 8:30am. We were a little late because it had snowed more and the traffic wasn't great, but it was fine. When we got up to the ward they didn't have my files, but had me change into the nightgown I'd brought and checked me out and said I was maybe 2cm if that.

One of the first things they noticed was that there was meconium in my waters, so they'd need to constantly monitor the baby, which was fine with me. At this point my back was really starting to hurt to be sore and it was hard to get comfortable. I also started to feel really hot. I switched to a hospital gown (my nightgown was fleece) and the nurse gave me paracetamol because it turned out I had a fever.

She brought through gas and air for me to try, but I wasn't that keen and it did nothing when I tried it, so I didn't use it. A doctor came through and gave me 2 IV's, one for induction meds and one for antibiotics since they didn't know when my water broke and because of the meconium. To be honest she made a mess of my left hand and there was blood all over and the 2nd IV hurt so bad in my right hand she had to take it out and move it to my right elbow. They said as soon as a room opened up, I'd go up and start the medicine to induce labor.

Then alarms started going off on the baby's monitor. I looked at NBH and asked if I'd moved or anything and I hadn't and the alarms were still going off and we saw that the number for the baby's heartbeat was really low and the alarms were going and no one was coming.

I can't remember if we pressed the call button or if NBH went and got a midwife, but someone came through and all of the sudden the doctor was back and they were wheeling me out and down the hall. They weren't really telling me what was going on, so honestly I was kinda freaked out.

I got up to L&D and there was suddenly about 6 people there asking me about anesthesia, allergies and having me sign release forms. They said it was likely I'd need an emergency cesarean because the baby's heartbeat had dropped. I signed all the forms and someone brought up my bags from the other room. I really needed to pee, but they said no I couldn't get up.

The doctor came back and said while the baby's heartbeat had gone back up again, it was clear he wasn't tolerating the earliest stages of labor so they wanted to go ahead with the emergency section. I said that was fine, whatever as long as he's okay. They finally let me up to pee really quickly and then within 15 minutes of being wheeled up, I was being wheeled into the operating theatre.

I got hooked up to some IV's and was given a spinal. Honestly the anticipation for the spinal was way worse than the needle or whatever going in itself; the actual spinal wasn't bad at all. I was laid down and they squirted water on me to see if I could feel below my chest and I couldn't so that was good.

I should mention that there was randomly a printed out photo of a Panda bear on the wall to my right. I thought the baby looked like a Panda in his 20 week scan, so I took that to be a good sign that there was this random photo.

NBH was brought in at this point in a gown and they stuck up a sheet so I couldn't see my guts all open and NBH was sat at my head next to me. I was aware of people messing about down in my stomach, but it didn't hurt, it was just weird.

They pulled the baby out at 10:34am and held him up for me to see, but all I saw was a foot. They took him away to check him and wrap him up and within a few minutes NBH was holding him. I looked over and saw him and chatted with NBH while they cleaned/closed me up. The close-up took the longest out of everything.

The pediatrician came and checked over the baby and NBH was taken out of the room. They moved me off the table onto a bed, gave me the baby and wheeled me out to meet NBH and head to recovery. NBH got offered a cup of tea and I was allowed some water and I honestly couldn't tell you how long we were there. At some point the baby was taken away to get a cannula put in so he could get antibiotics, but he was brought back and we were then taken to the ward.

The ward had 6 beds and everyone had had a c-section. They offered me morphine and co-codamol, but I said I really didn't want it because I hate them both, so they gave me more paracetamol and voltaorol.

I won't go on and detail that much of our stay, but on Thursday they had said we should be able to go home, but then Blondie Boy's CRP levels came back too high and we wouldn't be able to go home until they were under 6. This made me pretty upset because I'd thought he was only on antibiotics preventatively and this seemed like he actually had an infection.

A nice midwife saw I was upset and moved us to a private room; while they had made it out to seem we'd be in until Sunday, we actually were allowed out Friday night. Blondie Boy's levels were back down again and we were free to go; CRP levels are an indicator for infection, but don't mean you'll necessarily get one.

All and all the stay wasn't that bad, but the food looked horrible and I never ate it. First you had to eat in the ward cafeteria and I'd rather stay with Blondie Boy and NBH, second it was stuff like curry, cabbage and beans, no thanks. So NBH, My Mom, NBH's Mom or Sister or Dad would bring me in stuff to eat.

I do wish NBH would have been allowed to stay with me whenever he wanted (he could come 10am-9pm) and it was kinda crap hearing other people's babies cry (all babies are roomed in, no nursery) while my good boy was quiet, but it wasn't that horrible on the ward. I got an okay amount of sleep because when the midwives took him at 2am for his antibiotics they'd feed/change him, too.

So that is pretty much it; I was never induced and never really in labor. It wasn't planned, but honestly I don't care. I've got a happy, healthy baby and that's all that matters to me.

As a reward for reading all of this here are some pictures from our time in the hospital:

Daddy and Blondie Boy

Mommy and Blondie Boy

Giving props to where Mom & Dad met in DC

Mommy cuddles

He's not really flipping off the camera, that's just his cannula, but still it sums up his thoughts about having that thing stuck in him

Blondie Boy, Mommy, Mimi Linda

Going home! (note how the "first size" warm suit is HUGE on him)

Leaving :)

Introducing...

Blondie Boy

January 5th, 2010 @10:34am

8lbs, 21" via emergency c-section

(more details, photos and general attention whoring to come...)

Om Nom Nom

So I've been politely asking, okay probably nagging, my Dad to send me over a jar of Izzy's Dill Pickles. Izzy's is an AMAZING Jewish Deli in Cincinnati; if I could get their cornbeef and latkes shipped here I would. Pickles aren't the same here and honestly, no pickle compares to an Izzy's pickle.

I arrived home today not to a jar, but to a case of Izzy's Deli pickles! I've got an entire fridge drawer full of them now, mmm!

Thank you Daddy! You've made me very happy and helped introduced your Grandbaby to yet another Cincinnati delicacy!

Note, this doesn't count as me being a typical pregnant lady craving pickles; it is merely part of my love affair with Cincinnati cuisine!

I ♥ MY DADDY!

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

I ♥ My Mom's Friends

Our bebe is going to be super stylish! Big thanks to one of my Mom's best friends Molly for sending this super cute kimono onesie for the bebe. We are planning on doing a penguin theme for the nursery so this is perfect! I've also read that kimono style onesies are particularly good for newborns. Also, how cute is this card? Molly has a corgi named Lucy, so it's extra cute!

I so appreciate all the cuteness that is getting sent our way. Thank you Shandy!!!!