Summer summer summer summer!

I know some of you are finally getting to enjoy your summers... and that's fabulous for you.  I'm pleased to announce we've been doing summer here in AZ for quite a while already this year, and I LOVE it!  And before you call me crazy, up until the last week it was a dry heat (I know, so cliche, but it's true).  It only became a little unbearable when we hit our humid season... you peeps who live back east can keep that business. 
But summer... I love it because I love flip flops, BBQs, Independence Day, birthdays (both my babies), sunglasses, pedicures, water, sun tans, the smell of coconuts and sunscreen, and even our rain storms...

Have you heard...?

In case you missed it (and if you follow me on Facebook, I don't know how you did, LOL), I started my own business with Younique, a naturally-based skin care and cosmetic company.  I have been with Younique for 5 months now, and wow has this been bigger than I ever thought... like seriously!
I found Younique through a Facebook party I was invited to, they really convinced me I needed this 3D mascara stuff. Mascara, by the way, is my one "don't-leave-home-without-it cosmetic item. No really, I received a call from my husband once telling me he had rolled his truck (that story is in a previous post here) and I ran into my bathroom to put my mascara on super fast before I left the house. I know... that's bad, right?
Once I tried my 3D Fiber Lashes, I debated, and finally decided I could at least get the presenter's kit and purchase my own mascara if I signed up... I mean, that was still a pretty amazing deal (30 eye pigments, 5 blushers, and then some... like are you kidding me?  Play time!). Then I got my kit and some other products and started to play, and wow! Makeup rut, over! I fell in love with the other products, too.
Then I "met" my upline on Facebook and found out how seriously supportive they are. Really, phone calls, info, inspiration, incentives, everything... and such cool girls, too. Now, you may or may not know that I can be pretty socially awkward at times, but they even helped me work through that. And, oh my exciting! I really started to get into the rush of sharing Younique with others! I never thought that would happen, but these are seriously products I wanted everyone to not have to live without!
Now, a mere 5 months in with this new company (yeah, it's only a little over a year old... and growing exponentially... now, that's exciting), I've promoted four times, earned a $250 bonus, and even built my own team of amazing girls who see what this opportunity can mean for them and their families!
I am so ridiculously in love with what I have achieved with Younique, not only income wise but also in improved self image and social outgoing-ness (pretty sure that's not even a word), and I feel so blessed to have found this opportunity... oh, and the perfect mascara!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
I started because I love the 3D Lashes, and I thought it was a good opportunity to get a discount for myself and sell to my family and friends. My initial goal was... not really to make money, I actually wasn't expecting that or any of the rest, LOL! I now see the potential to earn enough money to pay for our summer vacation this year, and then some, hopefully!
Now that I see the potential, my goal is to be able to work as a nurse purely because I want to help people, not because I need the income!
What would you do with your future and to help others if you could?
www.piratelashes.com

Eye Tutorial Using Cranberry Pigment

This is one of my favorite eye looks lately, I think the cranberry color brings out the green in my hazel eyes really well.  Plus I just love red!

Products used are:

• Younique Eye Pigements in Heartbroken, Provoked, Sexy, and Corrupted (liner)
• Younique 3D Fiber Lashes (it's just mascara, the best one ever)

For this I like to use Heartbroken (the cranberry color) all over my lid up to my crease, then Provoked (a redish brown) in the crease and on the outer V, and finally Sexy (a shimmery nude) on my brow bone, at the inner corner  of the eye, and a little to blend.  I then use Corrupted ( flat black powder) with a liner brush to line my eyes.  That gives me a bit of a smokier liner look.  Then I finish with my mascara of choice, Younique's 3D Fiber Lashes (no, not falsies).

Check out the tutorial here:

Happy Father's Day!

I know, it's after midnight, so technically I'm a day late... what can I say, I worked at the hospital today.  But I really wanted to honor a few amazing dads in my life... because dads are pretty amazing guys, right? 

I have been blessed with two dads - one biological, one step,both very instrumental in raising me.  I had them both walk me down the isle at my wedding... how cool is that?  Only the luckiest girls get two daddies!

I also want to give a shout out to the hubs... I remember when we were dating we had a conversation about what we dream of doing with our lives.  His answer was not career oriented as most people's tend to be.  He told me "I want to be a good dad."  Having grown up without a dad, I can totally see why that's so important to him... and guess what!  Success!  Thomas, you are an amazing dad to our two beautiful children!

Happy (slightly belated) Fathers Day to all the amazing dads out there!

I'm so spurty...

I owe everyone (and my lonely blog) an apology... I seem to go in spurts with my posting and really good things fail to get passed on to the world... like ridiculously good, because life is awesome!
So, kids are bigger, and super fun, but I'm sure you expected that!  We both have the same jobs, however I did start my own business with Younique, a naturally based skin care and cosmetic company... seriously such a good decision, but more on that later.  Davin went to preschool this year.... And played soccer... And tee ball.  Charis is just a little princess who loves to sing and dance.  We continue to do CrossFit, although we admittedly need to get out butts to the gym more often... life is crazy and good, all at the same time!

CrossFit and Friendships

It's been a long while since I've posted here, but tonight I have a lot on my mind, and wanted to share some thoughts.  In 2012, Thomas and I decided it was time that we start to take better care of ourselves and decided signing up at a gym would be a good start.  Mind you, we have a really bad track record when it comes to actually getting to the gym when we sign up, but this time it's been different.  Thomas started CrossFit and quickly convinced me to join him (I had started with spinning).  I know half of you really don't want to hear about CrossFit, but for the other half, let me just say, this has been life changing for us.  We have seen so much progress, in both appearance, and physical ability.  It wasn't long before we figured out that nutrition plays a key roll in this endeavor and we have been paying much more attention to what we put into our bodies.  We have a new "hobby" in common; one we participate in 4-5 times per week.  It has been such a bonding experience for us, and I feel like it has been great for our marriage.  We've also bonded with several new friends whom I already cherish.  Thomas has found a new love in Olympic Lifting and Strongman.  He says he just likes to lift heavy stuff!  I have to say, I'm a little partial to Strongman, too; it's so fun!  I also think it has been a bit of an inspiration to our kids, who come to the gym with us and often imitate what they see us do.
None of these benefits, however, would have come to fruition had it not been for the fact that we actually stuck with the program.  And, while there are many factors involved, two very special people played a big roll in keeping us there.  The knowledge and experience of our coaches, Aaron and Gabby, has been priceless.  On top of that, they genuinely care about each of us and take the time to work with and help us.  We have learned so much from them, and I'm proud to call them friends.
The inspiration for this post tonight stems from the fact that our beloved coaches will no longer be involved with the gym we signed up for, spawning a large movement to cancel memberships.  The events of the evening have made me reflect on the benefits of the past several months.  So, while I'm not sure where I will do my WOD tomorrow or the next day, I am so very happy I have found this thing called CrossFit and have some amazing friends to share it with.

Getting Ready for Christmas

This past weekend we went to see Zoo Lights at Reid Park Zoo.  Very cool, and Davin loved it because he loves Christmas lights no matter where he sees them.  He also loves his Grandma, and insisted that she hold his hand, even when he was in the stroller.  Charis enjoyed looking around at the twinkly lights, but was a little tired by this time of night.  So, she needed a pick-me-up, which came in the form of cotton candy.  Her first time trying it, and she was taking huge bites (go figure, she likes sugar).  I found one of the hot chocolate tables and decided that just felt right for the occasion, but then was a little bummed when I found out that Mom and Mariah had found their own pick-me-up at the table that would add liqueurs to your hot chocolate.  Where was that table when I was buying my hot chocolate???
The next day we got up early (mostly because Davin was wide awake in a strange place and not because we were determined to get up early) and braved the mall to go see Santa.  Being their early had its perks, though, because we were second in line as soon as we walked in.  The mall was much more packed by the time we finished shopping and left.  Charis sat with Santa quietly, no fuss, like she knew it was just something that had to be done.  Davin was hesitent, and, after much conversation and coaxing from Santa, would only sit beside him, not on his lap.  When asked what he wanted Santa to bring him for Christmas, Davin's response was a whispered "I want bring presents."

Did I tell you how cute my kids are?

I'm really behind on going through my pictures on my camera.  I have this routine (stop reading here if you don't want to listen to OCD Nicole) where I take pictures from my camera and organize by year-month-day in folders.  Then I go through each date, pick out the best of the best, move them to the print folder, and edit as needed from there.  I edit the copies so that I still have the original to work with if I ever learn some amazing trick for editing and MUST re-edit.  And, because I just can't make myself get rid of the original.  I actually keep the original of all the picures, even the really horrible ones...
Anyway...

As I was going through pictures, found some I really like and thought I would share.  You know, because of how cute my kids are... (that's jerkey that Charis is eating in the last picture, by the way. Charis loves it!)

The Babies are Baptized!

At long last, on Saturday, our babies received the Sacrament of Baptism!  I have been stressing about this for so long, and for reasons that are too numerous to list and comepletely silly, because it was awesome!  The kiddos didn't even cry when they had the Holy Water poured over their heads.  Charis cried a little in the beginning when she got hungry, but that was it.  Davin, Mr. Independent, really wanted to hold his own candle, so I was pretty relieved when Father Ed said we could blow them out.Their little white outfits, by the way, were amazing!  Charis' dress had such gorgeous embroidery on it, I couldn't stop staring at it, and I couldn't stop staring at my beautiful girl once Veta and I got her clothed.  Davin looked so cute and handsome in his tux, even though he wouldn't let Thomas and Adam put the vest and tie on him.  We joked that he looked like John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever.
I loved having our family and friends out with us, that makes the day even more special.  Mom was so kind as to hostess a little reception at her house afterward (thank you, Mom, I know that was a lot of work), so we all got to visit and Davin got to play with the grandchildren of his new Godparents.  Veta and Adam, you have some awesome grandbabies!
I have to say a huge thank you to everyone:  Thank you to Veta and Adam for accepting our request to be Godparents to our babies, and for all the work you put into the baptism (and to your grandchildren who were amazingly helpful as well).  Thank you, Mom, for hostessing the reception, I know it was a lot of work!  Thank you to Grammy for the salads.  Thank you to Father Ed for performing the baptism and helping everyone relate to the process.  And thank you to everyone who came out to help us bless and celebrate our children.
Now for pictures (of course)!  I will probably add other pictures when I receive them from others who were photographing the day as well  (thank you to Mom, Dad, and Grandma Dupont for that, I love people who bring cameras!).  Also, you can see their baptism portraits here.

Happy Halloween!

This Halloween turned into more of a weekend celebration than just one day.  On Friday, we dressed the kids up and headed over to the carnival that Solomon Elementary puts on every year. Davin got to wander around, play games, and win prizes and treats.  Miss Charis just stared around in awe, then decided to indulge in her own treat (a bottle).  On Sunday, after mass, we went to Mom's house and made popcorn balls (so good and you can't eat just one, at least I can't) and painted pumpkins.  We thought Davin would get more into painting pumpkins than carving, and we were right!  He dove right in and started creating little round works of art.  Charis played in her walker most of the time... not really into pumpkins or popcorn balls just yet.  On Monday, we took the kids around trick-or-treating.  Davin was actually understanding the concept this year, for the most part, and was having a blast pretending to be a pirate and scaring people with his spooky noise maker.  Charis just paraded around looking pretty as a fairy princess, and got pretty tired of the whole thing by the time we made it to Grandma's house (our last stop).  The idea of Halloween is pretty new to her (as are most things).  It was her first, after all!

She Rolls

Although Charis' favorite mode of transportation lately has been scooting around on her back, it doesn't get her very far.  So, imagine her excitement (and mine) when she figured out how to roll over.  This still doesn't get her very far (yet), but she is working so hard to fine tune this skill.

Important Things

Already this morning I've been to a charge nurse meeting, done a load of laundry (complete with a scorpion in it), fed both kids and put one of them down for a nap.  But right now I'm playing with Davin, doing whatever he wants to do.  While his little sister is asleep, he gets his mommy all to himself (a rare thing these days), and there's nothing more important than that.

Sending Up Birthday Wishes... and a Request

Dad would have been celebrating a birthday today.  Lately, when I think of him, I get really teary eyed, sometimes because I'm thinking happy thoughts, and sometimes because I am so incredibly sad that he is gone.  It's strange, when he first passed away I was sad, but I must not have taken the time to mourn him then.  That, or it's a delayed reaction... denial... I don't know.  But it seems to be hitting me like a ton of bricks lately.  I miss visiting with him and learning from him.  I wish Davin could have had more time with him, they had such a tight bond.  I wish he could have met Charis (although, he probably got to hold her in his arms before any of us).
I have a request for anyone who reads this.  I want to make a scrapbook about Dad's life.  I have some pictures, and would always love to have more.  And I really need stories from you all.  Stories about happenings, timelines, relationships.  Anything!  If you need my email address, you can send me a message on facebook, or ask Mom for it.  Or, feel free to comment here.  Get in touch with me however you like, and please pass this request on to other family members and friends!  Thank you!
Happy Birthday, Dad.  You are always in our hearts!