Makeup Hoarding

On any given day you can catch me watching Youtube videos. In fact, I watch them more than I watch cable TV that we pay for.  I watch them when I am getting ready in the morning, on lunch at work or before bed when I'm forced to watch scary movies by Jerek and can't fall asleep till 3am. [that was last Saturday, not cool]

My subscriptions range from comedy to daily vlogs, to beauty to fitness and everything in between. Recently I've been watching a lot of makeup haul and storage videos because I hate the way I have mine stored. When we took away our walk in closet i.e: Skylor's room now, we had to make do with our master bedroom and buy dressers and put away my makeup table for now. I get ready between the bathroom and the dresser in our bedroom which has extremely bad lighting. My makeup storage has suffered because of this as well, thanks Sky. {kidding}

For 2014 I started off with some goals for January and continued into February. With one of my goals being to donate/declutter with focus on the basement. I've done extremely good with the basement and started to get real crazy Saturday and go through my makeup. I've hoarded a lot of crap, to put it bluntly.  I use to buy a lot of make up just because it was on sale and cheap. As I've gotten older I've realized spending a little more on make up and hair care is something I think is worthwhile. 

What I Got Rid Of:

As you can see, 90% of the products I'm getting rid of are mostly Ulta brand. Now it's not to say I don't like this brand any more but I use to buy things up when they would have their BOGO on makeup. All of the products pictures I ended up throwing away. I didn't feel comfortable donating these when they were all used no matter how good of a job I did sanitizing.

I'm sure there will be more makeup clean outs and questioning myself as to why the hell I bought something but that's the beauty of hoarding makeup! Plus the makeup industry survives off us!

My hairdresser hates me.

So really, I hope my hairdresser does NOT hate me because we've been friends since I was six. But I am pretty sure she's been frustrated with me from time to time!

If you live locally in the Metro Detroit Area and need someone to save your hair, this girl is it. If she can put up with me and my antics, she can do anything! You can find her at the chic salon of H2O2 in downtown Birmingham, where the mood is inviting and the lighting is perfect.

I may be bias but she does amazing work. 

So here's the history of my hur.

I was born bald. I mean like bald bald. I then grew a few hairs and they were real blonde.  As I grew up they turned to this really mousey, dirty mop-water brown. Not cute.

Flash forward to high school and everyone was using Sun-In. Yeah, I was one of those girls with orange hair because apparently that shit doesn't work on us brunettes very well! So I started dying my hair around the time I was 16. At first it started with high lights, nothing too crazy and then when I went away to college and couldn't afford to keep up with the high lights I started dying my hair myself.

The box dye slowly started getting darker and darker and before I knew it I was picking up the color Jet Black. This all started because I had people tell me I looked like Megan Fox. I really never saw it but I guess it was because of the light blue eyes and dark hair.


By about sophomore year in college I was dying my roots every 4-5 weeks because I couldn't stand the regrowth or fading. I was always trying to keep a tan to make sure I didn't look like I belonged in the Adams family with such dark hair.

I graduated college and a year later became pregnant with Tracen. Shortly after having him I went to get my hair colored and dropped a bomb on my hairdresser. "I think I'd like to go blonde" I said.  It's safe to assume that these were the hormones talking but I was never questioned so we started the bleach washes as we wanted the least amount of damage to occur. I think we did 3 in one sitting and it pretty much didn't do anything. For a few months straight we did these bleach washes and low level stripping to get the YEARS of build up off. I also had this unrealistic idea that I wanted to have blonde hair for my girlfriends wedding I was going to be in, in California, In August.  So I basically gave her about 6 months to make this happen with over 6 YEARS of box dye to get out. She should have told me she just couldn't do it with out making me go bald and I probably would have stopped asking. Or maybe not, who knows. We started to really strip my hair and then tone it. In May I got my job now and started with a dark red hair color. (I interviewed with black hair so they kind of confused when I started!)

I slowly had what I tried telling myself was strawberry blonde hair, and then finally blonde. I  made her make me blonde and regretted it.  I don't even have pictures of this color because it was so short lived.  Here's the thing though, my hair was F-R-I-E-D. I tried pretending it was okay but I knew I had rushed everything. I was being impatient and it wasn't Jamie's fault, it was mine. So after seeing the wedding pictures and hating what I looked like I did what any normal person would do. I bought a box of dye and proceeded to hide from Jamie and not make appointments to come see her.  I was just so embarrassed that I had rushed her along this process. One day I got a text that went something along the lines of:

J: So that picture of you and Tracen on Facebook is cute...how long have you had that box dye on your head?
Me: uhhh....you caught me. I honestly don't know what to say...don't hate me??
J: I thought so. When you are ready come and see me let me know.  I'm not mad but don't ask me to go blonde again missy!

I later went back and got my hair cut and had her dye it with proper hair coloring. Thankfully she allowed me back in the salon and still wanted to be my friend.

Can you guess what happen a few months before I got pregnant with Skylor? I sent her a picture of Rachel Zoe and said, "I think over this next year I want to get to this, can we make it happen?"

Her response was something like, "Chelsea, you are out of your f****** mind again aren't you? Fine... but you KNOW it won't happen right away...what am I going to do with you dude!?" Or maybe she cursed me out, I can't really remember.

Over the past year I let her do her thing, I trusted her fully. We have done everything slow and I've walked out of the salon happy with every stage. Between being pregnant and how I've taken care of my hair, it's been the thickest and longest it's ever been and I owe EVERYTHING to Jamie. I get compliments at work all the time on the color, cut and how beautiful it looks. I get asked if I'm wearing my extensions because it looks that good! I'm thankful that she has stuck by my side even though I may have strayed a time or two.

February Goals

I'd really like to say that January just flew by but this month was a mega bitch and seemed to drag on forever. In Michigan we got over 50+ inches of snow and the commute to work was at times 2 hours to go 18 miles. I know, I know, people in Atlanta were leaving cars on the side of the road, shit someone even gave birth on the 285 or something like that. But seriously January was so annoying. Between calling into work that I was going to be late because of the snow and fighting with Tracen about shitting in his underwear I'm exhausted.

Lets recap January goals:

1. No more buying Starbucks (I CHEATED A FEW TIMES)
2. No more buying dumb shit at work (COMPLETE!)
3. Quick gym membership & work out at home at least 3 days a week (Quit gym membership but only do about 2 days a week, so far!)
4. Drink more water (COMPLETE! On average I've been drinking 70+ ounces a day)

All in all, I did pretty well with January's goals, minus the working out but that takes time. Lets move onto February goals shall we!

1. No booze Monday-Thursday: and I thought working out was going to be hard! I like me some wine after a long day at work or when Tracen is neurotic and acts like a teenager all day long. The thing I enjoy most is sitting on the couch, watching a show under a blanket with Jer and drinking a glass...or two. Hopefully I don't try making up for lost time on the weekends!

2. Donate/Declutter the basement: I've been working on this hoarding pile of ours for some time now. We have regular garbage pickers at the end of our driveway every Friday morning. Last weekend I worked at a Mom2Mom sale and made $160 and donated whatever was left to charity. I came home with 5 empty storage bins and a wad of cash. It was REAL nice! We've gotten rid of a lot but I have plans to get rid of more so I know this goal won't be hard to do!

3. Potty Train Tracen: Now we've been working on this for a while too and he's gotten really good about wearing underwear and going pee in the toilet. However, he doesn't seem to mind walking around with a huge load in his superman briefs! So I'm going to REALLLYYY try to get this kid to shit in the potty, or tell him he can go outside when Ducati does, too extreme? 

4. Pay off credit cards, FOR GOOD: We just did our taxes yesterday, (I know, we don't wait right? We like to get our money as soon as we can!) and I know this won't be hard paying them off, but it's the FOR GOOD part I'm nervous about. I plan on taking them out of my wallet and putting them in the safe, that way I'm not tempted to swipe. We do have one credit card that we will still be using because we get travel points for  every time we use. We basically charge stuff to it, then make a payment from our debit card right away. This allows us to earn lots of points for flights, hotels or any travel expenses.

Just because January is over doesn't mean I will start buying dumb shit at work, or Starbucks everyday again. I'm still going to keep these goals in my brain and work on them. Most importantly I'm hoping I can have a weight loss/body toning update at the end of this month, but I can't promise anything because I love chips and dip, and cookies, and candy and booze...like alot.

Skylor's Birth Story

It's only been six months since Skylor was born so I'm giving myself a big old pat on the back for getting this all down seeing as it took me two plus years to get Tracen's together.

Grab a coffee, some tissues and we will begin!

{If you follow me on Instagram you've already seen these}

|MONDAY| July 15th: I had my 35 week check up and I was measuring right on schedule. I was 2cm dilated and starting to thin out. I just wanted to make it past 36 weeks this time. I just wanted to hold my baby after he was born and not have him rushed to the NICU. I was scared at this appointment, really scared. I didn't do anything all week but go to work and lay on the couch when I got home from work.

|FRIDAY| July 19, I was 35 weeks and 4 days pregnant. I called Jerek and we both left work around 1pm and met at the hospital. I was having contractions and I thought this might be it. I wasn't even 36 weeks yet, this was not happening. I ended up being extremely dehydrated and took almost 3 bags of fluids within 15 minutes. I was now dilated to 4cm and almost fully thinned out. Apparently no matter how much water I was drinking that walking up and down stairs in an automotive plant in the dead heat of July wasn't helping my case. The rest of the week I had a tumbler with me at all times and drank water while I peed, while I changed diapers, while I slept. Kidding.

|MONDAY| July 22, I had my 36 week appointment and they weren't sending me to labor and delivery. I made it, I got here, this is what I wanted! I was 4cm dilated and he was nice and low, any day now she said.

|FRIDAY| July 26th, I was 36 weeks and 4 days. We went to the hospital again after work as I had lots of pressure and could have sworn he was about to fall out of my cooka. It was my grandmas birthday so I was excited to see if he would share a birthday with her. I was sent home again as I was still at 4cm and not in fully active labor. I was annoyed, hot, sweaty and my hips were KILLING ME. The last time I was at the hospital I didn't want to have him, a week later I was pissed at them for not making this happen.  We came home and ordered pizza, relaxed and I bounced on my yoga ball ALL.NIGHT.LONG.

|SATURDAY| July 27th, I was 36 weeks 5 days. We went for walks down the block, bounced on yoga ball, slept, played as a family of 3 and just plain hung out. I was having contractions about every 5 minutes but then they would stop when I would lay down or baby got comfortable. I refused to go to the hospital and get sent home again so we waited. We went to our nephews 3rd birthday party and the boys played outside while I ate and bitched about how uncomfortable I was to anyone that would listen. I'm sure people were probably sick of me by then and just wanted me to have this baby.

|SUNDAY| July 28th, I was 36 weeks 6 days. It was Sunday family day and we headed out to one of our favorite places about a half hour away, duck pond as Tracen calls it. Downtown Rochester has a great park and we went and feed the ducks, let Tracen play on the playground and brought a picnic. That day we happen to run into our friends Amanda and Robbie and their 2 little girls. I was walking to the bathrooms to pee and that's when it really hit me, I was having to stop every few steps and focus on my breathing. I went to the bathroom and waddled back to the boys. Jer could tell I was in pain but we just watched Trace play and chatted away. We weren't out very long before I just wanted to go home and be in my own surroundings where I was comfortable and able to moan without people staring.

We made it back home and Trace took a nap while I bounced and concentrated on breathing. For the next few hours I did just that. Bounce, breathe, write down contraction time, repeat. We left to head to Jereks parents for Sunday night dinner around 5pm but brought our hospital bags just in case. We were ready this time. I didn't really eat dinner to be honest, a few bites but that was it. I couldn't even tell you what we made but if Amy was cooking, I'm sure it was delicious! At 8pm the contractions were about every 3 to 5 minutes apart and pretty intense. Jerek's mom said she thought we should go to the hospital so we did. The hardest part wasn't waddling to the car through a contraction, it was leaving Tracen.  Even though he was as happy as could be I was scared and sad for him. I was scared because I didn't want him to think we were leaving him and I was sad because I wasn't sure what he would think the next time he saw me, saw all of us. I was scared to be a mother of two even though this is all we wanted.

The drive wasn't too bad and we knew where to go since we had been twice in the past 10 days. I got checked and I was 5 1/2 cm dilated and 100% effaced. I was being admitted and having a baby. Jer called my mom, his mom and his sister. I had all three of them in the room when I had Tracen and I wanted all of them with me when we had Sky. Amy and I have an amazing relationship and she's the sister I never had, we also were going to ask her and her husband to be the God parents of both boys so it was a very special time. I was checked into my room and everything was so calming, so peaceful and dare I say perfect.  It was no secret that I wished so badly for this labor and delivery to be 100% different than Tracens. (If you want to know why, read Tracen's Birth Story). I know they say your first baby is the hardest because you don't know what you are doing but it wasn't that. I wanted it to be 100% different because I didn't want to relive the days and nights in the NICU.

After I got in my gown on and they checked on me and the baby, I was at a 6 and progressing nicely. I knew I wanted an epidural again and within 15 minutes the doctor was there and I was numb and more comfortable and relaxed. Jereks mom, my mom, Amy and Jer were surrounding me. We were whispering and laughing and reminiscing about Tracen's birth waiting for the doctor to get here from home as she was sleeping. I'm not sure if it was because we were at a different hospital this time or because it was almost midnight and all was quite, but the mood was so magical and so uplifting. My doctor came in around 1130pm and said hi. She said she would be back in an hour and would check me then. She left and we continued to chat and relax. I felt a little pressure but nothing painful. She came back and it was 1230am on July 29th. She said I was fully dilated and ready to push and his head was literally about to fall out! I laughed and said okay I'm ready! Amy and Jerek grabbed a leg and I pushed. The doctor told me to stop or he was going to fly out so I stopped and jokingly told her to tell me when I should go again because I couldn't really feel when the contractions was coming. 

Now is good.

I smiled, bared down and that was it. Two pushes, some smiles and laughter and just like that, we were a family of F O U R.

At 12:59am on July 29, 2013.  My chunky, beautiful baby boy was laying on my chest.  He was healthy and you could tell right away. His breathing wasn't like Tracens was and I felt a sense of relief. I kissed him, I smelt him, I looked at his fingers and counted his toes. His finger nails looked JUST like Jerek's dad, it was so cute. He was SO chunky! He had a little bit of dark hair, his lips were so plump and beautiful. He  looked at me and I whispered in his ear, you are perfect, and I meant every word of it.

The doctor smiled and said I did great. We announced his name and talked while the nurse cleaned him up and he wasn't taken away from me, he was right in my eye sight. We made bets as to how big he was, my mom had the highest and said 8lbs. The nurse laughed and said 8lb 6 ounces. Excuse me! How on earth did I just do that! I was pretty proud of myself, I'm not going to lie. Just think, he was 3 weeks early too, imagine how much bigger he could have been! All bundled up he was handed back to me. I was overwhelmed with joy and excitement. We took pictures and smiled and everyone went home while I showered and got ready to nurse and relax our new little babe. The next day and a half were great. I was up and walking, the food was great, no really it was! We were released on the 31st and went to pick up Tracen and begin life as a family of four.

 

I truly believe that God knew what I had gone through with Tracen's birth, that he thought I deserved an easier labor and delivery the second time around, so I thank you big man! That birth makes me want to have 10 more babies because it was that amazing! Aside from labor being so easy I have to say my favorite part was how wonderful the hospital was, how our room was just full of laughter, smiles and a beautiful calming feeling that came over me late that night. Everyone always asks if we want to try for a girl but all I want to do right now is be with my boys. These are my boys, my life, they complete me in a way I never thought I could be completed.