Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Make-up Junkie


My typical daily make-up routine

One of my most fondest memories of being a little girl was sitting on the toilet watching my mom as she applied her make-up as she would get ready to go out for the evening. I loved the entire process from her hair being in curlers to her pretty face being enhanced by all the mascara, foundation, eye shadow, and lipstick.  It just all seemed so grown-up and glamorous.
  In high school I though I'd die if anyone saw me without eyeliner and mascara on. Remember those questions about if you were stranded on an island and could only have one thing what would it be? My answer was always mascara!
 Then in college, I started to experiment with foundation, eye shadow, lip gloss, etc. I will have to admit though that I still didn't really know what I was doing, but got some help from some friends who did and some from some advice from the make-up artists at Sephora.
 We move on to today. I'm a sucker for any make-up that comes in a pretty package or that has good advertising. I like to use a combination of low and high-ish end products.  I have yet to master the cat-eye or to find the most perfect foundation, but I'm getting closer and love the process along the way. I just think make-up is so fun and is such an easy way to change your look!

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Confession of a Dad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGEe_zpddNI

Last night my husband, Josh, confessed to me that he can't hear the song, "Forever Young" by Rod Stewart without getting a little teary-eyed.  He asked me if I was familiar with the song, which I was but I didn't know all the words to the song.  Josh then pulled it up on YouTube for me and said that I had to really listen to the words and that he may need to leave the room for fear of getting weepy. Josh said the song reminded him of our son, Jacoby, and that is why it has such an effect on him. Well, I didn't even need to hear the song...just knowing that my husband gets emotional over a song because it reminds him of our son, makes my eyes well-up with tears by itself.  Anyways, I listened to the song and tears ran down my face as I concentrated on the words.  It is a perfect match for Jacoby and Josh, and even as I write this, strings tug at my heart and I get a little emotional.  It's just so sweet.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Punished by Toddler and Serving 24 hours

Last week, I had to go away to Clearwater, Florida for a business trip. When I left, it was Mother's Day and my 18 month old son, Drew, had been attached at my hip. For days, I wasn't able to go five minutes without him wanting to be held and when we had a family BBQ the Saturday before Mother's Day he clung to me like everyone else were aliens.  My husband, Josh, wasn't looking forward to my departure as he knew that for a week straight the only words to come out of Drew's mouth, would be, "mama, mama, mama..."
So, fastforward a week, and I was traveling home on Saturday.  Drew suddenly spiked a fever early morning on Saturday and Josh and I were on the phone all throughout the day (my flight to Maine wasn't until 5:00 pm, arrival 11:30 pm) discussing Drew.  I couldn't get home fast enough. The thought of my little boy being so sick and me not being there to hold him was terrible!
As I drove home from the airport, Josh was still up with Drew. He had woken up after going to bed and would not go back to sleep. So I talked to Drew on the phone as I drove home and I felt relieved to hear his baby laughs and babble on and on with the words that he knows. I couldn't wait to have Drew in my arms, hug him, kiss him, and rock him to sleep....
Well, Drew had other plans for me and this is when I start the punishment. I walked into my bedroom to find him bouncing up and down on his knees and crawling all over Josh on the bed and looking like a perfectly healthy, baby boy.  As soon as he sees me though, he stops. I expected him to squeal in delight at the sight of me and want me to hold him right away.  I couldn't have been more wrong!  He immediatly turned his back on me.  I kept my distance and said hi to him and he grabbed onto Josh as tightly as he could. I tried to walk around the bed so we could face each other, but no matter where I went, he would turn the opposite direction. I then sat down on the bed and tried to rub his back, he curled up in a ball at the sense of my touch and said, "no!"  My little Drew was furious at me for leaving him and he was going to show me what-for.  Josh would ask Drew if he wanted to give me a hug and Drew would only hug Josh tighter and say no to that option.  Then Josh needed to use the bathroom which meant Drew was going to be with only me. He cried and squirmed to get away from me. I was eventually able to hold onto him and rock him as I sang You are my Sunshine quietly in his ear. This seemed to calm him down and tears rolled down my face as his little warm body snuggled into mine. When Josh came back into the room though, it was as if I no longer existed and he sprung from my arms into his. Drew was obviously so overtired by this point and Josh put him to bed; a job that I would normally do, but not this night, Drew still refused to look at me as he was carried out my bedroom door.
The next morning, I heard Drew wake up. I went into his bedroom to get him, but as soon as he saw me he no longer wanted to come out. He layed back down in his crib and faced his wall. I saw down on the floor next to him and tried all my tricks to make him laugh or play back with me. I succeeding at none of it...and the punishment continued.  For about 15 minutes this all played out. I would finally get him to peek at me and I think I may have even gotten a smile, but that was all.
Then thankfully, my other son, Jacoby, had woken up and came in the room.  Jacoby wasn't punishing me and I got a wonderful hug from him and was able to cover him in kisses from head to toe.  Drew was very interested in seeing Jacoby. The only reason Drew allowed me to lift him out of his crib was so that he could see his older brother.
We all played in Drew's room for a while. I gave them their presents that I had brought back from Florida. Drew kept his distance from me for most of the morning, only using for things that he wanted...a drink...a toy he couldn't reach, etc.  Then it happened Drew came over and hugged me and gave me a kiss.  I smiled in delight, and he turned his back on me again...I think he forgot that he was supposed to still be punishing me.  For the rest of the day he would go back and forth on whether or not he wanted to give me a hug and little kisses or if he wanted to get as far away from me as possible.  My punishment did eventually end though as I was determined that it would. I was able to rock him to sleep that night and I will admit, that I held him in my arms about 10 minutes longer than I normally would have, just to watch his peaceful face sleep and to have him next to me.
Kids are funny.  You never know how they are going to react to you leaving them.  I never expected this kind of punishment from Drew, but it makes me appreciate him even more. I love to see him develop into his own little person and have his own unique feelings. Drew and I BFF again until my next trip later this summer...

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Trademarking Your Baby's Name

Picking out baby named is such a fun time for new parents.  Is the name going to be a family name? Be named after a bestfriend, character in a book or a movie, a sports figure? Will the named be made fun of because of the words that it rhymes with ("Fat Pat," "Sexy Lexi," "Lucy Goosie"). Well, parents are even worrying about even more things now when it comes to naming their babies. Now some are concerned whether or not their babies name is already spoken for via Twitter or Facebook. Parents are registering these accounts for their baby before they even enter into the world so that they can have a spot in this social media world. I think it is crazy. So what if your little Annabelle-Jane's name already exists as a Twitter domain. Will Twitter even exist in 20 years? Name your baby because you love the name and know it is the only right name for your baby. Put your energy in love, little baby feet, and baby smiles.
TODAY Moms . Parenting Advice
Stories and Mom News | TODAY.com Blogs - Is trademarking a baby name going too far?

Monday, May 14, 2012

Top Baby Names for 2011

TODAY Moms - The list is out! Top baby names for 2011 are...
The top 10 baby names for 2011 is out now. I am happy to say my boys' names (Jacoby and Drew) have escaped the list again this year. I grew up with always having 5 other girls in my classroom having the same name as me . So I like that my boys names are slightly unique.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Mothers Day

I am so blessed to have these little guys in my life. They make me a be a better person. I never knew how much I would love being a mom...best role in the world.



Friday, May 11, 2012

Well-baby Visit

I can't believe i'm headed to this little guys 18 month well-baby visit! Time flies by so fast! These appts always excite me because I like to see how much he has grown! Its the little things..


Thursday, May 10, 2012

Move Over Martha Stewart, I'm in The Kitchen!

The Fabulous Kitchen
This kitchen is so amazing.  I think the kitchen alone would make me a better cook and I believe that alone would make my family a lot happier..haha! 

Welcome to Cassandra's Corner

Welcome to Cassandra's Corner! Here are some of my obsessions: Being a mom to  my boys, age 3 and 1 and a wife to my husband of 5 years, wedge shoes, finding the perfect jeans, jewelry, tattoos, make-up and mastering the cat-eye, plus I'm always looking for the perfect hairstyle or hair color. I have a bit of a hair-crush on Jennifer Aniston, but doesn't everyone?? I'm driven by coffee and can't function without it!  I love to read, although with two little ones, my reading consists 10 page books with more pictures than there are words. My guilty pleasures include obsessively pinning on Pinterest, being a make-believe designer on Polyvore, and watching General Hospital or the Kardashians (actually anything on the E! Channel will do). I love fitness and nutrition; however, I'm better at pinning pictures about it rather than applying it to my own life! There are so many great things in life that are too awesome not to share (even if it is just finding the best mascara)..so here I am, sharing with you and trying to make my life a little more fabulous one day at a time.