Dr. Scholl's For Her Cozy Cushions

I was lucky enough to receive the Rose Voxbox from Influenster a couple of weeks ago. :)

 Which included the Dr.Scholl's For Her Cozy Cushions inserts!

I was super excited to try these out. I have never tried any Dr.Scholl's products, however when I opened the box and looked at these, they instantly looked extremely comfortable.
I have not been disappointed.
The overview of them says: 

• Helps keep feet warm and dry
• Multi-layer design insulates against cold and dampness while absorbing perspiration
• Provides all-day comfort and support good for any season
• Adds renewed comfort to your footwear
• Works great in any boot or casual shoe

I agree with all these statements listed. They are extremely soft and cushioned, and nice and warm. I was skeptical at first on if they'd fit into my size 7 ladies Puma shoes.  Puma's are slimmer shoes; but they fit! A little snug at first, but better now.
They definitely help with the cold and dampness, especially since if I step in any water, it almost instantly goes through my beloved Puma shoes.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with these inserts, and I would definitely recommend them to anyone.

"I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes."

Rimmel Scandaleyes Retro Glam Mascara

I was lucky enough to get to try out Rimmel Scandaleyes Retro Glam Mascara. I don't usually buy the big mascara's, as they can be pricey and I find that most of them tend to clump ( no matter what their promise is.)
I have to say, that I was hesitant to try this mascara. Then I tried it. Let me just say, that I was instantly impressed. It has a larger brush, that is shaped like an hour glass to hug the lash line,and to really make your eyes pop. It's inspired by the 60's, and best of all..... it doesn't clump! It's also waterproof, but isn't hard to wash off at the end of the day.

I am a mom to a 10 month old little girl, so I don't have much time to set aside for makeup application. With this new mascara; however, I can just do my foundation and then apply some of Rimmel Scandaleyes Retro Glam Mascara, to make my eyes pop, or to just look more awake. I will definitely be recommending this product and using it all the time. It has found a permanent place in my makeup bag.

 

  "I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes."

10 Month Update

Our little munchkin is 10 months old tomorrow! Oh my gosh,... I still can't believe it. I'm sure every parent says that. Let's get on with it.

Height/Weight: Our little one is 25lbs now, and is wearing size 3 ( sometimes size 4 ) diapers, but it depends on the brand.

Clothes Size: She is wearing 12-18 month pants, shirts and sweaters, and sleepers ( she's really tall ). 12 months in onsies.

Sleeping: She wakes up 1-2 times during the night for a full 250ml bottle and a diaper change, then will go right back to sleep. Since she's been teething, in order for us to get some sleep, we have been letting her co-sleep with us. She seems to sleep much better.

Eating:  She will have about 4 bottles during the day, 2 at night. Z enjoys all different types of baby cereal, Cheerios, apples, she also loves the Gerber vanilla bites., and the cinnamon maple finger snacks. As well as the apple wheels and ranch bites. She seems to enjoy food we eat much more than baby food, and most times I don't blame her.The regular foods that she will eat are: grilled cheese, mac and cheese, bananas, pasta, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, muffins, mashed potatoes, ( she's tried chicken and beef with gravy ), and we are introducing her to foods a couple of times during the week.

Milestones: She officially has her first tooth! It FINALLY cut through mid October.
- She crawls super fast and all the time now
-Stood on the floor by herself
-Dances to music
-Claps and waves to people

That is the main stuff that I can think of at the moment. She is so amazing, and surprises us every single day
( She also had her first Halloween the other day, and we dressed her up as a pink bunny, it was so freaking adorable.).

Almost 8 month update.

              Next week, our little one is 8 months old. I can't believe how big she is getting. I haven't updated in a while, so I figured that I would do an update on our munchkin's routine, milestones, etc.

Routine: Our day usually starts around 4:30-5am. She will play in her excer saucer for about an hour, while I check e-mails.
Around 6-8am, she'll have a bottle and some baby cereal, then play in her jumper roo for a while.
On days it's nice out ( not too hot ) I'll take her for a half hour walk in her stroller. ( she loves going for rides), if it's humid and muggy outside, we'll go outside and she'll sit in her swing, while I attempt some homework.
When she starts getting ready for her nap, usually sometime around 11am I'll feed her a bottle and she will usually have it in her bouncy chair.
During this time I'll make my breakfast/lunch.
The rest of the afternoon, consists of us doing what she is interested in.
I'll read to her, she'll scoot around in her walker, tearing up the room lol.
She is also starting to enjoy playing in her crib for a while, which I am not complaining about. I use that time to clean up a bit.
She will usually go down for the night between 5-7pm.

Height/ Weight: Her last doctor's appointment, she was in the 95th percentile for height. She's tall! Her weight was 17.5 lbs, that was about a month ago. I'd say she's easily 19/20 lbs now. She's growing so darn fast.

Sizes: For onsies, she is fitting in sizes 6-9 months. Sleepers are 12 months size ( she's long ).

Sleeping: She still isn't sleeping through the night. She'll wake up maybe 2-3 times throughout. I think lately her teeth have been bothering her. ( still doesn't have any, but they are right there! ) I'll change her and she'll drink a 250ml bottle, then go right back to sleep.

Eating: She'll still have about 5-7 bottles a day. She eats baby cereal twice a day and baby food in the morning and afternoon. Foods she's eating are :Bananas, Applesauce, Strawberries, Rice, Oatmeal and Oatmeal/ Banana cereal, Peas, Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans ( however she isn't a fan of them ), regular bananas, and we have the pouches of baby food to try this week. She's also becoming more interested in regular food. We are excited to start that.

Milestones: 
- She is sitting up on her own now.
- Saying the words "dadda, bubba and doo doo"
- Just yesterday she stood on her own in her crib. She hasn't stopped since. :) She's soon going to be walking, she gets so frustrated when she isn't mobile.
- She pulls movies and books off of shelves and will play with them for a long time.
- She let's us know when she wants food and not a bottle.
- She loves scooting around in her walker, and will follow us around, with a big smile on her face.
- Still no teeth, however they are right there! We can see them, they just need to pop through.

She is growing so fast, and it's hard to believe that in a week she will be 8 months old. :( Where does the time go?

 

Best feeling ever......

I think is that moment your baby wraps their tiny hands around your finger. I realized this months ago, but I never truly thought about it until this week.
I'm a first time mom, everything is new to me, and honestly I'm terrified of messing up. Lately I've been having some down days, when everything seems to pile up, or be too overwhelming, then I look at our daughter and her smile brightens the whole day for me. She lights up and I light up.
She's 6 months old, and sitting on her own and trying to crawl. I look at her and think " They are right, they really do grow up fast, I wish she could stay this size for just a while longer."
This really hit me the other day when I went out to do my weekly grocery/errands, I had my mom watch her for the couple of hours that I was out. I came home and as soon as she heard my voice, she turned herself around in her jolly jumper, got the biggest smile on her adorable little face and started laughing excitedly, all while reaching up for me.... can I just say, I almost burst into tears. I can't begin to describe the feeling of joy that overcame me. Just knowing that our daughter is happy to have me home.
( I think my worrying started when I wasn't able to continue breastfeeding ( I wasn't producing enough), I felt that our bond would become weaker. :/ ) I'm a first time mom, I didn't say all of my thoughts would be logical.
She also has been snuggling into my chest when she meets someone new, and I've been reading in a book I received this month that, our children do that because we are their "safe place". It's an odd but wonderful feeling to know that I'm my daughters "safe place". She's the same way with my husband ( her father ), big time daddy's girl ( her first word was DADDA ), everyone says he's wrapped around her finger already.
I guess this week I just kind of realized that being a parent is an AMAZING feeling. Knowing that our little girl wants us to comfort her when she needs it.
Recently she's been waking up at night, she doesn't want a bottle or anything, she just wants one of us to hold her and rock her back to sleep.
She never ceases to amaze me, and she melts my heart over and over again with all the new things she's doing and learning. Sometimes it's still hard to believe that I'm a mom and wife.
Best feeling ever.

Busy couple of weeks.

I haven't much time to update lately, which is why my box reviews have been behind. The last couple of weeks, have been interesting. Our little one is 6 months old, and she just finished getting over a viral infection. She had a rash all over her body, looked tired all the time and wasn't eating as much. No we didn't change anything with her. Everything including laundry detergent has been the same. Dr was unsure of what caused it and wasn't sure what exactly it was. Didn't make me feel very confident with the health care we received for her. We were told to just wait it out. Which is what we did. Thankfully she seems to be over it. I missed my happy, smiling all the time baby. She's now sitting up on her own, and trying to crawl! I just want to hold her and keep her at this age for a little while longer.

I picked up a  side job, it's only for 4 hours on Saturdays and it's a bit of extra money, which is nice. Only until the end of this month though.
Little *complaining* part. You've been warned.
It's been super humid out lately, and it sucks. I hate humidity. Especially since lately I've been feeling emotionally out of sync.
Everything seems to be agitating me within the last week or so. The other night I snapped at my husband over nothing, he didn't deserve it and I feel horrible for taking whatever frustration I have out on him for no good reason. Maybe it's lack of sleep, or .... I just don't know. Before anyone suggests, No I'm NOT pregnant.
Maybe it's because lately I just feel like I never get any ME time. I know I'm a mother and all my time I invest in our little one. Which is fine, I LOVE being a mommy, and I love spending my time with our little one. I  would just like a couple of hours at night to myself, I guess. By the time night rolls around and I have an hour or so to read to myself, I'm too exhausted to even pick up one of the few books I've started, so I usually end up going to bed early.
Any other parents out there feel this way? How do you get energy to give yourself some "you" time? I feel like I'm running on coffee, so to speak.
Am I the only one?

June Bluum Box- 6 month old Review

This is our second month for receiving  the Bluum Baby box. It's a box filled with things for your baby, they are gender specific and it goes by the age of your baby.
Our June box was for our 6 month old baby girl.
The theme was Tiny Chompers!

This box was perfect timing, since our little one is teething, and those stubborn teeth still haven't made their grand appearance yet.

 The first item I pulled out is the Siliconies bracelet from Family Bedrock. 
It's a teething bracelet for our little one, we wear it and she sucks on it. Which will come in handy for outings. We also received a 20% coupon to use on their website.

The next thing was this high contrast book Hello Baby

It is full of black and white designs for baby, plus has the teething rattle ears at the top. Our daughter LOVES this book. She chews it like crazy. 

These are baby sunglasses, by Kidz Banz. I like the idea of them, because they have a band that goes around our little ones head, it's adjustable and is soft. Very interested to try these out, since all other sun glasses she pulls off her face.

 Not sure how much use we'll have for this, but it's practical. The Dreambaby Bath Tub Thermometer.
It's good to have, but honestly we go by feeling the temperature of the water for bath time now.

This I LOVE. Weleda baby Calendula Diaper Care for diaper rash.
It's natural and smells minty. It's amazing, we will definitely be buying more of it. I have never tried this product until we received it and honestly I've never even heard of this brand before.

 Next is the Camilia Teething Relief.
So far we haven't tried any teething gels for her teething, we've only been using baby Tylenol and Gripe Water. These are homeopathic and come in single doses, which I really like.
We haven't tried this yet, but will when we can. I wasn't aware of homeopathic teething remedies.
Guess I should have done my research.

The last thing in the box was this book. Brain Rules for Baby by John Medina.
Before now I've never heard of this author or book for that matter. My husband and I both read A lot though, so this is perfect. It's full of some pretty interesting things, and what I love about it so far, is he gives examples of most situations.

We were happy with our June box of Bluum for our little munchkin. We anxiously away our July box.