Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Prayerful Tuesday

First and foremost
Harvey is causing so much devastation and it's heartbreaking.
While you are praying for them, can you please include Montana in relief?

Our state is on fire and at this point the air is so unhealthy to breathe that our hospital is over run with people needing assistance getting fresh air.

The Alice Gulch fire blew up over the weekend from 700 acres to over 5000 acres.  The smoke from that fire funnels straight through the Helena Valley (along with so many other fires in this state).  We don't have any rain in the forecast and temperature remaining in the low 90's.


If we could bring Harvey's rain up here, I would do so in a heartbeat.


We are praying for Texas, especially my family that lives down there.

This is one horrible August.

Friday, August 25, 2017

5 on Friday

1.

There is now a forest fire just south of town.  Please keep the firefighters in your prayers as they battle the flames to keep Helena residents homes safe.

2.
Our little guy is signed up for PRESCHOOL!
While we love his current teacher, #wiggydiggy is ready for a more 'school like' setting.  Justin and I are constantly amazed at how quickly he's learning and this summer has been interesting with his current daycare.  (a few too many movies and not enough mental stimulation).  I took a tour earlier this week and the 3 year old class is currently making paper-mache animals!  How fun!

3.
Eclipse
We had a viewing party at work even though we were not in the path of totality.
It was still weird to feel the air get cooler and watch the shadows change.

4.
Toy Room/Spare Room update
Walls are painted.  New closet door and trim is going up tomorrow.  Window sill is getting replaced next week and new curtains will go up then too.  All we are waiting on is the electrician to come and replace the baseboard heater!

Before

During - Latitude by Sherwin Williams

5.
Valspar paint sucks.

There.  I said it.

Behr for life!







Thursday, August 24, 2017

Keeping Updated

I have been LOVING my Skimm emails.

Have you heard of Skimm?  You should check them out.

1. It's free
2. Its news given in bite size chunks
3. Two women run the site
4. It's free

*Yes the link is a referral to my account, but I don't get paid or any kickbacks.  Just a referral link!*


I love getting an email with all of my hard hitting news in one sitting every morning.  Ever since having #wiggydiggy I don't devote as much time to the news as I used to.

Sure, I listen to my podcasts - usually a few days late.  I'll check into the local newspapers, maybe, once a week.  I've tried to stay in the loop, but there just isn't enough time in the day for this full time working mama.

Bonus - the language used is both fun and spot on.

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Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Missing Summer

Montana is pretty typical in having four season.

Only it has Fall, Winter, Spring, and Forest Fires.

Up until the Fourth of July we were pretty happy with the way "summer" was going. Temperatures were slowly getting into the 80's and our lil man was playing outside as much as humanly possible.

Then the fires started.  Once they start, it's like a domino effect, and the air quality drops rapidly.

Here's yesterday 9:00 AM:

We've been lucky if air gets into the low 60's (which is ok for #wiggydiggy to go outside for 10-15 minutes)!!  Children under 5 are considered a 'sensitive group' so our little boy hasn't played outside in weeks.

WEEKS.

We have two HEPA filters going 24/7.  One specifically for lil man in his room and the other moves around the house.

His daycare follows the air quality closely as well.

We've taken our boat out once.  Last year was more of the same.  Anyone want a boat?  haha.

You can tell I'm not a native Montanan.  Here, everyone is letting their kids play outside when it smells like a campfire and I'm keeping my kid close to the Hepa Filter inside.  His lungs are still growing!  I cannot imagine the damage that is being done by breathing this bad air day in and day out.

In the winter it can get just as bad due to inversions.
#funtimes

Can fall please get here now?  We need fresh air!




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Friday, August 18, 2017

5 on Friday - Current Projects

We've been busy knocking some projects off our list!
Busy evenings = progress.  Hallelujah!!

A lot of projects are ones that have been half done for months, so it's doubly nice to finally have them crossed off our
(ever growing) To Do List.

1. AND 2.

Doors and Windows!

Before:
(Taken when we moved in)


And Now!!




Of course - all iphone photos.  :)


3.
New Flooring

We've been waffling on when to change up the flooring.  Now that windows and doors are coming to a rapid end, we are needing to turn our attention to finishing the baseboards.

I really don't want to put down baseboards just to take them off again in a few months for new flooring.  Justin also doesn't want to risk having our baseboards being discontinued and then having to redo all the work we've already done.

Onto picking our new floors!

Our current top contenders:
photos from Lowes

Left is Walnut and Right is Saddle Pine.


I love the look of Saddle Pine, but I think it's too dark for our home.  We've gone white everywhere to try and brighten it up due to lack of natural light.  I'm afraid if we go with the picture on the right, it will darken it again.  Thoughts?


4.

Pilates.
I've given up all my lunch hours to work out and I'm loving it.
It also means I have no free time during the day to get my errands and blog posts done.

5.

Paint colors

Navy for the front door!  We are picking out our new front door this weekend.  YAY!

A bit of a back story here.  When we moved in, we very quickly chose some paint for all the rooms.  And I mean VERY quickly.  6 months of living in the house and we wanted every room repainted.  UGH.  We've repainted the main area,  #wiggydiggy's room, and partially the guest bathroom.  Now that we are prepping the toy room and guest room for closet doors and new trim, we are thinking of repainting them.  Current inspiration:


Have a great weekend!  I'm pretty sure we'll be at the home improvement stores all weekend long :)





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Friday, August 11, 2017

5 on Friday - Beauty Staples

Confession:
I didn't really care about skin care until I became a mom.
I didn't have the need.  I was relatively break out free and didn't have any issues.
I often slept in my make-up (Bare Minerals for a decade) and rarely, if ever, cleaned my bushes.
Forget about pampering!

I have gotten older and wiser of the past few years.  It has made me fully regret treating my skin so poorly for so long.

1.
I buy mine at Costco in a two pack.  They last me AGES.

I wash my face with coconut oil at night.  No more dry spots, uneven texture or combination skin problems.  I'm a dye hard fan now.

2.

Having the right foundation for your face makes a huge difference. (I think it's why I got away with no skin routine for so long)  I've used Cetaphil since I was a teenager and I still love it.  Now I add Frankincense oil to the lotion for some added benefits.

3.
Eye Cream

UGH.  This is one I wish I had started in my early twenties.
I'm currently using Vichy but I am open to any and all recommendations.
I'm ordering Posh Impish Eyes this week.  Anything else I should try?

4.
Therapeutic Hot / Cold Relief Gel Eye Relaxing Therapy Masks Chronic Sinus Treatments
I found mine at CVS for less than this one, but you get the idea.  I love that it has eye holes so I can wear the mask while getting chores done, but I mostly wear it in bed while watching Netflix!  haha. 

I haven't dealt with puffy eyes since I picked mine up.  Highly Highly Recommend.

5.

The only mascara I use.  I've tried others, and none come close.


I have a few other beauty staples - items that always have room on my shelf, but these are the ones I cannot live without.  What beauty staples do you use?  Any recommendations!?!



Tuesday, August 8, 2017

First August Weekend

This weekend was perfect.
Until is wasn't!  haha.

Though, really, Saturday was AMAZING weather wise.  High was in the mid 70's with slight overcast skies.  I could't have asked for a better day.

We started the morning by meeting a girlfriend for breakfast at a crepe place downtown. Then we all walked a few blocks over to the farmers market *cue the angels singing*.  This is the best time of year for vegetables at the farmers market!  We loaded up all of our reusable shopping bags and walked back towards our cars with a pit stop at a cute park along the way.

It was so nice to have #wiggydiggy running his energy out while we caught up.  I really wish I had snagged some photos.

When we got home the boys took a nap and I took over the back patio.  A book in one hand and a glass of pellegrino in the other.  Snapchat had a ton of pictures of that scene.  Sorry!  Haha.

After naps we took #wiggydiggy back downtown to the carousel.
(And the bear statue)




Saturday night ended with this lil guy waking up about 30 minutes after he went down.  When Justin brought him to our bed, he jumped around a bit and then flopped towards the pillows.  Only I was lying on the pillow *mostly* asleep.

Heads crashed and I am still in some pain.

Since I was pretty incapacitated on Sunday we stayed close to home.

Monday morning I stayed home because my head hurt twice as bad.  A quick run up to the state run clinic gave me a diagnosis of mild concussion.
Kids man.

If I could repeat Saturday (up until bedtime) every weekend, I would.
Perfect day :)


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Friday, August 4, 2017

5 on Friday - Recent Happenings

1.
I joined a Pilates Studio.

I AM SO EXCITED.

I've done various versions of Pilates at other places, but this is the legitimate studio with the boards.
T-Minus 4 months to Hawaii!!

2.

My all time FAVORITE workout gear?

I was thisclose to buying a pair of LuluLemon for my birthday, but the reviews kept turning me off.  Every other one was a complaint about snags, rips, or tears.  #qualitycontrol.

I picked up some amazing leggings during a sale the following week from Athleta and I haven't turned back (seriously, they feel like butter.  I want to live in them)


They had a sale last week and I snagged a few workout tops.
I currently have my eye on this top:

Christmas Maybe?

3.

Upcoming Trips:

We just booked our weekend to the Red Lodge/Billings area!  #wiggydiggy will love visiting the Montana Zoo and the Red Lodge Wildlife Sanctuary. 
We really want to drive over the Beartooth pass before winter sets in and closes it.

Justin and I also have a solo trip to Big Fork coming up.
We are in desperate need of a night away, just us two.
The only time we've done that is our quick trip to Lincoln, NE for a wedding!  It was so fast and furious, it didn't feel like a vacation.

And last, but not least, HAWAII!!!
Just Justin and me for this one too.
We are calling it our 'belated honeymoon'.  Haha.
In reality, the beginning of this year has kicked our butts.  Justin wanted to treat me to something we've talked about for ages, and I cannot wait!  I've never been.  He has been.....10 times?

4.
Fall Is COMING!

We had a cold front blow through on Wednesday and it was FANTASTIC!  The smoke cleared out (for a day) and the high was 78.  This weekend should be more of the same!

Bring on the jeans, sweaters, and boots.

5.
We've started replacing exterior doors!
Not the best pictures.  Sorry.



We still have trim work and some painting to do (and that hideous rug outside has Got.To.Go) but the change is fantastic!
Just in time to enjoy the screen with cooler weather too. 


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