A normal day at the Arellano house.

This is Leo's attempt at helping me fold laundry.

Trina getting her Supernatural fix on Hulu with a hair roller on.

4 years.

I'm a little late on this post because well, 4 years ago was two days ago.

Confusing, right?

4 years ago (from two days ago) was when my husband and I married. It's been almost 4 months since he deployed with two more months to go until he comes back home (I'm seeing a pattern here...). This husband of mine that I've known for more than half of my life still manages to give me butterflies from the other side of this planet.

I miss him. So much.

Two more months to go.

hello, old friend.

I am guilty.

I am guilty of neglecting this place where my thoughts are drawn. I’ve also been neglecting the photo-a-week project I set out to do. I’m terrible.

But…

I’m doing great! I’ve started school again and have been pretty busy (and sleep deprived) balancing everything from spending time with Trina, attending to little Leo, keeping a 96% average in school, and everything else that life demands. Ariel and I chat just about every day (thank God for the Air Force!) so it’s almost as if he’s just at work only half an hour drive away.

Almost.

I’ve managed to stay strong this far. We’re just about a third of the way through and I haven’t cried once. Maybe it’s because I have so much going on that my mind and body is always running about but I haven’t hugged myself crying in a corner yet. haha! I am reminded of him every day though. His razor still hangs in the shower, his toiletries still on the dresser, his winter gloves and hat still tucked away in the car, his coolers in the backyard, and the weather that demands BBQ all whisper his missing presence. Sometimes I catch myself feeling alone and really, really small. I daydream from time to time and I can picture him vividly enough that it almost feels like he never left. It also helps that we chat like we’ve always done.

A third of the way through.

I learned something about myself though. I always feared that I had become too comfortable and the part of me that survived through pre-Ariel times was long gone. I mean, I shudder at everything I went through and the girl that I was. I was a pretty tough little thing that was difficult to break down. Very stupid, but tough. Point is, she’s still here somewhere. A lot less stupid thank God, but I’m still pretty tough!

I hear Leo squealing. My time here is up folks! Until next time.. :)

14/52

Trina and I’ve been having SO MUCH FUN with her school’s spirit week. It was wacky hair day yesterday! Can you tell?

Leo started out looking like my Dad but his features are changing! My Step Mom said that a baby will change at least 20 times as he grows and well, she was definitely right about that. 

12/52

This is how I found Trina doing her homework earlier this week.

He’s the sweetest morning child I’ve ever met.

11/52

Trina has always been quite the artist since she could hold a pencil.

Leo doesn’t mind belly time as much as he used to. Why? Because he can roll back onto his back whenever he pleases.

10/52

 

Glossybox review: March 2014

It’s something I look forward to every month now; the pretty pink box from Glossybox. I received my first box last month and while I liked it on a scale of 8 out of 10, I didn’t like this month’s as much.

 
Much like last month (and I’m pretty sure for many more months to come) it came packaged in a pretty pink ribbon and a card filled with little facts of each products.

I wish I had taken a photo of it but the packaging inside wasn’t as pretty. Maybe it’s due to the shipment but I had to dig through the crinkle-cut paper fills to fish out the sample sized products. I blame it on the shipment process very lightly because last month’s presentation was perfect with every item nestled in nicely.

First, the tinted lip balm from Figs & Rouge in Cherry Blossom. This is one of my favorite of the two things I like from this month’s subscription. When I first saw the shade of the pink, I was a little turned off because it was a little too rouge for my liking. I tried it on anyways and it was one of those “don’t judge a book by its cover” moments. The color (it’s the same shade of pink that you see on the product!) really brought out the color of my lips in a really natural way. It also doesn’t feel sticky or oily leaving your lips feeling as if it was bare. This UK made product has a price tag of $9 on Amazon.

My current eyelash curler is from Revlon and while I haven’t tried many to consider myself an eyelash curler expert, I didn’t like this eyelash curler from Emite very much. Maybe it’s because I have thick eyelashes (if there is such a thing?) but it just didn’t get the job done. I usually wear faux lashes and it didn’t do the job as well as my drugstore purchased Revlon. Shame. This is a Swedish product and while you can order from their website, everything is written in what I’m assuming is Swedish so try your luck on Ebay. I found a few on there for sale with a price tag ranging from $8 to $15.

Okay. So I know nails. I may not have done nails for five years now but I know nails because there once was a time when I lived and breathed nails – I worked six days a week open to close at a nail salon in Durham, NC. While the dry time on this polish was superb, it went on sort of sloppy and dried a little dull. The company Lauren B is based in LA and their nail polish can be directly purchased from their website for $18 (so not worth it, I’m just going to stick with OPI and Essie). The shade I received was nowhere close to my preference but I won’t let that affect my rating for this. It took three coats and a careful spread to get an even coverage. 3 out of 5 stars because it could just be this shade. Lighter nail polishes do have the tendency to have that watered down thing going on…...

When I saw this in my box I had log in to my acct to check my beauty profile. This is a treatment spray for color treated hair from Pureology and well, I haven’t colored my hair in a long while. In fact, my beauty profile on Glossybox is filled out in a way that specifically shows how useless this would be for me. So in that light I can’t give an honest review for this item.

Now this eyeliner… Wow. I love this eyeliner! It glides on so smooth and stays on so long that I haven’t had the need to do any touch-ups since I put on my makeup twelve hours ago. Now, being a monolid I tend to do my eye makeup on the heavier side so having a good eyeliner is pretty important to me. You can buy this sweet eyeliner for $15 directly from them by clicking here.

This month’s subscription is overall okay. Shipment speed was better than last month’s by about a week having received it yesterday. Packaging presentation was terrible but nothing was damaged. The value of the items in this box was triple more than the monthly subscription fee so I’m a happy-ish camper but Glossybox, you guys were really sloppy this month.

***This is my own personal review for a product that I paid for. If you would like to register for a monthly subscription of your own, feel free to use my referral link by clicking here!

9/52

//Trina making a bookmark//

I missed two weeks of photos, I know. I promise it won’t happen again. Maybe.

6/52

 //it was a perfect kind of snow day. Fluffy enough for the kids to enjoy but not cold enough for it to make driving dangerous.//

//Leo finally got to meet Rosie.//

Leo & Trina

In the three months of getting to know Leo, I couldn't help but compare my two children. It didn't happen in terms to discover the better child but in the process of using my experiences with raising Trina as a reference to help guide me this second time around.

Leo's personality is a direct reflection to Ariel's. Laid back and calm, he is generally an easy child. He also tends to just stare at you as if he was studying you; much like how I observe every situation and surrounding. He will cry, sure, but it's when he has a need that hasn't been met with an easy resolve like hunger or discomfort - there has been a few times due to my excessive chocolate/caffeine indulgent that led to an unsoothable baby. While Leo is so far exactly like Ariel, Trina is exactly like me in nature and like Ariel by nurture. This means that while she has many characteristics that deems a wonderful person, she also bears the bad qualities that I've never liked about myself (bossiness, tendency to judge, etc.) Ariel has noticed this about her before I did and has helped veer her “negative” traits to something more positive - like minimizing her bossy nature to become a fair leader. So if Leo is exactly like Ariel in nature, which is clearly expressed in his three month old personality, I would have to nurture him to take heed in taking things one step at a time. Already does this child express the need to master one skill before the other! Crawling? No thanks. He would much rather learn to sit up so that he can pull himself to stand.

When it comes to the actual care of my two children, Leo is more work. Trina takes after my family with her flawless skin amongst many things but Leo was born with sensitive skin that demands measured care repeatedly throughout the day. I thought I was being top notch with Aveeno products that lined my dresser but I've been left with barely used bottles replaced by all organic products that I never would have considered. With organic oils, soaps (yes, plural), and lotions (again, yes to the plural), I'm glad I made the preemptive decision to cloth diaper, which is a topic for another day…

5/52

//she’s quickly becoming a young lady.//

   //& he’s starting to recognize faces other than mine and Ariel’s.//

4/52

 //Trina and Grammy//

//morning child//

3/52

//at the history museum in Tacoma. It was a championship blue day for Washingtonians.//

//Leo still does not like belly time.. But it's a must!//

2/52

I've been meaning to post this weekly photo of my kids a few days ago but it sort of slipped my mind. Sort of because I knew I had to do it but there was a lot happening this week...

 Trina has been having loads of fun playing games on the tablet that she used to play on my teeny iPhone. My nephew is patiently waiting for his turn. :) 

Leo during belly time. He hates belly time so this was a lucky shot. He'd much rather stand... Gotta crawl before you walk kid. 

summing up my week

I have this chuckle that I've always found to be so unattractive. Just yesterday I heard the same familiar chuckle coming from Ariel. I don't find it so unattractive now and am actually quite fond of it.  

I've finally found the silver lining to Ariel's graveyard shift. I only have to worry about Leo's wailing to stir me awake at night. A snoring husband on one side and a wailing baby combined makes for a sleepless night.  

My nephew showed me an art project he did at school for Thanksgiving. He is thankful for baby cousin, Ariel, and me. The world and his parents came next followed by technology. I love that kid.  

Trina took to calling me "mom" instead of "mommy". Except she does it like the British and says "mum". I think it's her way of transitioning to avoid hurting my feelings from the fragile idea that my children will always be my little babies. 

The in-laws were looking through old photos when we came across a photo of my sister-in-law as a young girl with a haircut that resembled a pixie-bowl cut . Ariel so delightfully showed me the photo and said,  "wasn't I cute??". I was suddenly taken aback to a time of my youth when I myself was given a literal bowl-cut. Then I wondered, did she get chased out of the restroom by genuinely scared little girls too? My childhood sucked. 

My nephew helped give Leo a bath tonight. As a thank you, Leo peed on him. Little baby boys are extremely accurate in aim and timing. 

 On another note, Leo can now self soothe. 

1/52

a photo of my two kids once a week for a year.

Trina drawing a rainbow on her hand with glitter glue

Leo looking like Papa