I said I wouldn't....

Make-up.

I said I didn't want to go there.

But here I am, I have done this previously, and I would venture to say most of the items are the same, but as I was getting ready the other morning, my sweet daughter pulled my bathroom drawer completely out and spilled it onto the floor. 

I was mad at first, but then I thought, "hey! I should clean that out anyways!"

Over the past year or so, I have gotten a birch box subscription. I love receiving the fun package, but I have found that all of the product just collects.... and collects... and collects until you don't even know what is in the back of the drawer!

So since my drawer as a mess, I decided to leave the products I USED out on the counter.... I haven't opened the drawer in three days and it is FULL! Why am I keeping all this stuff laying around?!

I grabbed all my daily use stuff and took some pictures. The only thing I forget was my foundation, which is still (since high school) Covergirl i6 liquid foundation. I love it. It has good coverage, it is light and it isn't cake-y! 

I did photograph all of my other regular use items, so here it goes!

Clinique Acne Solutions Clinical Clearing Gel (Salicylic Acid) 

This stuff is AMAZING, it is a spot treatment and I highly recommend it!

Equate Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover

I really like how this so easily removes my eye makeup at the end of the day.

Hylands Teething gel

I use this to rub on my brows before tweezing! It numbs me up just enough to ease the pain and then I wash my face afterwards!

Ulta Contour Kit

I only really use three of the colors out of the regularly, but I love the price and the product for my contouring needs.

Mary Kay Eye Colors

Honey Spice, Moonstone, and Polished Stone

Covergirl Cheekers Blush

again, price!! I love this color and you can't beat the price!

Clinique Neutral Territory 2 Palette

I love this, especially the dark brown " Morning Java"

Mary Kay Foundation Primer

Gives an oil free base and hold my foundation in place all day!

Brow Pencil

L'oreal Lighter Blonde

POP Beauty Lipstick in Satin Rose

I'm loving this color this winter and I don't usually wear lip color! 

Tarte Precision Longwear liquid Liner

great color, long lasting and precise!

Benefit They're Real Tinted Primer

best eyelash primer EVER.

Benefit Roller Lash Mascara

I love this mascara, I wish It was water proof

Mary Kay Lash Love waterproof Mascara

I swipe a coat of this on at the end of my routine to lock in the Benefit Products. It works great... not that I cry often, but... just sayin' :) 

To round this all up, If you are looking for some new product, whether you are a drug store girl or buy the fanciest, most expensive, there should be a product in here that interests you! Obviously I sit right in the middle, Some items I prefer the cheaper or generic brand and some things I have found I really like a more expensive version. Either way, I really enjoy experimenting with make up. So if you're local, let me know if it looks bad ;)

This again?

Hey fabulous readers! 

If you are are actually reading this, color me impressed! I feel like all I have written since we moved to Wyoming is post after post of "I'm sorry I don't write consistently, I will do better" ...only to find myself having not even accessed my account in 16 MONTHS. 

.....guys... SIXTEEN MONTHS. 

I refused to feel defeated though. 

I never imagined the "business" we would experience here, and I know that both my time and energy being poured into my family and our church are well spent and that my priorities are where they currently need to be! 

All of that being said, I do miss writing. I do miss my creative outlets. I recently dipped my toes back into my photography. And I sure missed it. 

It is interesting, though. Before, I was ok working multiple days doing photography and also working another part time job. And I have discovered NOW that I am satisfied scheduling one shoot a week. One session, plus a couple hours of time preparing for the shoot and processing images, is just enough time to let me feel productive and creative. It is my balance. It is my kids not being ignored and my body not feeling exhausted. I am thankful for the opportunity to pick back up right where I left off, and be successful.

I feel like I often say "I am Thankful"... and its because I AM! 

I am thankful for this wonderful community we live in.

I am thankful for my little family.

I am thankful for our church family.

I am thankful for new friends.

I am thankful for leggings.

I am thankful for cozy fires and snuggles with my babies.

I am thankful for my husband.

I am thankful for my Savior!

While I have disappeared from the blog world, I have gotten involved in so many other things! My new goal, is to post on here two times per week! Twice seems like nothing, but then I think of the other things I am doing that need my time and brain power, too. And posting twice a week seems like another area of balance for me. 

James is 3 years and eight months old and Harper is 22 months old. They are becoming more independent which gives me a little more freedom.  Freedom to plan, freedom to write...

Freedom to be PAIGE. 

All of this being said, I feel like I am at a turning point for my blog. I don't feel the goal is my photography. And while I love beauty blogs, I don't think thats the area I want to dive into... so lifestyle it is, I guess! 

I plan to write about kids. About Babywise. About Marriage. About Ministry. About homemaking. About decorating and crafts....and about the silly thoughts rolling around in this brain of mine! Is there anything YOU want to ask? Anything you want me to write about? What will make you keep coming back?

I will leave you with a couple photos. because, why not?

Love you all. 

Thankful for YOU. 

xo

Paige

Bathtime

These two photos are so precious to me.

The first bath is monumental. I am not sure if it is similar in each case, but in ours it meant that baby was healthy and ready for their first "fun" event.. not eating, being poked or having their temperature monitored... it meant they could soon wear a cute outfit instead of the routine pink & blue striped hat, diaper and white receiving blanket. 

It  meant their first hair scrubbing and the first glimpse of what their little locks truly looked like not "caked down" from yesterdays "festivities" 

I am always so excited to hold their clean little, good smelling comb-over selves! 

Who's Who?

.....

...........

....................

yep, James LOVED his first bath! He nearly fell asleep as the nurse combed out his hair, he smiled and laid still as she scrubbed him up.

Enter the princess.

Harper HATED it. She Screamed. She did not want her hair washed. She did not want uncovered.. bless her heart she needed it done.

Thankfully, as soon as we got home, both kiddos have always loved bathtime & bubbles.. and I still love the smell of my nice clean babies!

:)

Birth Story | Round Two

I just realized that my most recent post was four days before Harper made her grand entrance.

Yesterday She turned SIX MONTHS old.

I have not blogged in over six months. 

I have ALOT to fill in.

So lets just jump in where I left off! 

** Reader warning, this has some personal, medical detail that not everyone wants to read!**

On of my biggest fears when moving to our tiny town what that there is no hospital. I kid you not, two people have given birth in cars between here and the closest hospitals in the last two years... I mean, come on! 

To top it off, the roads around us are not maintained from 9pm-5am during winter months, meaning, that if we are getting snowed on, you aren't going to make it! The pass we cross is just below 10,000 feet and we live at nearly 7,000 snow. will. happen. It is simply a matter of WHEN.

My prayer was just that we would have clear, safe roads to get to the hospital if we had to rush!

lets rewind to Sunday, February 8th:

Church was awesome, normal sunday I lead worship and taught kids church. 

Sadly, One of the first members of our church passed away. We did not know her well, but our town did and we were asked to be part of her memorial service. I was leading worship and organizing food for 150 people and my husband was speaking. My words to the women's daughter on Monday evening were clear, "Don't worry, I'm only 37 weeks this week, we WON'T have a baby between now and thursday." 

...oops....

We loaded the boy in the backseat and headed to my 37wk appointment on tuesday morning. We needed to go to my appointment and hit up the grocery store for food for the upcoming funeral.

My appointment went great! I was dilated to a 3, no fear of a baby entering too soon, off we went on our day! We decided to check out the Elk Refuge and let Mr J take his nap before we went to the store.

At the store we picked up 16 DOZEN rolls, condiments and paper goods. We loaded up the car and hit the road home. Driving across town, I said to Jimmy that I wasn't feeling "right"... nothing hurt... nothing major... just me, overreacting to the winter storms and roads... 

I mean, come on, I was in Vegas a week ago with my mom, aunt and great grandma having a blast, James didn't show up for 42 ENTIRE weeks. I'm obviously just paranoid and need to calm down... 

My fear and concern grew and I sat quietly in the passenger seat as we drove up the hill out of town and away from medical care.

All of a sudden Jimmy pulls off the road into a turn out and said "you need to call the doctor and see what they think. Ask if we can get in really fast just for some reassurance that you haven't progressed." of course I'm like... 

"QUIT scaring me. we are BOTH overreacting. we are NOT having a baby. we have a two year old in the back seat, my parents aren't coming for 3 more weeks and I don't even know if I packed you extra underwear or a toothbrush!!"

I called. They said come in. Jimmy flipped the car around and stated "WE ARE HAVING A BABY TODAY" 

Me: "whatever, crazy man."

Him: "no seriously, babe, I really feel like God is telling me its time and we are going to meet her today!"

I'm thinking".....well, in that case... you don't usually joke about things of the Lord, pastor........."

I walked into the clinic office and just repeatedly apologized for my overreaction... they assured me that I was not insane and, living 2 hours from the hospital it was TOTALLY FINE.

Little did we know that within 10 minutes we would be checking into the hospital! 

My doctor came in. Said I was at a 4 and sent us over to get checked in! 

At this point i was in a haze, we had a car full of food for a funeral we NEEDED to be at, we have our two year old son dancing in the back seat and I LITERALLY don't have my husbands toothbrush. WHAT DO I DO? I have a baby. thats what. 

We called some (now) pastor friends and asked near strangers to come get our son for his first sleepover. 

(shout out to our awesome network of pastors! You guys rock and I am SO thankful for the support, help and friendship we have in you all!!)

I kid you not, the first time I met this couple I was in a hospital bed in labor. 

"Hi! Nice to meet you, I'm Paige, this is my husband Jim and here is my son, please don't kidnap him!"

After James was snuggled in for the night at his new friends house...

 ...we got to business. This is ACTUALLY happening. I was exactly 37 weeks, ONE day earlier, and she would be a preemie. 

My first item of business was to get the anesthesiologist in my room STAT. ... I actually asked the gal checking me in if she could send in the order and she gently smiled and said my nurse needed to do that, all she was doing was getting my bracelets and insurance info... *face palm*

anywho, as soon as my nurses arrived I scheduled the epidural. i labored for 4.5 hours with James before I got an epidural and I had no desire to feel any of that pain this time around. 

 lets look at the timeline:

9am leave home

12am dr appt no baby

1pm elk refuge, wildlife viewing

2 pm grocery shopping

3 pm leaving town

4:30pm check into hospital

6pm epidural

so here we are, shocked that we are actually meeting our daughter tonight, trying to figure out what we need to do in the next 24 hours in regards to the funeral we are not able to attend or facilitate. 

by 7pm I was progressing, but not too quickly.

9pm rolled around and I was around 6cm

10pm hits and I said I felt some pressure and the nurses kindly said I was at a 7....

10:45....

"excuse me, nurse, I feel ALOT of pressure, could you check me?" 

nurse: I just need to finish bringing in all of the machines and setting up.

"no. now. check me now." 

nurse: sigh. checks me. "you are about 8cm"

11:00....

NURSE, I need you to check again....

nurse: clearly a little frustrated by my constant need to know whats "going on"... 

**runs out of room hollering that she's going to find the doctor**

I never ever thought I could or would progress so quickly! 

by 11:15pm we were holding Miss Harper. 

I could not believe how tiny she was! 5lbs 13oz is ALOT different than her 7lb 15oz brother was!

She was perfect. 

I was able to hold her immediately, unlike her brother, and so grateful for that opportunity.

WEDNESDAY MORNING

By 10am my in-laws were snuggling their new grandbaby and Jimmy and I were frantically delegating funeral tasks. 

...reassured that everything was ok back home, we tried to settle in with our new baby. 

She soon met her big brother.

I tested positive for Group B Strep, which, typically, is not a huge issue. They test the strain to see which antibiotic to give you and everyone is good to go... unless you go into labor too early and they don't have time to test the strain... AND you are allergic to alot of antibiotics...

I was given the "best guess" antibiotic and Harper was required to be observed for 48 hours post birth for any issues. 

After being away from our son for nearly 3 days we were so excited to head home on Friday Morning... until they told us her billirubin levels were high and she needed phototherapy. SO we sat in the hospital, anxiously, for almost two more days... 

FINALLY on Saturday evening Harper was released and we got to go pick up James and go HOME! 

I was the longest, most tiring, exciting, exhausting, emotionally draining, happy, blessed week. 

I still can't believe she came so early and that labor was so easy.

I still can't believe I let my son leave with strangers.

I still can't believe the wonderful friendship that has blossomed from those strangers willingness to fill a need and love, feed, bathe and clothe our kid.

I still can't believe she was so tiny and so healthy.

What I don't believe in are coincidences.

And what I can and do believe in, is that I God's hand is consistently through the circumstances and I am so thankful for his provision, protection and love! 

It isn't coincidence that we meandered our way through the refuge looking at wildlife.

It isn't coincidence that these "strangers" are now our friends.

It isn't coincidence that I had all out hospital bags and necessities (except the tooth brush) in the car. 

Thankful, Blessed and Relieved are only the beginning....

High 5 for Friday!

1. I sewed up some of my last projects for the new baby's arrival!

2. I spent lots of time with the cutie! 

3. We safely made it to Jackson and back from my 36 week appt! So thankful for a safe, reliable vehicle!

4. James was napping and we had a few minutes to burn before the appt so we took a short drive on the national elk refuge! We saw elk, deer, big horn sheep and antelope in a matter of minutes!

5. We ate way too many red velvet

Cupcakes! 

Happy Friday!! 

A nursery for Miss H!

As I set out on the journey of creating a nursery for a little girl, I knew I wanted it to be feminine, but not pink everywhere you set your eyes. 

James' nursery was tan, aqua and red. The reds were in the curtains, changing table and rocking chair. If you have ever painted a changing table, you know why Miss H has red in her room, too! haha

The rocker now lives in our church nursery, but the changing table and curtains are still in our home. When I decorated James' Big Boy Room I tossed around the idea of keeping his red curtains vs. buying new ones. (We use blackout curtains in the kid's rooms, so it was just deciding which kid got the new ones.) In the end, I decided that since the changing table, which obviously goes in the nursery, is bright red, the red was going to be for Miss H, and James would get new ones! 

We were given two La-Z-Boy recliners when we moved to WY, so I put one in the nursery. I think it will be much more comfortable than the rocker was that I used when James was a bitty baby.

We hung these shelves above the changing table because baskets are no longer organized, enter two year old boy! The shelves have my books, burp clothes, headbands, diapers for both kids and extra wipes. Everything is in my reach and out of James!

If I was a better seamstress, I would tell you how I made this crib skirt, but I winged it... and it's not worth anyone every doing it the way I did! I love it, though, and all it's ruffly goodness!

I made this mobile, too. I went to our local thrift store and bought all of the coordinating bias tape, ribbon and lace I could get my hands on, as well as an embroidery ring.  I just tied them all on and cut the ends to the length I wanted. I think it turned out great, we will see if she likes it or if I end up with a store bought one that spins and plays music!

Some of you may remember this teething bumper I made for James. He gnawed the crib to slivers... so I covered it up... and then he destroyed the teething bumper, too. He tore out all of the batting I put on the back. This time around, I reused the whole thing, I just added new batting, a backing piece of fabric to keep little fingers away from the stuffing and sewed on new ties!

(Yes, the vacuum lives in the nursery.)

"Sissy's" room has become a favorite hang out...

The bins in the closet house onsies, pants, misc baby things and all the different wraps and carriers I have. 

Thats it! I adore this room. It is feminine, yet classy and vibrant! 

~paige