Thurs-Mon Recap. And Red Wine, Aged Cheeses, and Nuts.

So in case ya'll were dying to know what goes down at a Hoe Down...

 It was pretty darn cute.  The kids made their hats, bandanas, boots, belt, and chaps.  They performed 3 songs which they sang and danced to, and then they chowed down on hot dogs and apple juice.

Hannah wanted to take her hat and all cowboy gear off immediately after their performance.
Claire might have eaten 2 and bit into 4 hot dogs on the serving platter.  She thoroughly enjoyed herself.

Friday- I don't usually work on Fridays, but months ago, Whitney (an old friend from high school) had asked me if I would do her hair for her wedding on Jan 28th.  Of course I said yes.  Whitney and I played softball and volleyball together in high school.

She was just glowing that day.  I thought she looked so beautiful, I can't imagine how pretty she looked after make up and dress. 
One of the things I LOVE about my job is that I get to still see people that I have known but might not keep in touch with and see very often.  Whitney is one of those people and I am so glad that I can say I have seen her recently.  I also did two of Whit's cousins hair and they were the sweetest girls.  I feel like we're all bff's now.  :)

Saturday- Since Mr. Hass was at work, what else were us girls supposed to do but shop.  ;)  We went down to Sur La Table at Dos Lagos so I could get a hanging fruit basket for my kitchen.  I love it, but I need to get a chain so it hangs a bit lower.  I'll show ya soon.
Then we walked over to the lakes to burn off a bit of energy and see the ducks.

 I was hoping for some cute pictures of them together, but as always that isn't so easy.

 They'd rather run in opposite directions of each other and make my head swirl all around trying to find them.

It was a nice sunny day to wear their TOMS.

Note to self- next time bring food for ducks. *

Sunday- Well is it really a big suprise that we shopped some more? 
We had some things to get at Target, and then I bought the girls some new clothes at The Children's Place. 

 One popcorn (split into two bags), two icees for them, and one diet coke for me.  If you wanna know the truth, I mix it up at Target and get half Dr. Pepper, half Diet Coke.  Then it is kinda like a Diet Dr. Pepper.  I have to improvise when necessary.

 It is always the best couple bucks spent.  Everyone is happy.

Monday- Alright now if you are a man and reading this post, you might wanna just skidaddle and scroll on past this part.  If not, don't say I didn't warn you...

Today I had my yearly check up with my obgyn.
He's great.  He delivered my babies.  I am comfortable talking to him.  So today I had a question.

I said that since having kids my pms seems to be getting so much worse and is there anything I can do?  I told him that I have heard there are certain foods that can be trigger foods for pms and asked if there is any truth to that.

First he told me,
"Your pms is not getting worse because you have had kids, it is because you are getting close to thirty. "

I frowned.

Apparently when you reach your 30's you have an increase in hormones and pms can get worse for a lot of women.
I frowned again.

Then he said as far as the trigger foods go, try to stay away from red wines, aged cheeses and nuts during that week of pms.

I said,
"Red wine?  Stay away from red wine?"  (Have you read my profile?)

I said that is when I reach for the red wine. (laughing) And that aged cheeses is not really a problem.
He laughed and said maybe try a white wine that week. 

Who knew.
Red wine.  Aged cheeses.  Nuts.  And thirty.  Sounds fabulous no?


How was your weekend?

Stuff.

This week is just flying by.

Thank you to all of you that left such genuine and sweet comments on my last post.  I almost did not publish that post because I thought maybe it is too personal for this ole blog.  But then I thought that having experienced something like that in life has taught me a lot, and is partly why I am the way I am today.  So, I did.  Thank you for the nice things that you all said.  I appreciate them all.

Sorry I had no WIWW post for those of you who are interested in that.  I only had pictures from two days so I figured I would take a break from it this week.  But, just in case you can't go on another day without knowing what I wore last week...
I got one for ya.  :)

I wore this to my friend Amy's suprise birthday party last Saturday night.

The whole outfit is from Nordstrom.  It's my go to place when I need to find something new for a fun event.  I can't help it.  It was a good reason to go. 

I had Amy down on my books to do her hair the day of the party, and she sent me an email wondering if she could reschedule because she had a busy weekend.  I thought, oh no, what do I do, her husband Jimmy and her sister Jenna said they were going to use that time while she was getting her hair done to do some last minute things.  So I emailed Jenna and said what should I do?  She said try to get her to keep the appointment, so I told Amy I could not reschedule her for a very long time.  ;)  So sly eh? 

I was laughing on the inside when Amy asked me what we were doing that night and I said, Oh nothing, maybe just going grocery shopping and watching a movie. 

It was fun to be at the hotel waiting for Amy to walk in the room so we could all yell suprise!!

And suprised she was.  She started crying and wouldn't even come in the room for a minute.  It was really sweet.

 See Jim at the roulette table peeking over at the birthday girl?  By the end of the night Jim and I were good friends.  He taught me how to play roulette!  And thanks to Adam, my friend Xaviera's husband for attempting to help me out at the craps table.  I don't think I mastered that one yet.  But I won the most chips.  :)  Vegas here I come.

Happy happy birthday Amy!! Your party was a blast!  Thanks Jimmy and Jenna!

Monday afternoon we went to the park for a bit.
It has been so nice out, I can not believe this is January.
I better get back to my laundry.
In a bit I have to go get this girl up from her nap...

so we can make it to the Hoe Down at Hannah's school this afternoon.
I'm not quite sure what goes down at a Hoe Down, but I'll let ya know.

Oh, and is anybody watching American Idol this season?
You know I am.
What do you think?
Do you like Steven Tyler and J Lo as judges?
I do!
Steven cracks me up.  And J Lo is so beautiful and so nice.

Happy Thursday my friends.  Enjoy your day.

Time.

All my life, my Dad has always told my siblings and I that "Time is the most precious thing we all have".

He wanted us to really comprehend that.  To be respectful of other people's time. To be on time. To mind who we spend our time with.  And what we spend our time on.

I think when we are young, time is not really a factor in our minds.
We think we will have plenty of time.
Time to do this.  Time to do that.  Time to become who we want to be.   We think we have all the time in the world, because we are young.  That is what I used to think anyway.

When I was a sophomore in high school, I know I didn't think much about "time".
I thought a lot about the cute freshman guy that was in my algebra class that I really wanted to notice me.
Notice me he did, and soon algebra (math is not my best subject) quickly became my favorite class.  And not because I liked learning about fractions.  But because I had fun flirting with this cute freshman guy named Mike, and giggling at his best friend John. 

My friends all thought I was crazy because I had a crush on a freshman.  We were supposed to like the older boys right? 
Well it wasn't long before Mike and I were "going out" and several of my friends were dating his other cute freshman friends. 

I dated Mike most of my sophmore year, and that summer leading up to my junior year.  That summer was the most memorable summer of my youth.  I was so in love and so carefree.  I had become great friends with Mike's two best friends John and Aaron.  That summer we all had so many fun adventures.  I know I was only 16, but I knew I had fallen in love, and I knew that it was real. 

Mike and I dated all through my junior year and his sophomore year.  Even though he was a year under me, we were only 6 months apart.  He took me to the dances.  Treated me like a lady.  Always opened my door.  I cheered him on at the jv football games, and he came to my softball and volleyball games with his friends.  He took me to my very first play and we saw The Phantom of the Operah at the Pantageous Theater in LA.  He was smart.  He was well rounded.  He came from a great family.  He was who I thought I had been looking for. 

As summer was approaching at the end of my junior year, Mike started to act a little differently.  He had gotten his driver's license, and wanted to be driving around with the guys all the time.  I knew that the guys had started to smoke pot, and he knew that I was not okay with that. 

It was right before school got out for the summer that he came over to my house and broke up with me.

It was the first time I had truly had my heart broken.
I threw up.
And if you know me, you know I am so stubborn I don't even throw up when I get the stomach flu.
But I was so heart sick.

That summer I cried a lot.  I still talked to John and Aaron. 
They told me that Mike wanted to get back together, but he just wanted to be able to feel like he could have the summer to goof off.
I guess in a way I understood, but that did not make my broken heart hurt any less.

As that summer was drawing to a close, John had been calling me a lot more.  He would tell me that Mike keeps talking about wanting to see me.  He wants to call me.  Will I talk to him.  Of course I wanted to, but I was not going to make it that easy for him.  I figured I would dress super cute those first couple weeks of school and make sure he saw me, but I would play hard to get.  He broke my heart, I was not just going to let him waltz right back in so easy.

September 7, 1998 was the day before my senior year of high school.  My parents had gone out to breakfast, and my sister and I were sleeping in like teenagers typically do.  My sister and I had our own phone line back then, and the phone rang just before 8am.  I sleepily answered, and it was John.  I told him I was sleeping and to call me back later. He said "Wake up.  Genn I gotta tell you something.  Wake up."  I said no call me back, and he yelled at me and said Genn listen to me, sit up, I have to talk to you.  So by now I was listening and asked him what it was.  He was quiet and sounded like he had been crying.  He said "Genn, Mike died.  Mike was in a car accident and he died."            

I told John to shut up, and that this was so not a funny joke.  He said he was not lying, and that he was going to come over. 

After that, things get a little blurry.  I was screaming.  My sister woke up and found out and called my parents and told them to get home.  John's Mom got on the phone and told me that John was on his way over, and that he wasn't lying to me.  My Grandma came straight over, and after that it is a little hazy. 

By that afternoon so many friends and people from school were at my house.  I went over to Mike's Mom's house at one point.  It was awful.  It was so surreal.  It was so hard to understand.
It felt impossible to be true.  And yet it was.

Mike was driving his car with three other guys inside.
Mike and two of the guys that were brothers died immediately.
The other guy was in a coma for six months, and half way through my senior year, he came back to school. 

It was all so strange.  My entire senior year felt strange.  It felt like I didn't belong there.  I felt like what used to be important in high school, like who you hung out with, what you wore, what you were doing that weekend, just didn't matter anymore. 

Losing Mike was not my first experience losing a loved one, but it was the first time I had known anyone so young that had died.  It was then, that I realized some truths about this world.  I learned that bad things really do happen to good people.  I learned that life is just not fair.  I learned that just because you are young, you are not invincible.  I learned that my Dad was right.

Time really is the most precious gift we all have.

I feel so blessed that Mike was such a special part of my life.  He taught me so very much about life and love.  He set the bar very high for me in the future.  I will never forget Mike Murphy.  Or the life lessons that he taught me.

I will forever be conscious of time.
I try to always spend it wisely.
And with those who matter to me.

These Girls.

This morning while I was getting Hannah's hair fixed for school she said to me with such enthusiasm,

"Mom did you know that the sun and the moon oblitates around the earth?"

I smiled and said, "Oblitates?"

(I think she might have had orbits and rotates a bit jumbled up.)

She laughed and said,

"Oops, I mean it rotates, and when the sun comes up, the moon goes to sleep, and when the moon comes out, then the sun goes to sleep."

My little Hannah.  She's a genius.

While I was having such a studious conversation with my oldest daughter, my youngest daughter was in her room being veeeeery quiet.

Turns out, she was having all sorts of fun hiding behind her changing table emptying out a brand new bottle of baby powder.  She was covered in white.  I coughed when I entered her room because of the powdery haze that surrounded it.

I took a few phone pictures to send to Mr. Hass and tell him what his daughter had done.

These girls.

They keep me on my toes.

What I Wore Wednesday/ Some Hair 411

Hi there!

Happy Wednesday (or Tuesday evening as I type this).

I am linking up with Lindsey at The Pleated Poppy.

I've only got outfit pictures from 4 days this week.  The other days I wore some variation of yoga pants/workout wear, and you aren't really wanting to see that too right?  Well, I'm sorry if you do but there are no pictures of that. 

Since I don't have a full week's worth of pictures I thought it might be fun to answer Shannon's question on this post too.

Scroll through What I Wore to get to my answer to Shannon and some hair 411.

Wednesday- work (and got my hair done that day)

shirt- BP Nordstrom

white cami- BP Nordstrom

skinnies- a new purchase and I LOVE them!! Paige Premium Denim tbd Nordstrom

boots- Naughty Monkey Zappos

bloomie pin- My mom who is now selling them in her etsy shop.  Check it out here.

Sunday- Can you tell I got my hair done? 

Sorry if you were expecting a major change, it's not that major I guess.  My friend did cut about 3 inches off the length and I had her add some redish highlights.  It feels fresh.  I needed it.

shirt- Target

skinnies- LC Kohl's

flip flops- BCBG gift from a friend

necklace- Target

hoop earrings- BP Nordstrom

Monday- big outings were the postal store and Trader Joe's

shirt- Elle McPherson Kohl's

jeans- Seven For All Mankind Nordstrom (these are really worn and old but I still love them)

flip flops- Havianas

red necklace- Francesca's boutique

purse- Vera Wang Kohl's

 Tuesday- headed to work.

I was in a rush out the door and snapped the left picture in a hurry, and later when I got home Mr. H took the other pic of me outside.
I'm thinking if the good old sunshine is going to be sticking around I need to get myself a spray tan.  Yikes.

shirt/dress- Love on a Hanger Nordstrom

leggings- Vera Wang Kohl's

shoes- Steve Madden Nordstrom

aviator sunglasses- Juicy Couture Nordstrom

Now onto the Hair 411:

Shannon left me the sweetest comment recently and she asked me this:

 Just a quick question......how on earth do you always look so pulled together? I have a one year old and feel like I never have any time for myself or any time to look presentable. How does your hair always look so nice?

First off, thank you for such a nice compliment Shannon! You made my week.  I'd also like to say that I honestly do not always look put together, but I will most of the time only post pictures of myself when I feel like I look put together.  Just like everybody I have off days.  I just don't post pictures of them.  ;)

It is hard to find the time to get ready when you have little ones.  My biggest secret in that department is this...

my husband does not work a typical M-F 8-5 job.  He works in a hospital and his hours are different throughout the week.  Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, he is home in the mornings.  Which is a HUGE help to me when I need to get ready.  Unless he has somewhere to be, he will usually entertain the girls so that I can get ready in peace.  (Or as peaceful as it can be when you have two little ones in your house)  So the rest of the week I am usually sporting my yoga pants and a ponytail, unless it is my Saturday to work, in which case, again Mr. H is home to help with kids while I get ready.

To answer you about my hair, here is my secret...

My hair is naturally curly.  I do like this because it gives me a lot of volume, and because I most often wear it straight, it is dry so I can go about 3 or 4 days without washing it.  I also have had the Brazilan Blowout done to my hair.  I just had it done for the second time about 3 weeks ago and that really cuts down the drying/styling time because it seals your cuticle and illiminates all frizz from your hair.

Another thing I do a lot is wash and dry my hair at night, and then in the morning I will just re- round brush it while it is dry and that gets the kinks out from sleeping on it and re activates the product a bit to freshen it up.  I actually love when I do that because it makes getting ready seem pretty easy.

I prefer when my hair is a bit "dirty" to when it is clean.  It is always a better hair day.  So when I first wash it, like I did this morning, I use quite a few products to dirty it back up.  This morning after I washed it I used these...

I used them in order from left to right.  First the leave in conditioner (love this one it is so moisturizing), then the argan oil to add shine and cut my drying time even more, and then a bit of sheer straight by Redken.

I blow dry my hair in sections starting in the back.  Before I section it though I roughly finger dry it until most of the water is out of my hair.  (With the Brazilan Blowout it does not frizz at all while doing this)  I also like a large round brush for longer hair.  You can dry bigger sections at a time. Oh and don't pay attention to my crappy blow dryer or ask me what kind it is.  I don't even know.  Sad right.  I have a $200 blow dryer at work and a crappy one that is barely hanging on at home.  It needs to be replaced soon.

So when my hair is dry, I add a bit more product to dirty it up.  :)

This is a nice pomade and I only use a teeny bit.  I've had this thing forever.

So this is what my hair looked like after I did all that to it.

Can you see my new highlights?  Fun huh?

Next is when I tease my hair.   (Well first I put my make up on, and then I tease my hair)  :)

I use a bone comb like this one pictured.  Sally's Beauty Supply sells one similar for a couple bucks.

 I meant to take a picture of the hairsprays I use when I tease my hair but I was running out of time and had to leave for work.  You can see them behind my make up case if ya look close.  Big Sexy Spray and Stay, and #18 by Redken (although now I love #12 better!)

 Starting at the top of my crown I take about 1 inch sections and spray the hair underneath with Big Sexy, and then I tease it, let it fall forward, and then repeat about two times.  I also do the sides in my crown area the same way.  I was going to take more pics of the process, but like I said, running short on time.  Or do you even care about the process and think the fact that I have a "hair process" is ridiculous?  When I'm done I smooth it out a bit and use the #18 spray as I work it how I want it.

Anyway, here's the end result.

What can I say, I like big hair. 

Maybe my head is shaped funny or something because I just can't not tease my hair. 

Does that answer your question Shannon?  Thanks for asking!

And thanks for stopping by my blog this week.

I hope I did not bore you to death with my hair 411!!!

Don't forget to check out all of the other fabulous wiww posts who linked up with The Pleated Poppy. 

What's New. Weekend News. And Pictures.

This weekend wasn't nearly as fun as last weekend was.

Mainly because this guy had to work.

And because Hannah and Claire have had colds, which they gave to me, which I have recently given to Mr. Hass.

But on the plus side...

The weather has been sunny and beautiful.

I know some people don't like it this hot in January, but I love it.

I'm not saying I am ready for the 100's, I'm just saying the sunshine makes me HAPPY.  I wore capris, tank tops, and flip flops this weekend.  Not bad January.  Not bad.

 I trimmed the girls hair after their baths one night.  I did Hannah's first, and Claire was so anxious to get hers cut that she climbed up into another chair and kept pointing to herself shouting, "Me! Me! Me!"

 Mr. Hass got some pretty cute shots don't ya think?

Saturday we needed to get out of the house for a little bit so we went to my parents for a visit.  It was a fun and social visit.  My sister and a friend of her's and Noah were there, then my brother and his girlfriend pulled up, and the kids had fun, ran around, and got dirty, while I got to talk to people older than 4 and 2.

 Oh and by "got dirty", I mean Claire.  Squatted down in the dirt and rubbed her hands back and forth, back and forth.  Later she fell in some mud, and had it all over her arms and butt.  That child.  Why does she like to be so dirty?  I don't even bother with bows hardly ever anymore because she just pulls them out and throws them in the mud also.

Maui sure isn't afraid of the kids though.  She can hold her own.

I think Claire was saying, "Gamma!  Put me down! There is some dirt over there I haven't rolled around in yet!"

Mr. Hass was home this morning until 12:30, so I took advantage and ran to Trader Joe's alone.  As I was happily pushing my cart without having to worry about Hannah ramming her cart into someone, I heard somebody say, "Is that Genn?"  I turned around, and guess what?  It was Traci!  Traci and I know each other from this crazy little blogland but have never actually met, until today.  I felt like I've known her for years.  Nice to see you Traci!!

I had a craving for my Mom's chocolate chip oatmeal muffins.  So I made some.

 I was fooling around with my camera, and knew that this shot was blurry.  I sat down to adjust my settings and take another picture when Hannah yelled, "Moooom!  Mooooom, look at what Claire's doing."

 So I rescued Claire from being stranded on top of the toy box instead.

Just as we were heading inside I got a couple shots of these birds in their "V" formation.  Isn't it SO true what they say,

Birds of a feather, flock together.

So very true.

My Mama told me that.

And she was right.

She's always right.

Just like me.

Must be where I get it from.

;)

Alright my friends, I am off to take some NyQuil and try to stay awake for The Bachelor. 

Until next time...