Ombre Lovin'

I'm not one to do my nails, or makeup, or hair. I'm all about keeping it simple. My dressing up is putting on jeans and a nice shirt. My makeup is powder, mascara, and chapstick. My hair is usually wash & go, or up in a  bun. If I were to get polish on my nails, I'd let the nail polish chip off and not give a damn. haha. I love fashion though...I can look at fashion magazines and read all the beauty tips in the world and be so fascinated, but not enough to use them on myself. I had been secretly wanting to get my hair ombred (is that a word? ha) for a long time and I had been asking around quoting people's prices and looking up their results to see if I could trust anyone to do that drastic of a coloring on my hair. I finally went out on a limb and found someone on FB...Fb of all places! My husband was so skeptical, especially since she was a mobile hairstylist and came to our house. I guess it turned out ok...jk, it turned out AMAZING (toot toot) If you're in SoCal in Morongo Basin, more specifically in Twentynine Palms, you have to contact Anna via Fb. Her page is Hair Xtensions N More. Amazing job, and she explained everything to me step by step. btw, my husband has been complimenting me ever since I got my hair did, and HE was the one who was telling me to give her a tip. Man, I should get my hair done more often ;)

Manaia's birth story

2 weeks ago while at church, I was approached by one of the newer sisters in the ward saying she was a doula in training and was wondering if I'd let her be a part of my birth. I'm the kind that can't say no, so I agreed to have her come to our home and talk to us about what her role would be and how she could help me have a good labor/delivery. Mind you, I already had it in my head that I'd get to the hospital and get the epidural right away. I had such a difficult time with Lomani's birth plan that I didn't even want to try doing the natural approach. Anyways, so she came over and I remember praying about it and I didn't get a bad feeling, so I decided, hey, what could it hurt. She met with me a few times before the big day. I felt like, okay, I'm gonna go as long as I can, but I'm gonna fall back on the epidural. Not really a good plan, but it was what I felt comfortable with. I guess I was still a little skeptical on how she could help me when the contractions were really painful.

I had been having contractions Sunday (my original due date), but they were mild and were 10-12 mins apart. 3:30 Monday morning, I felt a gush and woke up Aaron to let him know my water broke. With my other two pregnancies, my water never broke 'til I was in the hospital so it was really awkward sitting on the bed and I'm leaking and leaking and leaking, it was never ending. We got to the hospital maybe an hour later and Aaron texted our doula to meet us there. My plan was to labor as long as possible at home before going to the hospital, but when do plans ever go our way? I'll admit, I was really skeptical about having a doula at the birth 'cause I didn't think she'd be able to help with the pains/contractions. I was so wrong! She was the best thing ever! She knew places to hold me to relieve the pain and I wouldn't have ever thought to let Aaron know that's what I needed. She was super helpful and I highly recommend having a doula at your labor/delivery.