One thing I hate to do is chores. I am sure every person on the planet will agree with me on this statement. Who wants to spend hours at a time cleaning and scrubbing when we could be binge watching Real Housewives of Beverly Hills? When I decided to stay at home to take care of my son one thing I vowed to do was to keep the house clean and organized. Hey, I am at home all day, at least I want it to be pretty and clean? But, one thing I do not like, is spending a whole day cleaning and missing quality time with my family. So I have been using this schedule to stay on top of chores around the house. 

First thing that is important is that the first time you do this you will have to spend at least one day of deep cleaning to get your house perfectly clean, then it will be just upkeep. This is my schedule:

Mondays

Mondays are bedroom days. I start my day by taking all sheets from our bedroom and my son's bedroom and washing them. While they are in the wash I dust our nightstands, blinds, windowsills, door frames, baseboards and crown moldings. I wipe every surface with cleaner and put new sheets on the beds and crib. I also do a load of all the blankets we have on our couch. It seems like a lot but it takes me an hour tops to do all this, which I do while my son naps. 

Tuesdays

Tuesdays are bathroom days. I wash all towels, washcloths, changing table cover, hand towels and bathroom rugs. While they wash I clean showers and toilets, and wipe down counters and mirrors. I sweep the bathroom floors and dust the bathroom door frames, baseboards and crown molding. After towels are clean I fold them and hang new towels to be used that week. This is by far the hardest day since it takes me around 2 hours to do this, but again, it is not that much in comparison to doing the whole house in one day. 

Wednesdays 

Wednesdays are kitchen days. As soon as I wake up in the morning I put a load of whites on the washer. Then I scrub and sanitize counter tops, wipe any spills on the microwave, wipe the stove top, wipe the cabinets and sweep and mop the kitchen floor. I also dust the floorboards and the door frame. Finally I go through the fridge and toss anything that is expired and wipe any spills. I also do a quick tidy up of the pantry. Before going to bed I fold and put away that load of laundry.

Thursdays

Thursdays are my easiest day! As soon as I wake up I put a load of light colors. During the day I sweep the dining room floor and mop it. I clean the table and dust baseboards, crown molding, door frames and picture frames. I also clean my son's high chair. In the afternoon I do a load of my son's baby clothes and then fold them. I also fold the load of laundry I put in the morning.

Fridays

Fridays are living room days. In the morning I put a load of dark clothes on the wash. During the day I sweep the floors of the living room, mop, dust the floorboards, crown molding, door frames, blinds and furniture. I also wipe my son's toys and organize them. 

Saturdays

Saturdays I vacuum the house and dust our stairs picture frames and floorboards. 

Sundays

Rest, rest and rest some more. 

Because I have this routine I have a decently cleaned house every day. There is always chores I do every day like put away my son's toys and do dishes. Every morning I unload the dishwasher and during the day I load it again. At the end of the day I run it and so I have clean dishes in the morning. By keeping this schedule at any given day I have less than an hour of house chores except on Tuesdays. This gives me plenty of time to take care of my son and have time to prepare dinner. This is what works for me and my family and keeps my OCD in check. It drives me insane to have a dirty house. I don't want to be a slave of cleaning, and I really, really like to binge watch Real Housewives! 

I hope this helps you to create a cleaning routine that works for you!

This year was my first official Mother's Day! As my present, my son woke up at 4:45 am! Happy Mother's Day to you, Frances. My husband was nice enough to take care of him until 7 am, then he brought him to my bed. Up until that day, I had nursed him in the morning, while we snuggled together. As I laid in bed with my son happily nursing, almost falling asleep from a milk induced coma, I started to cry a bit. Not because it was Mother's Day but because I knew that was the last time I was going to nurse my son. It was going to be the last time he would drift to sleep while still latched. The last time I would feed him with my body. The very last latch! A world of emotions came pouring down! I felt so grateful I was able to breastfeed for as long as I did. I only planned to do so for 6 months and was able to nurse him for 9 1/2 months! Before having him, I didn't know the incredible connection you have with your child when you breastfeed. I took a couple of pictures of that last nursing session. Time stood still and I held to that moment for as long as I could. And then it happened, he fell completely asleep and unlatched for the very last time! 

Even as a write this, tears are pouring down. I get so emotional about it, although I know it was time for us to move forward. The next morning, my son woke up and my husband went to get him as I went downstairs and made a bottle for him. I gave him the bottle on our bed, snuggled like always, the only difference was the bottle. He was happy and content and drifted to sleep without even noticing momma was no longer nursing him. And so life kept going. He is still a happy boy. He still looks for me for comfort. He still snuggles for two hours in the morning on my bed. Nothing has changed in his eyes. For that I am grateful. I was so worried that he was not going to adjust but he did, he was ready to wean. 

As for me, I am still dealing with the aftermath of not nursing anymore. I had some engorgement for a couple of days but now it is bearable. Life is the same. Emotions have settled down and I am happy again. I do miss nursing but at the same time, I am happy I have a bit more flexibility. Breastfeeding was an amazing experience. At the beginning I struggled with low milk supply, soreness, bleeding, latch problems and vasospasms, but I am so happy I powered through! I gave my son a wonderful gift, and I feel he, in return, gave me the satisfaction that I did it. Not all women are as lucky as I am to nurse their babies. Some struggle so much they have to stop and formula feed (which is also totally fine). For any woman who is struggling with nursing, if you really want to do it, power through, don't give up and surround yourself with a supporting group. That's what I did. I had my husband who was incredibly supportive and an amazing friend who gave me the strength to keep on going and encouraged me. She listened and gave me her advise. I even sent her pictures to see if she could tell me what was going on with my latch and my ladies... I am so grateful for her and for my support group! 

If I have another baby, I will most certainly endure all of this again. It was so worth it! My son thrived and with every pound he gained I felt prouder because I know that was 100% me! With every roll of fat he had, with every milestone he reached, I felt like a super mom! Now things are a bit different but also the same. Different because I have to mix formula and feed him a bottle but they are the same because his attitude towards his mommy and our relationship is the same. 

I hope by sharing my journey, some of you felt comfort in knowing that you are not alone. That it is a very draining yet satisfying experience. If you are nursing your baby, you go momma! Pat yourself in the back, because it is not easy! If you are about to wean, you can do it, and give yourself time to get used to it. Don't rush it. I am happy with my approach.

 

Stay strong!

Product Review

 

I recently was gifted two products from bhcosmetics. A really good friend of mine gave them to me for my birthday. Last Monday I reviewed the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Eye and Cheek Palette. If you are interested in that review click here. 

So today I will be reviewing the Sculpt and Blend Brush Set. I had never used bhcosmetics brushes before and I loved these. They feel high end! They are incredibly soft and there is no shedding whatsoever. The brushes are synthetic duo fibers with a black and gold finish. I had no complaints at all with them. I have to say, I have other brushes that are more expensive and do not feel nearly as soft as these and apply makeup as good as these. I've had them for about three weeks and I've used them every single day. I have a lot of brushes and these are starting to be my faves. 

I definitely recommend this set for someone who is starting with makeup, since it has pretty much every brush you will need. They are excellent quality and they are pretty affordable. Not to mention, what a great gift they are. 

These are the ones I used the most. The flat top buffing brush (123), I use to apply my foundation, as it is perfect to give an airbrushed effect. It is very dense and I love that there was no shedding at all. I use the tapered face blending brush (124), to do my contour. I personally do not like very sharp contouring for my every day makeup, so I feel like this brush gives me the opportunity to lightly contour without overdoing it and looking to harsh. The tapered contour brush (125), I use to set my under eye concealer. It is the perfect shape to do this and picks up lots of product without making me look "caked". The precision blush brush (126), I use to do my cheek highlighter as it is the perfect size for my cheekbones. Lastly the angled face shader brush (127), I use to do the contouring around my nose or to do some "baking" on my cheeks if I do want a sharper contour. I know that I am not technically using these brushed for their intended purpose, but YOLO! They work for me.

 The small deluxe blending brush (128) I use to blend my concealer in place. It is perfect for the under eye area and dense enough that it gives an airbrush effect. The small round blending brush (129) I use exactly as it's intended purpose, to blend out eye shadows. Very nice and fluffy brush with no shedding. The large shader brush (130) I use to apply concealer and also to pack on eye shadows if I will be doing a one eye shadow look. If you want a more precise application this brush will not help that much. To be honest the nose contour brush (131) I have not used at all and I really do not see myself using it since I do my contouring with the angled face shader brush (127). Finally the precision detailer brush (132) I use to do winged eyeliner using eye shadows and to apply highlight on my inner corner.

I hope this review was useful. Until next time, stay gorgeous!

Product Review

For the last couple of weeks I have been playing with this palette that is very new to me. One of my best friends gave it to me as a birthday present. I was so moved by her gift, not for the material things, but because she has taken the time over all these years of friendship to know me, and be there in good times and in bad. I hope I am to her as good as a friend as she is to me! So, a quick shout out to you girly! Thanks for remembering my birthday and for coming to my house and spending time with me and my family...and for the added bonus of makeup! What?! Truly blessed! 

Now, back to the bhcosmetics palette review. I have never owned a bhcosmetic product, so I did not know what to expect with them. I've heard many, many friends of mine rave about them for a while now, so I was very excited to try them. I was pleasantly surprised. The quality of these products is amazing! They are quite pigmented, they blend pretty well and the palette is very versatile. You can go on many directions with it. You can keep it neutral, you can go with a very warm look, or you can go POW dramatic smokey eye. The cheek products were also quite nice. I appreciate they gave me one shimmery highlighter and two blushes.

The palette has twelve eye shadows and three cheek products. One thing to mention is they do not have names so I will do my best to describe them.

From the top left the first eye shadow we have is a cream color with a slight yellow undertone. This color is ideal for an all over the lid color for yellow to neutral undertone skins and for setting the eye shadow primer. It is very creamy and blendable. This for me is the exact same color of my skin so I can use this to just do a natural makeup to even my eyelid tone. Second from the left is a true gold. This color is very pigmented with a shimmery finish. Although it looks like it has glitter in it, I was happy it didn't. I loved this color so much! The third eye shadow from the left is a rose gold. The pigmentation is very similar to the true gold I just described. Very beautiful, you could apply this all over the lid, put some mascara and listo! Fourth color from the left is one of the stars of this palette. It is a warm rusty brown (yeah, I know, I am so detailed with my descriptions!) with a red undertone. This shade is to die for. Highly pigmented and super buttery and blendable! I always gravitate to colors like this. This would be the perfect crease color for a blue smokey eye or a black smokey eye and use this to bring some warmness to the look. Fifth color from the left is a copper color with a red undertone. This is the shimmery sister of the previous color. Very beautiful and super pigmented. One thing, it was not as sparkly as it appeared. Last color of the top row is Brown copper with a pink shimmer. I really like this one. Very pigmented as well and it is in my opinion a very unique color. This was my favorite of the shimmery colors.  From the second row left we have a cream color with a pink undertone. This color for me was a little disappointing. It applied very chalky and when I tried to blend other colors with it it made them chalky as well. Second color is a beautiful shimmery lilac color. It almost has a blue undertone in it. Very beautiful, almost glittery. It blended nicely and with a little bit of Mac Fix Plus it can almost look like a foiled eye shadow. Third color is a shimmery plum color. Although the color is very pretty I feel that when I applied this it lost it's purple color and it looked gray. I wish the staying power of this particular shade was better and that it applied true to what it looked like. Fourth color is a shimmery gray color with a purple undertone. This is one of those eye shadows that look beautiful on some people and on some others it looks like a bruise. For me, it looks like a bruise. I do not do well with gray colors for that particular reason. I always have to warm them up with some warm tone on the crease in order to make them work. Fifth color is a sparkly silver. I was a bit sad that all the shimmer and glitter that this color had was only on the surface of the eye shadow. Once I dipped my brush in it the glitter disappeared and I was left with a shimmery gray with a neutral undertone. This is not a bad color but I was disappointed that it wasn't sparkly. Last color of the eye shadows is in my opinion the ROCKSTAR of this palette. Oh my god, this color is a true matte black. It is insanely pigmented. I love this color. It is one of the blackest black I have in my makeup collection. I will be using this a lot!!!! The third row of this palette are all cheek products. The first color is a champagne shimmery color. I don't know if this is intended as blush but I think it is more of a highlighter. This is the perfect color if you are tanned and what to look like JLo. Girl, if you want to glow, this is your shade. I personally want to look like her all the time so I know I will be reaching for it this summer. Second cheek color is a dusty rose blush. Decently pigmented and a shade that will work with many skin tones. Last cheek color is a shimmery peach color. I loved this one and again is a color that will work with many skin tones. One word of advise...be VERY light handed with this puppy because it is pigmented! 

Anyways, sorry for the long review! This is in my eyes, a winner. I cannot wait to show you guys a couple of the fun makeup looks a came up with using these colors. Until then, stay gorgeous!  

Product Review

Let's talk about foundations for a second. For the longest time I've struggled with finding the right foundation for my skin type.  Either they are too drying, too oily, too powdery, too yellow, too pink, too sheer, too matte...you get the idea. There is always something I usually do not like about my foundation. Maybe it is because there is no perfect for everyone type of product out there. My skin type is extremely dry. When I try on new foundations, I often find they cling to my T zone, especially between my eyebrows and around my nose. You can see the flakes on my skin, which is so unflattering.

A couple of months ago, I saw a YouTuber talk about her favorite "Drugstore" (or affordable) foundation, and she mentioned the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum. In the United States, this is not a brand that is sold at the drugstore, but it is on the UK and I believe in Europe. I ordered mine on Amazon.

Let me tell you, this has become my favorite foundation! First of all, I have to be clear, this is a light to medium foundation. If you are looking for a matte perfect skin type foundation, this is not for you. But for me, I was looking for something light that I could wear on my day to day makeup looks. I usually go for the "no-makeup" makeup and this foundation is perfect for it. The consistency if very liquid. I find it applies best with your hands. One thing I love about it is the fact that it smells like pomegranate, but not an overwhelming scent. I got mine in the shade light vanilla and it matches perfectly. I feel like this is a dupe for the bareMinerals Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Creme. I used to love that foundation but lately it just doesn't stick to my skin. This formula does not break me out, and it lasts all day without disappearing from my face. My concealer also applies nicely on it and it does a pretty good job of make my skin look even. It is a bit tacky, so I lightly set it with translucent powder.

Anyways, I feel like I want to dump all my other affordable foundations in the garbage and just use this one. It looks like second skin. Just.In.Love 

I hope you found this review helpful. Until next time, stay gorgeous!

Product Review

A couple of weeks ago I bought a couple of things from the new Spring Line of ColourPop. I have to say, ColourPop has become my favorite affordable makeup brand HANDS DOWN. Their products are such good quality! Highly pigmented, creamier than butter, and they last a long time! 

 

From the new collection I bought two Super Shock Shadows, one Ultra Satin Lip and a Creme Gel Colour. Here are my thoughts.

Super Shock Shadows

Luckfully

This is THE STAR OF THE SHOW! Oh my gosh! This shadow is perfection! I am usually not to fond of blue eye shadow but this little puppy is amazing! The pigmentation is amazing and it is so blendable! I absolutely love it. I have been wearing blue eyes so often after this. From their new collection, in my opinion this is the best product. 

Flower Show

This is another great eye shadow! Very pigmented, it almost looks like a mermaid tail. It is a tiny bit less dramatic than Luckfully, so maybe it can be worn more. It is a beautiful teal. Again, another great product!

 Ultra Satin Lip

Botanical

I am not a fan of this lip color! I had such high expectations about it but it just fell short. I really do not like the actual color. On the website it looked like a very beautiful peach lip color, but in reality it is borderline neon. It is so vibrant that you cannot wear it easily. The second thing I did not like about this lip color is that it gives you that white ring on the inside of your lip. It is so unflattering! This is a shade I WILL NEVER USE. :( Now, I have to say, this is very smooth formula and it doesn't feel like your lips will fall 

off like many liquid lipsticks, so I guess that is a plus.

Creme Gel Colour

Descanso

I am on the fence with this one. I have a love hate relationship with it. I guess sometimes I hate it, sometimes I love it. But I hate it more that I love it. The colour is beautiful, it has some tiny little sparkles. In paper, it is perfect for a purple cat eye. The thing I don't like is that it its a bit chalky. It is not as creamy as I was expecting it to be. I have heard their eyeliners are way better than their Creme Gel Colours. Maybe I will buy the liner and see if I like it more. 

Anyways, that's it. I would say I had two hits, one fence and one miss. I hope you find this useful, and stay tuned for more reviews. Until then, stay fabulous!

I have been debating for almost eight months on weather or not to address the very white elephant in the room, my son's hemangiomas. After months of this internal struggle, I've decided to actually write about it for one reason, to educate people about them. 

So let's begin with what is a hemangioma? A hemangioma, by Mayo Clinic's definition is a birthmark that most commonly appears as a rubbery, bright red nodule of extra blood vessels in the skin*. They are known to occur very early in pregnancy, and they are basically a cluster of extra blood vessels, that's what gives them that very bright red appearance. They do not hurt, but in some cases, can interfere with breathing, vision or feeding, depending on where they are located. Most of them fade with time (most of them gone by the time a child reaches 5 years old), although in some cases there is minimal discoloration at the site.

My son's hemangiomas are located on his bottom lip and his neck. They weren't visible at birth, but started to become visible when he was about 7 days old. We took him to a Pediatric Dermatologist who prescribed medication to treat them. Most hemangiomas do not require medication, but in my son's case, it did for several reasons. The first one being that his biggest hemangioma, the one on his lip, was big enough to interfere with breastfeeding/bottle feeding. If it would have burst, it would have been incredibly difficult to heal and feeding him would have been very hard. The second reason was that by having two hemangiomas so close together and aligned, there was a chance that he could have a third hemangioma on the inside of his throat. That third possible hemangioma could have grown and potentially block his airways. Thanks to many prayers from our family, that was not the case.

Now that I've addressed what a hemangioma is, I want to address the thing we, as parents of a child with an hemangioma, have to deal with on a daily basis. I remember when we were at the dermatologist office, he warned us about something. He said, and I quote, "when you have a child with a visible hemangioma, everyone and their brother will have something to say about it. Everyone knows everything there is to know about it, and they will be very vocal about it, so learn to mute them". At the moment I did not quite grasp what he was saying. Now that my son is 8 months old, I so get it. 

I know that most people come from a place of love and good intentions when they make a comment about it. Most of the time we hear "his birthmark is so cute", "you can barely see it" or "I wouldn't worry about it". Some people, with a smaller than usual filter in their tongue, have said something along the lines of "what is wrong with your son's lip". Very few IDIOTS, have said "you know, that mark is caused by you giving him a pacifier" or "was it your fault?". My husband and I have learned with time to tune them out. 

To be quite honest, most of the time, I don't even notice my son's mark. I am with him 24/7 so I am so used to it by now, I just don't see it. But what gets me every time someone makes a nice, not so nice or plain uneducated remark, is that my heart breaks a little for my little man. Not because I think he has a disability, which he does not, or because it looks ugly, but because it makes me realize, that it is still there and it is the first thing people see when they see my son. They notice that first, instead of what a happy little boy he is, how beautiful his almond blue eyes are, or his incredible huge smile. I know that in three years time, we will not be able to see where his hemangiomas where. They will be a faint memory in us but not in him. 

We could edit his pictures if we wanted. Erase any evidence that he has a mark on his face. After all, he will not remember it. We could spare us a world of questions and stupid comments from people that don't know any better. But we do not want to do this. I do not want to teach my son that he needs to change his appearance in order to fit in. I hope that when he grows up and sees his baby pictures, he realizes that we loved him no matter what and accepted his mark. I think it is the most beautiful little lip in this whole world. I don't care that he is different, as a matter of fact, I have embraced it. One day, when he is a grown man, hopefully he will know that beauty comes in every shape and form, and that you should judge people for who they are and their character and not by how they look. 

Until my son's hemangioma fades, I will try to educate those who are truly curious about his mark, and to all the idiots that have a not so nice comment, I will just ignore them.

My son's lip hemangioma when he was 4 months old.