Keratin Treatment! Just do it!

My jealousy of smooth, sleek hair is no more! I finally got a Keratin treatment. My wonderful stylist, Brittany Robertson did it on April 1^st (yes, I am a slacker & sharing news about it much later)! But, hey you can see how long this amaziness lasts. My husband calls my hair...wait for it...horse hair. It is thick, frizzy and just gross. Here is an image of my hair (with no product in it) before the treatment.

Before Keratin Treatment

The process took a couple hours & then we trimmed my hair. The results were immediately amazing. Goodbye horse hair!

 

My hair was and still is insanely soft. I wasn’t able to wash, style or even stick my hair in a clip or ponytail holder for 72 hours. That was crazy, but worth it. It actually welcomed a lot of jokes from my co-workers.



I am almost at month #2 and I love it. My hair dries faster, it usually takes me FOREVER to blow dry my hair but now I don’t even have to do it. I usually just put a brush through it every morning & I am good to go for the day. With the humidity and heat this summer I am so happy my hair won’t look like a hot mess. No more frizziness for me!

 

Now, when I am going out & trying to impress people (JK), I do use a straightener – takes me about 5 minutes to straighten my hair. I really don’t need to because the volume, frizz mess is basically gone.

 

It is so nice to look at my hair & not hate it. The company I work for even has a major hair care brand as one of our clients & this pic of my hair may end up on their Facebook page (this never would have happened pre-Keratin treatment). Also, I did nothing to my hair this day but brushed it! That is how I roll almost every day now.

Amazing Creamy Chicken Dinner!

Pesto. Cream (well, half & half). Pasta. My dream world. Well, kinda. This dish was amazing. I found this lick your plate til it's clean recipe on Pinterest, of course. Pinterest has only a failed me a couple times so I keep going back for more keepers.

I modified the recipe slightly. This requires you to marinate the chicken over night or do it first thing in the morning if cooking that evening.

My husband LOVED this dish & he usually isn't a fan of creamy, saucy food. I am all about the sauce. The more sauce the better! I served it with some warm Italian bread from the bakery section at Krogers.

So, you should definitely plan on trying this recipe. Go!


Grilled Chicken & Tomato Cream Sauce

1/2 Lawry's Herb & Garlic marinade

3 Tbsp. pesto

3 boneless chicken breasts, pounded thin & sliced

1/2 pound penne pasta (1/2 the package)
2 tsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce (I actually bought a 14.5 oz can & used about 10oz)
1 cup half & half - used fat free (woot woot)

Dash of sugar
1 tsp flour
salt & pepper (to taste)
1 tsp basil

Marinate chicken in Lawry's herb & garlic marinade and pesto overnight or in the morning. You can grill the chicken, but I cooked it in the skillet. I poured the whole container of chicken with marinade in the pan. It was amazing.

Cook noodles in a large pot of boiling water. Heat olive oil in the skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and chicken broth to the pan and allow to reduce by half. Once the broth has reduced, stir in tomato sauce. Add the half & half and flour and stir well to combine. Season with sugar, then add salt and pepper to taste. Turn heat to low & stir continuously. Add basil to sauce and mix well. Drain pasta and add to sauce. Stir well to coat. Top with chicken. And Enjoy!

Original source www.plainchicken.com/2009/08/grilled-chicken-tomato-cream-sauce.html?m=1

I'm Baaaacckkkk!

This blog willl no longer be my personal letters to Lyla. I have decided to keep those between us & started a written journal for her last year. I am doing a lot of "Pinning" on Pinterest, keeping up with mommy blogs & just trying to figure out how to do this whole mommy, work, wife & being myself thing in life.

I hope I can provide some useful information to all my mommy friends out there!

Lots of Love! Bridgette

P.S. Here is the first one - free photo book from Shutterfly promo, you just pay shipping & handling, read the details for more info

Head to the site & enter into your account http://www.shutterfly.com/lp1/spring.jsp?mpch=email&rilt=cta_head&PID=SFLY&UID=003028506825&TC=TC0033779&CN=AC_TESTLP_1SPLIT80_1&CID=FOC_137937&s_tnt=52988:0:0

Promo code: MYBOOK

Lyla Sage,you have been taking your pacifier out of your mouth & putting it back in all by yourself!

We went for your 4mth check-up and we got lots of news.  For height you are in the 55% percentile & for weight 85% percentile - my little chunky monkey! We have to take you to Children's Hospital to get your hip/left leg looked at - could be a little shorter than the right leg or you just need physical therapy because it is super stiff. I love you so much!

Lyla's First Christmas

Lyla Bear, you weren't really into the gifts, even though you are liking your toys more and more. You were the greatest gift I ever could have gotten. Christmas was very special this year because of you. Grammy got your outfits to wear and you were a precious doll baby!

Rolling Machine!

Bear - you are so funny! I laid you on your tummy (I figured you might roll over) and ran to the kitchen & when I got back you had rolled several times are were chewing on the arm of your activity gym!

You are definitely going to be teething soon - you stick anything & everything in that mouth of yours :)
I will post some of your rolling pics soon :) xoxo

Hangin' with mom & dad

Daddy's girl!

I think I kiss her 300 times a day

My bear

Never gets old watching this....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY45Wlj0YK0&feature=youtu.be

Why do we think this is so funny?

Rollin rollin rollin

Rolled over for the first time today! Both ways!

Woot Woot!

Sageroni (yes, one of your 50 million nicknames)!

For the second time in your whole life, you slept through the whole night! Mommy is so happy. Now if we could only get you out of your rock n' sleeper and into your crib that would be another huge accomplishment! I am going to miss you while I am work today & next week when I am back to work full-time is sure to be a trainwreck.

I got you a dress and a tutu to wear for Christmas pictures on Sunday (PopPop is taking them). You screamed when I tried them on you - are you my child? Let's hope for pretty smiles all around!

Lyla Sage Talking to Daddy

Your smile is my everything

This week I returned to work. Monday was extremely rough. I felt sick to my stomach until the moment I got to pick you up again. You seemed fine at the sitters, you haven't cried when I dropped you off or picked you up. I am sure you still miss me though. We are going to try and only have you there for about 15 hours this week.

You've discovered your tongue! You are constantly sticking that bad boy out and playing with it. I am truly amazed at the hours I can spend just staring at you. It's the littlest moments I have with you that bring me the most joy. You are so happy when I change your diaper or we stare in the mirror. Most days I wake up and I am still in shock that you are mine. You are so beautiful and sweet. I love when you put your little chubba arms around my neck.

You are growing out of all your 3 mth clothes already! This time is flying by :( My little bear bear.

Back!

So, I have been a terrible mom when it comes to blogging and keeping track of milestones, but that is going to change now that we have internet back at the house & I will be on my computer more much due to my return to work on Monday.

Dear Lyla Bear,

You have been so full of smiles & laughs lately. You are sitting on my lap sleeping as I type and you started laughing in your dream. Yesterday, you caught a glimpse of yourself in the mirror why screaming during tummy time and you smiled so big when you saw your reflection. We spend a lot of time in front of the mirror. Clearly, you can tell how adorable you are and love to watch yourself ;)

Ok, well Daddy is yelling at me to get off the computer. I will be back soon!

Love you so much! Bridgette

Bitemarks :(

Lyla Bear,

Today was the first day you went to the sitter's. It was very hard to leave you today. But when I picked you up, it was worst. You were bitten by a little boy on your left arm :( This broke my heart in a million pieces! I have not yet figured out how I will leave you again without worrying 24/7....

On a brighter note, I took you to girls dinner at Katie's & you loved Katie! You had fun & were a happy baby. I love taking you places with me & I hate it when you are not with me.

Here are some things you did today:
-took your pacifier out of your mouth with your hands
-slept through tummy time
-laughed & smiled a lot more
-had a difficult time pooping
-your eyes followed your firefly toy
-reached for your toy

To My Little Lyla

I downloaded the app on my phone so I could easily blog again about Lyla and our life together. Every day she finds a new way to make me smile and I want to make sure I don't forget these moments. In a way this blog is for me but ultimately, I want it to be for her. From here on out I will be addressing the blog to her, Lyla Sage.

Miss Lyla, I am holding you in my arms right now. Today I want you to know that these have been the most meaningful 7 weeks of my life.

1 week old (and a day)!

Sleepy smiles

Life is good. Lyla is doing great. I can't get her to sleep in her bassinet...I am a terrible swaddler :( She loves to cuddle, loves her bouncy chair & loves to sleep. She's our sleepy bear. Her newborn pics are tomorrow! Hopefully, we can get some good shots!

Arms up, look at those lips...

 

 

she has that same dimple

 

Pretty girl

Still at the hospital, 1 day old

 

Look how happy she is...lol

First day on earth

Doctor, "Jump over the table...jump and touch the wall..."

Today, I went to my 38 week appointment, no new changes since last week. I am totally bummed. I really want to hold and kiss my baby girl. Can I get a few centimeters dilated up in here?! I sat on that damn exercise ball chair all day yesterday, walked and other things...When I peed in the cup today, I went to close the lid and totally spilled some of the pee on my pants as well...awesome, I tried to clean it off but there is a good chance I smell like pee today.

Last night, I had a really weird dream about my doctor's appointment. When I went in the nurse told me the doctor would be in soon and to just wait in the waiting room. When the doctor came out, she told me I need to jump up and try to touch the ceiling & I listened and tried. Then she told me to jump over the table, I fell. I said, am I not going to have my regular exam and she said no this is your regular exam....

The real Bridgette would have told her she is off her rocker and why in the hell do I have to jump anywhere or over anything ;) Also, I had a dream a few nights ago that Nick and I were laying in bed looking at Lyla - she had dark hair and was super tiny, but she had a really weird nose.

Sooner or later?

Yesterday, I had pretty terrible cramping, back pain and just an achy feeling all over in my pelvic area. I was pretty annoying. I don't want to jinx anything but I think there is a chance she could come early. I go back to the doctor on Thursday so we will see if there is any change from the previous week.

I am having major back pain today.....Nick predicted I would have her early. Let's see!  I would love to know what signs others had a day or two before they gave birth.

Top Ten Things I miss while having a bun in the oven

10. Sleeping or laying on my back/stomach....or just sleeping without peeing every hour (oh and not peeing on myself when I laugh or sneeze too hard)

9.   Dancing...and it not looking gross

8.   Boating this summer, the sun, even the gross river water and just being with my girlies and being totally goofy on the boats (ex: notice the fake tattoos, sword, crazy straws, accessories)

7.   Drinking even just one glass of wine & getting a little wine buzz

6.   Wearing super cute clothes, dresses, skirts - basically, the tight stuff

5.   Coffee - Starbucks (I was a gold member people!)

4.  Sushi - is there a better food, especially with wine or vodka...I think not

3.  Kettle One and Water w/ a lime (and drinking with my future hubby & friends period) And to risk sounding like an alcoholic, we will just put shots on this line too

2. Running...and everything good & bad that comes with it

1. Normal Sex (sorry for grossing family members out, but it's true)