Magic urine stain remover!

Ava is completely potty trained during the day and has been for 7 months now.  I don't remember the last time she had an accident!
Nighttime?  Now that is a different story!  She is still wearing pull ups at night.  We have tried not giving her any liquids an hour before bed and having her go to the bathroom right before bed and she still wakes up wet!

The other night, hubby was putting the girls to bed while I was out for dinner with a friend.  He wanted to be proactive daddy and told Ava that she needed to be a big girl and wear her undies to bed.  She said "Ok, Daddy!".  However, Daddy forgot the no liquids rule.  And Daddy also forgot that I had taken the waterproof sheet off and put it in the wash.
He told me this when I got home at 10pm.  So I knew it was going to be a long night.

Ava woke up in the middle of the night, wet and crying.  I changed her clothes, changed the sheet and put a towel under the clean sheet.  i was dreading the mess I would have to clean in the morning.

Of course, her nice mattress had a BIG stain on it.  Living in Seattle, I cannot clean it and leave it outside to try (it rains here, Ya know!) and after much internet searching, I found this solution!

All I needed was Baking Soda, Hydrogen Peroxide, some dish soap and a spray bottle!
Here is the stain before:

I sprinkled Baking Soda all over the stain.  I let it sit for about 20 mins then I took a towel and rubbed it in a little.

Then I added my 10oz of Hydrogen Peroxide (that was put in a spray bottle with 3 drops of Dawn dish soap) and sprayed that sucker!  I used everything in the bottle!

Then I waited for it to dry.  I had a fan going on it for about 2 hours and it was dry!

I could already tell a difference!  Then I vacuumed up the baking soda and VOILA! No stain!

You can see I missed a spot, but I redid the spot the next day and it became super clean.  And no urine smell!  I cannot believe this worked.  I have a feeling that when Stella starts potty training, I will need to use this trick often!

Fun with Mod Podge!

I have another human inside of me.  No, I am not pregnant.  I have a crafty Momma that is dying to get out.  I call her Betty.  I get this awesome ideas of crafts to do.  I buy all the supplies.  Then I attempt them.  I get frustrated (or distracted) and I don't finish.  One day, I will fix this flaw.

I went to Joanne's a few months ago and they had a huge sale on Canvas.  I decided to buy a few because I like to use the kids painting projects as decorations around the house.  Ava made these for Stella's room before Stella was born.

Anyways, I was looking to make a gift for my Dad and Grandma for a late Xmas (we celebrated in Feb.  Long story).  Eureka!  I can do canvas art!  After several searches on the Interwebz, I settled on Mod Podge pictures.  And here is how it ended up!

Pretty cool, huh?!  For the LOVE one, I used leftover scrapbook paper from a few years back when I thought I would make a scrapbook for Ava when she was born.  I finished 2 whole pages!

Then I used Mod Podge to apply the paper, acrylic paint to get the green edges and some distress paint to make it look antique.  I also just printed pics of my girls on printer paper in sepia tone.

Once dry, I painted the L, Ava used her hand prints to make the O, I painted the V and Stella used her hand prints (with Daddy's help) to make the E.  She is only 18 months old, so the prints are a little wonky!

The Second one I did the same, but used pics of my cousins and gave this one to my grandma.

Now, I have many ideas to make my family wall in my room!  Picture transfer on canvas is super easy and CHEAPER then any other store can offer.  Looks like I will have plenty to do!

Thoughts on 33 years

Yesterday I turned 33.  And as my Mom pointed out, that is the age that Jesus died on the cross.  That was the start to my birthday.

I remember when I was younger I thought 30 was so old.  Then I turned 30 and felt fabulous!  Now, at 33, I should be feeling old.  But I am feeling the best I have in years!  And here is why.

My early twenties were a time of finding myself, however many miss turns I took, I ended up here.  And I am grateful.

I had a horrible boyfriend at the time, I was far from financially responsible, I was still trying to decide what to do with my life, I was partying A LOT, I was physically and emotionally unhealthy and I lost touch with friends who I will later find out should have been there all along if I allowed them to be.

Then, I met my now husband and he guided me to the light!  Seriously! He taught me about financial responsibility.  He taught me about being emotionally healthy and physically healthy and, most importantly, he showed me that I am a good person and I should trust my instincts.

Here I am, age 33, two amazing daughters and one irreplaceable husband later, and I am so pleased with where I am at.

7 months ago, I set out to get healthy for real.  No more of these fad diets or get skinny quick schemes.  I was going to do it the hard way, but the healthy way. In my past, I have tried every diet, exercise program, diet pills, shakes and even some interesting electronic devices (ab shocker, anyone) to get fit.

I have tried Jullian Michaels 30 day shred, Shaun T's Insanity (which is the only thing that actually worked for me), P90X, hip hop dancing, and then some.

I have tried SlimQuick, Hydroxycut, Hoodia, All'i, Xenadrine, Garcinia Cambroguia, Sensa, Caffiene pills, and laxatives.

I have tried Paleo, no carb, no gluten, no salt, no sugar, no fun diets.

So, I feel like it is safe to say that I am an expert on the quick fixes.

Instead, I decided to add more fiber to my diet, less sugar, and cute back on alcohol but not limiting myself to what I want.  So, if I want a brownie for dessert, that just means that I eat healthy all day or go for an extra run.  I feel free!

And I run.  I run to clear my head.  I run to be held accountable to my buddy, Knox.  And I run to make sure that my kids have a mom who is active and can keep up!  I want to be that mom practicing Softball with my kids, not the one sitting in the chair.  I want my kids to see me take care of myself in a healthy way and not being obsessed with my body shape so that they are confident in their body when they are teens.  I want my kids to see me as a role model.

I don't weigh myself very often.  But on my 33rd birthday, I decided to do it.  I discovered that I have lost 29 pounds in 6 months.  I went from a size 12 to a size 6-8.  All due to running and eating healthy.  I did not starve myself, I did not take pills and I worked out when I could (2-3 times a week).  I am happy, not just about how I look, but I feel so healthy!  I see the correlation between unhealthy habits leading to depression.  And I never want to be there again.

Me in June 2013

Me in February 2014