Hair Care

 I've often been a "cheaper is just fine" when it comes to haircare products.  Trying various products and general brands over the years, I never quite found anything that caused significant improvement in my wavy/slightly frizzy hair.  I'd find short term fixes but nothing that made me confident in how my hair would look towards the end of the day. Enter, Olaplex. 

I'd read about Olaplex from bloggers for a while before I decided to try it out. I ordered the trial pack from sephora.com. It's $25 for trial sized products 3, 4, 5 and 6.  After trying them all, I really like products 5 and 6 the best. 

Olaplex 3 is a hair mask. It says to dampen hair (pre-shower) and leave on for at least ten minutes, so definitely try to meet the time requirement. Sometimes I leave it on for an hour. Then I hop in the shower and rinse it off. 

Olaplex 4 is a concentrated shampoo. I don't like this one as much. Since it's concentrated, I only have to use a small amount, then get a splash of water on it before lathering it into my hair. I just feel as though it's not slippery enough to reach my whole head of hair. I don't want to keep adding extra product to my hands because I know that's not the point of a concentrated product. I also feel like my hair can only go for 24 hours before needing another cleaning when I use this shampoo. I prefer to make my hair go two days between washes. Over time I've realized that it's okay to not like all of the products in a set. I think the Olaplex products work slightly differently on various hair types & the shampoo just doesn't jive that much with my hair type. So I'm fine using my Redken All Soft shampoo instead. 

Olaplex number 5 is a conditioner and I LOVE it! I feel as though my hair is much smoother and combs out well after showering. I liked this product so much that I ordered the full size which they carry on a variety of websites including Amazon! (It's also found on sephora.com, Nordstrom, and even Zulilly from time to time.) 

The 6th product is a hair smoother & I love this one just as much as the conditioner. I use a small amount & rub it through my damp hair right before I blow it dry or if I air-dry my hair then I'll rub this through before I straighten my hair. I concentrate it on the bottom half of my hair but when I'm finished rubbing the majority of the product through my hair, I'll run my hands quickly over the top of my hair to tame some of my fly aways. This product really helps smooth out my hair & it stays smooth all day. To be fair, I began using these products in the late fall when we weren't having 100% humidity. So my hair has stayed nice & smooth during these winter months, and the real test will be this spring & summer as our humidity rises. I love this product so much that I ordered it in its full size since the trial size was almost gone, and I don't want to run out. 

Here is my hair after air drying it, before the smoothing cream. 

Here's my hair after smoothing cream & straightening. 

Here's the way I normally wear it for work- half pulled back into a silk scrunchie with three bobby-pins keeping my fly aways laying flat. 

I use the conditioner & smoothing cream every time I clean and style my hair. I use the hair mask about once a week or so. I'll probably end up ordering the hair mask in the full size once the trial size is gone. Al of the products smell light & clean, and I am pleased that I've found the products that work the best with my hair type. I'm excited to see how they hold up in the impending southern humidity! 

Until Next Time,

Much Love, Reba

Photo Compilation

We're zooming towards Spring Break & once we get to that point, I'll feel as if I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel that has been this school year. We have to get through the rest of this week, and two virtual days in the following week before we can officially be on break. I. Am. Ready. To help pass the time, here's an assortment of photos taken over the last month or so. 

The vase used to be in my Nana's house but she gave it to me and I've always loved the style of it. For now, I've situated it on my mantle for safety from little hands. The heart artwork was the Spring craft at a ladies craft night at church before Valentine's Day. 

Avery wanted microwave popcorn for an evening snack & was elated to watch the process from a stool. 

She loves taking my phone and leaving me photographic treasures like this one. 

After the boys & I get home each day, we go pick up Avery and usually enjoy a few minutes outside before heading back home. 

One of her main goals in life is to reach the pull down cords from the ceiling fan. She was hoping the extra height would help her on this day. 

Last week, we ended up in the bathroom for a couple of tornado warnings. After we emerged from the afternoon stint, Avery cured her pent up boredom by becoming a dinosaur. 

Noah cured his boredom by making a cowboy hat out of 5 other hats. 

Later that evening, we ended up in the bathroom again. The boys entertained themselves by looking through some yearbooks. 

Avery was already asleep and blessedly stayed asleep allowing me the chance to cuddle and hold her like a baby once more. 

When I went to pick her up one afternoon, she was displaying her newfound skill of pumping her own legs on the swingset!

Last night, the kids had a "workout contest" which consisted of seeing who could hold a bridge position for the longest amount of time. 

These are the days. :)

Until Next Time, 

Much Love, Reba

Books in March

We recently hit up our local library for some new-to-us books to read. At first I checked out some best sellers but couldn't get into any of them and chose not to spend my time reading things I really didn't have any interest in. So I returned them and chose to pursue the autobiography route again since I had such success with that last summer. This time I went with two books by one of my favorite people-- "The Pioneer Woman," Ree Drummond.  

I knew she had some children's books and at least one other novel, along with several cookbooks (of which I have two or three).  I had never read her novel, so I set out to rent it and was delightfully surprised to find out that she had written a second autobiography in 2020! I checked out both of her books and loved both of them!

The first one I read was "Black Heels to Tractor Wheels" and it's about her journey from city-dweller to wife of a cowboy. It's her real life love story and it was so cute. The story begins when she met her husband, and carries through her first year of marriage.  I loved every part of it. She's such a great story teller. 

The second book was "Frontier Follies: Adventures in Marriage and Motherhood in the Middle of Nowhere." This one is a collection of essays and memories from her college years all the way through the pandemic. It had me laughing out loud more times than I could count! 

I'd totally read both of these again and I might even buy them for myself one day because I liked them so much. I highly recommend both of these books. They're easy reads and can be read in little snippets of time here & there (which is all I could afford these last couple weeks!).

Until Next Time,

Much Love, Reba

Helpful Kitchen Tools

This is a super random post of some kitchen tools and/or items that have proven to be successful for us in the last few years, so I thought I'd share! 

First up is parchment paper! I LOVE parchment paper and use it every single day. I never ever worry about things sticking because it just doesn't happen! I use parchment paper for baking cookies and heating up biscuits, etc. Any time I have to bake something in the oven, you can bet I'm using parchment paper. I love getting it at Costco just for the sheer amount & low price, but when Costco is being weird and not stocking it, I use any store brand. 

Second is my favorite cookie sheet of all time. It's an "air cookie sheet" so it's very lightweight and apparently the air circulates between the bottom of the cookie sheet & the actual surface that the food item sits on. I'm not sure how it does what it does but it doesn't matter to me. I love it, and spread out a sheet of parchment on it and bake to my heart's content. 

Next  is "his" and "hers" can openers. Aaron uses the simple one on the left,  and I use the ergonomic one on the right. I'll use his for the "church key" pokey-ness when necessary for can aeration but I only use the plastic can opener to open cans because I simply can't get his to actually open cans. Likewise, he can't get mine to open cans. We discovered early on in our marriage that two can openers were an okay necessity. 

Get a good electronic thermometer. This is the only way I don't murder chicken upon cooking it. And also the reason why we don't end up with chicken tartare.

A sturdy kitchen spoon & a good silicone spatula are also kitchen necessities. Both of these are Target finds.

We recently bought a set of silicone coated tongs and added them to our worn out collection. We keep these in easy reach. 

Finally, find something in a color that makes you happy. Cooking things in this little pan brings me joy... and that's a necessity too!

Until Next Time, 

Much Love, Reba

Winter Photos

I've slacked off on posting much this month. We had a lot going on with the boys returning to traditional school, and Michael's appointment, and my minor foot procedure. February- though short- sometimes seems to take a while to get through & I'm not mad that March (and Spring!) is on the horizon! We have some fun things planned in March & it's also the final full month of our third quarter of school which means I can see the end of this lengthy school year in sight! March is almost April which is almost May which is when most of my students will finish the year (and only a few will have to return in June for exams). Let's go!  So here's a random photo collection from the winter. 

 Our snow "dusting."

Pretend purple hair. 

A 100 year old for the 100th day of school. 

Happy boys after school. 

My view after exiting the bathroom one evening.

A pretty winter sunrise. 

All 3 kiddos enjoying a bedtime snack. 

A birthday party for her doll. 

Playing outside before church. 

Sporting a princess jacket. 

A quick room rearrange for all kiddos. 

Crazy slide hair!

A Saturday Mario. 

An Elsa braid. 

And that just about sums up this season in our lives!

Until Next Time,

Much Love, Reba

Valentine's Day

This year for Valentine's Day, I started collecting items in late December so that I'd be prepared and wouldn't feel rushed as the date got closer.  This was beneficial, but also led to me over-buying since I'd forget that I already had a treat prepared and I'd see something else great and buy it.  So this year, my kids lucked out and received a little box of chocolates, a book, and a toy (usually it's just candy & either a book or a toy but not both).

In December, Aaron and I had to go to Costco for a tire rotation, and Costco has such an awesome book selection at super low prices.  Michael was eagerly waiting for the release of a new book spin-off series from one of his favorite authors, and I saw the book that day and loved the fact that it was nearly half of what I'd spend at Target!  I grabbed it and held onto it because Christmas was just the week prior and I didn't want to just give it to him out of the blue.  I didn't necessarily intend for it to sit on Aaron's bookshelf until nearly Valentine's Day, but it did.... so I quickly found two other books (one for Noah, one for Avery) at Publix one random Saturday.  

When browsing the aisles of Target, I saw a little box of chocolates with a unicorn on the cover which sealed the deal that I'd get that one for Avery.  I picked up a dinosaur one and a space shuttle one for the boys.  Everyone was pleased with these when they woke up on Valentine's Day!

I wanted to get Avery a "Bo Peep" doll from Toy Story 4 after she so loved playing with her cousin's doll in the fall.  I found this one on Amazon and ordered it in late January.  

The boys love to watch this one particular YouTube family, and this family has become so popular that they periodically release a new toy here and there.  The boys have been singing this silly ditty about an elevator and when I saw on the Target app that this YouTube family released a toy about this ditty, I grabbed two for a "drive up" order.  The Target associate who picked the order was phenomenal and chose a blue one and a green one which is so perfect so that my boys know whose is whose.  These toys both have a music box and glow sticks, which is so fun!

I took this photo around 9:30 the night before Valentine's Day because that's how long it took my kids to fall asleep that night! The felt hearts were a Target Dollar Spot find years ago (before I even knew we'd have a girl one day!). 

All three kids loved their gifts!  The chocolates were gone almost immediately.  The books are getting lots of mileage on them and the toys have been played with daily.  This was a successful holiday and it was so fun to gather up exciting things as I found them and not feel rushed.  

 

Until Next Time, 

Much Love, Reba 

Waiting Room Fun Bag

 I saw this idea on Andrea's blog a couple weeks ago when she was talking about Valentine's Day gift for kids. I already had my Valentine's gifts ready, but I thought this idea of a "waiting room" bag was super smart! I added it to my Amazon cart and planned to stick it in the "save for later" section, but Aaron ended up making some Amazon purchases that day & this was in the cart so it was included (accidentally) with the purchases!

As soon as it arrived, I filled it with some fun things that would be sure to entertain kiddos the next time we had to go to a waiting room or car ride. I grabbed a few pencils and a spare notepad, a deck of cards, some plus-plus blocks, and a few fidget items. I immediately stuck it in the glove box of the car because I knew we'd be heading to a city for Michael's endocrinology appointment shortly after this arrived.  

Monday of last week was that day, and Michael was so surprised by having something new & different to play with while waiting for the doctor. (In fact, the doctor played with the plus-plus blocks too when he entered the room!) It's so funny to me how kids latch on to something different than they're used to, even if they've seen all the things before. I used to bring a big bag of toys with me when babysitting. The kids I'd babysit for loved this "bag of tricks" and it's so fun to see my own kids react similarly. :)

Until Next Time,

Much Love, Reba