It's Been a While!

I have been terrible about posting lately, but I have been crazy busy!

Darrin has been working a ton lately, but in his spare time has found us a condo to rent in Coral Springs! It should be available to us on July 1st, which is two weeks(!!) from today, so I am back in crazy moving/organizing mode! There is so much to do before we leave for Florida! Darrin is going to drive the box truck with all our stuff in it and my mom and I are driving my car with Jude and Luna! Three days in the car with a crazy dog and an almost two year old who has, in the last few months, decided that he doesn't like to be in the car more than 30 minutes at a time, and is sure to let you know that he is ready to get out! So, if anyone has any brilliant suggestions for traveling with a crazy dog or a small child, they would be greatly appreciated!

Last week, my friend Kat came down from Indy. She had never been to Oklahoma before, so, clearly, I had to show her all the wonderful, if slightly crazy, things about this part of the country! We spent a morning at Crystal Bridges art museum in Bentonville.

Crystal Bridges is built over a river!

Jude got in on the art!

The museum was fantastic and in such a beautiful setting! Jude really only liked the kids area though. Art is hard for a two year old to appreciate! We spent that afternoon wandering in Eureka Springs, looking through the little shops and climbing ridiculous hills with the stroller! It has been a long time since I had been to Eureka Springs, and I had forgotten how crazy the drive is!

I love stained glass, but I'm still mad I forgot my good camera!

I also took Kat to Woolaroc, near Bartlesville. It's a museum and ranch, with tons of Oklahoma art and artifacts, loads of different types of animals, and a lodge filled with taxidermied animal heads! It's a great place to see some of the really awesome stuff about Oklahoma, with a healthy dose of crazy!

It was kind of terrifying to take this photo!

We also spent plenty of time on the lake while Kat was here.

This kid loves the water!

S'mores!

Relaxing by the bonfire after a hard day!

All in all, it was a great week! 

You're doing fine Oklahoma

When you live in Oklahoma or anywhere in Tornado Alley, you know weather. You know what to look for when the sky turns green. You know what rotation looks like, and the difference between a watch and a warning. You plant the weather radio next to your bed, and make sure you have a pair of shoes next to the bed, in case you have to make a run for it in the middle of the night. You have a plan; where to go, what to grab on the way, who to call first after the all clear. You know that, during tornado season, sometimes you get plenty of warning, and sometimes they, basically, just drop from the sky. You know, when you see devastation somewhere else, that it could easily have been you digging through the remains of your home.

This has been a rough week for Tornado Alley, and Oklahoma in particular. With all the tragic images and stories coming out of Moore, all I can do is hug my kid and thank God it wasn't my family, my home, my town. Because next time we might not be so lucky.

Moore needs all the help they can get, right now and in the future. Joplin just celebrated two years since their devastating tornado, and while I did notice new houses and businesses going up when I was there yesterday, Joplin is still so far from the city it was. Moore will have the same trials, but they will pick up the pieces and rebuild, just like Joplin, and we will be there to help and support them. I encourage everyone to do what they can, whether that's donating money or supplies, or helping clean up, or working on a Habitat for Humanity home in a few months. Everything will be appreciated.

Here is a fantastic list of ways to help out now!

In other news, Darrin passed his test! We've already started looking at places to rent in Florida, and hopefully we will all be settled in the same place in the next month or two. I am so ready to start this next phase!

Brooke

I've always had this theory that Tuesdays are really the worst day of the week

Today, I am recovering. Why, you ask? Let me tell you about my Tuesday...

Yesterday started out fairly normal. The first five minutes, anyway. Then, I got out of bed. Jude had made a mess in the crib that required a bath and new sheets (I'll let your imagination tell you the rest). Not a fantastic way to start the day, but it really wasn't that bad. I then had to try on half of the things in my closet to find what I wanted to wear. Not terrible, but a bit frustrating. At this point, I just had a gut feeling that the day wasn't really going to go well.

I had made plans to go to Tulsa to run a few errands and meet up with Darrin's parents for dinner. The trip down was pretty uneventful... and then I went shopping. The store was having a big sale and, so, it was kind of crazy. I finished my shopping and checked out without incident (and found some great deals). Then, on my way out the door, I picked up everything... except my phone.

Within twenty minutes I realized it was gone, left Jude with my in-laws at the play area in the mall, and went back to the store to find it. It hadn't been turned in, no one had seen it, so the incredibly helpful manager went to the surveillance tape. Sure enough, I'd left my phone in the cart, and less than a minute later, someone took it. So, we called the police.

While I'm doing all this, my mother-in-law is relentlessly calling my phone. Finally, the person who picked up my phone answered. My MIL arranged to meet them to get my phone back. This person claimed they had every intention of attempting to get my phone back to me, but certainly hadn't tried any of the obvious things in the two hours they had my phone. I'm still a bit doubtful of this story, but seeing as my MIL was sucessful in getting my phone back, I don't really care. The police didn't file a report, everyone was very helpful, and I got my phone back!

My in-laws and J and I went to dinner, and got a bit of time to relax. Then on the way back home from Tulsa, I got pulled over. I had a headlight out (which I had no idea about) and got away without a ticket.

Then, I got home and my dog, Luna, had gotten out of the house and was no where to be found. She is a pretty stupid city dog, and my mom's house is in the complete middle of nowhere. My mom and my brother, Jette, went out searching for her while I called her from the house. They went and made posters to put up the next morning, but finally we all had to go to bed, without my crazy dog.

Within an hour I was up sick, a bad combination of undercooked steak, stress, and a fairly sensitive stomach. I spent most of the night up, feeling terrible, but the silver lining of this was, at 2 am, when Luna came scratching at the door, I was awake to hear her. I finally got to sleep about 4 am. 

I have basically decided not to leave the house for a few days, because clearly it's not safe for me out there. It was a roller coaster kind of day, and I will be very glad if I never repeat it! The day did teach me a lot about giving people more credit than I usually do and trying to have faith that things will work out. Every bad thing that happened all day, ended pretty well, sometimes even better than I expected.

In other, less stressful news... I've given up being full time 'no poo'. My hair never really recovered from the transition. I didn't give it the full four to six weeks, so maybe it would have eventually, but I am weak, and having my hair constantly looking like I had dipped my head in bacon grease just wasn't making me happy. So, now I am doing a part time version. On days I don't have anywhere to go, I'm doing 'no poo', but if I have to leave the house, I use traditional shampoo. I like how my hair is reacting to this plan. The baking soda really gets rid of the build up, so it looks better when I use regular shampoo.

And, finally, in family/ moving news, Darrin took his licensing test today, and came so close to passing. Just a few questions short. So, he's going to do a bit more studying and take the test again. I know he will rock it next time! Everyday we are a little closer to the beach!

Brooke

No Poo Update

I have to be honest... I fell off the wagon. But I got right back on! Sunday, I washed no poo and let my hair air dry and it still looked and felt wet, it was so oily. The first few days my hair was so dry, but the pendulum has certainly swung. We were having family out Sunday afternoon, and I felt like I'd already spent a month with bad hair, and I was sick of it! So, I dug out some traditional shampoo and lathered up! And my hair looked and felt great! But with my scalp over producing oils as it is, my hair was greasy and gross again within a few hours. I'm sure you guys wanted to know all of those details! But yesterday and today, I washed it with the baking soda mix and conditioned with the apple cider vinegar mix. It's fairly oily at the roots and dry at the ends today. I don't really know what to think. I clearly have my doubts that this is going to work for me. I really hate not having a shampoo that lathers. I never feel like my hair is really clean. Maybe I will get there. I'll keep you updated!

Brooke

The Best Thing Ever or an Exercise in Futility?

I decided a few weeks ago that I wanted to try the no shampoo movement. As far as I can tell, most people jump on this to lessen the chemicals that they are exposed to, and nicer hair is just a perk. I'm not super worried about the chemicals in my shampoo (although, I probably ought to be), so the main goal for me is nicer hair.

Supposedly, after a rough four to six week transition period my hair should be:

• Shinier
• Fuller
• Thicker Looking
• Growing Better
• Less Frizzy (Not that frizz has ever been much of a problem for me!)

And fewer chemicals is a nice bonus!

It's the dreaded transition period that scare most people off, I think. Four to six weeks of super greasy hair as the oils your scalp naturally produces over-corrects. In place of shampoo you use a baking soda and water mix and apple cider vinegar and water in place of conditioner. Way cheaper than traditional shampoo and conditioner, too!

So, my point in all this is that today is day two of my going 'No Poo' and so far, I hate it! My hair is super dry and fried looking (I think I'm using to much baking soda?), and my scalp is itchy! I am going to stick it out, though. I've washed my hair with the baking soda mix both of the last few days, so I think I'm going to give it a few days of just rinsing with water and see if that makes a difference! Hopefully, in a few weeks I will have better hair! I'll keep you updated!

Brooke

Welcome!

Hi!

My name is Brooke. I'm a 26 year old, stay-at-home mom with a little guy, J, who's rapidly approaching two, and a fantastic husband, Darrin, who is going the extra mile to make our lives better.

My life is a crazy mess right now: Darrin is changing jobs and is currently living in Florida (where we will all three eventually end up), J and I just moved in with my mom (in Oklahoma) to save money durring this move, we finally rented our old house in Indiana, and I'm trying to raise a toddler in someone else's (not great for kids) house. 

And so clearly, now is the best time for me to start a blog.

This blog is here to keep you guys updated on the changes in our lives, and let me share my craft, sewing and decorating projects. My goal here is to make something you enjoy reading, and keep you interacting! There will be tutorials coming, and some decorating ideas, and maybe a few recipes. I want to hear your input as to how I can improve the blog, so keep the comments coming!

I'm super excited to start this, and hope you will keep reading! 

Brooke