I'll warn you - this is certainly a hodge-podge blog entry that you are about to read... Of course as you are reading you may end up getting some insight into my post-third child, nursing mom "world" at the moment, which consists of about a thousand very random thoughts entering my brain and then exiting just as soon as they arrived.
Random thought no. 1: If you are a fan of gel manicures, you NEED to try out Red Carpet Manicure. Trust me. I'm a *constant* nail-biter...as in could NEVER grow my nails out because they would either immediately break off or get ripped off by yours truly. I have had a couple professional gel manicures done here in Augusta and although I am in love with the results (awesome looking nails for as long as 3 weeks!), I'm not a fan of the price tag (about $38, not including tip, every visit). So I went off in search of a gel polish system that was a) wallet-friendly, b) easy to apply, and c) long lasting. The cheapest option out there is the Nutra Nail UV-Free Gel Perfect polish, but the reviews are certainly mixed. Some people absolutely love it and others say it is pretty horrible. I ended up watching this video review:
Nutra Nail Gel Perfect Review
That was when I was first introduced to the Red Carpet Manicure gel polish system. I had seen some of the higher end systems (like Sephora's), but didn't really want to shell out the big bucks as I really have never kept up my nails in the past and thus I'm not used to throwing money in that direction on a monthly basis. Red Carpet Manicure seemed easy to use and just as great quality as the Gelish manicures I had been getting at the salon. Plus at Ulta the professional starter kit was $79.99, far less than many of the systems, and reviewers loved everything about it, including the LED light (important - the cheaper $59.99 starter kit with portable light is NOT the same - apparently the light is not great and it takes forever to cure). I decided to give it a try and thanks to mom's 20% off coupon, got it for $63.99 (roughly the cost of 1.68 salon gel manicures, not including tip).
I was definitely skeptical despite the raving reviews online...but after reading the instructions I was feeling more confident. Sure enough, application was INCREDIBLY easy...and I was shocked that at the end when I wiped off all the "tackiness" I saw *awesome,* super glossy, and 100% dry nails! I highly recommend this to all moms...if you can get about 15-20 minutes of "alone" time, you will need ZERO additional "drying" time and can immediately go back to washing dishes, wiping butts, you know...the usual.
Random thought no. 2: Poor little Asher is going through his 2-3 week growth spurt which seemed to begin last night. Up until then he had been a true champion, easily sleeping 3-4.5 hour blocks each night and going back down immediately after eating. Last night was a change in that he really couldn't go more than 2-2.5 hours without eating, and naturally that coincided with Jake and I staying up until midnight "cleaning" the DVR...bah. Great timing. I'm hoping this is a 2-3 day short-lived episode, but for now I'm letting him eat pretty much as often as he wants so we can try to tank him up during the day and get back to longer sleep stretches at night. We also started Prevacid with him back on Tuesday evening, so I am anticipating that he may start sleeping better for that reason as well within the next few days.
Random thought no. 3: You people are THE BEST for bringing us all of these meals the past couple weeks! I can not thank you enough for all of your time, effort, and $$ in making these excellent dinners...(of course you are also busy trying to set the bar pretty high for me...I'm thinking Chef Boyardee will no longer look like an appealing dinner option to my husband and kids from this point forward...)
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