2016 was the year of are you kidding me?!

Let me start off by saying, I am always thankful for the things that I have, the things I got through and the fact that I wake up every morning next to my amazing husband, and I have the craziest and sweetest kids ever. But every now and then, so much comes at you where you just have to sit back and say "Are you kidding me?!"

2016 was full of those moments, and to spare you reading time and possible eye fractures.... I will only highlights the biggest moments of 2016...

#1. My husband moves- As you know, around January last year my husband decided to move temporarily move to Kansas City to not only launch his business in a new market but also to be with his oldest daughter. The other kiddos and I had to stay in Dallas because they were in a GREAT school, we had an awesome condo and our life was Dallas. The fact that he was willing to relocate temporarily to be with his oldest and to expand his business to take care of his family is beyond amazing and it is one of the reasons why I love him! But the "are you kidding me?" kicks in a few days later. I was in Dallas, alone, with 3 kids for 6 months! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! That was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do! I mean, school pick ups and drop offs, school functions, homework, play dates... I mean that was just for the kids! I felt like a single parent and the level of stress was enough to sprout 2 grey hairs!

#2. Testing-  My sweet little Thai had been going through testing since the beginning of the year. She worked hard everyday! When the results came in, (this may be selfish) but one of my first thoughts was ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I was afraid that I would not be able to help her get over this hump. I was worried she would struggle the rest of her life just trying to understand basic things. I was just in shock and did not know what to do!

#3. Home Schooling- My very first thought was ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! If it wasn't something in Art, English, or something non core related... I sucked! How could I possibly teach my kids something outside of basic common sense.

#4. Relocating pt 2- After all the talks about home school, Thais learning disabilities.... my husband thought it would be best if we all just moved from Dallas to Kansas City.. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! My whole life was in Dallas and now everything was changing within a matter of a few months.
*** Bonus positive point*** We would ALL be together for more than a week since the summer before, when Phe spent her summer in Dallas :)

#5. The Accident- Once the decision was finalized that the kids and I would move back to Kansas City... My husband and I made a trip to get some of our things and bring them back. On the way back from Dallas, we had a pretty bad accident that totaled our car. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! That would make two accidents in less than 10 months.

Even though 2016 was a year of mostly bad hiccups, there were a few good ones too!

#6. Finding a new place- This one was a fairly easy process, not to much stress, just a simple sign and live kind of deal. We found an amazing loft Downtown with  a killer view! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? I love looking out our windows at night and seeing the river and city :)

#7. I joined an awesome network of moms from the Kansas city area and I get to contribute to their blog frequently! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I get to write about the city I live in, write about things I do as a mom, review movies and a whole bunch of other stuff! I love it!!

#8. All my kids together- Even though it is not a frequent as we would all want, we love the fact that we a a whole family and our kids are together!

I am definitely looking forward to the 2017. New goals, new adventures and everything bad that happened in 2016 will be OLD NEWS!!!

How was your 2016? Good? Bad? I would love to hear! Let me know in the comments below :)

I love my curly hair.... but at times, I hate all the time, effort and outcome that goes along with having curly hair. It really can be a love/hate relationship!  Everything around me has an effect on my hair, the weather being the main culprit! But thankfully I have found a way to ease my #CurlyGirlProblems!

You may or may not know about my journey through life dealing with my hair, you can read about some of it here!

But...
.. my main purpose was to talk to y'all about this product that I love! Shea Moisture! This has truly been a miracle for my girls' and I hair! It is absolutely my favorite natural hair care product.

So here are a few reasons why!

1. Variety! There are several different collections to choose from and there is something for everyone! My girls and I use the Coconut and Hibiscus the most because it controls the frizzies, defines our curls and leaves it shiny and soft! No matter your hair type, there is something that will be perfect for you!

2. Ingredients- Shea Moisture uses great natural ingredients in ALL of their products! I am a huge coconut supporter and coconut just so happens to be one of the main ingredients!

3. Protection- Shea moisture products have no sulfates, no parabens, no mineral oil, no synthetic fragrances, no synthetic colors and they do not test on animals! To learn more about their ingredients click here!

4. Results- This product delivers EVERY TIME! I have never had a bad experience with Shea Moisture (except when i run out). Oh yea not to mention that it smells AMAZING! Every time I use the coconut and hibiscus line, I get tons of compliments about my curls and the way they smell (kinda weird at first lol)

5. Non Hair essentials- They even have soap, lotion, cosmetics, stuff for dudes and even babies! I mean they really have everything!

I can sit here all day and tell you how much I love this product and this company... but you just have to try it! If you go to their website (www.sheamoisture.com/) you can even take a quick survey to find your perfect products!

Do you use Shea Moisture? What are your favorite products? Let me know in the comments below!

Happy December!

Man time really is flying by!It seems like we were just having Thanksgiving dinner yesterday. We have been crazy busy in our house this year and as you may know, we have decided to start homeschooling. (you can read about our decision here.)

As a first time homeschooling family, so many things plague my mind... EVERY DAY! I constantly ask myself "Are they learning?", "Am I teaching them the right things?" "Can I really do this?". Every day I ask myself these questions at least once, and I am being very modest!

The truth is there really is no "one way" to home school, and honestly it will probably take me a few years to really get that burned into my head. I know there are many ways to educate my kids, but when you are trying something so new, so important... you are bound to freak out every once in a while!

SO...

For all my homeschooling readers or those possibly taking the homeschooling route, I want to share with you our 1st year progress, what I thought it was going to be and how it really is!

Our Progress-

So Thai has some learning disabilities which we knew were going to be hard for her to over come. The great thing is, with her getting more one on one time with reading & math and not feeling like she has to "keep up" with other students, she has thrived tremendously! During our reading time, she is comprehending more, engaging in the story and even remembering the context! Thanks to our favorite online curriculum (Moby Max) she is blending words much more easily as well as reading them! Over all, Thai has blossomed into a more confident student!

Baltimore has only been in traditional school for one year (prek) so his transition was a lot easier than his sisters'. Since he was younger, Baltimore would pick things up a lot faster than kids his age. So prek was easy peasy for him! Kindergarten has been the same way. He picks things up easily so I can let him have a little less guided work time.

What I Thought-

I thought we would need to be on a strict schedule in order for them to understand the difference between school and home. I also thought that they were going to need tests, and a ton of curriculum that requires a lot of writing, reading and problem solving.

How It Really Is-

We have a schedule but we start at different times every day. Hey sometimes I have something that needs to be done in the morning or I have a sick kid to attend to. And honestly, sometimes they are so exhausted from the day before they sleep in an extra hour. Once the get up, eat and get situated... it's time for school! We have a layout of subjects, some with times and some only lessons. Once again thanks to Moby Max they are learning at their own pace and not missing anything! We use all forms of learning tools, computers, tablets, printable, games, books and even videos. There really is no wrong way as long as they area learning.

So as we head into our second part of our first year, I'm going to do my best to stay positive and reassure myself that as long as they are learning.... it will be ok!

What does your homeschool routine look like? Have a routine? Suggestions? Let me know in the comments below :)