Preparation is Key

Preparation is Key

      As Sunday October 23rd gets closer, I feel my anxiety start to build. It's not the bad type of anxiety, at least I don't think it is. I am getting excited. I feel like the world is watching me and that is a thrill in and of itself. I thought long and hard about doing this with the world watching. As much as this will benefit others, it is going to be a huge asset to me. It will make me work that much harder to reach my goals because I will not want to let you all down. 

      So today I received a few requests to make sure I put my grocery list down before Sunday. I will start doing this tonight and I am thrilled that some of you have already expressed the desire to participate along with me. I have several people contacting me on facebook as well as by phone asking questions. I don't mind one bit, but please consider leaving comments below. I promise I will respond and it will be helpful to others who are asking the SAME questions. 

      This week I will work on phasing out foods that I will no longer eat. I will speak more on that later but for now, the foods that will be off limits for me personally will be all "white" foods! Yes that means bread, potatoes, rice, pasta and flour based foods. Don't panic! Remember, I have done this before successfully and can honestly say it is not as bad as it sounds. 

     Okay, let me clarify something regarding the statement above. YES, I have lost ALOT of weight in the past and I was successful at maintaining my weightloss. "So why are you having to do it again" you ask? Well, in 2010 after getting married I got pregnant. My only child at the time was 14, and I had accepted there would be no more babies. Getting pregnant was not only a huge blessing but a HUGE surprise as well. When the cravings hit, I gave in. Part of that was my cravings were insane and the other part was I chose to be a glutton and when I craved a doughnut I ate 6 not 1! So had I not have gotten pregnant not once but twice after successfully losing and keeping the weight off for over 2 years, I would not have to do this again!

      One of the things that worked amazing for me was using the "negative calorie" foods. Now any dietician and nutritionist will tell you there is no such thing, and they are right. However, this is how it works. Back when this was all the hype, it caused all kinds of chaos it the nutrition world simply because all foods contain energy since they have protein, fat or carbohydrates of some amount. Because of this all food has calories.  What happens and why the phrase "negative calorie" was coined is, some foods have such a small amount of energy. So what happens is when you eat these super foods, your body uses more energy then the foods contain to digest them. Final result is weight-loss due to the body's loss of calories. It is important to eat these foods in their natural state. For example, an apple is a fruit in this group. However, if you remove the skin and eat just the meat of the apple, your body does not have to work as hard to digest it. This will effect the caloric value. 

Here are the items I will be adding to my grocery list this week. I will not be buying every item, but the following items are considered "negative calorie" super foods. 

Fruits: Apple, Apricot, Cranberries, Grapefruit, Lemon, Mango, Orange, Papaya, Pineapple, Raspberries, Strawberries, Tangerines, Watermelon
 

Vegetables: Asparagus, Beets, Broccoli, Cabbage (green), Carrot, Cauliflower, Celery, Chile Peppers (hot), Cucumber, Dandelion, Endive, Garden Cress, Garlic, Green Beans, Kale, Leek, Lettuce, Onion, Peppers, Radishes, Turnip

Keep in mind these are foods you can eat all day long. So there will be no reason to ever be hungry!

Please leave comments below, let me know you are here. It will be great to know that you are following along, either as a cheerleader or a participant! Also I will be doing a live Q&A on facebook this week, make sure you click here https://www.facebook.com/messesmayhemmakeup2 and like the page so you don't miss out!

                          Until next time.....

A Journey Revealed

A Journey Revealed

I know I am a day late with the big reveal. The truth is, we were visiting my Mother-in-Law this weekend, and when I got home last night I was exhausted. So, better late than never! And here it goes.......

In 2007, I weighed close to 400 pounds. I completely changed my lifestyle an in a year and a half, I lost over 250 pounds. I was able to maintain my weight loss until I became pregnant in the fall of 2010. Since then I had another child in 2014 and did a brief diet attempt last summer. However, I am at the point that I am ready to get this weight off for good.

I will be taking you step by step on my journey. What I am eating, how I am exercising and how I feel. I will share my triumphs and my disappointments. I will become an open book, the good, the bad and the ugly. 

I will share any product I use, recipes and if you choose, you will be able to participate with me and hopefully have the same results. This will NOT be a diet, this will be a FULL lifestyle change. Research says, a habit takes 21 days to break, it would stand to reason then that you can create a positive habit in that same amount of time.

 What you can expect:

• I will update each night at first, my meal plan for the following day. As I determine what is most successful and obtain enough data, I will eventually start to post a weekly meal plan.
• I will post a short synopsis of each day. I weigh daily. The reason I do this and this worked for me in 2007 is that it tells me if what I am doing is working. It also allows me to know when I reach a plateau and I am able to quickly adjust.
• I will post my starting weight and will continue to update daily.
• I will post before and after photos as I make progress. 
• I will answer questions you may have.
• I will be raw, honest and share every aspect of this journey. 

My start day is going to be next Sunday. So with that said, if you would like to join in on this journey, this is the time to start mentally preparing for your change. There will be times I will be going live on facebook through-out this journey, so I suggest that you click this link and join this group so you will have full access. https://www.facebook.com/groups/messesmayhemmakeup/ 

Keep watching and please leave a comment below! Also, please consider following me by clicking follow on the top of the right sidebar. This will let me see who all is here and let me know you are watching. 

                                               Until next time.....

Autism Diagnosis

   

Simply perfection!

     I woke up this morning having decided to post about Rosie's first day of Kindergarten. Unlike most children, Rosie's first day was Monday October 10th 2016. So literally just 3 days ago. However, I realized that if I wrote about the things I really want to share, a lot of you would be lost. So, I have decided to share a little background first. I will then share about her first day in a later blog.

     Rosie is 5 years old, she was born in May of 2011. She is the 2nd of 3 children. Her older brother is 20 years old. Yes, I have 15 years between my first two! That's a blog for another time. I will never forget the day she was born. She was the most beautiful little girl I had ever laid my eyes upon. Her skin was porcelain and she had the slightest amount of peach fuzz covering her head. The color was barely recognizable until we first went outside. When we did, the rays of sunshine bouncing off her almost bare head, revealed the most beautiful strawberry blonde fuzz I had ever seen.

     The first weeks home, were much like what I remembered from my oldest son. Days were filled with changing diapers, rocking, breast feeding and bathing and nights were anything but full of sleep! Everything was perfect for the first two and a half months. Then suddenly, she no longer was interested in breastfeeding. I had tried everything, but she would not latch. Out we went to buy bottles and formula, I wasn't going to let her starve. I had NEVER used formula, my oldest nursed for 11 months and transitioned straight to cow's milk.

Rose 10 months old

     I contacted the pediatrician for recommendations, and purchased the suggested formula. She would not drink it, and I panicked. Running to the store I frantically grabbed another brand. Nope, she wasn't having it either. I jumped back into the car and back to the store, this time I purchased Alimentum, she drank it! Yes I was so relieved and then suddenly, up it came. At this point I wanted to bang my head against the wall and I was beginning to acquire enough formula to open a daycare! Back to the store we went, I remembered a friend telling me about her child. The only thing they would drink was Similac Sensitive. What could it hurt? At this point we had practically tried everything. I grabbed a six pack of the ready to feed, went to the checkout and of course it had to be the same woman who had sold me the other 563 formulas (not really 563, but at this point it might as well have been) I paid and returned home. I prepared a bottle and she drank it! Hallelujah! She kept it down and Similac Sensitive it was.

    Over the next three and a half months, there were several things that seem odd now but at the time did not stand out. She would not sleep flat, she would scream unless she was in the swing, she refused any bottle except Playtex reusable and never seemed to want to interact with anyone. At six months she just started to roll over. She was beginning to say dada, nana, mama. Over the next 6 months she still would not sleep flat, she always wanted in the swing, she showed no interest in baby food at all but she did start using a new bottle. No longer willing to accept Playtex she started drinking from the Nuby stages bottle.

     I think when she turned a year old, we really began noticing something just wasn't quite right. By this point, any sounds she had started to use, completely went away. She would only eat certain things and refused most foods. She would rock herself violently, was not crawling or walking and just started sitting. Rosie transitioned to the 3rd stage of the Nuby bottle which was a cup. She was extremely happy all the time but would not seek out attention like most babies do.

     At 15 months she started crawling and around 16 months took her first steps. She still wasn't talking nor was she eating more than 4 or 5 different foods. She never made eye contact and we started noticing she would flap her arms constantly. Her reaction to loud noises or busy places was unusual to say the least. She would rock herself and flap her arms, the intensity would build the louder or busier the place became.

     By now, I suspected Autism. Her Nana also was very concerned about her development as was the pediatrician. When she went for her 18 month well child visit, they did the M-CHAT. This is a questionnaire that most pediatricians complete between 18-24 months. There are several questions, but 6 of the questions are "reason to be concerned". Does your child imitate you with peek a boo or patty cake? Does your child wave bye bye? Almost every question was answered "no"! The pediatrician referred her to early intervention and also to a psychologist for an evaluation.

     From 18 months until Rosie turned two, we saw a lot of specialists. She has psychological, speech & language, occupational, feeding and physical therapy evaluations. She also saw a pediatric physiatrist. At 2 she was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Hypotonia (low tone). We embarked on a journey of intense therapy and constant work at home. Rosie had twelve therapies a week, 5 days a week speech, 2 days a week occupational, 2 days a week physical therapy, 2 days a week oral motor/feeding and once a week she would go to the pediatric language center on UT campus.

     We did this for a year and when she turned 3, we met with the school system to write her first IEP. We ended up having to hire an attorney to get the services she needed and ultimately prevailed. She would attend a pre-k program at a local elementary school, there would be no more than 5 nuero-typical children and a general education and special education teacher. She continued the same rigorous therapies with the Pediatric language center at UT being replaced with applied behavior analysis, twice a week. 

     Rosie made huge gains, we saw a lot of progress and the therapy was definitely working. In March of last year, which was her second year of pre-k, Rosie got very sick. She spent the month of April in children's hospital, coming home only 3 days the entire month. She ended up needing a feeding tube. When they performed surgery to put the gastronomy tube she had a very hard time. The day after surgery her blood oxygen level was 78%, and they discovered she had a collapsed lung and developed pneumonia. She ultimately ended up having another surgery to change from a G-tube to a GJ-tube. Additionally, she was diagnosed with Epilepsy.

     Once we were able to return home, she was placed on hospital home-bound and received her therapy at home. Her psychologist had recommended that she stay in pre-k an additional year and work on socialization. The school was adamant this would not happen. I have never been known to waiver. I have always been a strong advocate for my children and this time, would not be any different.

To be continued.......

Make sure to hit the button on the right that says "follow"! This will ensure you won't miss a post. Also please leave a comment below and let me know what your experience has been, your thoughts while reading ours and any questions you may have.

Thanks for taking the time to read about Rosie.
                                            Until next time........

   

Time for a review! Bye Bye Under Eye-It Cosmetics "Hit or Miss"

Bye Bye Under Eye-It Cosmetics

Bye Bye Under Eye is made by It Cosmetics. It is described as a "full coverage, anti-aging, waterproof concealer" and a truer description has never been used. Honestly, when I first saw this product, I had doubts. I always read the reviews on products before I try them myself. The reviews were 1/2 love and 1/2 hate. People were clearly divided regarding their thoughts on this product. It seems to be, you either love it or hate. Well I love it. The very first time I tried it, my doubts were gone.

     When using it the first time, I had a clear mind and was open to see what it would do for me. The only thing I "hung" on to from the reviews, was that you only needed a very small amount. Thank goodness I heeded that advice. When I say a small amount, take that literally, truer words have never been spoken.

Please note that the above example is shown using my pinky finger. You only need a tiny amount. The first thing I noticed as I began tapping product lightly under my eye, was that it has a thick texture, but amazingly felt light. It was easily blended and quickly covered the dark circle under my eye. For this review I took a before picture with absolutely no make-up with the exception of my brows. I also took a raw after pic. Keep in mind that all I did was apply this product and patted it in a little. The reason I decided to do this, was so you could see how much coverage there is.

Before

After

As you can see, there is complete coverage. I was extremely pleased with the results. It left a smooth service to blend foundation and lasted all day. Another thing I really love about this product, is that it does NOT settle into my wrinkles. I definitely recommend trying this product. It is affordable and lasts for a very long time, as you just need a tiny amount.

VERDICT?

100%, undeniably, without a doubt,

Bye Bye Under Eye by It Cosmetics

is a

HIT!!!!

                            

                        Hope you enjoyed..............

 

Links and products mentioned

Ipsy Glam Bag - For only $10 a month you can get 5 products and an adorable make-up bag



It Cosmetics- To purchase the above reviewed product please visit the manufacturers site
                                                  -or-
Visit Ulta Beauty

keywords: #primer, #concealer #makeup, #itcosmetics, #undereye, #review, #eye make-up, #wrinkles, #dark circles

About/FAQ

My Vision

     This is an interesting question. Up until this moment, I had never sat and thought about my vision. I have noticed that my eyes seem to be weaker than just 10 years ago, but to really think about.....  Oh wait! Not my actual vision? Ok, I knew that!

     Lets try this again! The reason I am blogging is for me. What? Why? (insert a confused look here)
Yes, for me. Writing has always been calming and almost therapeutic for me. So yes, the main purpose of blogging is for me. However, there are other reasons. I would like to be able to share my experiences and hopefully, help others. My family has been through a lot, and if just one person can benefit from my experience then that makes it all worth it. I also love to review products. So if I have reviewed an item that you are considering purchasing, my review may help make the decision. 

So what can you expect?

Nothing!?!

    
     "Are you serious?" you ask. Well yes! Kinda! Well honestly, I am half way serious! Calm down, let me explain. If you read my blog, and have no expectation, then each time you will be happy and find it informative. Then and only then, I would have done my job. If you read my blog with tons of expectations then you would possibly, be disappointed. I personally hate feeling disappointed, so this way we avoid any disappointment and everyone leaves happy. Hopefully fulfilled and happy and even having learned something, but never disappointed! The other reason why I am serious, is because I do not know honestly what to tell you to expect. This blog WILL NOT be predictable. Some days I may write about parenting, special needs, autism, awareness and other days it may be about Ipsy, Sephora, Too Faced, It cosmetics or reviewing products. As I said above, the main reason I am doing this is for me. Whatever proves to be therapeutic that day for me, is what I will discuss. Now with that being said, I will take requests at times.

Requests for content

      What do you think of (insert type) parenting? What was your thoughts regarding (product)? What benefit did you see with (type of therapy)?

     You are more than welcome to request my thoughts on different products, parenting styles, therapies etcetera. You are welcome to leave a comment below, with your idea or request.

Schedule

     At this risk of sounding like a broken record, the short answer is: There is no schedule, I am doing this for me... remember?! The longer, more politically correct answer is: currently I have no schedule. I will write a minimum of once a week and at times daily. For now, the subject will be whatever I feel like writing about. As my audience grows, I may plan out topics differently. However, it is to early to decide that and I would like to get my first post up, before we talk about the future.

Where can I find that?

     If I write about (a) specific product/s or service/s I will ALWAYS include a link/s at the bottom of the post. I know one of my pet peeves is to read someone's thoughts about something and not be able to locate the item, so I will always make sure you have a map (link) to get you there.

Will you ever do videos?

     I have thought about occasionally doing vlogs. It will depend on the content and how I am feeling. I would have to be having a pretty fabulous day to video myself! I am not against the idea and will keep it as an option.

Who are you anyway?

     Well, since you so bluntly asked.... My name is Nicolle. I am 41 years young, wife to Preston and mommy to Britt, Rose and L.J. All three of my children are diagnosed with Autism. My oldest also has Multiple Traumatic Brain Injury. My life is full and adventurous. There is nothing "normal" about my life, and that keeps it full of suspense and full of love and fun. I am a full time mother, teacher, and have several other job titles, depending on the day. Everyday is a learning experience. On days when I feel like I want to scream, I go to my room and play with make-up. I believe, no matter how bad you feel, if you put on your face you can fake it till you make it! There is nothing more calming, then opening a palette and creating a new look. There have been days I create several eye looks, make-up remover and create, make-up remover and create and repeat!!!! I also subscribe to Ipsy and Sephora, the days they arrive are so exciting. I will be reviewing these products each month. 

What is this "journey" you plan on taking?

Oh, my journey? Actually it will be a superb, gigantic, life changing and exciting.......... (Give me a moment to catch my breath, I was laughing so hard) I bet you are an extremely creative and brilliant individual. However, you will still have to wait until the 16th for the reveal!
                                    Until next time.....

Links and products mentioned

Ipsy Glam Bag

Sephora

Too Faced

It Cosmetics

keywords: #ipsy #Sephora #play #autism #toofaced #makeup #specialneeds #parenting #nyx #itcosmetics #contour #review #awareness