At Your Service!

Guess what, you guys! I'm now an Independent Consultant for Scentsy! I'm so excited about this new venture.  If you are not familiar with Scentsy, it is a safe, wickless alternative to scented candles. The Scentsy concept is a decorative, ceramic warmer that is designed to melt scented wax using a light bulb instead of a flame. The scents are amazing! I've been a Scentsy user for years now and after reading about the success of a fellow blogger that sells the product, I decided to join her team and start selling for myself!

 

I am hosting a launch party at my house on Sunday, September 30 at 3:00 p.m. If you are in the Fort Wayne area, I'd absolutely love to have you stop by and see why I'm so excited about Scentsy! If you are not from around here but would like to support me and buy the product from me, please visit my website http://shannonmc.scentsy.us. On the left side, you will see "My Open Parties." Under that, find "Launch Party" and click "Buy from party" to browse the catalog and make your purchase! If you have any questions, or need a recommendation on scents (I've smelled them all!), feel free to email me lifeonpurpose{at}rocketmail{dot}com.

I'm super excited about this new opportunity! If you are ever in need of any Scentsy products, just click the Scentsy tab at the top of my blog to be directed to my personal website. You won't be sorry... Scentsy is awesome! I hope you join me at my launch party!

Dancing Queen

Jaden started tap class!

We went to H&M and got her a couple of cute new leotards and tights.  We went to the shoe sale at the dance studio and got her some tap shoes... whatever happened to the cute black ones that tied with ribbons??

She takes lessons at Steppin' Out School of Dance.  It's a really nice studio!  All of the rooms are equipped with video cameras that play on screens in the lobby so parents can watch without being a distraction.

Jaden is in a class with two other girls (one was absent on the first day).

So far she has learned basic steps such as shuffle-step, shuffle-hop-step, and heel-toe-step.

Her instructor is really nice and super patient :o)  

So far, she is loving it!  I love watching her and remembering back to my tap days :o) 

In the lobby, we are also able to see the other classes going on at the same time.  Taylor liked watching the big kids do their stretches... and trying to copy their every move!

I'm so excited to watch Jaden become a tap dancer!

I did something yesterday that I said I never would...

I paid someone else to clean my house.

I never understood why people did this.  Surely they were capable of doing it themselves, so why spend money having someone else do it?  Now, I understand.  The past couple of months have been so busy for us!  It seemed as though we had something different each night.  We get home from work around 5:00 and then I immediately jump into dinner.  By the time we are done eating, we have about an hour or so before we have to start baths and bedtime preparedness.  When the girls are in bed (and finally asleep), we only have about two hours before we head to bed.  At that time, I want to crash.  I want to be able to wind down and relax a little bit before waking up and doing it all again.  I don't want to spend my free time giving my house a deep cleaning.  Keep in mind that we generally keep a clean house.  We always have things picked up and put away.  The girls know that they can get anything out to play with that they want, but they are responsible for putting it all away before they go to bed.  We also vacuum and sweep regularly.  So, I'm not talking about cleaning mess and clutter.  I'm talking about dusting and window washing and mopping the floors and scrubbing the bathrooms.  I'm talking about the deep down, nitty gritty stuff that peels the first layer off the fingertips.  That business takes TIME!  Usually, Mike and I designate the second week of the month to cleaning.  That means, in that hour after dinner and the two hours after bedtime, we split the jobs and clean the entire house every night throughout the week.  For six years, it has been a great system.  But, we are now in a bigger house and have a lot more going on.  It's hard and exhausting!  We talked and talked and talked... and decided to give a cleaning service a chance.  We shopped around and found one that definitely would not break the bank AND they used their own supplies! Coming home yesterday to a SPARKLING house (not exaggerating at all) was heaven.  They picked every single thing off of every surface and cleaned it all. They vacuumed the furniture. They first vacuumed the hard floors and then scrubbed them by hand. They washed the windows and vacuumed the blinds. Everything looked SO good!  It was so relaxing.  Now, this will not take the place of the regular pick-up and touching up that Mike and I do each day, but I have to say, that probably won't be the last time we have it done.  It's like when you highlight your own hair... Frost & Tip looks good and gets the job done, but every now and then, you gotta splurge for the salon treatment, right?

Like I said, it was worth it.  It was less stress and more relaxing for us!  We used CottageCare.  I'm pretty sure they are located all over.  They give you a quote based on how many rooms you have, the type of flooring, the number of people in your house, and the number and type of pet.  They give you a price for the first time cleaning and then a lower price for return service.  They did an amazing job :o)

ELEVEN

On the ten year anniversary of this day, I wrote about my experience.  You can read that post here.

No matter where I am,
no matter what I'm doing,
no matter who I'm with,
I'll always remember that day.
I'll always know that you remember that day.
We will never forget.

To those that have fought and are continuing to do so,
THANK YOU.

Three Years Ago...

Oh, Taylor Max...

 

My baby is three years old now!  Where did the time go?

Three things I love about my three-year-old:

1. Her SPUNK!

2. Her laugh :o)

3. Her smart attitude... JUST like her Daddy!

and one to grow on...

4. Her silliness... She is such a GOOFBALL!!

Happy Birthday, Stink!

We love you to pieces!!

Gimme some of that HAIR!

When I was in high school, I won the mock award for best hair!  Since graduating, I've felt immense pressure to uphold my title.  I love my hair (when it doesn't look like David Spade's).  It is THICK and grows so fast.  I can curl my hair one day, use no product on it, and still have the same bouncy curls (with a little touch-up, of course) two or three days later!  Remember those Cabbage Patch Crimp and Curl dolls?  Yeah, that's me.  While I also love my natural hair color, I like to lighten it in the summer and darken it in the fall.  Two dye jobs a year, plus the dryness of summer, plus ponytails equals slightly damaged locks... I'm talking FRIZZ, ladies!  You can imagine my excitement when I was contacted to try out Dove's new Nourishing Oil Care Conditioner. 

Dove's Nourishing Oil Care Conditioner uses patented technology to repair and nourish dry hair.  It's Patented Micromoisture Serum targets damage, repairing the surface of hair by sealing lifted cuticles. Dove advanced conditioners leave hair touchably soft and smooth, resulting in smoothness, softness, shine and frizz control with no surface greasiness!

It is great!  It has a smooth texture that not only moisturizes my hair, but my skin as well!  After a shower, I usually feel the need to moisturize RIGHT after I get out because my shampoo and conditioner leave my skin feeling dry (I'm sure my hair was feeling the same way!)  This conditioner did not do that for me.  I will definitely be using this in place of my old conditioner.  Thanks, Dove!

What about you?  Have you ever had a conditioner leave your skin and hair feeling dry?  



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