theshoppinggal

[theshoppinggal]

Being a “share what ya love” type, I have to share a recent beauty find. It’s not really a find since I’ve know about it for a while, I just couldn’t bring myself to pay double what I had been paying for my CC cream. But, last week when I was doing a little personal shopping for a friend, I bit the bullet and tried their foundation. I’ve been using La Mer off and on for about 6 years now. I say off and on, because I sometimes slack with my skin care 🙈. I’ve also tried a couple of products that just didn’t stack up to their cream. Anyhow, the foundation is AMAZING. I’m not a heavy makeup wearer, but I like a little coverage to even out my nearly 40yr old skin. I also HAVE to have SPF built into my foundation as I’m too lazy to put just sunscreen on 🙊. We all know how important that is for slowing the aging process. It’s not cheap at $110 a bottle, but hey, I switched to a $10 drug store mascara that a local blogger recommended (it IS fabulous, like she said), so it’s a trade off 😬. 2 other products worth splurging on - La Mer’s hydrating facial mask. You can buy a single mask for $45 or a pack of 6 for $250. A little trick to these - you can use them twice if you really wanted to. They have 1oz of cream, so I’ve been told you can fold them back up, place them back in the trays & use them again. I don’t, because I use the excess cream for my hands and neck. Last product that I’ve found to be worth the investment, my Mason Pearson hairbrush. Yes folks, I own a $205 hairbrush, but if you know me, I’m also a thrifty person…in most areas. Skincare, clothes, accessories, shoes & handbags are not those areas. But, having said that, this hairbrush is going on 6 years now & it’s still in nearly new condition. Growing up, my grandmother would brush my hair with her Mason Pearson combs. Then when my oldest was a child, my grandmother used these same combs on her. At 102 years old, I’m almost certain she still has these same combs. If you live in my area, Dalia at Nordstrom Stonebriar can hook you up with any of these products & knowing her, while she’s matching your foundation, she will probably give you a mini La Mer facial while she’s at it if she has time ;-)

[theshoppinggal]

Why are my husband and I such big advocates for the Children’s Advocacy Center of Collin County?  Here’s how it all started.  Back in the fall of 2011, I was rocking my sweet & perfect little newborn girl late one night.  Staring into her face, I knew that we were just the luckiest people in the world and because of that, we needed to find a way to give back.  That evening, I started doing google searches for childrens charities in our area.  Children’s Advocacy Center of Collin County came up & once I read up on their mission statement, I knew they were the ones.  We attended their gala the next spring & I think were even more blown away with everything that the center does.  From then on, we've collected juice boxes or pajamas at each of the kids birthday parties in lieu of gifts, gone to galas, we’ve done their adopt-a-child each Christmas and participated in countless other events, but I think the one thing that we’ve done that’s of equal importance - we've used our voices to spread the word about this center.  If my posts make the center known to just one new person each time, then I've succeeded at my mission.  

[theshoppinggal]

What I LOVE Wednesday!

I’m a big “pen & paper” type person & the older that I get, the more I forget, so the more I have to write down.  I also blame it on having 4 kids & the mommy brain that I’ve never fully recovered from I don’t think!!  I have an iPhone, but don’t put a single calendar event on it - everything gets written down in my Erin Condren Life Planner.  Ive used this brand of planner for the past 3 years now & each year I've managed to make it more and more useful to our lives and schedules.  The monthly spread is color coded by person or type of event (dance is purple, ball is blue, birthdays have another shade of purple, etc).  Since I’m in charge of our finances, I keep track weekly and monthly of all of our bills.  Invitations are attached into the planner by coil clips as soon as they arrive in the mail.  I also like to keep track of the books I've read for the year & gifts we’ve bought for people.  Now, this is NOT how the planner comes.  It arrives with all the pages in terms of monthly and weekly layouts, but I've added everything else like the budget sheets, side bars, book tracking, etc.  The planner is completely customizable to meet your needs.  I print all of the add ons myself on full sheet label paper, cut them out and attach.  I’ve purchased some of the templates from etsy, others were completely free on pinterest or blogs.  The covers area also customizable and changeable.  The customizable ones have a space where you can add photos.  The two shown have our family photos on the back cover & my name on the front and EC has new color styles each year.  The new EC planners come out in June for the next year & I usually order mine in August, since by then, I already need to write down events for the next year.  Check them out here and you can save $10 off your order by using my referral link:   https://erincondren.com/referral/invite/monicaquiros0531

[theshoppinggal]

First up for Travel Thursday!!  This destination is an easy 3 hour drive south from Dallas towards Austin.  The Hyatt Regency Lost Pines resort is one of our favorite locations for a quick 2-3 night getaway.  We've taken the kids several times throughout the year - including once for Easter.  Aside from the picturesque scenery, the resort has many activities for children (and adults!) of all ages.  Horseback riding through their nature trails, tennis, golf, spa, resort pool w/lazy river & splash pad are just a few. They also have fun activities such as S'mores by their fire pit and movies almost nightly.  We've stayed in their deluxe, club, suite and guest cottage & I honestly don't think that there is a bad room in that hotel.  Something else that I really love about this resort is their laundry facilities.  With kids - you never know what can happen.  Ive had to wash carseat covers before due to a spill on the drive down from Dallas.

Another plus about this resort is its proximity to Austin AND the San Marcos Outlet Center.  The outlet center is actually 2 outlets next to each other to make it a shoppers dream.  Stores such as Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, Tory Burch, Gucci, Burberry, Lacoste, NorthFace, Lululemon, DisneyStore...there's literally something for everyone there.

Hyatt Recency Lost Pines Resort:

https://lostpines.regency.hyatt.com/en/hotel/our-hotel.html

Tanger outlet store directory: 

http://www.tangeroutlet.com/sanmarcos/stores

Premium outlet store directory:

http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlet/san-marcos/stores

[theshoppinggal]

Every year around this time,  I tell this same story and probably will until the day I die.  Each time, the words are a little different, but the story is the same. So, here it goes.  Probably the longest and most detailed version yet.  The story of a son who almost wasn't.  

April 3rd  2013 - I walked out to my car to make the school run.  It was a STAAR testing day for Kaitlyn & naturally, the car had a flat tire...or wouldn’t start...or something, but at any rate, it had to be towed in for repair.  I texted my brand new friend Amanda that I had only known for maybe a few weeks to see if she could get Kaitlyn to school for me - which she did.  Tow truck came, loaded up my car, and then loaded up Adriana’s carseat. Me, Adriana and Mr. tow truck driver bounced our way all the way down to West Plano to the dealership.  At this point, I was 25 weeks pregnant with my 4th child.  I remember feeling pressure & thought to myself - wow, this baby is really low.  I mentioned it briefly in a phone conversation to Leslie & he insisted that I go to the doctor.  I told him I had an appt next week and i’m sure it would be fine until then.  He insisted, so I made an appt for the next day.

April 4th 2013 - I go strolling into my doctor’s office, pushing my 18 month old daughter.  I had set the appointment so that it would end right at the start of her nap time which would mean she would sleep in the car on the way home.  Then once home, it would be her lunch time.  I had it all figured out and perfectly timed.  That was until it was discovered that my cervix was opening up (by roughly a CM)...at 25.4 weeks.  My doctor told me to go down to labor and delivery (her office is on the floor above) & I told her “sure, just let me go pick up my high schooler and take her home so she can watch Adriana & after that, I’ll come back.” She said no, and that I had to go down right then.  Said to call friends and family so they could handle everything with the kids.  I remember walking out of her office, down the long hallway & calling Leslie, who was away for work in New Jersey.  I told him to find a flight home, because I was being admitted into the hospital.  I got down to L&D with my hungry & tired 18M old in tow.  Next thing I know I'm I have blood being drawn, an IV line being put in, and a NICU doctor giving me a consult of the “course of action” once he was born - that being done after the fetal fibronectin test done in the office a bit before came back positive.  Meaning the odds were that the baby would be born in the next week or so were much greater.  Can babies born at 25/26 weeks survive? Absolutely.  Do they all survive? No they do not.  All the while during all of this, Adriana was crying and kicking the side of the hospital bed from her stroller.  Kick...Kick...Kick... right on the metal bedside.  Mind you, I had zero snacks.  Why would I? We were going to eat lunch at home that day!!  Thankfully, I had that one friend that was a stay at home mom who could help me.   She came walking in with her TWO toddlers that are 11 months apart in age.  While Leslie was trying to get himself a flight back, he had called a friend of his who came to the hospital to help.  Somehow, the two managed to get adriana’s car seat into the 3rd row of an MDX and off they all went.  Somehow, they also were able to grab Kristen & Kaitlyn from their different schools as well.  The rest of that day is a total fog.  Especially once Leslie got there and the nurses received the orders to push the Magnesium Sulfate.  If you’ve been on Mag - you know exactly the hell that I’m talking about.  If you haven’t, just think of having a really, really bad flu and nothing can help you to get comfortable, or to sleep.  My daughters even came in to visit at some point during that time & well I just don’t even remember.  It was like death until it was all done the next morning.

April 5th 2013 - I became a resident of room 367.  Here I was, 34years old, a mother of 3 - the youngest being an 18month old & also the wife of someone who traveled about 90% of the time for his job.  On the flip side, my traveling husband suddenly was forced into taking care of the household, 3 kids, 2 dogs AND still manage to do his job.  I hear he has something called “the dada diaries” written - but i’ve yet to see it.  I suppose one of these days he will tell his story.  A total of 60 days were spent laying in a hospital bed.  Those 60 days were filled with weekly sonograms, weekly shots, daily medication, and after the first 4 weeks, I was allowed to actually leave my hospital room for wheelchair rides around the hospital.  Major events that occurred during my stay - Prom, Mother’s Day, My birthday, Our anniversary, arguments at home where I thought my family’s dynamics were going to completely unravel, etc.  After a lot of episodes of Michael & Kelly, Judge Judy & Wendy Williams, along with countless hospital kitchen prepared meals - on June 2rd I was set to be released from the hospital, just in time for Kristen’s high school graduation the following weekend.  By the grace of god & the expertise of my doctor, I was still pregnant.  On that same day, one of our english bulldogs died in his sleep.  I spent the next couple of weeks trying to take it easy & limiting my activities & rolling to my daughter’s high school graduation in a wheelchair.

June 21, 2013 - I went into labor around 1am.  Within a very quick 1.5 hour, Leslie Quiros III was born via C-Section at 36 weeks, and he was absolutely perfect.  He was 6 pounds versus being born at 26 weeks & barely 1 pound.  LQ passed all his little late-term preemie baby tests & went home two days later.  I don’t think anyone in our family has been the same since.  We all survived.

[theshoppinggal]

Happy mail day. No bills, just an order from @johnscrazysocks ! Can't wait for the other socks on our wishlist to be restocked so that everyone else in the family can have a pair. Sloth socks for @kristeezyy143 and Reagan & taco socks for leslie. Now he has socks for every "Taco Tuesday" at his office 🤣

[theshoppinggal]

Since reading a #Konmari method book, I try to think outside the box when it comes to gift giving now. To be perfectly honest, I stole this idea from another mom at LQs school, who gave a beautiful fruit basket to her child's teacher as a Valentines gift. This is for the director at Adriana's school whose birthday is tomorrow. I mean, who doesn't love fresh fruit? And those guavas that my husband picked up for me last night, smell AMAZING. 😍

[theshoppinggal]

Now that the recipient has received her gift, I can share what was in it. I LOVE @fodorstravel guides. I received one of their "25 best" before our Rome trip & have since passed it to my mom who is going back next week. I've also bought the latest Bahamas guide for our Atlantis trip.

[theshoppinggal]

Someone I know has a birthday this weekend. She also happens to be traveling soon to one of my favorite European cities. #ParisIsAlwaysAGoodIdea

[theshoppinggal]

One of my most exciting amazon orders lately. Best tea brand. #mightyleaf

[theshoppinggal]

Mobile car seat detailing should exist. I can't be the only mom out there that believes that. #MoreCrumbsThanTheBottomOfAChipBag

[theshoppinggal]

Product that I love post of the day! Thanks to our “favorite things” party that I hosted for the dance moms crew last fall, I now know about Glamorous Wash detergent made by Tyler Candle Company in Tyler, TX. My friend Erin, gave me two little bottles. Its great for undergarments, but I happen to also wash our bath towels, sheets, and my blankets & pajamas in it. Since we use unscented detergent, I just add a splash of glamorous wash to our regular detergent when doing a load, but it can be used full strength. My husband says the towels smell like a spa & who doesn’t need that in their lives!? #matildajane #glamorouswash #diva #tylercandlecompany