Friday Fragments

I know, I know....I have blogged since the first week of February...but this is how I am feeling:

Did you ever have one of those days, weeks, or years when you feel like you could just pull your hair out? Well that's how I've been feeling lately! And the stress is getting to me!

A little over a week ago I celebrated my 32nd birthday! I know I'm not that old, but I have been trying lately to prevent wrinkles! I have been using retinol on my face which basically burns a layer of skin off, and on top of that I was using a microderm abrasion sugar peel/scrub everyday! Instead of applying the abrasive scrub with your fingers I was using a buff puff! The buff puff alone feels like sandpaper, but I sucked it up and did it anyway...hoping to prevent future wrinkles!

Well, I continued this new beauty regimen for a couple weeks and woke up one day with this bad hives type of itchy reaction on my face! There were hundreds of little bumps all over my face! And it felt really rough! At the time, I didn't know what it was but it was only on my face, ears, neck and shoulders. I freaked myself out by googling skin conditions on the internet. There are some freaky things out there! After a few days I went to my primary care physician to hopefully get some relief, but they were clueless. They basically treated me as a bio hazard and touched me with latex gloves! I ended up paying my $40 copay and leaving the office empty handed without even a prescription! I wasn't too happy!

The next day I got an appointment with the dermatologist and she knew exactly what the problem was...it was my skincare routine! I happened to take the products with me that I was using and she was just amazed. I wasn't just using one product to take off the top layer of skin, I was using several that caused so much irritation and my skin just couldn't take it anymore! lol

It's a week later and I still have the rash left and haven't worn any makeup or beauty products since then! This whole thing has made me realize that a couple wrinkles aren't any big deal, I should just be thankful with how I look...it could be a lot worse! (And NO, I'm not uploading any photos of what I look like now!) lol

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Another reason I haven't been blogging regularly, is because my laptop has died! Yes, it is only a couple months old, but it needs to be sent back to the company for repairs! :(

My other computer is upstairs, and it's harder for me to be present with my children, and blog at the same time when I'm using a desktop. So for the next couple of weeks, I'm going to be in and out with my blogging!

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Today was the first time I was able to drive my car since the 9th of February! We have gotten so much snow in the past three weeks it is CRAZY! My car has been stuck in the driveway ever since then! It was dug out, there was just a lot of ice underneath the car that prevented me from being able to back up! I have only been out of the house a couple times since then when my dad drove me to the doctors and when my husband was off of work! It's nice to be able to get out and drive myself! Alex and I went to Target today and lost track of time! And poor Ben has missed his friends! He hasn't had any school since the 9th of February either!

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Besides the horrendous rash on my face, I had another reason to go to the dermatologist. I have a mole on my breast that needed looked at. It had changed colors over the past couple of years and then became quite itchy this past summer. Well they were really concerned about it and had it removed. I'll know the results in about a week, and to be honest I'm scared. I know I should think positively, but I have a bad feeling about this. I'll let you know what I find out. I also need to see a plastic surgeon about one on the bottom of my foot that needs removed. Apparently you need stitches when they are on the bottom of a foot, so I will need fitted with some sort of boot so I can walk without putting any pressure on it. That appointment is not until March.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

It has just been a crazy couple of weeks! Now you know why I haven't been around!

For more Friday Fragments visit "Half Past Kissin' Time!"

Friday Fragments

This is my first "Friday Fragments." You can view other Friday Fragments over at "Half-Past Kissin' Time." I wanted to join in because my blog friend Kristin over at "The Goat" participates in this every Friday and I really enjoy reading about her week. It's a great thing to participate in when you don't blog everyday, like myself.
So here it goes....

Tuesday the movie "Amelia" came out starring Hilary Swank and Richard Gere. If you read my blog, you know that I am head over heels for the grey haired mega hunk! ;) I have to say two things. #1 I thought the movie would be a whole lot better than what it was. I was a little disappointed! I think maybe I was disappointed because the movie was about Hilary Swank mainly and not Richard Gere. You're probably thinking "duh" it's about "Amelia Earhart" but I thought it would be more of a love story.
#2 Besides being just an ok movie...Richard Gere was H-O-T! The hottest I have ever seen him! It might have been the clothes that men wore long ago, but I think it's just him because he'd look hot in anything! ;)

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

My little dog Allie got sick a couple days ago. She was shaking really badly and just wasn't herself. she wasn't even able to climb up the steps to get onto our bed! Anyhow after blood work they discovered that she had some sort of infection. They asked me whether I wanted to pick up the medicine there or have it called into my pharmacy. I chose the pharmacy because it's only 5 minutes away versus 20 minutes to the vet. When my husband picked up the prescription I had to laugh because it was Amoxicillin, you know the pink flavored kind that they give kids! When I was a little girl, I loved that kind of medicine! Well Allie loves it too! It's very easy to give it to her, she licks it right out of the medicine dropper!

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Today I went to Ben's school. And you know I'm addicted to Super Mario Brothers when I'm getting game strategies from his 4-year-old classmates! lol Hopefully I'll be the cool mom!
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Well that's about all the exciting things that have happened in my life this week! Hope you have a wonderful weekend! We're in the middle of a snowstorm. It's been snowing non-stop for hours! Hopefully it'll stop sometime soon!

Boys and Their Toys

My boys are still really young (ages 3 and 4) but they've already started grouping toys by gender. Around Christmas we'd be watching toy commercials and when advertisements for dolls or barbies would come on, I would say..."Do you want that for Christmas?" And they'd say: "No, that is for girls!" It's funny, because I never associate any type of toys based on gender. It must be that they picked this up from tv. It has to be tv, because when do you ever see boys in Barbie commercials or girls in Matchbox commercials? It almost isn't fair!

Some of you, may disagree with me (and that's ok), but I'm totally happy with my boys playing with dolls or tea sets. My degree is in Human Development and Family Studies. And in my schooling I took many child development classes. In class we learned that there are no negative outcomes with letting boys play with dolls or "girly" things. My mom, who I consider "old school", may disagree with that, thinking that my son will become overly feminine, but I totally disagree! In fact, it's just the opposite. Studies show that boys who play with dolls as a child, grow up to be a better nurturing and caring father!

My boys have dolls and a dollhouse, but for some reason they'd rather be playing with batman and typical "boy" things. I'm sure if I had only girl type toys they'd play with them, but they would probably turn a barbie doll into a gun or something like that. It's like they are programmed from the time they are born on how to be a boy. It's a weird thing that I've experienced watching them grow up.
When I was a little girl, I loved playing in the dirt and burying Matchbox cars with my brother. It's probably because my brother was the one closest in age to me. We are 8 or 9 years apart.
And to this day if I had to choose between Barbies or Matchbox cars, I'd chose the cars. Barbie is too much of a pain to accessorize!

Did you play with toys that matched your gender? What were your favorites?

And woohooo this is my 100th post! I may need to have a giveaway, but I'll wait until my 150th post for that! Have a great day!