A Few Brayden Short Stories.

One morning as I was attempting to pull myself out of bed, Brayden ran in the room with 403281 questions on his mind and his mouth rambling 900 words per minute. One of the first questions to pop out of his mouth at 6:15 in the morning was about this wedding picture of Drew and I (it's my fave):

The conversation went like this:
B: Is that at your wedding? With daddy?
Me: yes! That's at my wedding.
B: I was there?
Me: No, you weren't there. You weren't born.
B: Oh.... (thinking for a bit)... I was at home by myself?
Me: No, you weren't there. You weren't alive yet.
B: Oh.... (thinking some more)... so you left me in the car by myself?
Me: No, you weren't the-- .... nevermind.

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Sometimes I like to ask Brayden questions that make him think. He never ceases to humor me with his answers. One particular day I asked him what his FAVORITE thing in the whole wide world is. I kid you not, this was his response:
"Hmmmmm. I don't know..... how 'bout SUGAR!"

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One day after leaving our neighbors pool, I praised Brayden for how well he left and how well he had swam. He simply shrugged his shoulders and said "yeah. I did awesome. You should do your thumb up, like this (he proceeded to show me how to do a thumbs up). That means awesome."

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Brayden is getting really into super heroes and pretend play. It's hilarious to me how a plastic mask can transform a little boy into whatever he wants to be. A lot of times, if Brayden doesn't feel like doing what I am asking him to do (especially cleaning up), he'll slip on a mask and then when I ask him to repeat what I asked him to do, he'll say: "I'm not Brayden. I'm (enter super hero's name)." I then must address him as said super hero, otherwise my requests to complete chores will go unnoticed.

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 The other day we were shopping at an outdoor mall. I passed by Ulta, and got a good woof of a conglomerate of all kinds of perfume. Brayden quickly exclaimed "Momma! It smells so stinky out here, what is that smell?!" I asked him what he was talking about (playing dumb is the best thing to continue a funny conversation with kids), and he said "it smells like stinky flowers out here!". I laugh every time I think about him saying that.

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This isn't a short story, but I needed to document it. Whenever Brayden is telling a story that happened yesterday (or a few days ago), he'll say "lasterday" instead of "yesterday". I have to contain my laughter every time. It's so cute!

Dove Intensive Repair Conditioner {Review & Giveaway}

Recently, I ran out of shampoo and conditioner, and instead of going to the store to stock back up on the same brand I had been purchasing, I decided to deplete the large stash of travel sized samples I had collected over the past 2 years. I was busy comparing all the different brands, when I received an email asking if I would like to try one of Dove's new conditioners.

Um... yes, please! I tossed my sample containers aside, and traded them for this beauty:
Considering the fact that it's summer and we've been doing a lot of swimming, on top of the fact that I keep my hair in a pony tail A LOT (which means that my hair is not in the healthiest of shapes), I gave the Dove Intensive Repair conditioner a run for it's money.

I've always been drawn to the smell of Dove products, and this conditioner is no exception. It's a very clean smell. The conditioner itself is really thick. I applied it to the bottom half of my hair (my roots tend to get oily more easily so I've never conditioned them on a daily basis). I've compared my hair after blow drying and after towel drying and the softness and sheen that the Dove Intensive Repair conditioner leaves in my hair is the same regardless of how I finish it.

One thing that really steers me away from a lot of conditioners is that they are really weighty, and make my hair super oily. I haven't felt this way at all with the Dove Intensive Repair conditioner. In fact, like I normally do, I've gone at least two days between hair washes, and my hair has still looked and felt clean even after 2 days of not washing it. I was really interested to see how this conditioner would handle my frizz, as I tend to have a TON of frizz, especially if I let my hair air dry. I've noticed over the past two weeks while using the Dove Intensive Repair conditioner that my hair has been noticeably less frizzy, even after I let it air dry. This is a MAJOR plus for this on-the-go momma, who often doesn't get a ton of time to sit and blow dry or straighten my hair.

Overall, I really, really, REALLY liked the Dove Intensive Repair conditioner. It was a game changer for me over the past two weeks. Not having to deal with frizz, and not having to worry about my hair looking greasy dirty 2 days post-cleaning were big reasons why this is one of the best, if not the best, conditioner I have ever used. And that's no lie. If you'd like to try out some of the awesome hair products that Dove offers, be sure to click on the coupon link at the bottom of this post. 

Oh, and for your amusement, I thought I'd share what my hair looks like after air drying in a pony tail for a few hours:
Laugh all you want about how ridiculous this picture looks. But you can't deny that there's....NO. FRIZZ.

Here's a better idea of what it looks like when I actually blow dry and straighten it. I love the sheen that it added to my hair.

I also wanted to tell you about an awesome giveaway going on right now... you can enter to win a $1,000 Spafinder gift certificate! Be sure to follow the links and instructions so that you can get in on the awesomeness!

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY

COMMENTS TO THIS POST ARE NOT SWEEPSTAKES ENTRIES. PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR ENTRY METHODS FOR THIS SWEEPSTAKES.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Follow this link, and provide your email address and your response to the Promotion prompt

b) Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: "#SweepstakesEntry"; and then visit this link to provide your email address and the URL to that Tweet.

c) Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and then visit this link to provide your email address and the URL to that post.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. Winners will have 72 hours to claim the prize, or an alternative winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 9/4/2012 - 9/30/2012

Be sure to visit Dove^®Hair.com to get a coupon for $1.50 off Dove Hair Therapy products.

Labor Day Weekend.

We have had a laid back, relaxing weekend. It's been so good, and the best part is that it's still not over, since Drew has off until Wednesday. I figured I'd share with you a few things we've been up to this weekend.

Friday we ran errands as a family. One of the first things we did was to stop by a wooded area for Brayden to release Tiny Tim, our resident turtle. I was really scared that the release would be mildly traumatic, and involve some sort of tears. But Brayden was really OK with the fact that Tiny Tim needed to find his mommy in the woods. He stood for a picture with Tim, and then let him go in the weeds. When we got back in the car, he nonchalantly told Connor that Tiny Tim was going back to his mommy because he missed her. No big deal. Whew. I realized after we released him that I forgot to mark his shell with paint, in case we ever saw him again. Oops. Considering we released without tears, I'll still mark the releasing as a success.

I think Tim could smell freedom at this point :)

bye bye Tiny Tim!

One of the stops we made on Friday was to the new Cabella's store in the area that opened. It was WAY overcrowded, which meant that maneuvering through the store (with exceptionally small aisles) was slightly stressful. Add to the fact that Connor thought it necessary to point out (yell) at EVERY. SINGLE. ANIMAL. in the store... it was a bit much. But they loved the fish tank. Score one for the fish tank. Who needs aquariums when you have this thing?

kinda blurry, but cute nonetheless

Saturday we had swim lessons, and then basically hung out at the house all day. We had some friends over for dinner on Saturday evening. Brayden and Gracie dressed up as super heroes and played most of the night like this:

Saturday also marked the beginning of college football. It was so fun for me to leave the football games on as I cooked up a big pot of chili. It was the official start of fall in our house for sure!

my little Razorback cuties! Sidenote: Brayden actually has a uniform, but it's Adidas, not Nike. When I pulled it out for him to wear he said "I can't wear that. it doesn't have the thing." I didn't understand what he meant, and finally, after some frustration on his part for not being able to accurately describe what he meant, he pulled out his t-shirt and said "it needs one of these!" and pointed to the Nike swish. What in the world?!?! Where did that come from?!!?! I've never stressed brands at ALL with this kid. Oh Dear.

Sunday after church, we headed to the lake with our friend, Orrin. The boys were super excited to out on the boat again. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and the boys did SO well, especially considering we were out on the lake for almost 6 hours.

Drew and Brayden got a chance to drive the boat

it's a rough life


Orrin gave the boys kit kat bars when we were on the dock. This is Connor after he finished his :) I think it was good ;)

my sweetie boy.

trying to catch fish


Brayden actually asked to go on the tube!


Like I said, Drew's off for the next few days, so our weekend isn't officially over. We don't have any major plans, so I'm looking forward to some fun family time before the official start of fall. Have a great week!