Violet Vox Box

I was chosen for the Violet Vox Box from Influenster. I received a Dark Chocolate Cherry Soy Joy bar, a Pink Sally Hansen triple shine nail polish, a Goody Athletique purple and grey reversible headband, a Montagne Jeuness clay face mask, and a sample of Not Your Mother's dry shampoo.

I will start with the soy joy bar. Unfortunately, I'm not a dark chocolate fan to begin with. I thought the bar tasted dry and wasn't very appetizing to me. My husband did enjoy it though. Would I buy one? Definitely not. It's just not the kind of treat I like.

The pink sally hansen triple shine nail polish is amazing. Pink is my favorite color so right from the start I was excited. The polish is long lasting, shines, and looks great! There are several colors to choose from. I plan to try the other colors.

The Goody athetique headband slides on easy and looks great. I have short hair and it works well with a pony tail. I love them and plan to buy more!

The Montagne Jeuness clay face mask was a little scary at first. When I first put the mask on, all I could think about is how cold it was. But after I laid down with it on my face, it was so refreshing. It helped me relax even more. I didn't see a big difference in softness or look of my skin but I'm sure if I did it often it would definitely help my skin. Would I buy these? Sure would, sure plan to.

Lastly, I tried the Not Your Mother's dry shampoo. I was skeptical because every hair product like this one I've tried it did nothing but make my hair more greasy looking. Well, surprisingly, one did indeed absorb the oil. While it did do its job, it made my hair insanely stiff feeling and made it hard to style. So would I use it? Probably not unless there's an emergency where I don't have time to think about my hair and just need to throw it up.

Before: not much volume, obviously I haven't washed it.

After: You can tell it has absorbed oil and gave it volume.

RIP Mitzie

RIP to Mitzie. My mom bought my pappaw a Chihuahua after his best friend Kuff was hit by a car. Mitzie was able to cover that hole in his heart. My pappaw passed away and it seems like she got worse off every year but held on for a long while. She probably got that dog for him about 10-12 years ago. I was close to my pappaw, we were buddies. I was so sad when he left but it felt like Mitzie had some of him in her and we became good buds. I stopped seeing Mitzie a lot after I got older. I regret not spending more time with her. I know this will sound weird but it feels like my pappaw is really gone now. Like he stuck around through her or something. :( Makes me sad but she had a lot of health problems so now she's in Heaven and can feel like a new puppy. God bless her little heart. She will be missed.

Influenster Voxbox - Lifeway Kefir

Today, I was finally able to review my product. I got the Strawberry Smoothie. I was torn between getting that and the mango frozen yogurt. I have never liked yogurt in my life. I tried this drink, and it's actually not bad. I think it was quite nice. There's so many flavors to choose from and different products! Plus, you can't forget it 99% lactose free and has live cultures and probiotics which are great for your GI tract. I plan to try the frozen yogurt next!

TGIF!

Just as the title says, Thank God It's Friday!

Ah, 48 hrs off work, how nice!?

This week was CRAZY! Tuesday, Olivia woke up with a fever so I take her to the doctor and it's her first ear infection! :( The doctor said had she been a little younger we would have went straight to the hospital for admission. But she's doing good now. She weighs 8lb 4.5oz! Shew! She's growing up! She has to see a Cardiologist on July 10th because her PFO has not closed and the doctor now thinks it's an ASD. And Tuesday is her 2 month check and shots. BOOO! I am so not looking forward to it. I used to work with pediatricians and could give children injections like a boss. I always wondered why parents would cry and act up when their children were getting them...all I have to say is you just don't know the feeling until you actually are a parent. I know she needs them but hate to see her in pain! Meh! Good thing my husband will be there to support us both, haha!

Tomorrow is newborn/family picture day, finally! Everyone has been getting on us because we hadn't had any made of Olivia but I was too scared to bring her out while she was so tiny. But now I am looking forward to it! We ordered a crocheted giraffe outfit set for pictures but it hasn't came in. If it doesn't tomorrow I will be so sad! I am going to have to re-evaluate ideas for another outfit or something if that happens. I can't wait to have family pics too. I have been wanting to make a collage of pictures in the living room, those will be perfect. It's suppose to be sunny, which is a plus since we're taking them outdoors!

I am ready for the next couple of weeks! July 4th, of course, since that means bar-b-q's, fireworks, and friends! But also July 3rd we will be celebrating 9 years of love! I can't believe we have been together almost a decade!! It seems like such a short time, but I guess that's a good feeling, right?

Anywho, hopefully soon I will be able to post some of our pics from the photo shoot tomorrow. :)

Happy Weekend!!

It's the freaking weekend!

I am SO glad the weekend is here! This week was the first back to work after being off on Maternity Leave and it was smooth but horrible at the same time. Leaving my baby girl at Daycare was HARD every single day. Everyone keeps saying it will get easier, it must take until they're grown because not a day this weekend could I leave her without crying and not cry at work! But it's the weekend and I get to be back home with my baby! 

Today was our usual grocery shopping. Walmart sucks us clean every week for that. I can't believe how expensive groceries are getting! It's ridiculous. But I did finally get a baby memory book so I can keep up with special dates and moments. Also, the first day back to work my straightener zonked out on me so had to buy a new one today. I hope this one lasts longer than the last. 

We were going to buy a new grill and patio set today but figured we would wait until next weekend because we've been so busy, we just need a breather. But next Saturday we've now scheduled a photography session for Olivia's newborn photos and family photos so that may not work out again, lol. I sure hope it doesn't rain.

I also got an email from influenster that I might get the next voxbox, yay! I hope I am chosen. Oh, we now have a squirrel living in one of our trees by the back porch who eats the seeds off it. He just sits and looks at us. The cat scratches at the door, like he's going to bust through the glass. Ha! Other than these things, nothing is new in the Russell household. I'll be spending tomorrow with my girl and husband and dread the next day. We have a nice father's day planned for him.

Today

Today is my last day home with my girl. Tomorrow, it's back to work for me and off to daycare for her. I am devastated. It feels like I JUST got her home. I feel robbed of my time with her. Most women get 6 weeks home with their baby, this one got 4 because she was in the NICU for 2 weeks. :( It really sucks!! I wish I could just stay home with her. I still have that new-mom thing going on where I don't want anyone else to take care of her. Bleh. It broke my heart to leave her at the hospital, and even though I am only a few minutes from daycare, it's going to break my heart to leave her again. I hope I can keep my composure at work. I don't like being upset in front of people, plus it's slightly inappropriate. I feel confident we chose a place we can trust.

Anyway, today we went to my hometown so Olivia could see her mammaw (my mammaw) and my other family members. She absolutely LOVED being in my mammaw's arms. She was so content, never squirmed an inch like she did with everyone else. It's so interesting how baby's just 'know' their touch. She likes when my mom holds her too. It must be the grandma 'touch.' Everyone absolutely adores her. She's such a loved little girl and I'm glad to know that no matter what happens in this world, she is loved. Now, I guess I have to get her diaper bag ready for tomorrow and the rest of the house cleaned for the week. :( I do not want tomorrow to get here!!!!!!

Pictures from today. My mammaw with Olivia, 4 Generations, and Me, My mom, My sister, and Olivia

Welcome to the World, Olivia

Welcome, Olivia Brooke Russell!

4lb, 6oz and 17 inches long!

Olivia was due June 3, 2013, however she had other plans and made her arrival on April 23,2013. I was at work on a Thursday morning when I had planned to go to the OB to see what this clear, jelly-like stuff I was leaking was. When I got upstairs, my CNM examined me, swabbed, and then hooked me up to the non stress test machine. Little did I know, I was contracting, 5 minutes apart! She asked if I could feel them, I couldn't. I had no clue I was contracting. So off to the hospital it was for me. Diagnosis? Pre-mature labor.

 My sister had her first 2 premature, first one was 24 weeks and second 36 weeks. I worried that might happen to me but had a healthy pregnancy from the beginning so I figured maybe not. Well I was 33 weeks and they stopped the contractions with a simple injection. They tested me for fetal fibronectin and it came back positive which meant I could deliver within 2 weeks. I got a steroid injection for her lungs, and was sent home on bed rest. The next day I went back to the OB, had another steroid injection and showed no contractions. Yes, we stopped it! Not exactly. Saturday I started leaking a clear fluid, I just figured it may have been the fetal fibronectin. Monday came and I had another checkup. I explained I was leaking that stuff again, so back into the stirrups I go. They did the ph strip test and surprise, surprise! My water had broken. I was sent back over to the hospital. From there they did the amnio screen which quickly came back positive, reassuring them it was indeed the amniotic sac which had broken. I was sent via ambulance to a hospital an hour and a half away as our local hospital could not accommodate such a premature child.

Now, this entire time I had not been contracting, felt just fine. I arrived at UK that Monday around 4pm, my intake was done and they did the same testing as our local hospital. Again, a positive, so I was for sure going into labor. They induced me as they said a 34 week baby was strong enough to go ahead and take. Around 6 a huge gush came, yep my water REALLY broke. At 7pm I started contracting on my own. They started the oxytocin at 8. At midnight I was 3cm, at 4am I was fully dilated. At 5am we began pushing and at 6:06 new life came into the world.

She had to stay in the NICU for 2 long weeks, but luckily she always breathed on her own. When I had to leave her at the hospital the day of my discharge, my heart just shattered. I didn't make it out of the hospital without crying. When we got to the parking garage, it was more dramatic for me. The further we got from the hospital, the worse I felt. I had a vision of what the birth of my child would be like, that wasn't it. I envisioned a full term baby who slept in our room, who I got to hold on my chest as soon as she was out like you see on tv. Nope, that was not the way it happened. I had my baby, got to see her, and then she was handed off to another staff member. Luckily I got to see her before they took her to the NICU but the time felt like a millisecond. One look and she was gone. I was in my room, no baby inside me anymore, no baby in my room. You truly can never know what having a pre-mature birth feels like until you experience it. I couldn't even get an answer as to why she came early, it was just one of those things that happened.

We drove back and forth every single day until she came home. Through the week we drove there to spend 2 hours with her after Daniel got off of work. On the weekends we were able to go from 9-3. We were told many different days she may get to go home so the day she actually got to come home was a day to remember.  It was the best day ever! Now that she is home, I'm even more attached to her. We spend all day every day together. Sadly, Monday I return to work and she has to go to daycare. :( It will be a very sad time. I've already developed separation anxiety due to the traumatic NICU experience, now that I've actually got her it's going to be REALLY hard to let go yet again. God, give me the strength!

This little girl has changed our lives forever. I keep asking myself how I've lived without her. She's just so special and precious. And I have a love for her I didn't even know existed. Being a mom is something you truly have to be to feel it.

Mommy & Olivia first meeting

Olivia Now!

Her first trip to Walmart

Meet the Russell Family

Mom I'm Ashley! I blow out my candles on September 21. I'm happily Married. I'm a proud mommy. I'm a CMA (Certified Medical Assistant) I love spending time with the family, traveling, blogging, pinning, reading, going to the movies, and sometimes light graphic design. My favorite color, of course, is pink. I have an older brother and sister. I'm a proud Aunt to 5 little girls and 2 little boys. Peyton, Madeline, Micah, Avianna, Makenna, Aubree, and Alyssa. Dad This is Daniel! He blows his candles out on April 28. He's my wonderful husband! He's an IT Systems Administrator and Marine Corps Veteran. He is all about his video games but also enjoys collecting guns and reloading. He has a younger brother. He is an uncle to mine listed above and to his brother's son, Ryder. Olivia This is our beautiful daughter! Born April 23, 2013 at 6:06AM. She weighed 4lbs 6oz, 17 inches long. She was born at 34 weeks, making her a preemie. She stayed at the NICU for 2 weeks! She loves to eat and sleep at the moment! :) Voltaire This is our cat. He blows his candles out on July 5. He is a long haired, part Maine Coon. He loves to hide and attack you, loves to play, and loves to cuddle. He is quite the inquisitive little cat. Zeus This was our Doberman Pinscher. We unfortunately had to give him up when our daughter was born because he was still a pup and we were worried about his size versus hers. We hope to one day get him back once we fence in our yard but until then he's hanging out on a friend's farm, enjoying the wild life. Although he is gone, he is still a Russell and still apart of our family.

Welcome to Our Life

Hello! We are a small family living in the small town, Maysville, KY. I'm the wife/mother in the family, Ashley. I am married to my highschool sweetie, Daniel. We were both raised in KY and met through school. After many attempts to take me on a date, I accepted and we have been together ever since. We are three years apart in age, started dating when he was 16 and I was 13. A lot of people said we were too young, he was too old, it would never work, yadda yadda. Our 'together' date is July 3, 2013, which means this year we will be celebrating our 9th anniversary. When we began dating, Daniel was a Senior and I was a 'greenie' otherwise known as a Freshman. We got closer each day and became inseparable. That is, until he left for the Marine Corps in June of 2005. I absolutely dreaded the day we would part for the long 13 weeks of bootcamp, along with the 5 years he promised to serve his country. However, little did I know, that day and those 5 years would be the most challenging time of my life. The day he left for bootcamp is one I can relive every time I think of it. My mom allowed me to stay at his house with his family as he would be leaving Carlisle, our residence at the time, at 5am to head to Florence where he would depart for the Marines. I remember him waking up, shaving, and getting his things ready to go. I refused to watch as it hurt knowing the day had come and soon we would be in different states. When we arrive to the recruiter's station in Florence, KY, my heart sank. We walked inside and I can remember just holding him and not wanting to let go. Time had passed and we heard, "it's time to tell your family good-bye." He hugged his mom and dad then came back to me and I held onto him like we were in a Tornado. After what felt like a second we heard, "GET ON THAT BUS, NOW, NOW, NOW!!!" And in a flash, he was gone. I felt like I had just lost my bestfriend, even though I knew we would be reunited in just a few months. I cried the entire way home. I can remember the bus driving past us and his father began to cry out loud which made me cry even harder. I wrote many letters each day, so many I wondered if he would get to read them all before he left. After 13 letter's (one a week) from Daniel, 13 long weeks, many hard nights, and tears shed, it was time to go and get him! It was time to head to Parris Island,SC and collect my Marine. The drive seemed to take forever but we made it. We drove onto the base and walked around to view the beauty. It was like being on a different planet. You heard Marines marching, you saw them running, you saw their history around the base - it was incredible. We decided to take a seat and observe this new planet. A commanding officer approached us and asked which recruit was ours and we told him last name was Russell and which platoon he was in. In front of us, coincidentally, there was a platoon. The CO walked over and began to stare at each recruits name tape. He walked to one, about 5'5 with dark hair, looked at us and shook his head, 'yes.' Daniel had no clue what was going on or why he was being stared at by a CO. But somehow, we chose the right seat and were staring in his direction, his platoon, that entire time. Who would have thought? Family Day came and we finally got to hold our Daniel after the beautiful ceremony. Trying to find him in the sea of Marines seemed impossible. Although, when I did, I held onto him like I was going to blow away. Finally, after over 3 months of being apart, I was holding him. When he turned around and we stared eye-to-eye, I thought, "Wow, I truly love this guy." And in my ear he whispered, "I Love you." From that moment, we just knew. It was a moment I will never be able to forget. He was able to come home for 10 days before heading to NC for Combat Training. On his last night home, he picked me up from school with my favorite food at that time, Subway. We went to his mom's house and as I was fixing to eat he asked if I would get his cell phone from the bathroom. He never asked me to do anything for him so I knew his was up to something. I went into the bathroom and there sat a white box with a red ribbon around it. On the box, it said "Friedman's" which is a jewelry store. I walked with it back into his room with a "WTF is this" face and he looked at me with a smile. As I sat there with my mouth wide open, he asked, "Will you marry me?" The words surfaced around in my head for a split second and I, of course, said "YES!" I was 2 days short of being 15 years old with 3 more to go until I was legally able to get married. But that didn't matter, we were two kids in love. He left for MCT and then was off to California and then was back to the east at his duty station, Camp Lejeune, NC. We had planned for a 2008 wedding as that would be when I would turn 18 but things happened and we didn't tie the knot like we thought we would have. He was deployed twice to Iraq. And in 2009 he PCS'd to South Korea for what we thought would be 12 months but turned into 15 months. We were always 500+ miles apart those 5 years but he always found a way back home. In June of 2010 he was officially honorably discharged from the Marine Corps with 2 years left as an Inactive Reservist. Finally, he was HOME! From then we started our own life. We moved from Carlisle to Maysville. He began college and I had just graduated from there with an AAS and became a Certified Medical Assistant. The next year, October 6, 2011, we got hitched at the court house. In August of 2012 we bought our first home together. And this year, April 23, we welcomed a beautiful baby girl, Olivia, into the world. Now you know how we met and how we came to be today who we are. :) Hope you enjoyed the short story of it all! Here are some pictures of the early years up until this day of us. Spring Break to Panama City, FL 2005 At my Junior Prom 2007 Deployment #2 Senior Prom 2008 HE'S HOME FROM KOREA! A couple of the care packages I made for him during deployments Welcome Home Cook Out I DO! Our First Home