Don't just wear it, Live IT!

Loving this post from Amy over at "Building the Blocks."

Thanks, Amy, for the reminder to keep our eyes focused on the prize as we run this race and fight this good fight. You really challenged me to ask what "stuff" I need to get rid of in order to really spend my time and energy on what really matters.

Also, I was SO excited to find this YouTube tutorial on cornrowing. I know how to cornrow and I have spent HOURS over the past 3 years braiding my daughters hair. I even learned how to do extensions, but this evening I watched this video and it REVOLUTIONIZED the speed and tightness with which I can now cornrow! Awesome! She has another tutorial on beading and ending braids which is also very helpful.

I'll post some pics tomorrow if I can find my camera. LOL!

Guess it was a "linky love" kind of day around here!

Frances, this is for you

So, this is what happens when your 9 year old (oops, sorry Mr. Z - I mean your "almost 10 year old") goes to youth camp for a few days.

A new understanding

 I now know why having hair extensions put in costs so much money. . . 

 

90 braids, 12 hours, 4 movies, 2 coffees, and a bag of chocolate later,

 I am happy to post a picture of Little Missy's first official extensions. . . 

Done entirely by her mama and "auntie becky!" 

Isn't she beautiful?!

Little Missy

I couldn't resist posting just a few more of these great pictures my wonderful husband took of our "Little Missy."

 

 

 

 

From Hair Extensions to "Sah'-boo"

Here's what I promised a few weeks ago in my last "hair" post.  Sorry it took so long!

"Sah'-boo" is the term my Liberian kiddos use (well, now ALL of my children use it) to mean "bald head." When they first came home, our Liberian boys did NOT want to be "sah'-boo." Now, they actually prefer us to keep their hair shorter since it is super kinky and hard to keep combed out. So, every couple of months my husband gets out the hair clippers and shaves their heads "sah'boo." Mr. Z would like his "sah'boo" too, but he looks like he is a cancer patient when he's totally bald, so we have to limit him to the super-short "Marine's" look.

During our last head shaving event, Little Missy decided that she, too, would like to be "sah'boo." Well. . . although I have actually come to enjoy doing her hair (and I even learned how to do add extensions to her cornrows thanks to a Christmas gift from my sister), we decided that there's probably no better time to try it, so. . .

Announcing "Little Missy Sah'boo"

As you can tell, she really loves it.  We thought she might be sad after it was gone, but instead she said, "I love it!  and after it grows back, we can shave it again!"  

We bought some cute new headbands and we are enjoying our break from "hair days" for a while!

Cornrows and Extensions

Call me crazy, but I actually look forward to "hair day!" I have come to really enjoy "plaiting" my daughters hair and after almost two years, I have become quite proficient at it. PTL! I started out simply: just sectioning her hair into small squares, making a small pony tail with each and then twisting, zulu knotting, or braiding each small pony tail. I then branched out into some more complex patterns in sectioning and tried joining the braids together, etc. . . About a year ago, I decided to learn to cornrow. After watching a couple of YouTube demonstrations (which made NO sense at all), I just started figuring it out. The first couple of attempts were rather sorry, to say the least! However, we stuck with it and, little by little, we got it! Here is one picture of one of our "autumn hair do's" and a few pics of our "December hair-do."   We started putting in beads at the ends of the cornrows which seemed to make them last a little longer AND, they just look darn cute! Watch for a few more upcoming "hair" posts on hair care, our first hair extensions (done by mom), and a real suprise!

(the last picture also has Little Missy's newly lost tooth - hence the red blotchy smile!)

I Can Cornrow!

O.K. well, I think this is technically called an "underbraid" but it is still really exciting that I am finally good enough at this to feel like I can post some pics! I learned how to do many other hairstyles right away, but this type of "plaiting" was really hard to learn to do well (as in tight, consistent, close to the scalp). If you can tell from the pics, I basically underbraided (like an underhand french braid - but technique is a little different) up to the middle of "Little Missy's" head and then all of the braids sort of stick up from there. This is a classic Liberian style that my boys and Little Missy have been asking me to do for a while now. So, what do you think?

I am also really excited because I have finally figured out a really good system of hair care for "Little Missy." Here are the basics:

I do this every other week on Friday or Saturday:

1. Use the "bone comb" set I got at Walmart - use the comb with the metal pick end to "take out" her old braids or style.

2. Pour olive oil over her head and massage into her hair and scalp well with my fingers. Cover with a plastic shower cap and wait 30 minutes to an hour (this is to restore lost moisture).

3. Little Missy takes a bath during which time I use the olive oil in her hair to "wash" her hair - sounds weird but it works very well and doesn't destroy her hair the way products with sodium laurel sulfates do (basically any "sudsing" shampoo has this even the ones made for African American hair). I then use a conditioner - I have two that we like to use: one is a natural tea-tree oil conditioner, the other is a natural rosemary conditioner - and rinse it out. I always let her play before we wash and condition her hair so that it is still very wet when we begin to fix it.

4. After drying off and dressing, I pour on this WONDERFUL oil I found at Walmart called Africa's Best Herbal Oil for Hair and Body. It is a blend of many different natural oils like walnut, coconut, soybean, ginsing, etc. . . It smells great and softens her hair so that it is easily combed out (much better than anything else we've tried).

5. Then, I section part of her hair with the sectioning bone comb (not usually all at once), comb it out, and put in the braid or cornrow or twist. I then do another section. Sometimes (if it is taking a long time), I have to re-wet and sometimes re-oil some sections towards the end of the process to make them easier to fix and to help it not to hurt.

This does take a while now, especially as her hair has gotten much longer and thicker, so I try to make this as pleasant as possible. We sing and talk and I save some frozen Dove chocolates to dole out every so often when she is needing a little pick me up! I also occasionally let her drink some of my *gasp* coffee - which is a definite treat I do not allow at any other time!

So, for those of you who have been wondering about the hair. . .