Bigger, Better Things

Just a fun shot that has nothing to do with this post. :D

Sometimes in life, things change slowly and at first you don't even notice. Then, all of a sudden, you look around and realize just how different things are.

That's what has happened with Tweeny Hair. Things have changed. Syd was only 10 when I started this blog. She was still in elementary school, didn't have much of a social life, and loved trying out new hairstyles. But Syd will be 13 in just a couple of months. She is on sports teams, belongs to a couple of clubs, is in leadership at church, and just doesn't have the desire to spend what precious little spare time she has sitting in a chair and having her hair done.

Because of her busier life, Syd's hair is in twists (and the resulting twist outs) about 90% of the time. It seems silly to keep writing blog posts about the same old style, and I certainly won't force her to sacrifice her spare time on hair for the sake of this blog. So although I love writing, I just don't have anything relevant to write about here on Tweeny Hair anymore.

So we found ourselves at a crossroads, and I've made a decision...

Tweeny Hair is coming to an end. Kind of. I will still be around, but the new posts will likely be few and far between. I'll still be on facebook from time to time and hope to stay connected with all of you. And if/when we do get the chance to try something new with Syd's hair, I will absolutely share on here!

There is some exciting news to share, though. Since I haven't been spending a lot of time on Syd's hair, I have had a lot of extra time to spend doing all the other things that make me happy. And I'm creating a brand new blog about the things in my life that AREN'T related to hair. There will be posts about frugal living, cooking, baking, crafting, sewing, home daycare, teenager issues, and so much more. I would LOVE for you to check it out!

The new blog is called Rae vs. Life. You can find it at http://raevslife.blogspot.com - be sure to go follow! Sure, there's only one post on there now, but that will be changing very soon. Also, go like the new Rae vs. Life facebook page. No really. Go do that right now! And share with your friends! At the time of this writing, the new blog has 0 followers and I'm the only one who likes the page...and that's just sad. Help! =)

So I guess, this isn't really like "goodbye." It's not even "see you later." It's more like a "Hey, let's go over here and talk!"

Black Friday at Huffleblossoms

Many of you know I create and sell duct tape hair flowers in a little online shop called Huffleblossoms. But did you know that Huffleblossoms also carries fabric flowers and ladder ribbon jewelry? These items are perfect to give as gifts!

Find our entire selection at huffleblossoms.storenvy.com!

Oh yeah...did I mention we're having a Black Friday sale? You'll need to use the discount code blk20 ... Don't miss out!

Choices, Damage, and Pre-wrap

 

See that up there? That's pre-wrap. You know, the stuff you put between your skin and tape when you're taping up an injury. Syd is very athletic, and as a result she is rather familiar with injuries. This means she is also familiar with pre-wrap.

I know most of you are probably wondering what this stuff has to do with hair, aren't you? Well....take a look...

I snapped this picture before Syd walked out the door for school this morning. And yes, that little headband of Syd's came right off the roll of pre-wrap that is pictured above. Sometimes she rolls it up into a skinny little headband like this one. Other times, she keeps it wide, which gives it a whole different appearance.

Now, there's no way this stuff is good for her hair. It's a thin foam. I'm sure it sucks the moisture right out of her hair. And I'm sure it causes friction, which leads to breakage. She knows these things, but she chooses to wear these headbands anyway. Although, I do have to admit, she wears them FAR less frequently than her friends.

Am I the only mom who cringes at the thought of my child purposely doing something that is damaging to her hair? I have done everything I can for the last dozen years to keep her hair healthy and natural. But sometimes, when you're 12, you just don't care. And like she was quick to point out, it is HER hair. She is the one who will have to live with the damage.

Point taken, kiddo. You're an amazing little lady and you're growing more independent by the minute. Go be yourself. I'll be here if you need any help.

This growing up stuff is hard....even when we're only talking hair

I should add that Syd did say she will only wear pre-wrap headbands every once in a while. She doesn't want her hair to be damaged any more than I do. I still don't like it. =)

Big Hair

It's getting colder outside, which means Syd's hair routine will soon be changing for the winter. Last week, I decided to let her have one more big hair day before we start moving toward more protective styles. We used Kinky Curly products this time because that's what we had on hand and we've had great results with them before (see HERE).

I didn't take pictures of the actual process, so I'll do my best to explain what I did. (I know, I know....one of these days I'll start remembering that I have a blog and actually take pictures WHILE I'm doing something!)

Syd washed her hair and I started working on it while it was still soaking wet. I started by grabbing a section in the back and just clipped the rest of her hair up out of the way. I added a fairly generous amount of Kinky Curly Knot Today to that back section and detangled with a very wide tooth comb. Then I applied Kinky Curly Curling Custard and raked through that section of hair several times with my fingers.

I didn't go through and define each curl, which I sometimes do. I just made sure to run my fingers through enough times to thoroughly distribute the product. Since I didn't define each curl, the look is a little frizzier and less defined than other down and out styles I've shown you before, but we're okay with the frizz.

Once the product had been distributed through that section, I grabbed another section and repeated the process. After we had gone through her whole hair, we just let it air dry. The drying process took ALL DAY!

This was her hair right after the product was applied. This photo really shows off all her different curl patterns. All that hair is actually the same length!

After it dried. Sorry so blurry...I didn't realize it was out of focus until later. :/

Results after it dried

Before bed, we banded Syd's hair so that the curls wouldn't get tangled while she slept. If you do this, be sure to keep the bands loose so you don't end up with indentations all over the hair! Afterward, we managed to stuff all that hair into a satin nightcap. Normally, I would have just left the banded hair out and let her sleep on her satin pillowcase, but that pillowcase died on it's last trip through the laundry. I should really buy more than one at a time!

These bands are looser than they appear in photos!

This poor nightcap is ready to burst at the seams! :D

In the morning, remove the bands and you should be good to do. If there are any indentations from the bands or overly frizzy little sections of hair, you can wet your hands, add a bit of custard, and define each little area that may need some love. For us, this took less than 5 minutes.

Still lookin good!

Here's a picture I took the morning of day 3. I had banded it a little too tightly in some places, but I knew this was the day we would be restyling her hair. This hair very easily could have lasted longer, though, simply by doing what I explained above and redefining places where you can see the indents. Super easy!

One more bonus after the style: plenty of product was still in her hair. It was easy to twist her hair that she had been wearing down for days. All I did was grab a little section, spray it with water, detangle it with my fingers, and twist. The custard that had remained in her hair was sufficient to keep the new twists looking good for a full week. One product application, two hairstyles. Nice!

Wordless Wednesday: A Big Wet Kiss

HAHAHAHAHA!!!

Hair Comments From Others: A Lesson

If you or your child have a head full of curly natural hair, I'm sure you've probably been on the receiving end of an unsolicited comment or two. Right? A simple scan of facebook or any of the natural hair care forums that are out there makes it clear that there is no shortage of remarks from others about someone's chosen hair style. Let me share our most recent experience with a comment about a style.

Remember the above style that I showed you last week? Syd had her hair in that style at one of her cross country meets and her teammates actually told her (while I was sitting right there with them) that she looked like A HORSE!

At first, I was angry. Then I was sad for Syd. I wanted to tell those girls exactly what I thought about their rude comments.

But then, Syd taught me a lesson.

She was laughing. So were the other girls. And the conversation had shifted almost immediately to talk of actual horses. I sat quietly and thought about it for a minute. And you know what? The style really DOES resemble a horse. Hair to one side in the front, just like a mane, and longer hair in the center of the back, just like a tail.

Syd saw the heart of the horse comparison and realized there was no malice intended. It was a random observation by a 12 year old girl who would never say anything to hurt her friends.

My knee-jerk reaction to be offended was probably the result of my previous experiences with judgmental, spiteful people and the hurtful comments I've heard before. In the past, people have made cruel, hurtful remarks about Syd's hair...especially when she chooses to wear it as big as she can get it. I guess I must have become a little jaded by those remarks, which caused me to automatically become defensive on the inside.

That kind of reaction isn't fair. We need to see everyone through grace-filled eyes. We need to see the heart of what someone says, not simply assume the worst and react accordingly. When we feel that someone is being rude, we should stop and think for just a moment. I know our first instinct is to defend ourselves and our loved ones at all times, but is it possible that sometimes we make something out of nothing? I know I'll definitely think twice the next time I think someone's comments are out of line. And this definitely goes for life in general, not just when a comment about physical appearance is made.

Thank you Syd, for being confident and rational in that moment. Thank you for being wise beyond your years. And thank you for teaching us adults a little something about demonstrating grace for others.

Friendly Disclaimer: This will probably be the ONLY time I'll be okay with someone telling my baby she looks like a horse. Please refrain from comparing her to animals in the future...unless said animal is cute and cuddly and adorable. hehe :)

Braided Mohawk With Side Bangs

About 2 weeks ago, Syd and I were in the car when she said, "Remember when I used to get lots of cool styles?"

It was then that I realized it has been FOREVER since she has had a style other than box braids, twists, or twist outs. We're talking months here.

(Stands at the front of the room) Hi, my name is Rae and I'm a hair slacker.

So last weekend I decided to try to be creative. There was only one problem...I've been slacking so long that I think my creativity is stuck in hibernation. After no new ideas came to me, I settled on a mohawk style with some cornrowed side bangs. (I'm not sure it counts as bangs when the hair hangs down past her armpits, but what else can I call that section???)

Here is the style:

So there it was. Not incredibly creative, but still cute and it wasn't box braids or twists/outs. She wore this style for a week before we took it down and gave her a fresh set of plain old two strand twists (I know, I know) for cross country pictures at school.

If anyone spots my creativity hiding somewhere, please let me know asap. Syd's hair misses its old friend.

School Picture Day - 3 Strand Twist Out

It's hard to believe that school picture day has already arrived, but today was the day for Syd to say cheese! I removed her mini twist style last weekend (after 23 days), removing shed hair as I went. She washed her hair with a clarifying shampoo and we moisturized with Bee Mine Luscious Moisturizer. I then used Darcy's Botanicals Madagascar Vanilla Styling Creme as I put her hair into about 40 three strand twists.

(I completely forgot to take a picture of her hair in the twists, but you can take a peek at this post about three strand twists to see what they look like.) Three strand twists seem to shrink up more and not look quite as full as two strand twists, but they make the most amazing twists outs on Syd's hair.

She wore the twists from Saturday evening until Monday morning. I helped her remove the twists this morning before school, and she had a great looking twist out for school pictures. I pinned one side back and she was ready to go. I managed to snap these few pictures just before she ran out the door.

If you take a close look at that last picture, you can see that I couldn't find Syd's black bobby pins, so she was stuck using some of mine that match my lighter hair. Oh well....c'est la vie!

I'd love to see what you all do for school picture day this year. Please feel free to share your pictures on our facebook page!

Guatemala 2012

As many of you are already aware, Syd and I went on our second missions trip to Guatemala last month. I would like to thank everyone who helped us get there, both through Huffleblossoms purchases and through direct donations. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!

There are so many things I can tell you about, I don't really know where to begin! Our team had sent money down there before we went, so some local workers had already laid the block for the house we were building. When we got down there, the team put the roof on and poured the cement floor. The women on the team walked down every street in the village and stopped at every single house. We were looking to see who needed medical attention and we invited all the ladies in the village to a get-to-know-you type of meeting with all of the women from our team. We also took part in a church service, held a medical clinic, did activities with dozens of children, and so much more. After all of that, we even had a day to just be tourists in the city of Antigua (where I not-so-secretly want to live!).

Since we did such a variety of things, I had a hard time narrowing down the 500+ pictures I have of the trip. So I apologize in advance for this very photo heavy post, but hey...at least I got it down this much! :)

This is what the new house looked like when we got there

Adding the roof

What the majority of the houses in the village looked like

The village's Presbyterian Church

This guy became one of our meals, prepared by the ladies of the village

Duck Soup! It tasted AMAZING!

I fell in love with this little guy

The kids had a blast playing with Syd! Tag is just one of those games that transcends language barriers

Clean water - tear open a corner and insert a straw :)

The ladies preparing yet another delicious lunch

Organizing clothes to be given away

Helping the kids string beads to make salvation bracelets...over 70 kids made these with us!

Medical clinic

Because sometimes you just have to make faces at the camera

Syd made HUNDREDS of balloon animals for those kids!

I loved coloring with the kids

Syd and the other 12 year old on the team had a herd of little ones following them everywhere they went

Another medical clinic

Another team member and I prayed with every person who was seen in the clinic

These boys played together in that puddle for almost an hour. They were adorable!

This little girl, Mari, practically became Syd's shadow while we were there

Me and one of my new buddies

A herd of cows blocking the road is just a way of life here

Kids were literally hanging on Syd. :D

Being 12 doesn't get you out of physical labor

A playful moment between Syd and a new friend

Tearful goodbyes. It's so hard to leave!

Gas prices...lol! (it equals just over 4 US dollars per gallon)

Limonada...as fresh as it gets! :D

Heading out for a day of shopping in Antigua

Standing on the rooftop deck of a coffee shop we wandered into. Beautiful!

So there it is....a brief overview of our incredible 8 day adventure. If you have any questions or want to know more details about anything, feel free to ask here or on our facebook page!

Oh, I almost forgot one more detail. The day after we got home, I put the change from my pocket onto the counter. Syd asked if she could have it. I asked why she wanted it. Her answer? "To start our fund for the next trip." Another missions trip is definitely in our future!

Be blessed!