Update #2 on Rosenlof's

For those of you who've been following the story of Brent & Lori's adoption and trials getting their kids home from Haiti - go check out their blog for the latest.  There has been a TON of updates today.  I've been waiting on pins & needles to see what was going to happen.  Brent and Nathan (their 2 year old boy), along with a bunch of other orphan's are on a plane, and the doors are shut - heading back to the States - Florida to be exact.  Things might get complicated there - but at least they'll be in the States.  They did find Jessica, but sadly her birth father did not want to give her up.  Pray for him to have a change of heart and that she can still come and be with the people she actually knows to be her family.  You can read all about it on their blog Countdown to Homecoming.

There's only a few more days left on Coins for Comments - so please keep 'em comin'!  And, I've had a few people comment saying they figure I won't be reading all the comments - but actually I'm reading every single one that comes in.  I've teared up on so many - for your generosity, your kind words, and for all the prayers you've been offering in behalf of Brent & Lori, as well as everyone else affected by this whole situation in Haiti.  Thank you so much for all you're doing.

Skeletons in the Closet

I've been debating on writing about this - because I'm utterly mortified about it - but with the urging of Jenn (she makes a great therapist!  I need to pay her more.  Uh - I mean I need to pay her!) - I'm going to share with you the most recent drama at our house. 

So if you've been around long enough - you might remember our little "bad hair contest" (I'm linking you to March of last year and you'll have to scroll through if you want to see them all) that we held last Spring.  You know the one -- where countless of you sent pictures of your children, or self, or someone you knew that had been on the receiving end of a not so gracious person yielding scissors??!  Well, I'm embarrassed to say, that that happened at our house this last week.  But I decided I shouldn't keep this a secret, despite my embarrassment, because you need to know we're human at our house too!!

I don't know if I've ever mentioned, but I am a piano teacher.  Well, Bug had one of her friends over - who happens to have longer and much thicker hair than she does.  They'd been playing for hours, and were actually rather rambunctious the entire time.  I'd been hoping they'd settle down once my piano lessons started coming.  They did a bit - or at least they stayed up in Bug's room where the noise wasn't as distracting.  Anyway, when Bug's friend's mom came to pick her up and take her home, I was in the middle of a lesson.  As I'm sitting with my student I hear, "Did you cut your hair?"  I thought, "No - she couldn't have just said that."  So I excused myself from my student to go investigate what was going on.  As I came up my stairs to see where her friend Miss K. was sitting - it was very evident there was a bit of her hair that had been cut off on the one side of her face.  Miss K. was wearing her hair down on this particular day, and it looked like someone had bluntly cut a piece about as wide as my pinky finger off on one side.  Upon questioning, turns out it was Bug's idea to cut it.  If looks could have killed on this particular day ....  I was in the middle of my piano lesson and couldn't totally deal with it at the moment.  So I told Bug to go find the hair she'd cut off (I knew it had to be a rather long piece, because Miss K has long hair.)  But with tears and more tears, she claimed she couldn't find it.

I apologized profusely to Miss K's mom and told Bug I'd deal with her after my piano lesson was over.  Long story short - we never found the hair, and luckily it was just a little section and not a major chop chop all over her friends hair.  The frustrating thing is -- Bug TOTALLY knows better.  She's 5 1/2 -- why in the world would she think it was ok to cut her friends hair?  I've always been very uptight with letting the girls have scissors - for the fear they'd cut their own hair - but it never entered my mind that they'd cut someone else's!   Anyway, Bug helped choose her punishment - to ensure it doesn't happen again.  So she's grounded from friends for 2 weeks, and because she thought Miss K might need a trim to help blend things in (which I don't know if that will happen, since it really wasn't too bad) she gave Miss K all her $ from her piggy bank to put towards a hair cut (which amounted to a couple dollars I think.)  Now she has to clean up to earn money since the $ she had in her piggy bank wasn't enough for a hair cut, should her mom choose to go that route.  Yes, I'm a mean mom - but tough love has got to happen some times at our house.  I took Bug over to her friends house later that night for her to apologize to both the Mom and her friend.  She wrote her  friend an apology note and gave her all her money.  The note was sort of cute/sad.  It said hopefully she'd still be her friend, and she was 'giving her all her money so she would be happy.'  It was a good learning experience for her!

Anyway, I'd like to publicly apologize as well, to Miss K's mom - as public as this gets I guess.  I'm so sorry that Bug cut Miss K's hair.  All scissors are out of her reach now, so hopefully they can play again once she's ungrounded. (fingers crossed!)

If you've ever been in my shoes, I'd be curious to know what - if anything - happened to your child after they'd played barber to someone else!??

Of course, I don't have a picture of any of this - just the whole thing frozen in my mind -- that yes, MY child - did it to someone else.  I feel so bad!  Luckily, Miss K's mom was nice about it -- and hopefully doesn't hate our guts now! :)  I think, however, Bug has learned her lesson and hopefully nothing like this will ever happen again.

Ahhhh - I feel much better now - that I let you in on our little secret!  And hey, while I'm in the sharing mood - I'll let you in on another secret!

I don't comb my kids hair every day.  Really.  Ok, well - for school - yes, and church yes.  But most Saturday's, and on day's we don't have school -- the girls hair usually doesn't get done.  Nope.  And *GASP*  - my husband even takes them to the store (and every blue moon I do) without their hair combed.  *GASP!*  I have so many people thinking that we look like we're heading to a prom or a wedding every single day.  AB.SO.LUTELY. NOT!  We really aren't super human hair doers over here!  Honest.   In fact - Bug, especially, loves to not have her hair done.  She likes to get dirty in the garage with her Dad.  This last weekend, she put on her grubbies (aka jeans with holes, an old t-shirt and uncombed hair), and headed out to help rotate the tires, and change the oil on the Sequoia with him.  She must have gotten cold, cuz she found The Dad's "neat" orange beanie and was sporting that with her grubby purple coat!

So - see?  We're just normal people - with silly, crazy kids that don't always do what you want them to!  Anyway, hope you don't mind me sharing this with you.  I just know there is a false impression that might come about by me having this blog that's all about hair.  And in reality - we are only human! :)

Oh, and please, don't forget to comment on Coins for Comments.  There are only a few days left, and with as many people looking at my blog each day -- there is only a SMALL fraction of you taking the time to comment.  So come out - come out - wherever you are and share the comment love so I can keep donating $$ to help Lori & Brent.  So please go HERE now & comment & continue to do so daily through 2/2/10.  Thanks so much!!

Update on Rosenlof's

Some of you have asked for updates on the Rosenlof's situation.

For those of you who might be interested ... The Rosenlof's (Brent & Lori) have word that their little girl, Jessica is alive.  She's with her birth father still - but where?  They don't know.   But, if you follow any of the news, the Haitian government - or lack there of - is delaying things and putting everything in limbo for them.  To see the latest of the miracles that are transpiring to bring these darling children home - go check out there blog Countdown to Homecoming.    There's also another article on things if you want to see what the papers here are saying.  Go HERE to read it. Their blog is constantly updated and miracles continue to happen.

If you believe in a God or a higher power - please pray constantly that all this will come together in the short time they have left.  They basically have 2 more days to find Jess, get the rest of the paperwork together that the Haitian government has halted, and get their kidds home.  More miracles are needed - so keep praying.  HARD.

Don't forget to comment today too!  Thank you for all you guys are doing to help with this too by commenting, posting about it, and passing the word on to others.  If everyone does something small - it turns into big things.  Thank you.  Go to Coins for Comments HERE.

Twists and a W

 

Before I get to the tutorial -- I can't say thanks enough to those of you have been helping comment on my "Coins for Comment" post.  Remember - Comment EVERY DAY!  You can.  Really!  Every comment is putting 10 cents towards what I'll be donating towards Lori & Brent to help them bring their kids home from Haiti.   This is going on through February 2nd - so you have lots of comments yet to leave me!  And a BIG thank you to those of you who have contributed $ via PayPal and who have been coming back and commenting daily.  Once everything is done - I'll let you know the final amount of $$ raised!  So keep those comments coming so I can send more $$$ to Lori & Brent!  If you aren't familiar with this whole thing - go HERE to find out more.

So ... on with the hair stuff ...

Sorry that I don't have step-by-step on this, as it was a school morning, and I didn't think about the camera until after I was done.  It's pretty self-explanatory though, so you should be ok! :)

Begin by sectioning hair on the top of the head in the shape of a rectangle.   Then divide that into 3 separate ponies.  Secure each with a little rubber band.  (And of course, make the parts crooked like I did - makes for a better showing! Shoot! LOL)

Split the middle pony in 1/2 and combine the left side of the middle pony with the back ponytail.  Secure it with a rubber band to make a V. Then take the other 1/2 of the middle ponytail and join it with the front ponytail, making another V.  At this point you should have a W.  This is similar to THIS OLD POST I did on Bee except I didn't divide the middle pony in half for that one.

Below the part of the ponies that you've secured with rubber bands, make corkscrews/twist braids most of the way down the hair.  Secure the end of each one with a clip temporarily.

 

 Let the twists hang down, while gathering the rest of the hair and pulling it over to the right side of the head, where the twists are hanging.  Yes, we're making a side pony here! :)  Make a side ponytail and then add your 2 twists into the rubber band as well.  Undo any remaining twists that are hanging into the straight hair of the pony tail.

When adding the front twist into your pony tail, to get it to lay smoothly, I had to pull it underneath the ponytail and add it into the rubber band on the bottom.

Add whatever bow/flower or accessory of your choice to cover the rubber band & your set.

 

This was quick & easy one, and best of all, things stayed in pretty well the next day and I only had to redo the ponytail and she was off to basketball first thing Saturday morning.  Nothing like getting 2 days out of a hairdo! :)

 

And once again, don't forget to head over to "COINS FOR COMMENTS" post to leave a comment for the day.  Every little bit helps!  Don't forget to tell your friends, other bloggers, FB & Tweets! :)

Winner & Comments

If you entered the Fabric Headband giveaway from Stylish Mode - go HERE to see the winner.

*** UPDATE --- APRIL - who left the comment about the Kindergartener's wanting to contribute .... if you'd please e-mail me directly (I don't think I have a way of contacting you)--- Lori would like to send your dd's class some of their silicone bracelets.  *** My e-mail is babesinhairland (at) gmail . com ***

And for those of you who have commented so far to help in our Coins for Comments - THANK YOU.  I have teared up many times already from the things you have said.  There is even a little Kindergarten class that is collecting coins to help contribute through PayPal.  Aren't kiddos amazing?!

If you haven't commented -- PLEASE DO!  I've changed things a little and I'll be donating 10 cents for every comment - so please, please, just take a second to show your support.  This is $ BIH is contributing just by YOUR comments!  Can't get easier than that!    So scroll down, or go HERE to find out more.

Coins for Comments

Don't let the title fool you.  It's not what you might think.  As I'm sure all of you are aware, there recently was an awful earthquake in Haiti.  The result being catastrophic to thousands and thousands of people.  Since it happened, I've seen countless blogs out there making items to sell to earn $ to donate towards the relief effort in Haiti.  I've been so moved by all these people wanting to help - and I've wanted to as well.  But I've been torn on how I could help - and what I could do.  It's been on my mind a lot lately.  I know some of you would prefer that I stick strictly to hair tutorials, but this earthquake, hasn't just affected people in Haiti - it's affecting people right here in my area.

A few days ago, my sister-in-law put a notice up on FaceBook about her dear friend, Lori Rosenlof, who is in the process of adopting 2 darling children from Haiti. With the earthquake, they lost contact with the orphanage where their kids were, and just yesterday, received word that their little boy is ok.  But, due to an unfortunate event - their daughter's birth father, who they thought terminated his parental rights, showed up at the orphanage in December and took her. She could be anywhere.  Lori & Brent have been trying to adopt these 2 darling children for two years, and now everything is chaos.   I live in earthquake country - and everyone is just sort of waiting for "the big one" to hit here.  I can't imagine being separated from my children when it happens -- let alone being thousands of miles away from them and being almost helpless.

This is their little family - Brent & Lori, with Nathan & Jessica.

Here's their beautiful 3 year old - Jessica - and they don't know where she is.  Brent is headed over there currently - to try find her.  Her sweet brown eyes just melt my heart!

And this is their cutie Nathan who is 2 years old.  They recently received word that a worker from the orphanage got out with several of the children, Nathan being one of them.  Thank heavens.

I've actually met Lori & Brent a few times, and when I saw them last, they'd just returned from Haiti and the stories they told were just heartbreaking.  It's a long & involved story, and I don't have room for all the details here - but if you are interested in learning more about their story, you can read a recent newspaper article about them HERE.  You can also read their full account of everything on their blog Countdown to Homecoming.  So - this leads me to my attempt to help. 

Babes in Hairland wants YOUR help.  But not in the way you might think. I'm trying to buy your love here - in a way.  Your comment love - that is!

** Babes in Hairland will donate 5 cents 10 cents for every comment you make on THIS post to Lori & Brent Rosenlof to help them in their efforts to bring their babies home.  That's it - just comment here on this post!

** You may comment 1x/day - but in your comment I'd like you to take a second and write something that you are thankful for or something in your life that you perhaps take for granted, and shouldn't.  There are so many things we have, that the people of Haiti and these poor little children don't.

** I would ask that you blog about this, write about it on FB or Twitter -- to get the word out - because remember -the more comments that are made, the more $ we will donate.  The Rosenlof's have not asked me to do this - I just really have wanted to help in some way - and this seemed so much more personal -- at least for me.

** My hope is to be able to raise $200-$250 to give Lori & Brent.  So that equals a lot of comments.  I only wish I could give more.

** Besides commenting here on our blog and adding to the $ BIH will be giving Lori & Brent, if you would like to help contribute, I've added a "Donate" option through PayPal over on the right side of my blog.  (You don't have to have a PayPal account to donate) 100% of any additional funds that are donated  by you will go directly to help Lori & Brent Rosenlof in their efforts to finally bring their babies home.

** Or if you'd like to donate to the Hope for Little Angels of Haiti Orphanage - you can do so on Lori & Brent's Blog.  The $ that is donated there, goes to the actual orphanage where Brent & Lori's kids have been.  It goes towards medical supplies, food, etc. for all the children in the orphanage.

I hope and pray that you will join me in this effort to help - even if it is just a little bit - to show Lori & Brent our support in bringing their beautiful children back to the States, where they can grow up in a wonderful and loving home.  Remember - this is about raising awareness that it isn't just affecting people far away in Haiti, as much as it is about donating!  So help get the word out!  Hopefully all of you that are "lurkers" and never comment, will also, come out of "hiding" and help by commenting for this great cause.  So please, get the word out - tell everyone you know to come & comment on THIS post.  I don't know how long it'll take for them to bring their darling kids home, but this will be an on going effort through 2/2/10 After which time, I'll send Lori & Brent our donation.  Thanks in advance for all your comment support.

Bow Holder Ideas & More

The other day, Jenn over @ Girly Do's sent me a link for a darling bow holder.  I thought it was too cute not to share - as I'm sure most of you have bows and flowers lying around your house.  This is such a cute idea to display your hair accessories - especially if you don't have a ton.

This cute idea came from Sisters' Stuff

(Picture used w/permission from Sisters' Stuff)

At a Super Saturday at my church a couple months back, they'd made something similar to this - except they used one of those orange clay flower pots.  They painted it and tied a cute bow around the pot.  Then they put some of that floral sponge/foam stuff in the pot.  Covered that with peat moss, and then stuck the thin wooden dowels into the foam.  Then they attached their hair flowers/bows, and it was pretty cute.  But I must admit that I like the vase look better.  You could use a vase of any size really - and make it cute to match the room it stands in.  Go HERE to see her post on their Bow Bouquet.

Or - if you're like me, and have so many bows and flowers at your house you can hardly see straight, they also have another idea for a Ribbon Board that will hold a TON of hair accessories.  The magnet board bow holder that my sister made me is over flowing, so it might be time to "add on" to our wall of bows!  So go HERE to see how they made their darling Ribbon Board.  You could make this as big as you need, and put as few or as many ribbons on it as you like.  Best part is you don't need any major tools outside of a glue gun to make it!

And just fabulous timing, today they've posted a tutorial on how to make Bottle Cap Bows - so head over to check that fun one out too.   They're not just a hair stuff site - they've got so many amazing and fun ideas so head on over and check them out!  Thanks Sisters' Stuff for letting me use your pic and link all your great ideas!

And then one, last non-hair related thing I have to share.  If you're anything like me - you're always struggling with fun and creative things to do for Valentines Day.  Well, thanks again, to Jenn - this is my new "Valentine's Day Guide" Go-To site!  I've been just dying at all the fun stuff on this site.  I seriously can't pick what I'm going to do for my honey, because there are too many great ideas!

Best part is, there are so many amazingly awesome ideas that you can do on any budget.  And in today's economy - I think that's what everyone might need, right?  Anyway, go to Love, Actually to see all their fabulous ideas.  There's even a few that you can change up and give to your kids, or use for your kiddos school teachers.  But shhhh - don't tell your husband, and you can do so many fun things & he's going to just think you are even extra amazing! :)  I'm just hoping my honey doesn't see this post! LOL

Thanks for letting me share all this fun!  And don't forget to enter the Fabric Headband Giveaway.  Go HERE to enter - because tomorrow is the last day.  Winner will be announced sometime on Saturday 1/23.

Almost a Bun

First off -- just want to remind everyone about the Fabric Headband giveaway that is still going on from Stylish Mode.  Head over to our giveaway site - Hairland's Shairland - for all the details.  You still have a couple days left to enter, and you can enter every day - so go HERE to enter!

This is one that I've been doing on Goose for a long time now.  I thought for sure I'd done a tutorial on this one, but after looking back through things I couldn't find it.  I call this "almost a bun" or "bun w/a swoosh" because back when Goose cut her hair about 2 years ago, her hair was too thick to wrap in a full bun.  So this is what we've been doing instead.  Unless I want a total "knob" look of a bun -- which I personally am NOT a fan of, then this is our substitute!  The ends of her hair are so thick too and blunt that it's really hard to get them all neat & tidy once I start getting to the end of the braid - so we love this do and she has this probably once every couple weeks.  It's not a hard or time consuming one - which works great on school mornings.

You can skip this first bit with the accent braid, and just pull it straight back into a ponytail if you prefer.  This just adds to it a bit I think.  You can do a twist braid, or whatever you feel like if you want.  Doing something up front just makes it cuter I think!

Make an off center part on the right side of the head.  Then part straight down to the left ear, sectioning out the hair for your accent braid.

Goose has such pretty highlights in her hair, that I love making the braid just a bit looser so that they show better!  Make your braid, twist, or whatever and secure it on the bottom temporarily.

Comb the rest of the hair back into a ponytail and secure with a rubber band.  Add the accent braid into the rubber band as well.  Or you can add a 2nd little rubber band and add the braid once you've secured your ponytail.

 

 Braid your ponytail - leaving a "tail" at the end.  Is it just me - or is her braid thick?  It comes clear to my knuckle in my pointer finger in this pic.  Anyway, I find it harder to work with such a thick braid - that's why we came up with this one.

 

Twist the braid around to the left, and over the top of the base of the rubber band.

 

Holding the "bun" in place with one hand, secure it with bobby pins with the other.  The "tail" or ends of the braid will fan/spray off to the right side of the "bun."  You can leave it like this - with the ends straight and sort of "spraying" off to the side.  Or ...

 

I put a bit of pomade in the tail of it and then curled the ends slightly with my flat iron to make it a little prettier.

Then add a bow/flower right to cover up the rubber band.  There's kind of a hole there, so it's a perfect place to add your accessory!

She's more than happy to show you her "big" teeth that have finally come in with an extra cheesy grin!  She's so happy she doesn't just have 1 big front tooth now! :)

There you have it - our "Almost a Bun!"  And remember, to go enter the fabric headband giveaway!

Fabric Headbands Giveaway

Wahoo - it's giveaway time! 

This one is more for all you ladies - although your daughters could benefit as well!  Stylish Mode is a wonderful site that offers beautiful fabric headbands for all ages, along with other great fashion accessories.  So head on over to my giveaway blog - Hairland's Shareland for all the details of how you can enter and win!

Toddler Version of an Old 'Do

I guess when you get down to it, you might think that this is just "glorified puffy braids," but after I got done, it really reminded me of one of my favorite hairdo's I did forever ago when I'd first started my blog.  If you've been around from the beginning, or have gone back through my archives, you might remember THIS 'do.  It wasn't puffy ponies - or whatever you call them, but for the toddler version - that's what I had to do.

Sorry - I forgot to take a picture of the left side of her head first.  But being by parting the hair off center.  I switched things up a bit, and did the side part on her left side.  Then part down to the left ear and make a little ponytail.  Secure with a rubber band.  Then with the hair on the right side, make a diagonal part so that you make a triangular section of hair on the top of the head.  Secure with a rubber band.

With the remaining hair that is on the right side, part it off to make another ponytail, and include the one you just made on the top of the head in it as well.  Secure it with a rubber band.  (Sorry if it looks like she's picking her nose in a couple of these pictures!  She had a little cup of water and was dipping her finger in it and "painting" her face!)

Here's how it'll look on the right side of the head.  At this point, you'll have 1 single pony on the left side, and 2 on the right side (forming 1 pony tail.)

 

Take the ends of each ponytail and bring towards the back of the head.  Secure them with a rubber band off center - on the left side of the head.  Make sure the hair is slightly damp for this - it works much better.

 

Then part the hair from around the back of the head from ear to ear.  Smooth the hair and include the ponytail from above.  Use a rubber band and form another pony tail.

 

 This is what it'll look like form the right side at this point.

 

Depending on how much hair you're working with, or the size of your dd's head, you can make more ponytails, and make the sections smaller.  We were in a hurry, so I just made 1 more ponytail with the remaining hair at the bottom and secured it with a rubber band.  I then curled her ponytail with my small barreled curing iron.

 

 

Add a fun accessory of your choosing and your done.  This fun cute flower is from Every Little Detail. 

 

So am I off my rocker, thinking Bee's hairdo resembled this old hairdo I did on Bug forever ago?  Just a simpler and quicker way of doing it.  In the below hairdo, I didn't include that top ponytail in any of the other sections.  I did include it in the toddler version.

Anyway - Bee was being extra silly the day I did this, so we got silly & major cheezy smiles this day!

 

Tuesday Tip - Braid Leftovers

Don't know if you remember my post on Toddler French Braids.  I did it mid-November.  I totally spaced posting this next bit - as it kind of was the 2nd day hair from the French braids.  So here we are, almost 2 months later & as I was going through my pictures, looking for something totally un-hair related, I found these.

So - here's my tip for you today.  It sort of has 2 parts.  Maybe this is nothing new to most of you - but maybe for a few of you to try.

K - so your dd has had her hair in braids - regardless of what kind (this works on twists and the like too) and the next day you want to take advantage of her beautiful curly/wavy hair that the braids have created.  So in this case it was our "Toddler French Braids."

The next day ... you go to take out the braids - and from where the rubber band stops and below - it's straight.  That's problem #1 (at least that's my opinion!)

Because I'm -- O.C.D., uh - really into hair - that totally bugs!  So this is what I do. Remove the rubber band, and before doing anything with the braids using a small barrel curling iron, curl the ends - clear up into the braid.

When you're done curling, you should have something like this.  You can do each section (meaning 3 separate pieces of the braid) if you want .... or you can wait until you've totally taken the braids out and curl the ends -- but this way is soooo much faster I think, and works pretty much the same.  You may have a few misc. ends to curl here or there, but for the most part this takes care of those "straight ends" that are left over after braids.

Here's Problem #2 (in my opinion!)  You've got all these lovely waves from the left over braids - but on the back of the head it's - you guessed it - straight.  So after I've put to little pony tails on each side of the head up front -- I do THIS great easy hairdo to pull the 2 ponies to the back (that are so nice & fluffy and curly).

By pulling them towards the back, it covers up most of that straight middle section in the back of the head, and instead makes it all look pretty and wavy.  So you have nice waves in the middle section, and the ends are nice and curled under too - not all straight and jig-jaggy (that's probably not a word - but you kwim!?)

Sorry - her light hair against her white little jacket - with a hood - wasn't the best thing to show the end result of this on - at least to see the curled under ends.  Maybe a b&w pic you can see it better.  Either way - I'm sure you get the idea.  I just think curling the ends while they are still all grouped together is so much easier than curling along the whole bottom of her hair. Oh, and this fabulous turquoise clip is from Gimme Clips.  If you haven't known where you could get their amazing clips - they now have listed on their website a bunch of the major retailers where you can purchase them.