On a Tuesday

I don't know where the time goes. I had this goal to declutter the kids' rooms this month and unless I get into action real quick like it probably won't happen. It's as simple as this: I dread the process of sorting and organizing. Well, unless I am super motivated and can get it done quickly while the motivation is still there. 

I've been working with D to improve his math grades. Our school started using the "new math" year and it has been tough. We are working on multiplication right now and it just seems so backwards to me. I understand it, but why? Anyhow, he has a math test tomorrow and he's been doing pretty good with his homework the past few days so I promised him if he made a 100 I would take him to get ice cream. He has been struggling and I figured he could use tangible reward. 

This weekend I went and I got my hair trimmed. I am trying, really trying, to grow it out. Out, as in past my shoulders. Usually at this time of year I have it shoulder length and it gets a little scraggly looking and go cut it about 3 inches shorter. I also got a deep conditioning treatment and had a whole 15 minutes of uninterrupted mindless magazine reading. Should there be commas in that sentence? 

Today I went to Ulta to get a new makeup brush and while I was there I did a little tester spray of perfume. I didn't like it. My sister had it on and it smelled good, but I ended up not liking it all (on me, at least). Anyhow, about 8 hours later it was still lingering on the back of my hand and I guess on the edge of my sweater. Tim came home and kept asking what that weird smell was. I thought it was funny. And it's a good thing I didn't like it either, I was definitely going to buy some if I had liked it. 

Well, this seems like enough rambling tonight. 

before & after

At first sight...

D exclaimed, "Well, you don't even look like Mommy anymore!"

I think that was a compliment.

Ry- "Hi Mommy!" then proceeded to rub the top of my head. 

(??)

Rose- attacked me when I walked in the door and has been taking every opportunity to "tousle" my hair. Completely normal.

my hair needs your vote

I have some plans to get a hairchop on Saturday. It's actually more like a trim and style since I don't want to go short-short. Anyhow, here's the thing, I want something pretty and easy. I haven't brushed my hair in days so... yeah. I'm hoping a little trim will give me some kind of pick me up so I will want to brush my hair, get dressed before noon and make me a tiny bit happier. I don't care what anyone says, when my hair looks good I feel better.

I had bangs growing up. Sometimes they looked good and sometimes I wonder how my mother let me go to school looking so fine. Sarcasm, y'all. I have some wonderful examples:

Ignore how dorky I look in that birthday pic. These are the best pics I could find showing the hair in a semi-good state.

Here is what I'd love to avoid:

Not only am I missing a lot of front teeth in this picture, I also look like I was just rescued from the wild. See how that hair flips out on the right side? I have to deal with that all the time. Still. The picture above with my hair pulled back... the wispy hairs? Every day. I used to call them horns. Not that I was devilish but that's what they look like. I have wavy hair. Not good wavy, mind of it's own wavy.

Hold on, I'm embarrassing myself here so I can get your opinion! Bangs or no? Currently I have none. (Except for the weird ones growing out.) The closest I've been to having bangs was almost three years ago.

I had some side swept bangs and it looks nice. (My hair is straightened in this pic.)

I've had some bad haircuts in the past and a few good ones. Even if I do decide to get bangs it'll probably be another year before I get a real haircut (I'm shooting for something closer to six months, but we'll see) so any bangs will be growing out as soon as the haircut is complete. I'm a bad maintainer.

I'm going to put up a poll and you may vote away. I know I'm asking you to do this, however, it's all up to how daring I feel on Saturday.

Here's my current look...

We have until Saturday to figure this out! Bangs or not? That is the question.

home barber

I don't know what that look is for;

I think it turned out swell.

 

this is the "model with an attitude" look

haha, I got you to smile!

only had to bribe, bribe, whisperthreat, bribe, bribe for thirty minutes (repeatedly)

he got a root beer float

(so did I

do did D

so did Rose)

because we survived it

yea!

Honey, Oil and Pumpkin

Hello! I'm having a nice Saturday playing nurse/mother to a sick child. I have a little window of opportunity to share some things right now so... real quick:

 uno

This morning I made this pumpkin spice creamer. It turned out alright, I think I'll need to add more syrup/sweetener to it for my taste and maybe a tad more pumpkin? It just wasn't as pumpkin-y as I'd hoped for. Still, I think it's a great base to start from. 

dos

Since I had the pumpkin open and was making waffles for breakfast I went ahead and experimented some more. I was going to make them from scratch, but honestly I've been feeling a little worn out so I made them from Bisquick. To that mix I added 2 tablespoons of pumpkin puree and a couple of dashes of pumpkin pie spice and a teaspoon-ish of vanilla. They turned out great, but again, not pumpkin enough. I'll probably add more spice next time. However, delicious with maple syrup! Liked them better than plain ol' waffles.

tres

In response to my hair's cry for help yesterday Grace sent me a link for a shiny hair mask. First off, I was ecstatic that it was 2 ingredients and I had them on hand! So, I went with 4 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of honey (after some more research about honey and oil hair masks with Ms. Google). Guys, it was messy. After I stood there contemplating how exactly to apply it to my hair I grabbed my silicone basting brush and applied it with that (to dry hair). I focused on my ends; they needed the most care. Oh, I should mention I warmed this concoction up to slightly above room temperature before applying. After I had saturated my hair I proceeded to wrap my hair in saran wrap and then totally creep out my husband for thirty minutes. (hahaha)
I'd advise you, if you have children, to not do this in their presence. Rose already likes to put ketchup, gravy, applesauce and such things in her hair while eating.... this would only encourage that behavior! Also, your hands are going to be covered in oil and sticky from honey so any attempt at child wrangling while trying to beautify yourself is likely to go awry.

When my thirty minutes was up I hopped in the shower and used a 2in1 shampoo & conditioner (2x) and did a final rinse with cool water. My hair feels nice and soft (so do my hands) and it's a bit more shiny (not like in the advertised pic in the link, but I have coarse, wavy hair and didn't expect that). I let it air dry and my ends are definitely more subdued and not frizzy and straw like. If I actually styled my hair I bet it would look really amazing, but I have sworn off my hair straightener (except for special occasions) so that's not happening right now. My hair feels silkier than usual, even with that 2in1 shampoo (it usually feels really coarse when I use that) so if I used my regular shampoo and conditioner it'd probably have an even better result. I was worried about using it since it's a shine booster and I didn't know how well the honey and oil would wash out. (It rinsed easily for me.) My hair is just below my shoulders, so I'd recommend using more if you have longer hair. This was just enough for me.

Okay, well, I have to go take care of the children now. I hope you are all having a lovely weekend.