Back to School/ All About Hair

3 out of 5 of my kids went back to school yesterday. I have mixed feelings, but I thought posting would help me sort them out.

When they are home for the summer:
~ We spend more time doing things we want to, instead of things we have to.
~ Days and evenings don't fly by as quickly.
~ Our youngest Natalie, has siblings who will entertain her for hours.
~ The kids spend more time together.
~ I feel like a better mom because there are less things to forget.
~ I love the relaxed pace and spontaneity of summer days.

Of course, I have to include the cons so I will present a balanced picture.

~ The inevitable whine... "Mom, I'm bored!"
~ And the close second, "Natalie won't leave us alone!"
~ The house stays a constant mess. Its not the cleanliness I worry about, its the ensuing chaos. They can't find things, things get lost, broken... and I feel like I can't think when there is so much stuff lying around. I wish I could be blind to it, but so far that doesn't work for me. Luckily I can usually get everyone to pitch in to keep the house from turning into a disaster.
~ Me and Dave go on less dates in the summer - not on purpose, probably because we spend so much time together in the summer.

So my my 8th grader and preschooler are still at home for 1 more day together. I will be curious to see what a 13 yr old and a 4 yr old have in common. So far my 4 year old has been bossing around my teenager. He's loving it!

All about the hair...


One thing we always do before school is perm the girl's hair. Its actually a permanent relaxer, but in the black culture, most people call it perm for short. If you are mixed race, you can pretty much get hair across the spectrum. Nicole's got the easiest hair, its on the thin and easiest to straighten. Her Aunt Kathy gave her a fabulous new hair cut for 6th grade.


Jess got thick and extremely nappy/kinky hair and a very sensitive scalp. We decided to cut Jessica's hair really short.

This is what Jessica got from me....I never wear my hair like this, but this is how big my "fro" is. Its thick, hard to comb, expensive to maintain...So I usually get extensions, which are so much easier with my hair braided underneath.

Natalie's got thin, but kinky hair. Here is how Natalie's turned out:
Before:

After: