Japanese Hair Straightening

Today I got my chance I have been waiting for since Leigh (Heller) Boerner told me about this great new process called Japanese Hair Straightening. It is an ionic thermal hair condition procedure that will permanently restructure the hair's condition and make it silky, smooth and straight!!! Everything I have always wanted!!! It takes anywhere from 5-8 hours (mine took 6) of straight procedure. It takes so long because you have to take 1/4 inch sections of hair - and anyone who knows me and my hair knows that I have a LOT of it!

My girlfriend, Lindsey, is my new stylist out here in Columbus and she needed a "model" to learn this procedure on. There were people there observing and teaching her - and she totally knows my hair - so I fully trusted her. This would normally cost between $500-$1500 (mine is on the upper end because it is considered extra long). Luckily - I did not have to pay that - just the minor cost of the chemicals. The day flew by - and now I will be able to get out of a shower, or the beach or pool and let my hair air dry and it will be totally flat and straight and shiny! What a difference!!! A huge thanks to Martina for watching the kids - and a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Miss Ashli!!! Hope it was great! http://www.thermalreconditioning.com/qanda.html

PS - The pictures in order are:
1. Before with nothing done but air dry
2. A saran wrap after the first chemical application to straighten
3. Sections of 1/4 inch pieces to be flat ironed then sealed
4. The after shot (after the flat iron, sealant, rinse, and blow dry - NO FLAT IRON !!!) Look how shiny and healthy looking - and straight!!!

It's not fair...

that I cannot sleep when one of my kids is awake in the mornings. I even turned the monitor off so I couldn't hear Evelyn at 5am this morning...but I KNEW she was up and could hear her playing then crying in her crib from 2 rooms away. So guess which mom has been up since then???

Evie's first hair cut

We went to Cookie Cutters to get Gavin's hair cut before our trip back home and I decided to get Evelyn's trimmed as well. She did a great job in the chair - thank goodness they had Dora on video! Check out how big she looks!

GGOOOOOOOOOOAAAALLLLLL!!!

Today Gavin wanted to be a soccer player like daddy - so here he is in his authentic Italian soccer uniform!

What a cute/great idea!

I totally stole this idea from Ashli!!! She saw it in one of the parenting mags and when I saw how cute and logical it was - I had to do it too! All you need is an extra shower curtain rod and some hooks and these super cute baskets with holes/drainage all over ($1.50 at Garden Ridge). She puts 3 different sets of bath toys and rotates them so the kids don't get too bored with them - and it gives the toys a real chance to totally dry before getting wet again (prevents mold). I think I will also put some toiletries in one since Evelyn likes to grab anything in sight and eat it. This will keep it up and away from her tiny grasp! Thanks for the great idea Ash!

The pink room

Evelyn's room is definitely PINK! Patrick painted it last year and put up some white wainscoting. It looks great! But very PINK. So we added some white furnishings and picture frames to tone it down a bit. We got one of those "build your own" shelving units from Target and this weekend, our neighbor Angie was able to get another one (from someone moving) for less than 1/2 what they cost in the store! So I was trying to figure out how to put it in Evie's room and ended up bookcasing her crib between them. I think it looks cute! It is a small room so there are not many options. Of course, I added some pink baskets so now there is lots of storage for clothes or toys. Thanks Ange!