Holy Haircut, Batman!

Ok… so ya know that fabulous haircut I raved about yesterday?  Um… yeah… not so much.

As the day turned into evening, and I lived in my new hair, I started to noticed little things here and there.  I’m typically very picky, and quite a perfectionist about certain things… and hair is one of them (although lately, you wouldn’t know it).  So I decided to reserve full judgment until I could perform the “day-after test.”  You know the one… it’s that defining moment when you get to wash all the salon product out of your newly coiffed ‘do and try to recreate it on your own.

From the front, it was awesome!  Just like the picture I took yesterday.  From the back… TOTAL DISASTER!  The layers were SO uneven, and I had this strange duck tail thing squirming out from underneath.  No matter what size curling iron I tried, or how many times I got it wet and dried it, nothing helped.  So I tried to ignore it, hoping it would magically get better as the day progressed.  Unfortunately, my discomfort and anxiety over the situation only increased.  Eventually, I figured I HAD to do something.  So much to my chagrin, I called the salon and politely explained that I had come in yesterday morning, had my hair done, and that I was noticing a few spots that needed to be “touched up.”  The fact that the salon owner didn’t even have to ask my name on the phone should’ve told me something…  Luckily, she was able to fit me in with Miranda after Ryder woke up from his nap.  And even more luckily, my friend Maureen was willing and able to watch Ryder for me!  (Thank you a million times over, Mo!)

Anyway… I show up at the salon, and Miranda comes out from the back.  She had a full tattoo sleeve on one arm, and a major punk ‘do with one side shaved, and lines shaved into that.  YIKES!  I knew this could mean one of two things… either I was going to end up coming home and shaving my own head, or this was a sign that she was “hip” to the latest trends and techniques and could truly save my mop.  I sat down in the chair and explained my situation to her.  All the while, I can see the look on her face as she’s rifling through my hair, fully understanding my plight.  Whew!  At least I wasn’t making it up! 

After a quick shampoo, Miranda set to work.  She cautioned that it wouldn’t be perfect (because it was SO messed up before), but she’d do her best to even it out, and blend the layers together better.  After another hour in the salon, this is what I ended up with…. It’s a LOT different than what I had in mind yesterday, but a million times better than it was when I woke up this morning.  It looks a lot thinner because she flat-ironed it to be sure she got everything straightened out…  Wish me luck w/ this one!  lol

Feeling Refreshed

There’s nothing like the feeling of walking out of the salon feeling 10lbs. lighter and full of sass!  I’ve been itching for a haircut for several weeks now, and just haven’t found the time to go out and do it… until this morning.  Ryan worked from home this morning since he’ll be gone all day at a recruiting event.  So it was the perfect opportunity for me to leave Ryder at home and go get pampered.

I’ve found, however, that pampering comes at a price when you’re new in town.  I’ve had the same stylist in CA for 20 years… that’s right people… since I was 9 years old.  So needless to say, when I visit my beloved Trisha, I don’t have to say a whole lot and she knows the perfect cut for me.  My first haircut in IL was also my first haircut since having Ryder.  The salon was small, the stylist was nice, and the haircut was decent enough.

But a few months later, I was ready for another cut and decided to shop around a bit.  I contacted another unfamiliar salon and set an appointment with a brand-new stylist.  And when I say new, I mean right out of beauty school new.  So I knew there was a chance she could really screw it up, but I’m not a super-trendy person, and my style is by no means tricky to execute.  What could go wrong, right?

WRONG!!!  I could practically feel my blood pressure rising as I’m watching her chop at my hair.  In the end, it could be easily camouflaged… but it was SO uneven and choppy, I was really embarrassed.  Not being one for confrontation, I thanked her, paid and left.  I knew I’d be going back to CA in a week, and figured I’d have Trisha come to my rescue.  Unfortunately, I totally forgot to schedule an appointment with her, and she couldn’t squeeze me in.  However, two weeks later, I went to a spa party at Soleil Day Spa in Naperville.  For $20, we got appetizers, drinks, and two services (mini-mani, mini-pedi, massage, facial, tanning, haircut).  I didn’t know they were doing haircuts, and came prepared to just have a mani/pedi.  Lucky for me Natasha swooped in and saved the day… and my hair!  I could see by the horrified look on her face as I explained my plight that I wasn’t just imagining my bad hair.  And I was SO relieved to have her make it all better.  And to top it all off, we get a $20 “gift card” to come back and have something else done!  (So if you’re keeping track of the math, I got a mini-mani and an awesome rescue haircut for FREE!)

It’s been about 5 months now, and I was hurtin’ for a haircut in a major way.  I’ve just been having so much trouble trying to work out the timing that it wasn’t getting done.  So last night, Ryan tells me he’ll be working from home all morning.  I declared then that I would call the salon in the morning (to take advantage of my $20 credit) and see if they could squeeze me in.  If not, I was going to march my hairy self into MasterCuts (or some other similar establishment) and get my hair cut regardless of my hesitations.  To my surprise, Soleil had room for me!  Natasha wasn’t there, but Michelle was very nice, and very competent.

In the end, it wasn’t exactly what I asked for.  But it’s definitely different than it was when I walked in (which is what I wanted), and it’s healthier too.  After I’ve had the chance to style it myself tomorrow, I’ll be able to hand down the final verdict.  But it grows quickly, so I’m not to worried.

Oh!  And while I’m sitting in the chair, another gal came up and gave me a “complimentary hand massage” and explained that they were offering a $10 manicure today.  She gave me a few minutes to contemplate the idea… and of course I had to accept!  So now I have fun new hair, and crazy purple nails.  All in all a good day

The Old is New Again

There are those people who don’t buy anything unless it’s never been touched by another human’s hand.  There are those who never buy anything unless it’s been used so much, it’s hardly recognizable.  And of course, there are those who never buy anything at all.    I fall somewhere in the middle of that spectrum, depending on the item or my mood at the time of the (potential) purchase.

If you’ve read a few of my earlier posts, you know that I’ve recently become very interested in sewing (again).  In our current home, there isn’t a dedicated space for me to use for this purpose, so my junk ends up sprawled all over the kitchen table until my projects are finished.  However, a couple months ago, I discovered the perfect spot for a small sewing area when I rearranged my office (that’s technically supposed to be a formal dining room) because Ryder was able to reach some dangerous-to-him objects.  Since then, I’ve been searching high and low for a sturdy, compact sewing table.  I started my search on Craigslist.com.  I happened to find a lovely table for sale for only $30… but the ad said it had to be reassembled (which for some reason made me question its sturdiness), and on top of that, I’d have to drive into the city to pick it up.  UhUh… NOT gonna happen!  So I thought I’d do an online search and see what new sewing tables looked like and what they cost.  HOLY COW!  Not only are they ginormous, but so are their price tags!  I tried working up a “But Honey, wouldn’t this make a great Christmas present?” speech in my head for a few days, and just couldn’t justify it.

Then, on a whim last week, I decided to stop in at Good Will.  I’m not one for shopping at consignment stores, or even places like Marshall’s or Ross unless I have something extremely specific I’m looking for and have scoured all of creation with no luck.  But I decided it was worth a shot.

I walked in amongst all the Halloween costumes and fake cobwebs, and almost gave up right away… and then “it” caught my eye.  I knew it needed a face lift, but certainly seemed like something even someone with my lack of refinishing experience could handle.

I made a bee-line toward this beauty (hardy-har-har!), and noticed that it was only $20.  SCORE!  It was even less than the one on Craigslist, it was already assembled, and I wouldn’t have to drive more than 10 minutes to get it home.  But then I realized that the bottom half of the tag was missing, indicating that someone else was intending to purchase it.  FAIL!

I perused the other furniture for a while, and kept an eye out for anyone who looked like they might be preparing to pay for “my” desk.  After about five minutes, I saw no one.  So I flagged down an associate and asked for advice.  They led me up front where a cashier made three pages over the intercom for the person with the tag for that item.  No one responded, so they gave it to me… SCORE AGAIN!!!

It barely fit in the back of my Escape, but I got it home easily.  Now I just had to figure out how to make it look nicer.  I knew we had some extra paint, and figured I’d just choose something from our stash.  We painted one wall in our family room a really pretty shade of navy blue, and since it would be up against purple and brown walls, I figured that would be the perfect choice.  I lightly sanded it, quickly painted it, and left it in the garage for a few days till I figured out how else to modify my would-be sewing table.

I’ve never decoupaged before, but I figured it would be fun to give it a shot.  So I bought a big jar of ModPodge, a couple of sponge brushes, and some on-sale wrapping paper from Michael’s.  If you looked closely, you’d notice that it’s not perfect.  I didn’t bother to take the time to make sure every last air bubble was smoothed out, and some of the edges aren’t perfectly straight.  But after three coats of ModPodge and some antique-looking silver knobs, I’d say she’s a far cry from what she used to be.

Ok, I’ll admit… it may be a little much.  But I like that it’s funky, and I’m proud that I did it all by myself.  Now all I need is a great chair, and my little sewing corner will be complete.  When I get it all in place, I’ll add more pictures…

Adventures in Babysitting

Ryan and I are both members of our church’s worship team.  Typically, we ask that they don’t schedule us to play on the same weekend so that one of us can be available to take care of Ryder.  This week, despite their best efforts, it couldn’t be avoided (six drummers declined, so they were desperate).  Anyway, on Saturday (which also happened to be Ryder’s first birthday), we had to be at rehearsal at 2:30, and then play for the 5 and 6:30 services.  We know that Ryder does really well in the nursery, but no one would be available until just before services started.  So much to my chagrin, we had to find a babysitter… for the very first time (GULP!).

I was feeling a wide range of emotions in the days leading up to this milestone… I was sad about being away from him for so long (ok, it was only three hours, but when you’ve been with someone for a year straight, three hours is a long time!).  I was worried that he would be a total basketcase.  I was concerned that his basketcase-ness would make his babysitters miserable.  And I was feeling guilty about leaving him on his birthday.  I know, I know… he’s one, and he’ll never remember it.  But I will.    And I know that it’s totally unreasonable and neurotic… and I’m ok with that. 

I was totally prepared to bawl my eyes out upon leaving him with someone else… a relative stranger.  But a miraculous thing happened… when we got there, we went inside, and I put him down.  It didn’t take him long to let go of my leg and start exploring his surroundings and interacting with the babysitter and her kids.  And before I knew it, she was holding him… and he was happy!  He didn’t cry when we left… not even a whimper.  And even more miraculous than that… I didn’t cry either!

In his three hours with this wonderful family, they went to the park, played in the house, read books, took a walk, etc.  And he was totally happy the whole time.  To top it all off, he spent the following 2 1/2 hours in the church nursery, and really hung in there.  He was SO exhausted by the end of the day that he’d fallen asleep in the arms of a sweet nursery attendant during the second service.  He slept all the way home, and was effortlessly transferred straight to bed.  This morning, he returned to the church nursery for a grand total of four hours, and was equally fantastic.

I’m SO proud of him for hanging in there all weekend.  And I’m SO relieved that we got this first babysitting event out of the way.  Now I know that not only can he handle it, but so can I.  The possibilities are now endless. 

Speaking of playing with the band, Ryan and I were listening to our music in preparation for rehearsal, and noticed that Ryder was bobbing his head to the beat.  So Ryan handed him a drum stick, and he started tapping it on his high chair tray.  Luckily, the camera was nearby, and we captured this:

Ryder\’s First Drum Lesson

Happy, Happy Birthday Baby!

Today is my sweet baby boy’s first birthday! I know it’s cliche, but time really has just flown by. And it really does seem just like yesterday that we were checking into the hospital (although I’m knocking on wood that there will be no hospital visits today!) and preparing to meet our little guy for the first time.

Ryder means “mounted warrior” and it’s a very fitting title. His birth marked the end of my fourth pregnancy. And even though most of that pregnancy was very “normal” and healthy, it ended with a bang… or should I say a bite. At 32 weeks pregnant, we moved from CA to IL, and the following week, I contracted West Nile Virus. Thankfully, he was not affected by the virus and like a true warrior, he arrived perfectly healthy and beautiful.

Like I told him last week… Sometimes I don’t know what to do with him, but I certainly don’t know what I’d do without him!

Happy birthday, Monkey!

Holy Hooded Towels, Batman!

Up until about a month ago, Ryder only got two baths a week. He was born in the fall, so he was never sweaty, and since we have really hard water, I didn’t want to dry his skin out more than it already might in a harsh winter. Since he wasn’t being bathed often, we didn’t need a huge selection of towels.  His first one was definitely made for newborns.  The hood was tiny, and so was the rest of the towel.  But it worked for a few weeks.

The next one we owned was very cute (complete with puppy ears) and had a roomy hood, perfect for our little guy’s “moose head.” The one (substantial) drawback was that the actual towel part wasn’t that big.  So we used it for longer than preferred because it was all we had.

Then, at Christmastime, we received an absolutely adorable addition to our hooded towel repertoire from my in-laws’ neighbors. The hood is still quite large, but the towel part is much bigger as well. It’s sturdy and well-made, and it makes me giggle every time we use it.

Once Ryder started eating solids and crawling, we had to add in some additional baths here and there. And in order to augment our bedtime routine, we’re now taking a bath every night. Unfortunately, this makes only having one usable towel very tricky in terms of washing.

Recently, I began following a friend’s blog, and discovered an awesome Hooded Towel Tutorial. I purchased a cheap towel and hand towel at Meijer, and washed them up. I was all ready to sew, sew, sew, and my machine busted. So after a “full service tune-up” I’m back in action. I took advantage of a quick napping session this morning, and voila! It was super quick, very easy, and perfect for our needs.

In Beckie’s tutorial, the pleat on the back is the other way around… I did it this way on accident (because I didn’t pay attention to which side was the “right side” on my towel), but decided that I kinda liked it this way anyway.

So now, in addition to our monster towel, we have another one so that I don’t have to wash the monster so often.  Can’t wait to find towels with other great designs on them to add to our stash… and this has now been added to my “favorite baby shower gift idea” list as well.  Thanks Beckie!

44 Minutes

That’s how long my little man screamed until he finally fell asleep tonight.

I know, I know… there are those who are SO against CIO (crying-it-out) and will give me an earful (or a screenful, as the case may be) after reading this. I say bring it on! I’ve already beaten myself up enough, so there’s nothing that can hurt me now.

After months of rocking my previously awesome sleeper off to Dreamland for upwards of 30 minutes three times a day, I had to do something. We’ve tried “controlled crying.” We’ve tried keeping him up till he just can’t keep his eyes open any longer. We’ve done BabyWise, The 90-Minute Baby Sleep Cycle, and every other strategy we could think of or read about. This was truly a last resort.

You know how your parents always said, “Someday you’ll have a child, and they’ll be just like YOU! “? Well, Ryan’s parents always said that to him… and they were right! I’ve noticed that Ryder totally has my number. He’s smart, and he’s stubborn. Well, as a wise woman once said to me, “Consider this Ryder’s first week of school, and you’re the teacher.” (By the way, I WAS a teacher, but this is FAR more difficult than real school… and the wise woman is my mother whom I promptly called after said CIO session to bawl my eyes out.)

Anyway, the first battle in this war is over… no casualties, many winners. Here’s to a (hopefully) peaceful night’s sleep, and an easier bedtime tomorrow!