Hair that survives school - Part 1

I haven't done a hairdo post in a while (just a Curlformers one), so I thought I'd show you some go-to-school styles that we've been doing.  These are great for school because they are fast, they keep the hair off the neck when it's 90 degrees outside and they last all day at school.

1)  Topsy-tails all over.  You don't have to have a topsy-tail to do this.  You can use your fingers to push the hair through.  Just start with a few ponies all over the hair pulling through each time.  Add a little more hair each time and keep going until all the hair is in it.  I added a few bobby pins to hold her bangs back.

(You'll notice her shirt says "I'm adopted. Ephesians 1:3-14."  We bought these to help our dear friends raise money to go get their son from Korea.  They are there now getting him and we are so excited to finally meet him.)

2)  Double french braids to diamonds.  This style is much easier than it sounds, as long as you can french braid.  If you can't, you can put the top hair in puff braids which are ponies that you add a little more to as you go down.  Start with two french braids at the top and braid until you get to the crown.  Then take the hair and divide it into elastics until you have diamond shapes.  The pictures will show it better.

Stay tuned for more "Hair that survives school."  Let me know if you try any of these on your dear daughters.  I'd love to see pictures!

Why I Love Target

In my last post (almost a week ago), I ranted.  So I thought in this post, I would rave.

So here is why I love Target (in no particular order):

-Target coupons - stack 'em with a manufacturer's coupon and a sale for an awesome deal!

-The snack counter up front - You can get popcorn and a drink for $1.50.  It either entertains kids while you shop or serves as a good incentive ("If you're good, you can get popcorn when we leave.").  Also, if you ask, they'll split one bag of popcorn into 2 half bags, so there is less fighting among the munchkins.

-The nice, clean, big carts that have the kids seats separate from where you put your items to buy.  In Walmart, at least one child always wants to sit IN the cart, which leaves no room for my stuff to buy.  Not so at Target!

-Family bathrooms - Got a boy and girl who both need to go, take 'em to the same bathroom.

-Toy clearance - The last week in July every year is toy clearance.  Toys go on sale 75% off and I get a jump start on Christmas shopping.

-Organization on Black Friday - I'm a huge Black Friday shopper and Target is by far the best organized.  They hand out maps ahead of time of where big ticket items are; they have carts located near the items so you don't have to drive your cart all over; they are fully staffed in the checkouts, etc.  It's very nice.

-Dollar spot - Yup, those aisles with dollar items - perfect for goody bags, class parties, cheap little Easter/Halloween/Valentine's Day gifts for your kids, including batteries.

-Their clothes and shoes - so much nicer than Walmart and Kmart and only slightly more expensive.

I could go on and on.  I really do love Target.  There are a few annoyances there but overall, I think it's probably the best place to shop around.

So which store do you love most?  What is the best thing about that store?  I'd love to hear your vote!

Stupid Ladies' Clothes

So I'm going to take a minute and rant here.

I was so excited today to go to Kohls and spend my Kohl's bucks that I earned on tax-free weekend.  Twenty free dollars that I could spend on me, or so I thought.  I tried on at least 20 different things - shirts, skirts, jeans, dress pants, dresses - and guess what, nothing fit!

Now, not to brag on myself but I should not be a hard person to find clothes for.  I am 5'6" and 125 lbs, size 4 in most things.  So why can't I find anything that fits?  Because like every real woman, I have curves!!  So why aren't pants made with waistbands that fit and don't gap - for those of us with real bodies and real curves?  Even those that say "No gap waistline" gap like crazy.  Who do they use as models to make those things?  Anorexic people with no hips?  Why don't they use real women with real curves?

If I knew how to sew I would start my own line of clothes, clothes that fit me...and probably every other real woman out there.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, I used my $20 in Kohl's bucks to buy Julie a clearance bathing suit for next year and to buy David 2 long-sleeved shirts for the fall.  At least somebody got something good out of it.

Curls Gone Wild

Guess what we discovered?

Curlformers

We started with very straight hair (as we do every day).

We added some Curlformers - in cool pink and orange.

The curlers were surprisingly easy to put in.  You put them in while the hair is still damp.  It says to dry them before you sleep in them, but we were running short on time before bed, so we didn't dry them at night.  Instead I dried them a little in the morning before I took them out.  Worked out perfectly.  And we got this:

All kinds of great curls and they lasted all day (and yes, she wore her girly curls with a black Star Wars Clone Wars T-shirt).  Here they are with a few ponies and ribbons.

We LOVE our Curlformers.  They are rather pricey but I did find a large bag of them on ebay for a bit cheaper.  And now I anticipate many more curl-filled days.

School's in Session

I know those of you in the North will be in shock but school is already in session down here in the South.

The first day for Julie was Monday.  She is now a Second grader - where did the time go???

Monday was a half-day but they jumped right in on Tuesday.  We got spelling words and a new story - our first spelling test and reading test are tomorrow.  The first week of school!  They don't waste any time here.  (And yes, I say "we' and "our" because it seems like I spend as much time on this stuff as they do!)

David is in Kindergarten this year which means his beginning schedule is a little different.  They break them in slowly so he went for his first half-day today.  He has 2 more half-days over the next two weeks before he goes all day (and around here, Kindergartners go all 7 hours of the day with no nap).  Here he is all excited this morning.

Both my kids have gotten wonderful teachers this year and we are just so excited about them both being in the big school together (and one of us is a little teary-eyed but don't tell anyone).  So we're off to a great start.

Need to win something free? Try Giveaway Scout

I found this cool new website and I thought I would share it with you (I'm just nice like that). 

It's called Giveaway Scout.  It serves two purposes. 

1) If you are looking to win something for free (and let's face it, who doesn't like free stuff?!), you can go by their site, or import their widget (you can see it on the right column of my blog).  It lists all sorts of giveaways that you can enter.

2)  If you do giveaways on your blog, you can list either your blog or the individual giveaway post with them.  You'll be added to the giveaway list and you'll get increased traffic to your blog.

Sound like a good deal?  I think so!  And just because I don't think I typed it enough - giveaway, giveaway, giveaway! 

Book Sneeze: Popes and Bankers

Several months ago, I joined Book Sneeze, a site where bloggers can get free books as long as they submit reviews of the book.  You have to review it on your own blog and on another consumer retail site, such as Amazon.  (You do get to choose what book you read from the available list.)

I was very excited to join the site and picked out the book Popes and Bankers by Jack Cashill. It's a non-fiction book chronicling the history of credit and debt all throughout the ages from ancient Greece to modern times (to AIG as the title indicates). I was initally very excited about reading the book.  My husband and I had just finished Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University and we were re-energized on staying out of debt and building our savings.  In light of that, I thought this would be the perfect book to read.  From the description, I sounded like it would reinforce our view on debt.

What I didn't know was how incredibly boring the book would be.  Don't get me wrong, I knew it wouldn't be easy reading like a fiction book would have, but I have read plenty of non-fiction books that are interesting and make you want to read more.  This is not one of them.  One whole chapter was dedicated to Dante's Inferno and discussed in detail what level of hell a debtor was sentenced to.  In my opinion, that could have been summarized in one or two sentences instead of a whole chapter.

Maybe a more money/finance minded person would have found redeeming qualities in the book and enjoyed reading but I certainly didn't.  Hopefully I can make a better choice for the next book.