Tuesday, June 19

A Little Bit of Lately

Not much going on around here lately, just raising kids and stuff. Our life has gotten into a bit of a rythm. From hour to hour, things are pretty predictable but never dull. Absolutely impossible with this bunch. But, I am relishing in the routine of now because all is about to change. 


George, along with Nyah, will be heading back to school in August. Guess I will have to warm up to those ol' LSU Tigers. As he is prepping himself for studying on top of working and being a superb dad all while dealing with me, I am psyching myself up to the idea of going at it alone with our three two nights a week. Because the truth is, I watch the clock and count the minutes until he gets home every night. It will be a big change for all but a welcome change. I really am so proud.


We have been trying our best to mix it up a bit on the weekends and get the kids out to see the world Louisiana. We can usually find a festival or event to check out if we look hard enough. 


On this particular weekend, we stumbled upon the Red Stick International Animation Festival. I really can't tell you much about the festival other than there was a balloon sculptor there who made princess crowns and really what else in life matters?
Jude and I doing what we do best.
This little guy is on the brink of walking. Standing and holding and walking while holding at every possible minute of the day. Standing up is his life's obsession at the moment.   
He is over the being held stage. It was good while it lasted. He always going, even on the cement drive way. It is so sad to see him drag himself doing his army crawl across the rough cement but its what he wants to do and who am I to stifle his curiosity. His knees aren't as bad as you would think. 
He recently chipped his front tooth during one of his conquests to keep up with his sisters. He goes so hard with them all day and then crawls into my lap and immediately falls asleep at nap time. So sweet this boy.
Elsa has really stretched out all of the sudden and she is an absolute sponge. She seems to be picking up on everything we have been working on with Nyah. She knows her colors and so many letters. And if she can't name the letter specifically, she can name an animal or object that starts with the letter. She amazes me with her random knowledge on a daily basis. I am sure it won't take her long to pass me up in the intelligence department. Definite benefits of an older sibling. 
She and Nyah are off playing all day. It is so hot or cold with them. Total love or a screaming brawl over something as simple as a rubber band. But she does her fair share of bossing her sister around.
Nyah is doing such a wonderful job at swim lessons, making progress daily. This, the island child who was afraid to get her face wet. She was swimming underwater within the first five minutes of class, hallelujah. Guess we just needed to get a professional on the situation. And the best part, she loves to swim and looks forward to it daily. 
While Nyah swims, Elsa plays "baketball" in the gymnasium, big time. She is so into basketball. Who would have thought? Now she always has some sort of ball in her hand. Guess we will have to get a hoop sooner than later.

And that is our life lately.

Tuesday, June 5

His Eleventh Month

These days Jude spends most of his time vertical. He pulls up on anything he can get a good grip on. He is off playing with his sisters most of the time but still has plenty of time to snuggle with his parents. Thank goodness. 
Asleep while watching sports. He can't handle the stress of the playoffs.
He is eating much more these days, peas, sweet potatoes, and watermelon are a few of his favorites. We still haven't got a full nights rest and not sure when we will. 

Nyah is already talking about plans for his first birthday party. She seems to be excited that he will finally be a solid age she can hold onto and tell people, instead of a month. 
Elsa has created her own name for him, "Eensa." We aren't sure if she is mispronouncing a word or this is some Spanish word she has picked up or what, but she consistently calls him this and uses it as a term of endearment. Pretty cute, Elsa loves is her little Eensa.
Oh how we love this little guy. It's unbelievable to watch him grow into such a handsome, peaceful little boy.
Look how much he's grown.


Friday, June 1

My Hair Education

So here is how the 'ol hair routine is going around here lately. Elsa and Nyah have drastically different hair types (if you haven't already noticed). Nyah has silky corkscrew curls and Elsa has zigzag curls that love to entangle themselves. But, in my eyes, both hair types are equally amazing. 
The 'ol go to detangler method I have been using to fix Ny's hair just wasn't doing the trick one Elsa's. And please let this serve as an instruction manual for Elsa's hair care in case I am ever not capable of caring for her hair.
We wash Elsa's hair on Sunday, and just stop right there. She bathes daily but her hair gets washed just once a week. By mid week her hair is a tangled mess and aside from leaving it up or braided all the time, nothing seemed to be working to tame her mane, and George loves her hair big and beautiful and free. Her hair has also been breaking off around the front of her hairline adding to the frizzy mess. 


I knew I was doing something wrong in caring for her hair. So I went on a mad Google and YouTube search to educate myself on her hair type so I could in turn teach her and hope that she will always love her hair and never turn to chemicals to straighten it. Not that chemicals are bad, I just happen to think her curls are super special. And little did I know that there is a whole natural hair revolution out there. 


My go to website has become UrbanBushBabes. One of the co writers happens to have Elsa's exact hair type so I have learned so much from this woman.


So here is Elsa's routine on wash days.

  • Finger comb through her hair to remove any major mess.
  • Wet hair and add clarifying shampoo- no sulfates! Distribute shampoo to create lather by pulling straight down on hair to avoid more tangles. (We use Queen Helene Stay Clean Shampoo- Whole Foods.)
  • Add deep conditioner or leave in conditioner and let sit while she plays, pours, splashes, and bickers with her sister.
  • Rinse.
  • Lightly dry hair with towel but not too much, water makes combing easier.
  • Add Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus Curl and Style Milk (Target), give her her blankey and comb through hair with wide tooth comb. Never use a brush. Work in sections and be gentle. Though her hair looks big and bad, it is actually pretty fragile.
  • Apply flax seed gel and comb through (recipe below).
  • Seal the deal with an oil mixture.
  • Kiss her cheek and send her on her way.



Flax seed gel is by far the coolest product I have discovered from my search. I picked up some whole dark flaxseeds (linseed) at Whole Foods. You can find the entire flax seed gel recipe here


It was so fun to make this product and I had no clue the potential of flax seed. But if you mix flax seed + H20+ heat, a perfect gel is released that holds curls without the crunch or product build up feeling. Here is a photo as I strain the gel from the flax seed after heating the mixture. Pretty thick.
I also added tea tree oil, lavender oil for smell, and aloe vera gel. It makes all the difference in Elsie's hair. No more frizz! I will most definitely be using this on my hair for curly days.
Life in the hair department is so much easier for Elsa now that I know what I am doing. Combing is less painful and it is so much easier to mix up her style mid week now since the tangles aren't as bad.


Finally, I tried to tie their hair with silk scarves last night to avoid tangle buildup during the night but the novelty wore off and the scarves came off.  I will be picking up some silk or satin pillow cases to avoid tangles or breakage of hair at night.
And there you go. Elsa's new hair routine and evidence that I give her hair more attention than I have ever given my hair, but she is totally worth it. 
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