Snow Bunny!

Last weekend we took a road trip to visit REAL snow. The Woods family invited us to join them for a change of scenery and since Kali loved the snow at Sea World so much, we figured she'd really love a trip to the mountains. I was definitely not happy about being in a cabin with outside temperatures of 11 degrees!! I mean, who CHOOSES to freeze their behinds off?? Not me....playing in the snow is not my idea of a fun time. But, I'll do it for my baby girl. *sigh*

The trip to Big Bear was about 3 hours. On the way there we saw cows, sheep, horses and a llama. Of course Kalissa loved seeing the animals. Once we got to our cabin (which turned out to be a cute little house), she couldn't wait to play in the snow! So I suited her up and out into the night she went to play.


The next morning, we all got dressed to do a little playing before heading out to find hills for some real sledding.


Unfortunately, by the time we found a spot to sled, it was Kali's nap time and she was completely whiny and uncooperative so I had to go back to the car and let her nap while everyone else went sledding. Oh well, snow isn't my thing anyway but I'm sure she would have liked it. I heard they had a great time. All in all, the house was so warm and cozy that I had a great couple of days and ended up not minding the cold at all.

Kalissa certainly had a blast so the next time we're invited, I will definitely not think twice about us going. Turns out, snow's not so bad after all...

Callies for Kali

Yesterday was Valentine’s Day…yet ANOTHER holiday that I historically didn’t celebrate until Kali came along. Her school was having a party whereby parents were invited to decorate cookies with their child. My first intention was an adamant, “I’m not going”. But as the day grew near, I slowly changed my mind to attend. I’ll admit that after shopping for goodie-bags to hand out to all the kids (No candy! Our goodie bags had mini-goldfish crackers, bubbles, holograms, tattoos and a mini-toy drum), I started to catch the cupid fever. You should have seen Daddy and me on Saturday night…our coffee table became an assembly line for us to assemble the Valentines and stuff the goodie bags (Daddy did all of the stuffing!). I had also found Kalissa a cute little shirt to wear along with festive hair bows and a necklace. My baby couldn’t WAIT to put her “pretty outfit” on for the party. At 5:00 AM yesterday, she woke me up to potty and asked me, “Mommy can I wear my pretty outfit now?” I was like….ummm, no! We still have an hour to sleep! She was just too excited.

Finally, it was time to get ready for the party. After I did her hair and got her dressed, I gave her another surprise: purple Calla Lilies from Daddy and me. Daddy brings me flowers ever so often and each time he does, Kalissa always wants my flowers so I told him that he has to remember to bring her a flower too. Kalissa’s name came from my favorite flower, the Calla Lily…so when I was at the store and found a display of purple (her favorite color) Calla Lilies, I thought that would be the PERFECT gift for her. The flowers were a HUGE hit and she was so happy that she had her own flowers.


I hadn’t told her that I was joining her for the party so she was very surprised when I showed up. She had a great time licking frosting and eating brownies and cookies.


After the party was over, the kids gathered around the teacher for story time before lunch. I hung around just to see how Kali behaves and I was surprised that she listened and was very much into the story, even with me there.

Kali had such a wonderful Valentine’s Day. At the end of the night, we could not get her to willingly take off her clothes or her hair bows (she ended up breaking the necklace)! *lol* She must’ve really thought she was cute….can’t say that I blame her : )

A Stern Talking To

Well, I suppose it was bound to happen one day and today was that day. Today, Kali was sent home with her first bad note from the teacher. Oh the horror!!! *lol* I don't know why I'm laughing...it's certainly not funny! Apparently, Kali did not take a nap today and she wouldn't listen to her teachers. I asked Daddy how we should handle it and he said that we would give her a stern talking to and see if that helps. Maybe I should have practiced in the mirror when it was my turn to give her this stern talk because I think I completely failed! *lol* I guess the other thing I should have done was.....NOT FILM IT! But I couldn't help myself. I wanted to capture the moment and share it with her in her later years. *LOL* The result....pure comedy.


Okay, how cute was that??? *lol* I couldn't hold my "mad face" any longer and she caught me slipping up. I couldn't believe that she tried to tell me that the letter didn't have her name in it....that it was Kayla and Levi!! hahahahahaha! There is never a dull moment with this one.

I will be sure to be prepared for our next "stern talking to" so that she takes me seriously because acting up in class is not acceptable! I cannot have her acting like she has no home training! Next time, heads will roll I tell ya!! : )

Coily Cutie!

It’s no secret that when I get interested in something, I jump feet first and let it consume me. My latest interest is natural hair. Not for me, but for Kali. I’ve been doing pretty good with styling Kali’s hair but I never could get her natural hair looking “right”. I usually braid or twist it into cornrows or I gather it up with various elastics. Both styles are very stressful on her poor little scalp so I decided to learn how to let her hair be free while still looking pretty. Our past attempts at wearing a banded afro left me sad. Her hair would ended up looking like a dried out packed down matted mess after about an hour of being free.

So after spending endless hours visiting countless blogs and reading hundreds of product reviews, I feel I am better equipped to properly care for Kali’s natural kinks and coils. I’ve had a relaxer in my hair since I was about 8 years old, so I have absolutely NO experience with natural hair. I buy top-of-the-line products for my hair and was using them on Kali’s but not achieving the same results. Turns out I was doing EVERYTHING wrong. From the type of brush that I used to her shampoo. ALL WRONG! I immediately took inventory of the tools that I needed…amazing the results you get when you have the right tools for the job! Then I set out to find products. There are soooooo many! I started with the JessieCurl and wasn’t a fan. The pictures from Tasha’s baby shower are the results I got with that line’s recommended products. Good thing I only bought sample sizes! I got some defined curls but once her hair was completely dry, it looked and felt like a dried out packed down matted mess. Arrrgggghh! Tasha gave me more tips and a different product line to try and I set out on a mission to find it! After visiting 4 Target stores to get my hands on the Shea Moisture line (with no luck) I finally decided to give the “Kinky Curly” line a try which I saw in each Target I visited. At least it would be readily available if I liked it! So we tried it……and liked it!

Here are pictures from my 2nd attempt at using the products. We definitely have lots of curls…or should I say, coils! I used both Kinky Curly products in the morning (“Knot Today” and “Curling Custard”) and then took these photos yesterday after I got home from work. Her hair is completely dry and she had napped on it and played all day. I think it still looks cute! Best of all, it didn't feel or look dried out.



The pictures below were taken this morning….all I did was spritz her hair with water and then finger comb it. I did not have to use any product at all today. Her hair is still damp in these pictures and as you can see, it looks the same as yesterday's pictures when her hair was dry.


The only thing that I have to work on is the ratio of the products because her hair feels a little bit gummy today but I’m sure that’s user error of me using too much Knot Today. Tasha has given me so many tips on products but in an effort to not go overboard, I’m going to use what I have before I try a new line. But I’m anxious to try each and every one! *lol*

I am soooooo happy that I decided to give her natural curls another try. She’s been getting so many compliments on her hair and my hope is to have her loving the look of her natural hair so that when she’s older, she won’t want to get a relaxer. And since she’ll have the tools and knowledge to care for her hair naturally, she won’t want to get one out of “necessity” either.

I’m looking forward to her hair growing and trying different styles but I will still rotate in twists and ponies just to keep things fresh.