Kayla's Kwik Kuts

I have become the official barber of our household. 

I have no training whatsoever. 

None. 

But, when you are following Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover, every penny saved can go towards paying off your debt snowball!!!  So, viola....Kayla's Kwik Kuts was born....although just between you and me - I give really slow hair cuts!

I already showed you L-Girl's new bangs...in case you missed them, here they are again in all their glory!

I also recently cut D-man's hair.  He finally got too hot with his Justin Beiber-esque coif.  As seen below at the spelling bee.

And, as seen here....the real reason he finally wanted it cut....

All that hair makes for VERY hot baseball in Georgia!

So, he got this hair cut....

He calls it "The Hawk" because I buzzed the sides and left it longer on top - so he can rock a faux mohawk if he wants...he usually doesn't, but he could if he wanted to.

A-man was looking a little crazy too, so even though I loved his little curls we was getting on the back of his head, he too, needed a good summer cut.

Before.... or how it looked most days when we left the house....because I forgot to check to see if his hair was combed!

Before....after I had combed it a bit....

During...

And after...

A-Girl just wants her hair to keep growing and growing and growing - so I just trim her ends.  S-Girl has not had her first mommy hair cut yet...I am a little afraid of her hair... it is very fine -but it is getting split ends - so I am going to have to tough it out.  I will keep you posted.  V-Girl doesn't need one yet....don't be fooled by this picture...

  Check our her "bug bit right between the eyes" bindi!

Rainman, since our move to Georgia, has adopted this really difficult style....

So, how about me?  This is what I looked like when we moved.....

I got a trim a few months after we moved.  I didn't like what she did and haven't had it cut since..that was November of 2009. 

So, as part of our Dave Ramsey Total Money Makeover....and Style Maven of the South that I am...

I wear it in a bun or a french twist every day.  I don't think I have every seen this particular view of my ear before.  Weird.....

I was wearing pony tails - but my hair is so heavy, it gives me headaches so..... there it is.   My friend Alicia and I used to joke that one day we would become bun wearing missionaries....I guess I am half way there already! 

Someday soon, I will be going to get my hair set every week and wrapping my hair in toilet paper when I sleep at night  -  so I don't mess it up whilst sleeping!  But, all of that glamour and maintenance will have to wait until we finish our Total Money Makeover!

Okay, the Last April Birthday Update....

It has been about a month after my last April birthday...so I am just a little late in keeping people updated, but here you go....

L-Girl turned 9 last month...along with S-Girl turning 4....and A-Girl turning 11.

We did not celebrate on her actual birthday, partly because she had softball games and partly because I was gone.  Yes, I was not around on her birthday. 

You see, there was this women's conference, Extraordinary Women,  that the ladies from my Sunday School class had decided to attend and encouraged me to go.  Now, you may have figured out by now, that I have had a hard time adjusting to my new life here in Georgia - without my best friends and sisters, Karen and Kandi.  Rainman even encouraged me to go and "make some friends".  These are ladies that I see Sunday mornings for 45 minutes and then sometimes on Wednesdays for the same amount of time.  So, they weren't strangers, but there is nothing like sharing a bed with someone from your Sunday School class to bring you closer, right?  So, I excitedly signed myself up for the adventure which would involve the conference Friday night, staying at a hotel and then more conference on Saturday.  I was very excited.  It was going to take some arranging to make things work for the kids and Rainman while I was gone, but it could be done. 

Then, L-Girl said to me..."You know that Saturday is my birthday, right?"

Oh.

Um.

I kinda, sorta, forgot.

I thought about backing out, but Rainman encouraged me to go and we mollified L-Girl by saying that even if I was home, it would be hard to celebrate because she was going to be busy with softball.  I did leave her a few little surprises for her to discover on her birthday, while I was gone too.

So, a few days later...we actually celebrated her birthday.

A few things you need to know about my L-Girl.  She loves fruits and vegetables.  She would pick this.....

as a snack ...even if she has brownies for an option.  I have for her entire life been trying to find the perfect birthday "cake" for her.  I have tried a mandarin orange cake.  One year I made lemon bars (so far I think that was her favorite).  I have made a cream pie kinda thing covered in fruit.  This year she asked for a lemon cake and said I should surprise her with what I came up with for decorations.  So, here is what she got this year...

Can you tell it is a strawberry?

I used strawberry flavored frosting....it was actually quite tasty.  The biggest test?  She liked it too.  She didn't love it, though, so the quest continues!!!

She got things like this for her birthday...

A sprinkler and a water gun.

My L-Girl is, and always has been, a bit on the wild, adventurous side.  A girl who has always been covered with bruises.  A girl who (most of the time) doesn't care what the world things of her.  A girl who always has a twinkle in her eye.  A girl who flings herself wholeheartedly into whatever is in front of her....usually fearlessly. 

In short. 

She is the kind of girl I have always secretly wished I could be.

I was almost always well-behaved (right, mom?).  I didn't like to make a scene....unless I was actually on stage pretending to be someone else.  I could never really throw myself into the moment at a party or in a game....because my head was always worrying about what other kids/people....or worse yet....BOYS... were thinking of me.  I was and am very cautious.

L-Girl throws herself into every moment and looks at every situation as a good time just waiting to happen. 

I will admit that I find this troubling sometimes.  We have recently had talks about what is considered lady-like behavior.  It is a tough balance - because I don't want to totally squelch the inner vivacity she possesses - but I also want her to be able to gauge a situation and choose to act appropriately....does that make sense?

She is awesome.  She is smart....school, so far, comes very easily for her.

She is courageous (almost too much so).  She is the kind of girl who gets a black eye from a Lego fight....and goes back for round 2.

She is a snuggler. 

We call her our "kitty" because if you sit down, it won't be long before she is circling and finding the right spot to sit and snuggle with you. 

She is crafty.  She made these flowers to wear as pins on your clothes...

Then she decided that they would look nice on headbands...

She just asked me to cut her hair.  As part of our Dave Ramsey Total Money Makeover, we have given up on salon/stylist cuts and I have become the barber.  She wanted bangs.  I said no.  She asked again. 

I said yes....now she looks really old.....and beautiful....although it helps that she was wearing her frog princess footie pjs in this shot!

I worry for the boys that are going to fall for her....I think it will be like moths to a flame.....

Mother's Day/Confirmation

My two oldest children got confirmed yesterday, on Mother's Day. 

Our day in Georgia, was very different than what it would have been in Minnesota.

First of all, it was 85 degrees in Georgia.  Big difference.  I believe it was about 50 degrees in Minnesota yesterday!

If we had been in Minnesota for Mother's Day, I would have seen my mother...

...at church and perhaps later for lunch or DQ or something.  I would have given her a hanging basket of flowers (a tradition that goes back many years - that I am now wondering if she liked?!?!)

If we had been in Minnesota for my children's confirmation.  They would have been confirmed in the same church I was confirmed in....and, I think, the same church my dad was confirmed in.  I would have hosted an Open House for family and friends.  My menu probably would have been ham with buttered buns, calico beans, a relish tray, punch and, if she could have been persuaded, one of my mom's beautifully decorated Bible cakes.  I would have invited aunts, uncles, cousins, probably a few second cousins too. 

But, we live in Georgia now.  So, here is how the day went instead.....

A-Girl served me breakfast in bed, just as my alarm went off....

Please note that the grass on her card spells Mom....and the scrambled eggs spell Mom.  She separated the egg whites and used those to make the M's and the yolk to make the O!

We then headed to church for confirmation.  Rainman actually had the day off....so he was able to be there too!!

They made their own confirmation stoles.  I haven't gotten the whole explanation for what everything they drew on them means yet.

Here they are with our Pastor and the Youth Director....

It was a nice service and it was very powerful laying hands on and praying over them.

The Mother's Day portion of my day happened later in the afternoon, when I received a plethora of homemade cards and gifts.  I love each and every one of them.  The funniest one of the day though, goes to S-Girl....who brought me this...

(I just noticed the total blur of A-man in the background!)

Inside this precious package she wrapped herself, was this.....

Now for the funny part.  Rainman buys these in bulk for me at Costco every couple of months.  I eat one every night as my bedtime snack.  We keep them in the back of the pantry.  So, we asked S-Girl where she got my gift and she said she went shopping in the pantry...in that box....that Daddy got!  Maybe you had to be there....but we all laughed!

We tried to go out to supper at about 4:00 at O'Charley's - thinking that we would be after the "brunch" rush and before the "dinner" rush.  As we drove into the parking lot, we realized that we had tried this same trick last year with the same result....a 1 1/2 hour wait....no can do with 6 children!!!

So the search was on for someplace that I wanted to eat for my special day.  Through the chorus of suggestions...McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's....we tried out a BBQ/Rib place that we have driven by many times.  It was good.  I got a yellow carnation.

We came home and I sat on my swing on the back porch and watched the kids play ball and get along in the backyard.....for about 1 1/2 hours.



That was probably the best present of all!

Another April Birthday...

Continuing to share our April birthday celebrations with the rest of you....here is our second birthday (with one more to go).  My oldest daughter, A-Girl just turned 11.

I have started seeing glimpses of the young lady she is going to be.  It first started with her early birthday gift from Gramma - see here.  Here she is at her slumber party with one of the gifts.  You will notice that the girls gave each other make-overs, so she has make-up on, which she isn't allowed to wear yet.  

But, in this picture, and in life, I am starting to see the bone structure shift around and her always big blue eyes - now suddenly seeming to fit in her face with the high cheekbones.

Sigh. 

Isn't she beautiful? 

Sigh.

She really is something though.  She is doing better in school this year than ever before.  Partly due to a change in style by her "teachers", I think, but she is also putting more effort into it. 

Her interests and talents are wonderfully varied. 

Just recently, she hit a home run during one of her softball games....

She sewed this....

She used an old pair of blue jeans and some fabric that she ruffled around the edges.

She also made this.....

and this.....

She has a very entrepreneurial spirit and is always coming up with ways to sell things, make things, do things....for a profit!  She already has a few customers for her aprons and other accessories she has made for her American Girl doll owning friends.  She and I are working on some projects to sell at the farmer's market.

She is also sweet, thoughtful, and a natural nurturer - something that gets a lot of use at our house!!!  If one of the littles is sick or crying - she is always first in line (behind me) to jump in and help....even with the gross stuff!  She will make a fabulous mother someday....

But, for right now, she is a fabulous daughter, sister and person!