I Got My Hair Did!!

I have wanted to get my hair done for quite some time. I really wanted to do something drastic, give myself an update. It has been a really long time since I’ve updated my look and I felt it was time!!! The last few times I’ve gone to the salon I left feeling disappointed. I would spend a few minutes telling the stylist what I wanted and then let them do there thing. It never turned out the way I wanted it too. It was very frustrating so when I made the decision to give myself a mini makeover I didn’t know where to go. I was nervous about finding someone who would really listen to me and then find a way to customize a style I wanted to go with my face shape and hair type. So after some researching on local “high end trendy” salons, I decided to take a leap of faith and go to the Douglas J Institute of Cosmetology. I was told that my hair would be done by a senior student under the supervision of a licensed instructor. Yes, it would be risky but I thought to myself “what have I got to lose”. Besides my hair of course, and that would grow back right?!?!?! In the few days before my appointment I armed myself with helpful tools…magazines showing hair styles I liked, printed out pictures of celebrities I thought had nice looks that maybe I could duplicate. Needless to say when it came time for my appointment I was nervous. I of course had a vision in my mind of what I wanted, but an expensive licensed hairstylist could never get it right so why should a student just starting out?

When I met the young girl who would be doing my hair I felt better right away! I sat in her chair and we started chatting about what I was looking to do. She got a gleam in her eye when I basically told her I wanted to cut off all my hair and do some fun drastic color. I whipped out all my pictures and she giggled right out loud and remarked who much she loved that I came prepared. We spent an hour….yes an hour talking about what we could do with my hair. She really listened to me, she understood me… and she had great suggestions!!! Finally someone I could trust!!! We giggled and we laughed and she thought I was a riot and I thought she was sweet!!! Needless to say we hit it right off!!! It was like love at first snip!! I felt totally confident in this student, she was going to give me the makeover I had been wanting for so long!!! And it was going to be cheap!!! So we got started!! I was really enjoying myself, we were on the same page about everything and really having fun talking and sharing stories. Before I knew she had cut off more then 6 inches of hair and was mixing up color.

Uh oh…who was this lady hanging around? We had already checked in with an instructor, and we were doing just fine on our own. Apparently because it was starting to get late an intern instructor was told to come and help my stylist put in my color so it wouldn’t take so long. Okay, I guess that’s alright. Wait a minute she is practically pushing Chelsey (my sweet stylist) out of the way!!! This was awkward...but I’ll go with the flow. First step of color is done and Chelsey and I are talking about what we’ll do next when this instructor tells us we shouldn’t do what we are talking about. She basically tried to explain to both of us that we couldn’t do what I wanted. Here we go again I thought, I’m not gonna get what I want. And Chelsey and I totally had a plan! After the color was done to the instructors standards she continued to take over and started cutting my hair!!! I had been very specific on what I did not want in my haircut when discussing it with Chelsey…this lady knew nothing!!! She was just chopping away, I couldn’t believe it. She started “teaching” Chelsey what to do when I had to stop her!! I told her that I did not want her cutting anymore of my hair….I had spent an hour with Chelsey not her!!! I also told her that I was totally confident in my stylist. This really pissed her off, she told me she had 7 years experience and I told her I didn’t care. I wanted Chelsey!!! Needless to say there was drama and I was totally speaking up. Chelsey was able to finish but we didn’t have time to complete the look we wanted. Chelsey felt awful and asked if I could come back so we could finish what we started. She told me she would make sure there was no charge and we both really wanted the opportunity to reach our makeover goal. So!!!! After being there Friday night for 5 hours (really…Doug thought I got lost) I made another appt.

I went back after the long holiday weekend and Chelsey was just as sweet, she actually hugged me and thanked me for coming back. She felt so bad that things didn’t go as we had planned at my first appt. I told her it wasn’t her fault and then told her I was ready to be even gutsier. See over the weekend I saw another hair style that I really liked, with the edging of my sister I told pictures with my camera phone so I could show them. This poor lady had no idea I was taking pictures of her head!! Funny huh?!?!? And Chelsey of course found the humor and told me not to worry she would give me the doo I wanted!! So another 3 hours spent…more color…more hair gone!!! It took a lot of time, and a lot of patience from my new stylist and a lot of perseverance from me but I am thrilled to be showing off a new hair do and I love it!!! I promised Chelsey I would follow her anywhere!! She graduates in 5 months and I am proud to already be an official client. So, after a total of 8 hours and two trips to the salon, I am happy with my mini makeover….what do ya’ll think???

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Happy Birthday AMY!!!

Happy Birthday Amy!! This must be your ummmmmm.... 29th birthday, right? Hope you have a great day and try not to work too hard!

Playaway Comes To A Close

With Jacob's Playaway programs coming to a close, I thought I would drag the camera along and get some pictures. Jacob really enjoyed playing with other kids his age (within a few months) even if sometimes he was fighting over the fire truck with Jack.

I normally don't do this, but I couldn't narrow down the pictures I took for the blog. So, I have decided to overwhelm you with them on the front page... ;)!

Jacob had his favorite toys that he played with every time they were out. The toys and equipment were changed up for each day, but the fire truck, tractor and a knitted doggie were his favorites for sure. Jacob could be sitting doing a craft or a puzzle and once he heard the siren of the fire truck, he was off to see who had it.

Jacob enjoyed giving the doggie a ride in the wagon. I think it was more of a safeway for his favorites because those were the only ones that seemed to make it to the wagon...

Here's Jacob practicing his culinary cutting skills. Needless to say, the only knife was being used by some one else. We decided to improvise and were still able to make those precision cuts without getting our fingers.

On occasion, the fish would be something to ride on. He enjoyed just sitting on it, but didn't generally get it to rock. However, there was another girl that just about got it to roll down the street... Heehee!

Oops! Didn't take this one fast enough as he was getting off the train that dadda put together. Guess he figured I wasn't going to keep pulling the train forever... He was right ;)!

Although Jacob loves the bigger slides at the park (freaks mommy out because he doesn't have much danger radar yet), he still loves the smaller slide. There are stairs and a steering wheel that he enjoys playing on.

Although getting stamps were at the end of Playaway class or drop-in, Jacob found some number sticks that looked like the stamps and tried doing his own. This program was great as Jacob learned to share, was exposed to other kids close to his age and was able to play and sing. Unfortunately, there won't be a summer program, but we are hoping that we can take part in the fall. There is a chance that they will have more classes to choose from for kids under 3 and might have evening options as well. We are looking forward to hopefully being able to get Jacob into an evening music class. One more class day on Monday and then we will be heading to the zoo more often...

Memorial Weekend - Part III

The local Memorial Day Parade either isn't what remember because it was Jacob's first parade or it got a little boring this year. It seemed that it was just the local school bands and scout troops. Not that this is bad of course, but it seemed like it was more entertaining last year. It was an early 9:00 am start, which didn't bother us since we were up early and ready to go anyway. It could just be that we have been spoiled by the Holiday Parades with floats and more candy, etc. being thrown. This trip was met with political flyers and local menus. We still enjoyed ourselves being outside and getting the blood flowing. The remainder of the day, however, slowed the blood flow as some of us took a nap while some one else went out and got some grocery. A much needed day of relaxation for the most part...

Memorial Weekend - Part II

Jacob had a riot with his cousins being over before all of the soccer. Colton and Jacob hung out together the most while Sydney was saving her energy for her game.

With all of the running around in the backyard, playing in the sand box, running the Coltman over with the 4-wheeler, Jacob was destined for a bath. Given the late time getting home and still wanting to do some things before going to bed, it was bath time in the sink. He desperately needing something because of the sand in his hair from the sandbox, the sun protection in his hair on his skin, not to mention all of the dirt, etc. from the soccer fields and the nearby sand hills, etc. He is definitely all boy!

Memorial Weekend - Part I

Memorial weekend has been proven to be filled with children's soccer. Jacob's cousin played in a tournament nearby so we decided to take advantage of being able to watch her and be out in what turned out to be an awesome weather filled weekend. Not to mention, Jacob was able to play with his cousin's before and after the games.

Jacob must have definitely turned on his charm this weekend. Syd's soccer team seemed to hover around him between games. He was giving the girls 5, dancing and playing ball with them while they were relaxing between games. We here that he has been informally dubbed the Swarm's team mascot. I'm sure he doens't really understand what this all means or entails, but I'm sure he will have a smile on his face while he is doing his duties.
Here is Jacob's heirum...

Amy and I definitley know now that Jacob relates soccer fields to Sydney. We pulled into the soccer fields for the second day and he started calling out "nid nee" as he knew that he would be seeing her soon... and he was right of course...

On the way to the fields the second day, we were passed/tailgated by a friend of ours. He was frantically trying to get to the fields before the game was over. Not sure if he made it to see any of the game, but I think he must have seen a few minutes of it. We kept a look out for him all day and finally found him as his son was playing their last game (championship) of the day. So, we watched a total of almost 5 games of soccer in a day and a half...

How did Syd's team do? They were 3-0 going into the championship game. They had beat their opponent during their first game 4-1 and went into the game feeling confident. It was a hard fought game the whole way, but they ended up losing 1-0.

The family definitely got a lot of sun during the games and Jacob is now sporting a nice tan. As for Amy and I, we got a little more and I am peeling as Amy is turning tan...

Quick Trip To The Zoo

After going to Playaway in the morning and running an errand, Jacob and I decided not to be stuck at home while momma was at work. So, we grabbed a sippy cup and some snacks and we were off to the zoo.

The zoo definitely looked like it was busy earlier in the day as there were cars parked along the service drive and all over the place in the parking structure. Never fear, we were looking for a spot higher up anyway so that we could take the cross walk/ramp over anyway. We didn't need to worry about momma getting car sick from going around and around either... ;)!

Jacob was chilled and ready for the animals. The first stop was to see the turtles and the fake alligator/crocodile... Yes, this is also where the snakes are too, but I didn't think we would approach those today. Jacob wanted right out of the wagon to go see the turtles and was right up against the glass. He studied the turtles for a while and then they started moving more and right at/in front of him, so he was ready to get out of there. Around the corner there were more turtles that were further away and down (sort of like from a bridge) and he was then talking up a storm and feeling pretty good. The second set of turtles was all it took for Jacob to want to get his picture taken on one. He wasn't happy that he needed to get right back off because there were other passerbys that also want to get their picture taken with the turtle.

Dinsosauria is at the zoo right now. It just recently opened so we stopped by to start checking it out. The dinosaur you see here had some moving parts. Jacob didn't really seem to notice as he really noticed the dinosaur sounds coming from a speaker behind me. Needless to say, we left shortly thereafter.Along our venture around the zoo we saw a number of peacocks, but this one was probably the closest to us. Jacob was intrigued by the beauty of this bird. He was also annoyed with the kids that were getting in his way and really stared them down.Jacob was a very good boy at the zoo, so I decided to let him out where there were a bunch of birds and ducks in the water. I also figured he would start getting a little antsy, so we walked together with the wagon in tow.It wasn't far up the trail where there were some bubbles coming out of a building. So, we had to stop and get some. Of course, by the time I decided to get the camera out, the novelty wore off. Oh well, we'll just have to make sure we stop by there the next time.

Since Jacob was such a good boy and was fine with leaving the animals behind, I decided that he earned the chance to play at the playground for a while. This was a quick trip to the zoo that took a lot out of both of us...

Cool Morning!

The weather was a little cool this morning. Some of the windows were open all night so that the house could cool down and we could sleep. Needless to say, it was also cool in the house. It was definitely a good time to break out the slippers for the day to keep our feet warm. Jacob really likes his slippers!!

After pics of the slippers, it was time for momma to head off to work. However, before it was time for work, Jacob wanted to get some kisses and snuggles in!!

Mr. Jacowrench

Mr. Jacob's store managing skills have been used once again. This time, it was more of a hands on approach. His mother's car needed to be fixed as the power outlet became disfunctional as the outside came out because the guts behind it fell out. Fortunately, Mr. Jacob has an eye for talent and hired his dadda for this task. Little did he know that his dad worked on the instrument panel in his mother's car and knew a little bit about the parts. He knew that all of the screws were the same length and that the outlet was part of the instrument panel and not the console, etc.

I guess Mr. Jacob will be a micromanager as he was there to watch every move of his employee. I was hoping that he would stay outside and play in his sandbox, etc. since it was such a nice day, but no dice. Mr. Jacob was very accommodating as whenever he was in the way, he would move out of the way with a smile. If I needed to be on the driver's side, he would be in the passenger side and when I needed to switch to the passenger side, he was perfectly fine sitting in the driver's seat playing with the turn signal, changing the station on the radio, etc. He was smiling from ear to ear pretty during the whole project because he was able to be in the front seat for a change (he was kinda fussy when we left and he was put in his car seat in the back...) and was able to play with all of the controls.

Mr. Jacob supervised well as there was no extra parts left when the project was done and the outlet did work the car inflator. A job well done! He had to call, shown here, his mother to let her know that her car was done.

Here's a picture of Jacob noting that the project is done and it is time for a drink...

Store Manager Notes Garage Sale A Success

Mr. Jacob was hired as the store manager for the garage this weekend. He took hold of his job like a real genius. He played in the front yard waving at cars going by trying to entice them to come in. He went so far as to play with some of the merchandise in the front yard and driveway to show how much fun kids can have with it.

The garage sale opened on Friday afternoon and was open for about four hours. These four hours proved to be better than the whole day Saturday and Sunday combined. The store manager decided to call it quits around 11 am or so on Sunday as he was getting pretty bored. This was also interrupted by multiple police cars, a fire truck and an ambulance a little over a block away. There was a car vs bicycle crash. Mr Jacob decided that this was much more fascinating to watch than any silly ol' garage sale.

After the sale was over, it was time to load stuff up for donation. Once again, Jacob was entertained by police cars, two flat bed tow trucks (went by faster than the police) and again the fire truck and ambulance. We don't know what happened, but about 0.5 mile down the other direction, there must have been a bad accident.

So, we were pleased with the success that we had for the garage sale and look forward to making a sizeable donation to a charity or two...

Is It Time For An Attempt To Potty Train?

Amy and I know it is normally waaaayyyy too early to be even thinking about potty training (at a little over 19 months), but we are wondering... Jacob has been holding himself in the front when he is either going to go to the bathroom or is going. It's not all of the time, but something we have noticed and didn't really consider as something real. Over the weekend while we were out, he went into his mother's purse/diaper bag and pulled out a diaper. With this he said, "shit". Shortly thereafter (less than a few minutes), he stepped away and did his number. This too could have been a coincidence. After doing his deed, he was using his hand to cover his behind and a look on his face as if he knew what he did, etc. Today, he tore off a square of toilet paper and proceeded to wipe his hiney (fully clothed) and dispose of the paper...

This may all be wishful thinking, but something that we are definitely taking note of. The potty chair will probably be coming out soon so that he can get used to seeing it. Who knows, maybe he will take an interest and start wanting to use it. He seems to be starting to understand what his body is doing and we don't want to stop his maturing into a diaper free world (at least for his bottom). Stay tuned...

Happy Cinco de Mayo

Amy decided that we needed to celebrate Cinco de Mayo even if it didn't include tequila and maracas... We celebrated Cinco de Mayo with burritos, refried beans, guacaomole, chips and salsa. A feast fit for a Mayan King. Jacob had the quite the snack right before dinner, so it wasn't expected that he would eat much.

Jacob ate a couple chicken dino nuggets and was then ready to head for our plates. He dove right into the chips as he put them on his plate and then his dads. Next stop, mommy's plate. This is where he decided to dip his chips into the guacamole and proceeded to lick it off the chip. No, this isn't a fluke. He really does enjoy guacamole as this is the second night that he has kept going back and dipping his chips into this green stuff. Not only was he enjoying the guacamole, but he was mounding chips with salse verde (medium no less) and slurping it off of the chips. No hesitation in going back for more of either of the green foods. Looks like the next time we head out to a Mexican restaurant, we will definitely be in need of a third plate...

A Nice Day to be Outside

Today was a little on the cool side, but it didn't stop Jacob and the family from being outside. Mommy wanted to get stuff done around the house, so daddy and Jacob ventured out to get much needed diapers and hang out away from home.

After getting the diapers, we stopped off at some nature trails and walked around. After walking for 20 minutes or so, Jacob decided that he would like to catch some zzz's. So, it was turn around and pack up so that we could keep him awake. Surprisingly, he didn't fall asleep in the car on the way to the park. He definitely wasn't wide awake, but he still had fun on the swing and one of the bigger covered slides that he likes. Mommy "freaks" out when he goes on this one, but what she doesn't know won't hurt her... Heehee!! He was going down head first and then I would pick him up and put him back on the platform. By the time I turned around and got back to the tube, Jacob was on his way down all full of smiles.

Back to home for lunch! I just couldn't wait to be outside and Jacob is becoming more and more of an outdoorsy kid. He just loves being out there. So, his mommy made him a plate and I took him outside to get some use of his picnic table. I think this is the first time that he has eaten at it. He was very happy. Although since he was outside, he didn't initially eat much and just wanted to play around on the deck. With some dedication and perserverance, Jacob did eat well with daddy chasing him around with food.

After Jacob's nap and some lawnwork, it was finally time to set-up Jacob's sand box that has been in the shed for a while now. It didn't take long for sand to start flowing out of it as Jacob started playing. It was unfortunate that the sand wasn't more dry as it was damp and cold. Jacob didn't like the cold wet sand on his feet and quickly got out of his new toy. He was content with playing in the sand from outside of the sand box.

More photos in our photos...

Jacob Say "Yummy" to Homemade Fries

Jacob has been one of the not so normal kids when it comes to eating french fries. Although, we have seen him beginning to like them more and more. It had been quite some time since I have made some homemade fries and they were sounding really good to me. So, we decided to have a somewhat laid back dinner of sloppy joes and homeade fries.

As you know french fries are very hot out of the fryer and Jacob was getting pretty hungry. So, I quickly started cutting up the fries as they came out. I was hoping that the fries would cool off much quicker than normal so that I wouldn't get lightheading blowing on them to cool them off... I put a dollop of sloppy joe along with his fries, when I hear "that's a lot of sloppy joe!"

Jacob and I sat down as he quickly dove into the french fries and sloppy joe. It wasn't long before Jacob was diving into my plate for the full length fries. He likes being able to bite off a piece and chew things just like momma and dada do. As he was chewing, we hear a "Yummy" and a big smile ensued. Either he was really hungry, just decided to eat well or really likes fries and sloppy joe because he gobbled and gobbled. His mother then also noted that dada's initial dollop of sloppy joe may not have been that far off... ;)!