Princess and her Siblings

Doesn’t Princess suit her nickname today? When I started fixing her hair this morning, I planned on plain ol’ pigtails. As we went along, she asked if I could make her “like a princess,” so of course I was happy to oblige. Even Gameboy noticed! He was the first one to comment, “Mom, Princess looks so cute!”

From the back:

While I was fixing her hair this morning, we had a conversation. I was wearing a non-maternity, button-down shirt, unbuttoned, with a long tee shirt underneath. Princess asked, “Mommy, why do you wear two shirts?”

“I can’t button this shirt anymore,” I replied, “I have to wear another shirt under it.”

“Because you got my new baby brother in there, right, Mommy?”

Aren’t children awesome? Sometimes I think of how much we’d have missed if we’d stopped after the first two. Even simple little conversations like the above that brighten each day. Each child is a gift from God, and I’m so very thankful for every one of them!

 

Some new hairdos

It’s been a while since I’ve done a hair post. Here are a few styles we did last Sunday.

 

Cute hairdo

I tried a new hairstyle for Bubbles today, and I love it! It only took about 5 or 10 minutes, and she looked very sweet:

Here is a picture from the side/back:

To do this:

1. Curl the ends of the hair. This is not necessary but it does look a lot cuter that way.
2. Divide the hair into 2 sections. Use a clip to keep one side out of the way.
3. For the other section, comb the top third smooth and secure into a ponytail holder.
4. Comb the middle section smooth, add the top section, and secure them together in another ponytail holder.
5. Comb the bottom section smooth, and add the other section.
6. Secure with a ponytail holder, but on the final pull-through, only pull half way.
7. Arrange the ends of loose hair hanging over until it looks right.
8. Do the same for the second section of hair.

I took the picture at the end of our long day, and it held up pretty well. A few stray hairs at the top where her bangs are growing out, but otherwise nice and neat. This has the potential to become a favorite around here due to it’s ease, durability, and cuteness factors!

 

More Christmas Hairdos

Looking for some last-minute Christmas hairdos? Here are a few cute styles we did for Christmas Eve.

Sweet Pea

I pulled the sides and top of her hair into an elastic, then curled the ends of her hair. Classic and simple, but very pretty.

Bubbles

I started by curling the ends of her hair. I gathered up all of the top of her hair into an elastic to keep it out of the way, then smoothed the rest of her hair into a low ponytail. I then divided the remaining hair down the middle. On each side, I did a French twist until I had no more hair to add, then rope-braided the remaining hair to the ends. I added the twist/braid to the ponytail. On the final pull through the elastic, I only pulled her hair halfway through, and left the ends of her hair curling over.

 

Princess

Starting with two small ponytails at the top, I did a twisted lattice braid across the back of her hair. At the bottom, I secured with elastic, curled the ponytails, and tied with red ribbon.

 

Me

Sweet Pea took a picture of my hair today! I didn’t do much, but I liked it. I gathered it in a low ponytail, slightly off to one side. Just as with Bubbles’ hairdo, I only pulled the ponytail halfway on the final pull-through. This was the easiest hairdo ever!

 

Want to see some more hairstyle ideas? Here are some similar posts:

http://myblessedhome.wordpress.com/2008/12/22/christmas-hairstyles-for-little-girls/

http://myblessedhome.wordpress.com/2008/08/23/pretty-hairdos/

 

Christmas hairstyles for little girls

I noticed that many people find our blog by googling hairdo ideas for little girls. So far, this is a topic that I haven’t posted much about. I do happen to love styling my daughters’ hair, and only wish I had the time to style their hair creatively and special every day. But I don’t have that time. I have six children and homeschool, so on most days I’m thrilled just  to have everyone’s hair tangle-free and out of their eyes. But in the spirit of not wanting to disappoint those who visit in search of hairstyle ideas, I decided to take more pictures on those days in which I style their hair beyond our usual routines.

Usually, our girls wear their hair smooth and simple for church, but being that yesterday was the Sunday before Christmas, we wanted to do something a little special. This is what we did:

Princess

I pulled the top of her hair into 2 small ponytails, did a basic braid in each, and secured them together towards the ends. I added a bow to top it off.

Bubbles

Another very easy style. I divided her hair into two ponytails, made two basic braids, bent them towards the outside, and tucked the ends under the rubber band used to hold the original ponytails. I sprayed the ends with water and smoothed them down into a slight curl, then added the bows.

Sweet Pea

I really don’t know exactly how I did this. I started out with something totally different in mind, which was not working at all, so I just started playing and ended up with this.

I started by pulling her hair into two ponytails, one on top of the other. With the bottom ponytail, I made a small section of a rope braid and then attached the two ponytails together at the top. At that point, I realized I had no idea where I was going to go with this hairstyle, but we had only 5 minutes to finish up so it was too late to start over. So, I just played around until it looked cute: I curled, twisted, secured some spots with bobby pins, and used a bit of hairspray. And of course, we had to add a bow. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to recreate it, but I do like this look which is perfect for a 10 year old who wants to look a little more grown up, but is still a little girl.

 

Want to see some more hairstyle ideas? Here are some similar posts:

http://myblessedhome.wordpress.com/2008/08/23/pretty-hairdos/

http://myblessedhome.wordpress.com/2008/09/02/renfest-2008/

 

Renfest 2008

We took a trip out to the Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival during our long Labor Day Weekend. We had a lot of fun with a few events, but I have doubts as to whether we’ll return next year. We’ve been to the fair in previous years, always during the themed “School Days” or “Children’s Days,” and had a delightful time each year. In 2007, we made the mistake of attending on a day when it was not specifically geared to a younger crowd. The jousting event, which in the past had been clean and light, was graphically violent and inappropriate. In the brochure, quite a few of the displays were labelled “PN” (or “pretty naughty.”) Visitors walked past the PN events regardless of whether they were trying to view them or not. I don’t know about your children, but mine notice everything and are full of questions.

After our experience last year, we were hesitant to attend again this year. However, remembering the fun that we had in years past, we decided to give it another chance. We chose this weekend because it was children’s weekend, and we assumed that the questionable stuff would be left out. Apparently, “Children’s Weekend” only meant that children’s admission was free, and had nothing to do with toned-down content. We watched the second joust, and while it was not violent, there was an indication that it was heading in the same direction that it took last year. In fairness, I don’t know if the joust turned graphic because we didn’t stick around long enough to find out; after last year, we weren’t willing to take the chance. If any of you readers saw the final event and can say if it was otherwise, please comment because I would be glad if that is the case. The “PN” events were still there as well. We quickly visited the old favorites from previous years, and took off after a relatively short time.

I overheard one of the workers say that the Renfest has been under new ownership since last year. I am disappointed at the changes made, because we had such a nice time there in the past. Unfortunately, it is no longer a family friendly place to be, even on Children’s Weekend.

Following are some pictures of a few things we did enjoy…

The blown glass demonstration was quite good.

 Archery is always a high point for everyone

The two youngest girls loved getting dressed up like princesses, of course. All three were happy to try out those Renaissance hairdos.

Sigh… I really, truly wanted to give this a thumbs up. But, unless I hear from a trustworthy source that changes are made to make this a family-friendly experience, I can’t in good conscience visit again in the future.

 

 

Pretty hairdos

After being inspired by this website, I’ve been experimenting with new styles for the girls’ hair. I love to do hair and have been blessed with girly-girls who are willing participants in letting me style their hair. We all enjoy our Mommy/Daughter time with the end result of a too-cute little girl. Here are a few styles we did recently, none of which took longer than 5-10 minutes:

Bubbles
Two rope braids on the sides, pulled across the back.

Princess
Two rope braids on the side, twisted around and tucked under.

Sweet Pea
A ballerina bun. I just pulled her hair all into a pontyail and made three rope braids. I twisted each rope braid around the ponytail and secured with bobby pins. The ends stick out a little so we covered them with her pretty pink pontail holder.