She's Feeling Blue and Happy About It

Char has been asking to get her hair dyed since second grade. At first she wanted to go with bright pink, but for the last few years she has asked for blue. 

Daphne would reply, "I think that's more of a middle school thing. Why don't we wait until you get into sixth grade?" The question was rhetorical. Daphne had no intention of dying Char's hair before that.

Sixth grade is here, and Char had not changed her mind. She still wanted to go blue. Daphne asked a few of her students at the middle school what they used when they dyed their hair at home. She ordered supplies from Amazon, and they got to work on it on Labor Day.

Before shots:

It's now a waiting game...

Done! She's blue! After shots:

I don't see colors very accurately. Daphne and Charlotte say that they really like the color and are happy with how it came out. Good enough for me. Daph used a semi-permanent dye, and I assume the blue will fade with time. But I hope not too quickly. Hair color is just harmless fun.

New Openings

This just came in the mail today.

Yea! This will be a better set of tools for future DIY haircuts.

Hmmmm. What's inside?

Yea! Double Big Mac, we finally meet. 

I'll wait for my hair to grow out more before we break out the WAHL, but the Double Mac was my first McDonald's lunch in three weeks, and I tore into it immediately. Messy, but delicious. 

Hair trims. Drive-thru. Packages in the mail... it's the little things. With the schools closed, this life feels like the The Endless Summer, but in a fish bowl. 

Pony Up Part 2: Cliché Edition

This post is from Feburary 20, 2015. The 2019 update is at the bottom.

Last week the Des Moines Register ran a few photos of Char's preschool class.

I thought it was pretty neat to see her in the paper, but I felt guilty that her hair was all over the place. 

That's because most weekday mornings Daphne's off to work before 6:30, so I'm the one that does Char's hair. And I'm not very good at it. 

I kinda hate brushing her hair; it's stressful. After rolling around the bed all night, her hair is full of tangles, and Char yells and cries when I have to pull the brush through them. After the fifth scream I used to threaten her with a pixie cut. But that just makes the screaming turn into crying, and that really doesn't accomplish anything does it? 

Hair detangler spray is much more useful. 

I don't hate the brushing anymore, but by the time I get her hair smooth and straight I'm ready to get her coat on and take her to daycare.

But because of that photo, I've stepped up my game and moved onto making pony tails.

I didn't tell her the first time I put her hair in a pony tail. And she didn't notice it until we were in the bathroom brushing her teeth. Char caught a glimpse in the mirror, turned her head, and flipped it up with the back of her hand, "Nice pony tail, Dad. You did a good job!"

It's cool when your efforts are recognized.

Update:

Daphne does Char's hair most of the time, but I pitch in on jazz band mornings. I've been putting a "pony" in Charlotte's hair for almost five years.   

This morning she came downstairs with a pony that she had put in all by herself.

Both Daphne and I brightly praised Charlotte, but I know I frowned slightly as I took this picture. I used to get anxious when I had to comb her hair, and now my first thought was, I don't get to put in ponies anymore?

I know it's a parental cliché. We've all heard people say how quickly their kids grow up. And even if their children are grown, they say that about other kids, so then they can talk about theirs. I bet parents have been saying this for centuries.

Still, I didn't think a simple hair style would make me tear up a little when I wrote about it.

Homecoming '16: Clash Day!

Homecoming '16: Crazy Hair Day!

Countdown to Summer

Char's kindergarten class is counting down the last 26 days of the school year with theme days for each letter in the alphabet. What a fun idea!

Today's post is brought to you by the letter is C.

And C is stands for Crazy Hair.

Cutting Back

Both Daphne and Charlotte are tired of fighting when it is time to brush Char's hair. Besides the typical "Owww!" and "That hurts!" real tears are sometimes shed. It's time for a haircut.

Charlotte wants a pixie cut (mostly because a friend has one), but we're not sure if she'll really like a change that drastic. Char agreed to lose a few inches to see how that felt.

Welcome to Mom's Saloon. (Oops. I meant Salon. I've been watching too many spaghetti westerns.)

The last brushing.

Just a little off the back, please.

Pre-cut length.

Guesstimating.

Gulp. That looks like a lot of hair.

New length.

Goodbye old hair!

I would like to show you the results, but wouldn't you know it, Char decided she needed to wear her hat during story time. 

After the stories it was time for bed and too late to take any more pictures. Figures...

I'll let you know if she gets that pixie cut.

Homecoming '15, Kindergarten Style.

Wednesday:
Today it's Disco Day at Olmsted Elementary. Since they no longer sell bellbottoms for little kids, Char went with a tie dye shirt and a funky headband we picked up at the Farmers' Market last summer. (Doesn't it feel too early to say, "Last summer"?)

Cue up the disco beats: link

Tuesday:
It is hard to believe that it's already Homecoming Week at Urbandale. This year Char's elementary is celebrating the week with theme days. Today is "Crazy Hair" day. Char was pretty excited, and she had some definite ideas about how her hair could look "crazy".

I'm just glad jazz band practice hasn't started yet, and Daphne is still home in the mornings. I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to follow Char's instructions for braided hair being tied to together...

Pony Up

Last week the Des Moines Register ran a few photos of Char's preschool class.

I thought it was pretty neat to see her in the paper, but I felt guilty that her hair was all over the place. 

That's because most weekday mornings Daphne's off to work before 6:30, so I'm the one that does Char's hair. And I'm not very good at it. 

I kinda hate brushing her hair; it's stressful. After rolling around the bed all night, her hair is full of tangles, and Char yells and cries when I have to pull the brush through them. After the fifth scream I used to threaten her with a pixie cut. But that just makes the screaming turn into crying, and that really doesn't accomplish anything does it? 

Hair detangler spray is much more useful. 

I don't hate the brushing anymore, but by the time I get her hair smooth and straight I'm ready to get her coat on and take her to daycare.

But because of that photo, I've stepped up my game and moved onto making pony tails.

I didn't tell her the first time I put her hair in a pony tail. And she didn't notice it until we were in the bathroom brushing her teeth. Char caught a glimpse in the mirror, turned her head, and flipped it up with the back of her hand, "Nice pony tail, Dad. You did a good job!"

It's cool when your efforts are recognized.