Moving

Most of these are Autumn's perspective of packing to move, she had the camera and I had no idea. Some are of her helping to pack, write contents on the boxes and so forth.

Our "mountain"

Here is the "mountain" that was created when the folks came around and cleaned off all the roofs in our complex. Autumn and I had a grand time sliding down the side and then climbing back up the other side.

Dinos Dinos Dinos!

The mommy Troodon (Troe-owe-don) is very protective of her young!

Autumn's new pet (if only she can convince Mommy and Daddy!)

Future Paleontoolabitz (that would be paleontologist), first she needs to grow into the goggles.

Autumn trying to ride the Troodon (Troe-owe-don).

New House

Here's a picture of Autumn in front of our new house. We move in on the 27th of March. This will be the longest two weeks on record, here's a sample of my day:

"Guess what, Mom, my Grandma's coming my new house!!" (both grandmas) -- about 1,000,000,000 times a day

"I want my new house" -- about 2,000,000,000 times a day

"Guess what Mom, my Papa's coming my new house" -- about 1,000,000,000 times a day

"Is that my new house?" pointing to every single house we drive by on a daily basis

"we get the key now, my new house?" -- about 1,000,000 times a day

And the list goes on and on and on and on and ........

We went to see the house on Friday so she would know what it looks like, the yard looks so fun "ummmm, needs a swing, mom". There is a great climbing tree in the front yard, just Autumn's size "I climb tree?" "no not today, rain boots aren't good climbing shoes" "oh, lets go get my shoes".

Oh, yes, and lets not forget the constant "my bed's coming my new house?" "my dinosaurs coming my new house?" "my (insert anything here) coming my new house?" trying to be very patient with all of this anxiety but my nerves are wearing a bit thin. :)

AHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Celtic Battle Ready

Autumn is ready for battle. It's not actually woad but woe was unto her when she popped out from around the curtain in the youth room last night and said "look at me mommy". Right in the middle of my parenting class where I was leading the lesson on don't say what you want to say and not reacting to a child's misbehavior. I didn't quite hit the nail on the head on that one, but I managed to save myself and turn my knee-jerk reaction into an empathetic response.

Packed

One Autumn packed......check!

One Mommy packed.......check!

One Daddy packed......check!

The Hair Saga....the never ending quest....

I have learned that no two heads of African American hair, or even African hair are the same, then you add in the bi-racial or multi-racial aspect and it's a completely different ball game. What one helpful person says they do to their hair or their child's hair might be OK or even totally wrong for another person's hair. It really is a game of experimentation.

I've been reading a lot about "black" hair. by the way nappy is not considered a nice word kinky is preferred when describing hair texture. I had no idea all the trauma that is associated with African American hair through the decades. I've always thought it was just hair, some is curly, some is straight, some is black/brown/red/blonde/, some is dry and frizzy, some is smooth and supple; you wash it, dry it, comb it, style it. I had no idea. Lucky for Autumn I love her hair just as it is and now that we've got the dry part figured out she'll be able to love it all her life too. I'm not a big one for chemicals and products so this has been quite an adventure and learning experience for me.

In my never-ending search for hair products that are healthy for Autumn's hair and do what they are supposed to do and not be too greasy but keep her hair moisturized and protected I have gone through.....well I'm not going to count it for you, it'd be embarrassing, lets just say a LOT....I may have hit on the magic combination (at least for now). I joined a list filled with parents who are in similar situations and we pick each other's brains. Here's what I've learned: there are many many products out there that are all natural, designed for different textures and curl types, and cost an arm and a leg. There's Blended Cutie, Curly Q, Taliah Waajid, Carol's Daughters, Jamaican Mango and Lime, Pure Africa, Mixed Chicks, Blended Beauty, and so many more my head spins. I just can't bring myself to pay $15-$40 a bottle for one product much less the 3 or 4 that her hair needs! I can't bring myself to spend $5 a bottle on shampoo or conditioner for myself! I've learned that you can make your own blend of things and buy all the ingredients for about what one bottle from these companies cost. Don't get me wrong, those products are fabulous and I've tried samples and they are really great but still, in this economy it's NUTS.

So here's what we use: a detangling comb, then the fine toothed comb, then the denman brush (and here's why!! www.youtube.com/watch?v=J96d3VZHJ3w ). For "goop" as Autumn calls it we use Hawai'ian Silkey which is a spray creme detangler/moisturizer and is fantastic. To do a quick spruce up after a nap or if we need it looking fresh for a picture or outing or something I use a mixture of sweet almond oil and water to just spritz on. Of course when I'm braiding it's a whole different story and I have a spray specifically designed for braids that we use during the week to keep the hair moisturized while it's in the braids and her scalp moisturized so it doesn't get dried out and itchy.

Did you know that I only wash Autumn's hair once a month! I can't go two days without washing mine but the oils in her hair work much differently than my own. If we wash her hair too often it dries out and BREAKS OFF!! Holy cow, the things I have learned. Though I've had so much fun in the learning it hasn't really been stressful. I do use a conditioner in her hair like shampoo once a week in her bath though to keep the frizz under control.

I was told that she should be wearing a satin sleep cap at bedtime. Right, it doesn't stay on her head. So I solved that problem by making a couple of satin pillowcases. She can still have her favorite characters since I use that fabric on the cuff of the case. Much easier to make than the hat.

All over the head braids take a lot of time for a little girl who can't sit still. we tend to just braid the back and then do something fun with the front. I'm getting better at the parting thing, they are more straight and even now. We get a snack of chocolate cereal (puppy chow) and a movie and try to sit. I can now get the back of her head braided and beaded in under an hour, wahoooo. Heaven help me when she asks for cornrows, we may have to head to a salon for the first one so I can see what it entails. Thankfully she loves the beads so we'll stick with what we know for now.

out with the old.....

Autumn got a big bed for Christmas, she loves it. There's room for Mommy or Daddy to "seep wif me" at bedtime. She helped Daddy build it. Lately you'll find Spiderman sheets on the bed with a My Little Pony bedspread.

Rexy Hat

My adventures in Autumn's hair........the continuing saga.......

I was having the hardest time figuring out what to do about Autumn's hair and winter hats. As long as she wears the hood on her coat it's not an issue, but put any other hat on her head (which she'd prefer to wear) and her hair turns dry almost instantly and frizzes out and BREAKS OFF! I recently joined one of those Internet lists for parents of adopted children with hair like Autumn's so we can all pick each other's brains and also discover that "I'm not the only one who is making these dumb mistakes". I heard from many parents that she should wear a satin lined hat. OK, I can get one of those. But they cost about $40!!!! I said to myself "I can make one cheaper than that" famous last words....... Autumn and I looked at hat patterns and hats that had no patterns. We found a dinosaur hat that she fell instantly in love with. It's made out of fleece and I had coupons for the fabric store. Bought the fabric, good thing I bought more than I needed, printed off the pattern (free, always a good thing) and went to work. Had the fleece cut out and then cut out the satin........forgot that satin has two different sides, re-cut one piece........discovered that anti-pill fleece has a right side and a wrong side, re-cut fleece.......was warned that I should cut the satin larger as it doesn't stretch like fleece........re-cut two pieces of satin..........started to sew, YAY!!!!! Had to figure out how to stretch the fleece to the satin, just like elastic right? NOT! After 4 1/2 hours Autumn had one "Resky" hat. NEVER AGAIN (at least until next winter)

But her hair stays nice and soft and curled when she wears this hat and she is the envy of all her friends (and her daddy who now wants a hat). Luckily for Kurt his hat doesn't need to be lined with satin so it should take me about 20 min and my hair will stay on my head where it belongs. Of course I already have thought on how to make this process simpler next time.......







Oh yes, satin is "sippy" (slippery) and the hat slid right off her head!!!.......back to the sewing machine to add chin ties. So who wants one of these beauties for next year?

Grandma Linda

Early in January Grandma Linda came for a visit. We had a good time, Autumn was shy at first but warmed up quickly, the stuffed cat helped with that alot, also Grandma's willingness to sit and read books and build with blocks!