DIY Hair Pomade Recipe

So Wesley, being the absurdly cool 3 and a half year old that he is, has a pretty snazzy haircut.  It's technically an undercut, I think.  Basically it's buzzed all around and long on top.  Because he inherited his father's super fine hair it needs product with some serious hold to style it.  Product with serious hold that you buy usually either a) is a shitstorm of chemicals or b) is very expensive (and sometimes both) so I decided to try my hand at making my own.

When I do DIY stuff like this I really only do it to either save money or minimize the chemicals in our house.  So when I look up a recipe on Pinterest and it has 37 different ingredients that just doesn't work for me because that gets expensive! So I made my own simplified version.

Supplies
Beeswax (I got mine here, but if you can get it locally I totally recommend that!)
Coconut Oil
*optional* Essential Oils (I pretty much exclusively use Young Living oils because, well, I sell them!  If you need information on any Essential Oils I'd love to help you out)
Double Boiler (I just use a Pyrex bowl on a sauce pan, because I'm fancy like that)
Container (I used a mason jar)

So you'll need equal parts beeswax and coconut oil.  For a single batch a quarter cup of each works well for me.

If you're rigging a makeshift double boiler like me, put enough water in your pan that it barely touches your bowl when it's place on the top.  Bring water to a bowl.  Place bowl on top.  Bring the heat of the burner down to low.  Et voila.  A super fancy double boiler.

First melt the beeswax because it will take a bit longer to melt than the coconut oil...

Throw in your coconut oil...

Once it's all melted pour it into your container and add your essential oils (if you're using any)...

I'm aware I need a shorter mason jar, I forgot to get one.  When I eventually remember I'll switch over.

I added five drops each of Cedarwood, Frankincense, and Lavender.  For one thing, I like the way they smell.  And they'll help keep his hair healthy.

Then you just need to let it solidify.  It really is that easy.

So in hand it feels really smooth, not waxy or sticky.  And once it's in hair it doesn't harden really, and stays pretty malleable.  It's pretty damn fabulous, actually.  If I still had a pixie cut I would totally use it.

He clearly wasn't into me taking photos at that moment.  When I asked him to take a nice picture, this is what I got...

So there you have it!  The simplest DIY hair product you'll ever find.

Do you make any hair products for yourself or your kids?  Would you like to?

In case you were wondering, we actually usually have his hair pulled out of his face in a pony tail.  Because, like I said, Wes is an absurdly cool kid.

Things I'm loving right this second...

Literally, right this second since I didn't even have to get off my ass to take these pictures...

My husband!  A certain baby who is generally even tempered and quiet has decided to be a total turd today and if I'm holding him he just wants my nipple in his mouth.  He doesn't want to nurse, he just wants to use me as a human binky.  Being a human binky makes it quite hard to get anything else done.  Luckily, The Sailor has this magic power where he can lay down with The Seamonkey and the baby falls asleep (The Sailor usually falls asleep soon after, actually).  And even though I'm pretty sure Little Man is teething (yes, I realize he isn't even 12 weeks old yet, but he is legit trying to eat his hand and drooling like a mo'fo) The Sailor's power is still working.

My new sandals.  They're from Payless.  I normally don't buy shoes from Payless because they're super cheap (not economical, poorly made) but my sister had these ones and I kinda fell in love.  They're like flip flops only better because they have a back strap.  And when I went to check them out today, they were actually comfortable.  And they're only $15.  If you decide to go get some, just a heads up, they're on the wall not in the boxes.

Totally killed two birds with one stone with this picture...sleeping baby AND awesome new sandals.  BAM!  And, since it's a crappy cell phone picture you can't even tell I desperately need to shave my legs...

Water with cucumber and watermelon slices in it.  Put fresh cucumbers and watermelon in water magically makes it more refreshing.  The added flavor isn't overwhelming at all, it's just freaking amazing.  And it makes you look super fancy.  Although drinking it out of a Camelbak water bottle does not make you look super fancy - don't judge me, I love this water bottle!  You should totally try it...

So this post wasn't completely pointless, just wanted to let you all know I didn't fall off the planet again.  Actually, The Sailor, The Seamonkey, and I were in Massachusetts visiting my family for a week!  So I'm in the process of putting together a post about flying across the country with an infant!  I'm also still working on a post on babywearing (which actually goes with the traveling post since I don't think I would have survived the flight without my ring sling), breastfeeding, cloth diapers...  Plus I have a few cool DIY projects I should be doing in the next few weeks so you can expect some posts about those.  Bottom line - you should be pretty stoked about my blog for the next few weeks.  But now I have to go shower, shave my legs, and start the process of actually styling my hair because The Sailor's squadron is having a party tomorrow and I want to look cute.  And yes, it takes two days for me to do my hair, especially with a baby in the mix.

Until next time...

I'm officially the most vain person ever...

This morning I was having a conversation with Gabby that went a little something like this...

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Me - Lordy Gabby, this acne is driving me crazy.  If I could change anything about this pregnancy, I would get rid of my pregnancy-acne.
Gabby - Really Mom?  You can't think of any other symptom you'd rather get rid of?
Me - Nope.  My skin is driving me bonkers!
Gabby - Weren't you just in so much pain that you were in tears?  Wouldn't you much rather get rid of your back pain?
Me - Hmmmm...you're right, but nope, I'd still rather get rid of the acne.


Okay, so obviously I wasn't actually having a conversation with Gabby, lol, but don't judge me!  I live by myself (until The Sailor gets back from deployment) so instead of admitting that I totally talk to myself way too much, I just talk to Gabby!  Plus, she's a great listener...

But seriously, I would rather have clear skin and still deal with my severe back pain.  How horrible is that?  I'm the most vain person ever!!!  And after I had this revelation, I started to think about it and try to rationalize it and I decided it isn't completely due to the fact that I'm super obsessed with how I look.  The fact of the matter is, I've been dealing with back problems for a while now.  I'm used to being in pain (as sad as that is for a 23 year old to admit).  I'm not used to being fat and having acne.  I.feel.gross.  It's that simple.  And I can't prevent the baby belly from happening, because I'm growing a freaking baby!  But before I was pregnant, this is what I would consider "breaking out:"

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That's right - one pimple and my life was over.  I would kill to only have one pimple now!

Did I mention this is actually my 26 week update?  Because it is...haha.  Apart from realizing I'm way too obsessed with how I look, this week I got the best deal on a bunch of baby stuff!

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That is...the most adorable (and practically brand new) bassinet, a trash bag {stuffed full} of baby boys clothes and blankets, a baby bath tub, a "travel swing" (the kind that can fold down to next to nothing), one of those seats that lights up and vibrates, and a play mat.  Guess how much I paid for all that.  No, seriously guess...












$40!!!!!!!!!!!  Yeah - all of that for only $40!  And the best part is their baby boy was born in the beginning of May so the different sized clothes will be the right seasons for The Seamonkey! Well, as close as you could hope to get since I'm due in early April.  I officially have way too much clothes for this little guy, lol.

And I guess that's really all that's new this week on the pregnancy front (apart from my growing belly).  I officially ordered the rest of my cloth diaper stash this morning, so once all those get here I'll start a series on why I chose the brands I did and my initial reviews of the diapers.  Plus I have a bunch of plans for the nursery that I'll be updating you all on soon enough (I'm actually covered in primer right now from starting the work on the dresser/changing table combo, lol)!  And on top of that I actually have a lot of news to share with you all that isn't pregnancy related at all!  So the next few weeks should actually be pretty fun blog-post wise!

Until next time...

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Oh, Hello Nesting....

I am a cleaning machine.  Period.

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For real though, I have done so much today and it's just barely noon as I'm typing this now...

1. I did my normal kitchen/living room tidying (the dishes, picked up dog toys, clorox wiped everything, etc.)
2. Vacuumed the living room
3. Did a load of laundry (washed, dried, folded, and put away)
4. Washed my sheets (washed, dried, and re-made the bed)
5. Cleaned my bedroom (general tidying, dusting, etc.)
6. Scrubbed the hell out of the upstairs bathroom (sink, toilet, tub, floor and all!)
7. Changed out the kitty litter (we have an automatic litter box but the insert needs to be thrown away and replaced about once a month)
8. Vacuumed the "cat room" (it's just a large closet upstairs where the cat food and litter box live - I cannot express enough how amazing it is to have a completely separate room for the cat.  The door stays open but there's a gate there to keep the dogs out)
9. Vacuumed the upstairs hallway and our bedroom (the nursery has too much random shit strewn about and I never even open the door to the third bedroom which will eventually be an office so they didn't get vacuumed.)
10. I even vacuumed the freaking stairs.  Which sucked.  Stairs shouldn't be carpeted.  Period.

That, my friends, is a list of 10 freaking cleaning related things I did this morning.  I am Wonderwoman.  Well, I'm not Wonderwoman, I'm nesting-woman, and it damn near killed my vacuum, lol.

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I actually had to give my vacuum a break halfway through the stairs because it was getting too hot and losing suction!

Since this crazy cleaning spree is completely out of character for me, I'm attributing it to "nesting instincts."  Parenting weekly has a great article on nesting, but I think it can be summed up by the first paragraph of the article:

Around the fifth month of pregnancy, the "nesting" instinct can set in. This is an uncontrollable urge to clean one's house brought on by a desire to prepare a nest for the new baby, to tie up loose ends of old projects and to organize your world.

Honestly, I'm not gonna complain about it unless I start doing something crazy like feeling the need to scrub my floors with a toothbrush (which apparently some crazy preggers do).  I've always wanted to be a tidy person, I just really hate cleaning.

By some miracle though, even after my cleaning spree, my (DIY) manicure that I just did yesterday held up completely.  It's official, China Glaze is by far superior to OPI.

But now I'm gonna go relax, do some knitting, and probably fall asleep.  I totally earned an afternoon nap!

Until next time...

Let's Talk Tats...

I dunno if you noticed, but I've got a big old tattoo going down my side.  If you didn't you should probably get your eyes checked since it's front and center in every one of my weekly update belly pictures (all of which can be seen here)!

The orchid is actually one of six tattoos that I have, but it's the only one that really raises any concern when it comes to my growing midsection.  Let's face it, the odds of it surviving the 40 weeks of belly growth are pretty slim.  But it's doing pretty well so far:

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Oh how I miss my body....


The left picture was taken at 5 weeks pregnant, the right side at 20 weeks (or halfway through the pregnancy).  The two flowers closest to my belly are still completely unchanged, all that has happened is my vine has grown.  But I was very fortunate to have a very skilled tattoo artist do this piece.

For that middle section, he didn't use a stencil.  He actually drew the vine directly on to my body.  On top of that he kept having me push out my stomach (I have always been able to push my stomach out to even bigger than it is now, at 21 weeks pregnant) and suck in my stomach so he could place it in an area that would have the least amount of damage.  I'm not so naive to believe that the art will hold up for the next 20 weeks, but I'm really astounded by how well it's holding up so far!

On top of having an awesome artist do the work, I'm also super lucky in that I have really elastic skin.  I may have the crappiest pregnancy acne ever but I have never had a stretch mark in my life.  Even on my ever expanding hooters (seriously, my E-cup bras are getting snug - someone please make it stop), there isn't one stretch mark.  It's one of the few things I can thank my Mom for; even after 3 babies (and gaining about 60 pounds when she was pregnant with me) she never got a stretch mark.  So that should actually help my beloved tat hold up.  I've also never had cellulite, something both of my sisters are super jealous of since they've both had cellulite on their asses since they were teens.  I still don't have any cellulite, but I have developed a few spider veins on my butt!  Not varicose veins (they aren't raised at all) though, so I guess I really can't complain.

Do you have any tattoos that were affected by your pregnancy?  What about stretch marks/vein changes?

Until next time...

Halfway There!!!

Cue the parade - I'm 20 weeks pregnant! Halfway there bitches!

I've started feeling the little guy move around in my belly.  Especially in the evening after I drink the one can of soda that I have every day.  I've heard people describe it as butterflies or popping or swishing - but not for me.  When I feel him moving its pretty simple, it feels just like if someone were to poke you from the outside, only it comes from the inside.  Then again, I'm not really sure what butterflies would feel like in my uterus...

Tom has become increasingly obsessed with my stomach.  He loves to sit on it.  Or hug it.  And when he's hugging it if I try to move him he grabs my shirt with his claws.  It's a little obnoxious (but a little adorable).

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Another new development on the animal/pregnancy front - Gabby is attracted to my leaky boobs.  Yup, when I start leaking, she starts trying to lick my boobs.  This is not adorable at all, its just obnoxious.  She gets this crazed look in her eyes and starts sniffing in my direction ferociously.  Then she tries to lick my boobs.  This is a habit we're definitely going to have to kick before the baby and my actual milk comes.  Or else she'll be fighting the little guy when he's trying to breastfeed.

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This has nothing to do with my pregnancy, I just think its cute

I had another appointment with my midwife yesterday.  Everything looks good.  My weight gain is on track (I've gained about 11 pounds) and the little guy is right where he's supposed to be.  Since both the baby and I are doing well she said I don't need to go back for another 6 weeks.

Apart from that, I've started getting wicked heartburn and to say that I'm gassy would be a severe understatement.  Good thing pregnancy is turning me into a hippie so I'm not really that shy about my gas, hahaha.  My back pain comes and goes.  Sometimes it's so intense I can't walk without limping and I think I need a cane.  Sometimes it doesn't hurt at all.  Oh, and although my skin was clearing up quite well I've re-broken out.  Awesome.

Until next time...

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So that wasn't the best idea...

A little background story...I'm a face picking addict. I can't help it. If I have a (pop-able) pimple/white head/black head its going down. I've also always gotten cystic pimples on occasion, and I make it my personal mission to annihilate them when I get one. Yup - I use a needle to create one to three holes in the mother effer and I pop away. Then I put neosporin on it.

I'm actually quite skilled at this process. I don't have any scars. When I used to see a dermatoligist HE couldn't even tell that I abused my face! Once I had a small cyst on my chin that I asked if he could make go away and he said without surgery it was impossible, and I'd have a scar. I got rid of that sucker with a needle and my pointer fingers and there is zero scar!

Well, since being pregnant and my face blowing the fuck up, I've tried to cut down on the picking. I would be lying if I said I haven't been picking at all but I've definitely cut down a bunch.

Well, this morning I realized my eyebrows were completely out of control and needed to be taken care of. Usually I use a magnified mirror for plucking but I've been avoiding it in order to prevent myself from picking at my skin. Well, this morning I couldn't resist; my eyebrows were in dire need of some serious grooming, a task that is much easier accomplished with my beloved magnified mirror. So, I promised myself to only look at my brows, and avoid looking at my chin/jaw line in the mirror at all costs, and I climbed up onto the counter in my bathroom and started tweezing.

It took all of 2 seconds before I started investigating the rest of my face in the mirror, and all hell broke loose.

It was the extraction of the century. I was using my fingers, my extraction tool, and even tweezers to remove dead skin to be able to see the blemishes better.

I popped my forehead, and cheeks, and chin, and jawline. For fuck sake, I popped a white head in my nose. I was like a savage beast. Then, after god knows how long, I pulled myself away from the dreaded mini magnified mirror and saw what I had done.

My face was red, slightly swollen, and it looked like I was currently recovering from the chicken pox. So I washed my face and now I'm dealing with the repercussions of my lack of will-power.

Hey, maybe it'll help! But, odds are it won't, I'm dealing with an embarrassingly red face while I run errands today for no reason. And if that's the truth, I'll probably have to destroy the magnified mirror to prevent myself from giving in to temptation again.

Are you a picker, or do you think I'm gross/crazy/etc?

Until next time...

PS - no, you cannot see what my face currently looks like. I am far too proud of a person to post that on the internet. Seriously imagine my face recovering from the chicken pox and you'll totally have the idea...

Pregnancy Week 14 - and a whole bunch of bitching

Mleh.  I feel like a bad Mom-to-be.

First of all, why does it seem like every pregnant woman out there can "just tell" what they're having before a doctor tells them but I have no flipping idea? Seriously, I don't have an inkling in either direction. I don't have dreams where the sex of the baby is obvious in any way.  I don't have any sort of gut instinct.  I seriously have no idea.  But shit, neither did the ultrasound lady at my last appointment!

And on top of that, I don't like being pregnant.  No I haven't gotten sick like some women do (and I feel horrible for them) but I just don't enjoy it.  Yeah, it's cool in the morning when I'm cleaning the kitchen and singing Kings of Leon along with my iPod and I realize The Sea Monkey might be able to sorta hear me since it can hear now (and it's much more likely that a fetus will hear the mother than outside noises).  Then I feel bad for my Sea Monkey cuz I have a horrible singing voice. But I don't like it.

I want my body back.  Really bad.  Sure, it's cool not dieting, but I would start dieting again and get my body back if that were okay.  But its not.  I also want to actually be able to work out.  I have a pretty low resting heart rate, but as soon as I start working out it spikes.  Pre-pregnancy it was not uncommon for my heart rate to sit at around 175 for the majority of a workout.  It was completely normal for it to spike up to the 190s a couple times throughout a workout.  This isn't good for growing fetuses.  Depending on what you read, the general consensus is keep your heart rate around 140 during pregnancy workouts.  For me, that's walking.  Maybe jogging for a few minutes occasionally  Eff that dude! So, I bring the dogs on multiple walks a day, but I want to actually work out.  I want to do a Turbo Fire workout, and sweat, and be short of breath, and feel like I actually accomplished something at the end of it.


I also want sushi.  A nice spicy tuna roll - yummmm.  Then I want to eat a medium rare steak.  Nice and bloody.  And have a Wild Berry Mojito from Applebee's.  And just not worry about every.little.thing that I put into my body.  And be able to go to Starbucks and order a Venti iced coffee with skim milk and mocha syrup.  And drink the whole thing.  Caffeine and all.  And maybe be a little jittery after the fact, but also be super productive for like an hour.  Then take a nap.  Because that's what Starbucks does to me.


And I'd like to be able to take on as many DIY projects I want without people drilling me about whether or not I should be using spray paint.  I do it outside.  With a flipping mask on.  Leave me alone.  And I'd like to be able to go to Home Depot to get some normal paint for a project without almost throwing up then passing out in the bathroom.  Yeah, that totally happened yesterday.  Okay, so I didn't 100% pass out, but I completely blacked out, turned white, got freezing cold but starting sweating profusely.  Thanks hormones, that was so sweet of you. I love sitting on the floor in a public restroom in near tears by myself.

It is completely normal to get light headed or even faint in early pregnancy.  Since I felt better right after, I decided to just take it easy for the rest of the day instead of seeking medical attention.  Plus I have another OB appointment tomorrow, so I'll be able to talk to my doctor about it.


Then, after going through all the things I hate about being pregnant, I feel horrible.  I'm so lucky that we were able to get pregnant with so much ease.  I'm so lucky that I haven't gotten super sick. I realize how lucky we really are.  But that doesn't change the fact that I, personally, don't really enjoy being pregnant.  Maybe I'll feel differently once my belly pops and I look cute instead of just chubby.  Or once my skin clears up completely (it is getting better - whether it's the Proactiv or just the fact that I'm out of my first trimester, we'll never know).  Or maybe once we find out whether The Sea Monkey is a boy or a girl so I can really start planning/decorating/shopping and I can feel more connected to the baby.


Or maybe I'll never feel better.  Maybe I'll just never enjoy being pregnant.  And I'll feel bad about it every step of the way.  But that won't matter once I have the baby (and can workout, and diet, and eat whatever the hell I want).  


Did you love being pregnant, or did you dislike it like me? Any advice at all?


Until next time...

New Trimester, New 'Do

So, depending on where you look different sources claim you're in your second trimester anywhere between 12 and 14 weeks. My OB mentioned I should hold off on coloring my hair until the second trimester, and I decided being 12 weeks and change was close enough, so I colored my hair. This time I got way closer to the red color I'm aiming for, although my phone-camera refuses to pick it up. Just trust me, my hair is pretty red.

Then yesterday I decided to get my hair cut. With the wedding, the move, the pregnancy, life in general it had been a while since I had my hair cut. Like, to the point where my split ends had developed split ends. It was sad, really.

And although I still want to let my hair grow out, I decided to do something pretty drastic. I had been considering it for a while, so it wasn't a rash decision. But it wasn't until I was actually in the chair that I made the final decision.

I got bangs.

I hadn't had bangs since I was like 4 (yeah - like 2 decades ago!), so I was pretty nervous about it. My hair dresser said we would start off with thin bangs so if I hated it, it would be easier to grow them out. And, drum roll please....

I really like it! It'll definitely take some getting used to; when I see my reflection I kinda feel like I joined the witness protection program and they gave me a wig. But, its a nice wig and I'm a totally cute witness (if I do say so myself).

So...what do you think? Don't be afraid to say you don't like it, I'm a big girl, lol. And I'd really like some opinions before I get thicker, more Zoey Deschannel (love her) -esque bangs!

Until next time...

I have a confession...

I have a thing for trashy acrylic nail designs.

There...I said it! :: phew :: But, I've never been able to have them since I worked in a professional environment...until now!

Being unemployed (while still being financially stable) definitely has its perks. And one of those perks is my new nails... They're nothing crazy but I'm a little obsessed, so I can't promise they'll stay even this tame!

Until next time...

Check out my sexy zebra-tipped nails:

TGIF!

So...when you aren't working Friday isn't really that big of a deal, but still, I'm not going to turn down a reason to have a good day, haha!

How does a quick recap of random for the week sound?  Good?  Awesome!

Staying with The Sailor's aunt and uncle is awesome - they're seriously the sweetest people in the world.  But I'm not gonna lie, I'm so ready to be on our way.  I need to get back to some sort of routine, which is next to impossible when you're staying at someone else's house.  Not to mention I feel like a total heffer.  Have you ever heard that the more you eat, the hungrier you get?  Totally true!  I just keep eating...and not working out...::blah::  Every morning I wake up and I'm like "I'm totally going to go for a run" then I step outside and it's at like 95% humidity and I realize I would probably die if I tried to go for a run.  So I'm sticking to as soon as we get to California, I'm getting back on track.  I expect all of you to hold me to it...


I also colored my hair red this week.  It didn't turn out as bright as I wanted it to, but it is brighter than I thought it would be.  However, taking pictures with my phone doesn't show any red tones in it whatsoever, so I don't have pictures to share with you - just believe me that it looks awesome.  And I'm totally taking to the role of sassy-redhead, haha.

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Our marriage certificate was ready to pick up, so we went and did that yesterday and then went to the social security office to change my name.  Crazy, right?  Well, I refused to drop any part of my maiden name, so now I have 2 middle names.  If I wasn't afraid of getting weirdo stalkers via the internet I would totally share my whole name with you, because it's pretty freaking awesome.  However I don't trust the internet that much...

When we were at the social security office I realized I had to sign the form and I looked up at the guy who was helping us as I was about to sign my "old" name and I was like "wait a second, do I have to sign his ::points at the sailor:: name?"  And the guy chuckled and was like, "well, in 24 hours 'his' name will legally be 'your' name in the system, so yes ::chucklechucklechuckle::"

And then I realized I had no flipping idea how to sign my name!  It starts with an H - couldn't remember how to do a capital H in cursive.  After I figured that out I hit a lovely little speed bump when I realized there's an S in my new name and I hate lowercase cursive Ss.  Grrrr.

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Needless to say I spent a solid portion of the afternoon trying to come up with a way to sign my new name.  I still haven't settled on anything.  I'm strongly considering working on something that ends up looking like a big, barely legible squiggle:

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I could totally rock a signature like that.



Last bit of randomness for today - so realizing that I couldn't even take pictures of my rockin' new hair color totally made me realize how I couldn't survive a cross country expedition without a real camera.  But I didn't really want to spend a small fortune on one.  So I turned to my favorite website, Craigslist, and found this awesome camera (Kodak Easyshare Z981) for $60!!!!!

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Now I just need to get a cord to hook it up to a computer, lol, because it didn't come with one.  But you seriously can't beat the price, and the photo quality is awesome!

All in all, I've had a pretty awesome week new hair, new name, new camera...my new life is totally starting to come together!  How has your week been?

Until next time...