Chocolate Hair / Vanilla Care : Natural hair care for kids, adoption, and family life.

November 30, 2011

Wordless Wednesday: A Little Girl Not Feeling Well

Boo has been pretty ill this last week. If pictures speak a thousand words, the photo above should say it all. High fevers, horrible coughing, and just plain not herself. So when the beautiful dress that she won from Nicole Benitez Photography arrived yesterday, I didn't expect much reaction from her. Little did I realize that she would want to put the dress on and have photos taken, high fever and all. I indulged her for a few pictures, then off to sleepy nap time she went. Thankfully she seems to be feeling much better today.

Introducing Our New Site Map

(photo by woodleywonderworks)

Hi, everyone, hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving! We're struggling with some sickies in the house right now, but overall had a great break with both Boo and Daddy being off school/work. What I've been working on this past week has been a labour of love and is still a work in progress. But I would like to let you all know that I've started a Site Map for this blog, where you will be able to see all of the blog posts I've written, organized by topic.

Yarn Twist Extensions with Front Yarn Flat Rope Twists

At long last, I'm finally posting the finished hairstyle from the "Yarn Extensions How-To Video." Boo had but one request for her new hairstyle: beads. As I'm not a huge fan of adding rubber bands to her hair, yarn extensions are healthiest way that I know to add beads without doing too much damage to her hair. Thus, began the long process of yarn extensions. In fact, the beads didn't get added until the Wednesday after the Saturday when we first started styling.

Family Friday: December Birthdays and Christmas Decor

Something that we struggled with when Boo first joined our family was deciding how we were going to approach the fact that her birthday falls so close to Christmas. Knowing so many other moms who deal with this very thing (hi WTE Dec2007 moms! *waves*), we've all gone about approaching it in various ways. This year, however, I think we've finally settled on what works best for our family and, most of all, for Boo.

Happy Thanksgiving 2011

(photo by vistamommy)

There are a lot of things I am thankful for this year, but one of the biggest ones is all of you! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment, ask questions, and participate in discussions that help each other out. You are the best!

Black Friday Natural Hair Deals 2011

Boy, I really love it when somebody else does all the hard work. Like all those weekly grocery store coupon match-ups and stuff. I never have the time (nor the talent) to do all of that scanning of ads. Thankfully, there are people out there who do, taking all the hard work of finding the best deals upon themselves. Now that's something for which I am truly thankful!

Adoption Story: The First Best Day of the Rest of My Life

(Guest Post by Karen Dresser)

Independence Day. Rain kept the fireworks at bay, but it was okay; I’d celebrated the day before. It was July 3rd that I’d put my finishing touches on my adoption album and turned it into the adoption agency. Now all I had to do was sit and wait for someone to pick me as their baby’s mom.

Head & Shoulders Product Review and $50 Visa Gift Card Giveaway

I don't know how many of you remember that back in July I took colouring my hair into my own hands and totally fried my scalp. Since then, I've been struggling with dryness, flaking, and a regular feeling like my scalp was fighting off an infection (can scalps get colds?) I even had trouble wearing my hair in my standard ponytail because of the tenderness on certain areas of my head. So when BlogHer contacted me about trying out Head & Shoulders Eucalyptus Itchy Scalp Care products, you know I jumped all over that.

Yarn Extensions How-To Video

At long last I finally had a chance to do some yarn extensions when my husband was home to run the video camera. This is a short video showing how I anchor the yarn into a two-strand rope twist. I used two strands of yarn, folded over, and anchored the hair on the fold of the yarn.

Family Friday: The Early Birthday Present

If you've been following this blog for any amount of time, you already know what a huge Hello Kitty fan my daughter is. With her birthday party fast-approaching, I didn't think that I would be able to top the Hello Kitty Halloween costume. However, with the help of a great friend, I couldn't have been more wrong!

My Favourite Things 2011

Well, it's almost that time of year. Everyone is coming out with their holiday buying guides, not to mention that most stores have decided to skip over Thanksgiving entirely. I've been meaning to put together a list of my favourite things to share with all of you. It's not so much a buyer's guide, but literally a shout-out to the things that I love. I was not compensated in any way for mentioning any of these item; everything listed truly comes from a place of warmth in my heart.

Wordless Wednesday: Manicure by Daddy

In honour of the awesome job that Daddy did on Boo's hair this last weekend, I've decided to take a stroll down memory lane and pull out an old photo of the early days of Daddy taking care of Boo. This photo is of him doing her nails, when she was exactly two months old. She wouldn't let me anywhere near her fingernails, but Daddy seemed to have the magic touch. Getting her nails cut and shaped has never been a problem......just so long as Daddy is the one doing them!

Tips for Keeping Your Child Hydrated During the Winter Months

We all know how important staying hydrated is during the summer. But what about when it's cold? We often forget to drink water when the weather cools down, which can lead to dry skin and hair. But further, dehydration can also cause chapped lips, nosebleeds, and dry coughs. Further, dry sinuses can crack (just like chapped lips), making them vulnerable to infection. So keeping our kids hydrated in the winter months is not only important to healthy skin and hair, it's just plain healthy.

Packing a Shoebox for Operation Christmas Child 2011

This week, November 14-21, marks National Collection Week for Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child 2011. As a family, over this last weekend we gathered our items together and packaged up our shoebox, which we will be dropping off tomorrow. If you have not yet heard of Operation Christmas Child, it is a mission "to demonstrate God's love in a tangible way to needy children around the world, and together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ." (Please note that this is their busy time, so if you encounter an error on their web site, try to be patient and click "reload.")

Daddy Does Hair....For Family Portraits!

Tomorrow we are having family portraits done again and I was going back and forth on what to do for Boo's hair. I really liked the "Hairstyle for School Pics" that she has been wearing these last few weeks, but it didn't quite look polished enough for fresh photos tomorrow, so I made the executive decision to take them out and do something different. And by "different" I mean "let Daddy do everything."

Family Friday: Veterans Day 2011

We celebrated Boo and Daddy's day off from school (Daddy's a teacher) by hopping in the car and driving a bit into downtown to visit the Veterans Museum and Memorial Center. You know, because after all Veterans Day is the reason why they're both home today, so what better time to go, right? I can think of no better way to remember those who have served our country and to say thank-you to some of them in person.

Protective Styling for Your Child's Natural Hair

As winter is fast approaching, it's probably a good time to talk about protective hairstyling. A protective style, in my book, is simply a style that helps prevent hair breakage. Depending on your hair type, the styles chosen to achieve this could be very different.

Wordless Wednesday: Donating Toys

Every year we ask Boo to donate toys with which she is no longer playing to those kids who have none. Last year she was a little young to understand, so it took quite a bit of coaxing to keep her from giving away everything she had.

Book Review: Brown Babies Pink Parents

Brown Babies Pink Parents: A Practical Guide to Transracial Parenting by Amy Ford is an honest look into the realities of transracial adoptive families in the United States. Both funny and poignet, it sheds light on the difficulties often faced by adoptive families who have had little, or no, preparation when it comes to parenting a child of a different race.

Washing Your Child's Natural Hair (An Introduction)

To shampoo, or not to shampoo: That is the question. And what's all the fuss about sulfates? If most shampoos have them, can they really be all that bad? The decisions parents, especially new parents, have to make when washing natural hair for the first time can be a little overwhelming, especially if you've been combing the Internet for a while, hearing keywords thrown around that you don't understand. Hopefully this article will help break things down into simple, easily understandable answers to some of the most common questions regarding washing natural hair.

Family Friday: Teaching An Attitude of Gratitude

After posting the video of my daughter receiving her first pet ("When Girl Meets Kitten"), I received numerous emails asking me how we taught our 3-year-old that she must "earn" things. I have to be honest, there really isn't a simple answer (or if I really know for sure how we did it). But I can say that we've been working on it for quite a while. In fact, I first blogged about her "financial future" when she was a mere 8 months, 1 week, and 6 days old (yes, I used to log her exact age with each blog entry way-back-when). So I will do my best to share a few things that we do around here that will hopefully shed a little light on the expectations our daughter has when it comes to giving and receiving.

Guest Post: Winter Skin Care Tips from Dermatologist and Mother Dr. Brooke Jackson

(photo by camera eye photography)

If you live in an area that’s anything like my hometown, the Windy City of Chicago, you know what is in store for your family’s skin this winter: Dry, brittle nails and hair, and chapped hands and face. But with the proper care, you and your family can enjoy the winter weather and keep skin from becoming "winterized."

I’ve listed some of my top Winter Skin Care Tips below: