First Hair Cuts

Colson's hair was getting out of control.  She needed a cut, I needed advice, and I knew I couldn't take her just anywhere.  I needed a professional.  So I got a recommendation and scheduled an appointment.  What an appointmentnt it was.  I thought the whole thing would probably take 20 minutes, maybe.  It took over an hour.  I had no idea the process for cutting such curly and crazy hair.  My mom and sister were in town for the weekend, so we made it a fun girls day.

Initially we chatted with the stylist about how we just needed a trim to even it up.  Then she explained what all needed to be done.  I thought she was kidding.  We started with a wash.  Colson was a little nervous, so I had to hold her while she leaned back with her head in the sink.  It only took a few minutes before she was enjoying it though.  Next, the stylist combed it out, twisted it into several little buns, and Colson got to sit under the dryer. She was really starting to think she was something special at this point.  And by now she and Shawn, the stylist, were buddies.  She sat there perfectly for several minutes, just taking in all the women around her. 

Next, the stylist blow dried her hair 'straight', and then straightened it with a flat iron.  I was amazed Colson was still sitting so patiently.  She started to get a little antsy as Shawn was finishing up straightening it, but a little distraction with some games on a phone helped.  The actual cutting of the hair that followed really did only take 5 minutes.  She had to cut off about two inches so she could even it up.  Then I had my own 'consultation' about how on earth to take care of her hair.  It was a very educational afternoon. 

       Needing a little distraction by this point.

Colson was SO proud of her hair.  She couldn't stop touching and feeling it.  She started jumping up and down and then laughed because her hair 'jumped' too.  We went out for lunch afterwards and Colson had a reward of a chocolate shake for being so good for the entire time.

 

I could not believe how different she looked with straight hair.  She looked so grown up!  By the next morning it was getting a little wild again.  And after a few days it was half curly, half straight, but still adorable.  I offered to touch it up with the straightener but she declined.  The other night we washed it again, used the products and techniques that the stylist recommended, and for the next few days the curls really did look significantly better than when I used to fix it.  And now she looks like our little crazy-haired monkey again.

The next morning.

 

Getting a little wild...

 And a little more wild....

 

 

Back to her old self!

 

Connor also had his first haircut last weekend.  Jon and I ran errands that evening, and my mom and sister cut it while we were gone.  However, they failed to take a single picture of the event.  So, all I have are some after pics of him looking like a more grown up little boy.

 

 

 

-Amanda



Chaos and Craziness

Wow, so it's been a while since my last post.  Let's see.  Well, about 3 weeks ago Connor got tubes in his ears.  He has been fighting ear infection after ear infection for a while, so we finally had a consult with an ENT, and 4 days later he had them in.  He did amazing that day, from having to be at the hospital at 6 AM, to letting the ENT take him back to the OR without a tear, to running around playing by lunch time.  We have his official post-op appointment this week, but so far he has been doing great.  He is even getting over a cold and not a sign of an ear infection.  I was pretty nervous about having tubes in Africa, but I think it will actually be way better this way.  Having to be a little cautious about getting water in his ears versus fighting frequent ear infections with questionable health care - I think I'll take the tubes and a happy kid. 

Over the last month we have been also been getting the house ready to sell.  There have been meetings with realtors, several inspections and appraisals, and lots of touch-up fixes of various things.  I have been going through everything, closet by closet, drawer by drawer, trying to organize it into what needs to go to Africa, what needs to go into storage, and what needs to be sold/donated.  It is amazing how much stuff we have that we don't actually need or use.   It's been really nice to get to go through everything and get rid of so much junk though.  The OCD side of me loves it.  Our furniture has been dispursed to family across Texas for the most part, and we are currently using an old day bed as a couch.  It's actually pretty comfortable, which is dangerous if I want to lay down for a quick cat nap...

Trying to decide what to take and what to put in storage has been a little difficult.  The hardest part, though, has been trying to figure out what will go on the boat and what we will try to take with us on the plane.  The boat can take 12-14 weeks to get from Houston to Luanda (yes, you read that right, 3-4 months!!!), and then take several more weeks to get through customs.  And we can only take so much stuff on the plane with us.  So, trying to figure out what we will need over the next few months and what we can do without for however long is pretty frustrating.  It's not like we are taking a ton of unnecessary stuff to Luanda either.  I mean, everything we are taking is all stuff we will need, like dishes and towels for example.  And it's not like we are moving to a place with a WalMart down the road either.  The movers are coming March 5 to pack up everything that will go on the boat, then March 7 to pack up everything for storage.  They will store the boat shipment at their facility in north Houston until they get the green light from Angola, and then ship it asap.  They won't get that green light though until Jon is already over there.  The lady we met with about all the moving stuff said we could either camp out here (send our stuff asap), or camp out there.  We chose here, for obvious reasons.  Although now there is a chance that our stuff might arrive before we get there, or at least very shortly after.   Jon will probably be going over in about 4 weeks, but we recently decided the kids and I won't go over until June.  My sister is getting married at the end of June in the Dominican Republic (woohoo!).  So, if Jon goes mid to late March, and we were to follow in mid May (we can't even apply for our Visas until Jon gets certain permits - that he can't get until he gets over there), that would give us a stupid long 36+ hour trip to get there, hang out for about a month and get semi-adjusted to the time change, take another 24+ hour trip to get to the Dominican, enjoy a few days of fun with the fam, then take yet another freakishingly long trip back to Luanda.  Um, no thanks.  If it were just me, maybe.  But with two little ones, crazy.  It will totally suck for Jon to be in Africa for so long before we get to join him, but our families are pretty excited about the delay.  Since we want to put the house on the market as soon as we can after the movers come and get everything, the kids and I plan to basically be nomads for a while.  We are going to stay at my mom's house primarily, with trips to DFW to see family as well.  It's going to be a crazy next several months....

Just some of the boxes of diapers and wipes we've been stocking up on.

 

 

So, that's where we are so far.  A lot of chaos and mess around here, but what can you do?  I stopped working about 3 weeks ago (totally didn't realize it had been that long until I just looked at the calendar), and am now an official full time stay at home mom.  Or domestic enginner, domestic goddess (yes, I've seen that on paperwork at work before), homemaker, whatever.  While I loved my co-workers, and they will be missed, it's been great to be home full time with the kids. 

The kids watching a movie on their 'pillow beds'.

You can see our 'couch' in this pic. 

 

They love all the room they have to play now!

 



 

'Fun' Luanda fact - I think I mentioned in my first post that Luanda is rediculously expensive.  Just to give you an idea, an article I read reported that a pound of tomatos is $11.50, a pizza is $25, a pair of Puma shoes is $285, a pair of brand name jeans is $300, and a gym membership is almost $8000 a year.   

An AK-47, however, is $30.