Katie's Family - Easter 2011

Picture Post!

{Painting Easter Eggs}

{The Kiddos}

 {Family Picture Attempt #1}

{Attempt #2}

{Attempt #3}

Hope your Easter was as Blessed as ours!

Katie

Tidbit Tuesday

*UPDATE ADDED*
Did You Know??????


That after all of the great suggestions on what to do with B's Easter style, I loved the BIG flower idea so much I ended up putting flowers in ALL my girls hair!

I purchased all of the flowers at the Dollar Tree!  Nothing like keeping it cheap!  I didn't attach them to any kind of clips or anything, I just kept the stems long enough when I cut them from the bunch so that I could stick them into the hair.  They held just fine!
The only real change I made to B's style from the first one was that instead of 3 cornrows I only did two.  I had said that maybe I would split up the hair from the middle cornrow and add it to the two outside ones.  This probably would have made things really bulky so instead, I just took that middle section of hair and did NOTHING with it!  After I finished the two outside rows I brought all the hair from the braids and the center section together in one ponytail holder.  See original style and finished style:

Ok, now that I look at the pictures, I realize I had actually done french braids, not cornrows in the original style.  They both look nice.  And I parted the hair slightly different the second time around.  But I loved the outcome.  It was lovely.

I don't have a step by step for V's style this time either.  But it is pretty basic.  I guess I am into the low side ponytail, because I did it on both girls!  I had cornrows start at the front left of her head  - do a sort of squiggle pattern - and then end at the lower right side.  To do this I started with the middle cornrow to set my pattern and then just worked out to the sides.  I finished with a puff!

I didn't really take pics of Little E's hair.  It was just two cornrows, a typical style for her.  I added the 3 little yellow flowers at the back.  Originally I also had one flower in the front, but it looked weird, so I took it out!

And that was Easter hair for Katie's girls!

I also gave Young Man C a fresh line up.  He is growing out his hair right now, because he is convinced that if he grows it, I will braid it.  We'll see about that!  Have I told you the story of the last time he grew it out?  Anyway, it was a BUSY hair weekend for me, but ended with a beautiful Easter Sunday with family!  Maybe I will post some family pics tomorrow.

Katie

WINNER!!! WINNER!!!

ALRIGHTY! You thought I forgot, didn't you? Nope, just a full day of Easter-related stuff, dance show related stuff, and Mommy wanting to try out a new Shabu Shabu place for dinner because after my long day I was NOT gonna cook.

SOOOOOO, some lucky reader is going to win these adorable prints by Mossy Rock Designs!

You all gave such great comments, we love reading them! But alas there is only one set to give away.

Random.org gave us our random number of 27, and today's winner is GWEN! She commented:

I've posted about this giveaway on my blog (first entry). :)
http://bletheringspot.blogspot.com 

Congratulations Gwen! We would love to see a pic of this art up in your home! It really is adorable.

We promise not to go so long between giveaways, they really are fun.

Gwen you need to contact us at keepmecurly@gmail.com to let us know your mailing address. If the winner does not contact us by Friday, April 29th, we will choose a new winner.

Thanks everyone for participating!!!

Free Shipping from Truly Pure and Natural!!!!

YIPPEEEE!!!!!!!!

The wonderful people at Truly Pure and Natural (recall last weeks tidbit?) have offered YOU our lovely readers FREE shipping on all orders through the end of April!

Any size order is eligible, just put in the code CURLYSHIP at checkout!

Thank You TPN!  Now everyone can try out some of the great products I was talking about, or try something NEW!

Tidbit Tuesday

Did You Ever Wonder???


Why I have one daughter WITH locs and another daughter WITHOUT locs?  What went into our decision to give B locs?  Well, I know one of you was wondering since I was asked this question on our Facebook page last week!  Now you are all going to get the answers!

Miss V wearing yarn braids, Miss B with her locs!

To tell you the truth, my memory does not recall if I have possibly discussed this on the blog before, but you are going to get the story on it anyway.

Miss B had just turned 6 when we made the decision to put in her locs.  I had been getting a bit frustrated with the fact that her cornrows and other hair styles didn't stay looking nice for more than a day after I put them in.  Especially since it took so long to take down the last style and put in the new one.  Miss V's styles looked great for weeks, why didn't B's?  I think it all comes down to hair texture.  B's hair is a looser curl pattern, which is easier to comb and detangle, but just doesn't hold a style well.  It used to fuzz out like CRAZY within a few short days!

I knew a lot of moms were trying out locs on the hair group I was a part of, so I started talking to B about it.  I showed her pictures of other girls.  We talked about the many benefits of having locs.  The only drawback to the locs, really, was that they were semi-permenant.  I now know that many people have successfully taken out locs (but I sure wouldn't want to try it!) and so I told her that once they were in for good, the only way we could get rid of them was to cut them off.  This seemed to disturb her a bit, but not enough to keep her from trying them.   The good news was that we would have a month or two to make up our minds once they were in.  They could easily be removed in the first few weeks before we started tightening them.

So she went for it, and we have never looked back!  They suit her so well.  She has really wanted more independence over the last few years and being able to shower and wash her own hair is a big plus for her. Not having to worry about getting her hair wet in the summer is also great.  Being able to style it different every day and not having to sit for hair time very often is also fabulous!

If locs have been a good experience for B than why haven't we gone the same route with  Miss V?  V is about to turn 7 and has watched her sister with locs for almost 3 years now.  The thing is, she has NEVER once asked for them herself!  Even though I know V would love the benefits of getting her hair wet more often.  She would think wearing pigtails one day, and nothing the next and then a ponytail the next was fun.  She also somewhat loathes hair time.  She loves the results, yes, but sitting for hours, not so much!  So why hasn't she asked for them?  I do not know!  I have never suggested them to her, and she has never brought it up!  I don't mind because I enjoy the diversity of them having different hair.  I love cornrowing and styling V's hair.  I think I would get super board if I had to do the tightening process on two heads.  (I hate tightening, even though I don't have to do it that often!)  Locs just seem right for B, and no-locs seems right for V.

I am totally open to doing locs on V if she ever asks for them.  I would likely make her think about it for a few months if she did bring it up.  It is kind of a big decision, and I would want her to be sure.  I would be sad about not being able to do all the things I am used to doing with her hair.  But locs are SO much easier to take care of and way less time consuming, so a part of me would be kind of excited too.  I guess only time will tell!

Katie

Adorable "Hair Time" Art! - GIVEAWAY!!!

Did all of you see this when it was posted on our Facebook group?  If you missed it, check out how absolutely cute this representation of "Hair Time" is!  Looks just like V in the process of getting her hair done!  In fact she often has to stop for lunch or dinner with a crazy half done 'do like that!  Wouldn't this be so adorable in any of our little curly girls bedrooms?

GUESS WHAT????

This is your chance to win a set of these prints FREE!  Thanks to Katie Bradley the talented artist who created them!  She is giving one of our lucky readers this great watercolor.  (they will come together like this but you can cut the images apart and frame them separately if you like.  Each image is 3"x4.5")

It has been ages since we have done a GIVEAWAY at Keep Me Curly, so hopefully you all remember how this works.

FIRST - Check out Katie's etsy shop, Mossy Rock Designs, where she is selling all kinds of precious artwork!  All of the proceeds are going to fund her families adoption!  LOVE IT!  You can also see more of Katie's creations by visiting her blog.

So let's get this contest started!

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE remember to write a SEPARATE comment for EACH thing you do on the list.  If you put all of your entries in ONE comment you are selling yourself short!  Each comment gets a number for our random generator, so you want to get as many comments as possible.  

You have until NOON EST on Friday, April 22nd to enter the drawing.  We will be choosing the winners from the comments left on THIS post!

To enter this giveaway please leave a comment on THIS blog and answer THIS question:

What theme is your child's bedroom decorated in?  

____________________________________________________________________

If you would like to earn EXTRA entries do one or all of these things:

1)  Go to Katie's etsy shop and tell us which is your FAVORITE of her watercolor pictures?  

2) Head on over to our Keep Me Curly! Facebook fan page and become a fan. Leave a comment stating that you are a fan. (or that you already were a fan)

3) "Share" our Keep Me Curly! Facebook page with your friends and come back and leave a comment letting us know what day you "shared" us THIS week.

4) Follow @keepmecurly on twitter Come back and post a comment that you are a follower and leave your Twitter ID. (or that you were already following)

5) Tweet any unique tweet announcing our blog or the giveaway with @keepmecurly in it! Cut and paste your tweet (not tweet id status) and post as a comment. You can get 1 entry for EVERY new and unique tweet!

6) Become a follower of our blog or subscribe to our blog through an RSS feed. Simply post a comment saying that you are a follower. (or that you were already following)

7) Subscribe to Katie's youtube channel and come back and leave a comment stating that you are a subscriber. (or that you were already a subscriber)

8) Leave a comment on one of Katie's youtube videos. Leave a comment HERE letting us know the title of the video you commented on.

9) Go to Steph's Snapaholics website and leave a note in her guestbook. Come back and leave a comment HERE letting us know that you signed the guestbook.

10) Place an order at Snapaholics between 4/17 and 4/21 Noon EST. Leave a comment including your order number and order date.

11) Grab our badge! If you add our badge to your blog leave us a comment saying that you are using it with a link to your blog.

12) Advertise our site or this giveaway in a forum or other blog! We would really love it if you wrote about our site or this giveaway on your blog. If you are passionate about natural hair care, or Katie's youtube videos have been really helpful to you, or if you love cute hair things, talk it up on your blog! Earn TWO entries for doing this one! Simply post a comment saying that you are talking about us with a link to the forum or blog, then put (first entry) then comment again and write (second entry).

13) Get a friend to talk about us or our giveaway on THEIR blog, earn two MORE entries! Just leave us a comment with a link to THEIR blog and tell us that you encouraged them to participate. Then make sure they enter the giveaway for themselves too!

________________________________________________________________________

The winners will be announced on Saturday, April 23rd. It is the responsibility of the winner to contact us at keepmecurly@gmail.com to let us know their mailing address. IF the winner does not contact us by Friday, April 29th, we will choose a new winner.

Who can participate? ANYONE!  Katie is an international girl herself and welcomes all international fans!

*** If you have any questions or if you have comments that are not related to the giveaway please feel free to email us at keepmecurly@gmail.com or leave your comment on a different post. In order for this giveaway to work we have to ask that you do not leave any other comments on this post if they do not follow the guidelines of the contest.***

Tate Product Update and More...

Excuse me for a moment as this post begins with a disclaimer, or maybe I should say, with a "let's be honest here!"

I am about to send some love to one of our sponsors, Truly Pure and Natural.  Yes, we exchange add space for FREE product so, Yes, it is in my best interest to say good things about the stuff they sell on their site.  We all know how expensive it is to use natural products for our families, so I benefit tremendously from this arrangement.  BUT, I want you all to know that I am way to honest of a person to destroy the integrity of this blog by saying things that I don't really mean.  We started this blog to help other parents, and we wouldn't be helping anyone if we lied.  Also, the fact that I WANT to continue to receive FREE products from Truly Pure and Natural so that I can continue to USE them, should attest to the fact that I really do believe in what I am saying.  Now that I have that out of the way....

I thought you would all appreciate an update on the Tate's products that we reviewed last summer.  We have had these products in our home for almost a year, so I can now tell you how we have continued to use them past the trial phase.  (to read the original review go here)

It turns out that I really didn't want to part with the Taliah Waajid conditioner and  bodifying mist that I have been using on B and V for several years.  Our routine was working, and if it ain't broke - don't fix it!
So those two aren't washing their hair with the Tate's but Young Man C, Little E and Camera Guy are all using the Tate's shampoo and conditioner.  (I have troublesome hair so I don't even want to discuss me!)

We also all use the Tate's shampoo as a body wash.  This is my favorite thing.  It works for every member of our family and I LOVE knowing that we are using a chemical free product on our bodies.  Also it has made traveling SO simple!  Since the shampoo doubles as body wash and the conditioner can also double as a lotion!  We don't normally lotion with the Tate's conditioner, but we do when traveling.  So many fewer bottles to pack!!!

With my last order I wanted to try something new from Tate's so I ordered the Acne Solution.  Young Man C has started to have the occasional pimple and I wanted something gentle for him to clean his face with.  Most days he washes his face with the Tate's shampoo, but now a few times a week he also uses the Acne Solution. It seems to be working well, but I have to admit the pimples haven't been as much of a problem in the winter as they were last summer when he was sweaty and dirty all the time, so I will get a better idea as things continue to heat up again.

BUT, the EXCITING part about the Acne Solution is that it can also be used for dandruff.  Camera Guy has been using Selsun Blue for years and he was thrilled to try something new that wasn't BLUE and reeking of CHEMICALS!  It has worked GREAT!  He loves it!

I LOVE lip balm, so I decided to try out the Honeybee Gardens Lip Balm that TPN is selling.  I got the 4 pack and passed them out to the family.  They all smelled AWESOME, but they don't really have a super strong flavor.  I consider this a good thing because it keeps little ones from wanting to just lick it all off after they apply it!  Remember that I am being totally honest here....I LOVE this lip balm.  I have MANY different kinds and this is currently my total fav!  It kept my dry winter lips feeling fabulous all day!

Finally, for fun, and because I have an addiction to water bottles and all things purple, I ordered one of these!  When I first saw that glass baby bottles were coming back in style because of BPA fears I thought they were so cool - especially when they had those cool silicone protector things on them.  So when I saw they were making grown up water bottles just like them I was thrilled!

Does anyone else feel like they drink more water during the course of the day if they carry a water bottle around with them?  I do!

Well that is all the love I have for our friends at Truly Pure and Natural for today!  Please go check out their store!  They have even more great, chemical free things than what I have shared with you like makeup, toothpaste, coffee, snacks and more!

If you try out anything new from TPN and you love it, PLEASE share with us so we can try it out too!

Katie

Tidbit Tuesday

Did You Know????

That we were featured on Happy Girl Hair today!  HGH is one of my favorite hair blogs.  The other Katie who writes it is SO knowledgable, I am amazed by all the detailed stuff she knows about hair and hair products etc.  She is also WAY creative.  She has two daughters with natural hair that she is styling and she gives them new styles, it seems like, every week!  And like me she seems to rarely do the same thing twice.  That is dedication!

Anyway, if you aren't reading Happy Girl Hair, YOU SHOULD BE!  It's a great blog.  Start today by reading the interview she did with me and Steph!

Katie

Suggestions?

Hello hair friends!  I have been thinking about what I would like to do with B's locs for Easter and thought maybe you all could help.  We don't get creative with her hair that often, so for special occasions I really like to do something different.

I started playing around last night and I almost like what I came up with.  I like how the two french braids on the outside look, but I am not sure about the addition of the third braid in the back:

I am thinking about trying to part the hair in the back so that it is only 2 braids.

I like how the bangs are just on one side in the front, but I think I might add a Soft Spike or two the night before and curl them!

Lastly, I need a good idea for finishing this style.  I love how the braids come together off to the left, but in my mind this would look awesome with a big bun there at the base of her neck.  Unfortunately, her hair just isn't that long yet!  I am trying to think of a way to maybe use yarn to make a fake bun, but I don't want it to be really obvious.  Hmmm......  Any ideas?

What are your plans for Easter Hair???

Katie