***Disclosure: This post does contain Stitch Fix ad links. If your purchase through these links, I do receive compensation. However, all the clothes were purchased from my own pocket, and opinions are my own.***

“Stitch Fix, yea or nay?” was a question I posed to my blog’s Facebook page a month ago. Before I even tried it out, I wanted to hear some feedback to know if I should bother. Most everyone seemed to think I should go for it, but I was warned that it’s not super thrifty.

For a few years now, I’ve heard my sister-in-law as well as my friend Hillary talk about how much they like Stitch Fix. I’ve seen my favorite blogger, Crystal Paine, do unboxing videos from her Stitch Fix shipments.

So what is Stitch Fix exactly?

It’s a service that provides you 5 new clothing or accessory items in each box through the mail. Each item is hand-selected for you personally by a Stitch Fix stylist. You decide how often you get the box. You can choose just once, every few weeks, every couple of months, quarterly, etc.

Clothes are something I LOVE, but I never actually signed up because I was afraid it would be a gigantic money pit. Also, since I do love clothes and shopping, I didn’t feel like I needed someone to do my shopping for me. You know what I mean?

How can we know they will choose affordably cute clothes and not just tease us with beautiful clothing that we cannot even afford and have to send back anyway??

Well, wonder no longer. I’m going to give you more information here than even Stitch Fix probably wants me to give you, so you can make an informed decision.

First, let me tell you about the Process.

Answer as HONESTLY as you possibly can!!! Telling them you wear a 10 when you actually need a 12 will help no one. This is not a fantasy questionnaire. hehehe! I’m only saying this because these are the things I had to tell MYSELF when I was answering these questions.

There are about 25-50 questions, but they are all multiple choice, so no need to panic. Halfway through, I realized I should take screenshots for you to know what to expect:

One time only!

You can’t see it in the above photo, but there is also an option to get a one-time box.

Tell them more about you!

They give you an option to tell your stylist more about yourself. Use this!!! I was very specific. I told her I needed more tops, that I love trouser-style pants, and I even got specific on the fact that having 4 babies left me with a pooch. Therefore, please no spandex-tops. Ha!! I even specified that I wear a smaller size shirt if it is super blousy or peasant style.

Also, include your Pinterest profile name if you have one!! You can go on Pinterest and create a board of clothes you like—any clothes at all that you like. It gives them an idea of your taste.

My stylist, Becca, not only viewed my Pinterest boards, but she actually referenced them in the note.

This was my note from my stylist:

FEES!!!!

Okay, let’s talk about the fees. Am I saying there is a service fee? Yes, I am. It’s $20. That’s  part of what kept me from signing up for forever!!!

But if only I had known! If you keep any of the clothes Stitch Fix sends you, they deduct the $20 from that item. Ohhhh!!! See, I did not know that.

My First Shipment

Don’t skip the note. (Like I did.) This note includes your message from your stylist and your style suggestions. The envelope also includes the prices of each item, as well as how much your total will be after your discount(s) are applied.

These were my outfit suggestions:

The item in the middle of each block is the item you receive. Then the items off to the sides are styling suggestions.

There was also a pair of earrings, which I will show you below (keep going).

Did I like everything I got in my box?

….Well, actually I did! It was a home run, but I did not expect that. Please don’t expect that you will love everything you get in every box. There’s no way.

My box was full of beautiful clothes that I would have bought for myself if I had found them at Kohl’s. Totally.

But did they fit??

Believe it or not……

And my FAVORITE part….

Okay, yes, it all looks awesome, sure, but…

How much did all of this cost???

In MY opinion, their prices are inflated to pay the shipping and the stylists. There is no shipping charge on top of what you pay, but there is still sales tax.

Was it affordable??? It was moderately affordable to me.

I could have gotten just the elephant shirt for $48, minus the $20, so $28.

Both shirts were $48 a piece, more than I usually pay.

The dress was actually reasonably priced, in my opinion. $68 is reasonable for a dress. If you were only buying the dress from this box, it would be only $48.

The earrings were $28. $10 to $20 would have been more exciting.

Like I mentioned before, you are also paying for the service.

The only item I felt was way over-priced was the pants, at $88, I was like “Whaaa???”

Oh!!! One more thing about the prices!!

When you answer those initial sign-up questions on StitchFix.com, they ask you your price range. I marked “as cheap as possible” for everything EXCEPT for pants. That may be why my trousers cost more. It’s important to me to have high quality pants. I can’t explain it.

So how did I choose what to get?

I could have bought 3 of these Stitch Fix items for $104, but that’s not including the dress. Finding dresses that fit me well is difficult, so I wanted to get the dress. That would have put me at $172.

4 for $172 (no pants)

or all 5 for only $190 (including the pants)……You can see why I chose to just buy it all! 

If you buy everything in your box, you get a 25% discount plus your $20 styling fee off.

I did the math, dispersing the discounts in my head where I so desired…

That made it like I was getting the tops for $38/piece, the earrings for $28, the dress for $68, and the pants for $18…..the way I did the math!! You could distribute the dollars however you want. I did it that way because if I sent anything back, it would have been the pants.

…So Stitch Fix? Yea or Nay???

I’m going to have to go with “Yea!!!”, BUT since I bought all of it this time, I had to move my next Fix further out. It was super simple to switch from “every other month” to “quarterly”.

This will be a special, quarterly treat that I will be looking forward to.

What about you? Do you need help choosing new outfits? Want to give it a whirl?

Click on the photo below to give it a trial run. Let me know how it goes!! Already tried Stitch Fix? Comment below to tell us what you thought!

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The post Stitch Fix: Full Review & How it Works appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

Happy Mother’s Day! What better to share on this treasured day than some adorable seal mom and pup pairs from my favorite spot in the world, Point Lobos State Park.

This particular beach is not a seal hang-out for most of the year. However, when it comes time to birth babies, late winter/early spring, this tiny beach, completely surrounded by rock cliffs, becomes a true seal nursery. This is NOT a zoo. This is the real world, animal style.

ALL of these photos were taken by Aunt Janet, photographer extraordinaire.

This first mom and pup pair are the funniest. This little fella’ was rambunctious, robust, and ready to do some more swimmin’. Mama was trying to take a nap, and he kept sneaking off to the ocean.

She’s trying to rest, but off he goes…

Still going….Even for animals, some little ones are just tougher to raise than others.

Bet you’ve never seen a seal run, but this Momma did. She cut him off at the pass, barking up a storm at the little rascal.      “Nope! We are NOT going back out to the ocean. You don’t know what you’re doing. You are shark food. Now get back up on that beach, lay down, drink your milk, and take a nap. Don’t you go sneakin’ out to this water again without me, you hear. Bark bark bark bark bark!!”

Here she is, at the top of the photo, leading that baby back on shore. She had to keep holding him down with her little flipper.

This momma had a younger, smaller pup to bring in, and she just didn’t have her job figured out yet. Poor little pup was trying so hard to beach herself, but the waves kept washing her back out to sea.

Oops. There goes baby again. Mom needs to learn to get behind her.

nursing seal baby

Every few minutes, you see another momma and baby seal coming in or going out. I could have watched all day, but I had taken a few elementary school boys with me who could only enjoy it in 5 or 10 minute increments.

If I were a seal, I’d hang out here too. Actually, I’m not a seal, and I still like hanging out here.

Look closely to see the baby seal on the momma seal’s back.

This Mother’s Day is coming at perfect timing for me. I have felt a little down lately, mostly due to my mystery low-grade fevers. They zap my energy, and leave me feeling confused and a little hopeless.

But Mother’s Day reminds me of my most basic and happiest job. I am first and foremost a mom, and I am tickled pink to be Mom to our four precious sons. I always considered myself a “girly-girl”, so it’s ironic to me that I am now the mom with the baseball nails, trying to learn basketball lingo, and passing rules about not bringing slugs into the house. When I brush everything else aside, every other worry, every other commitment or hobby, this is the job that I most cherish: being wife and mom. I was never so happy as I am when I’m being mom.

-Wiping noses

-Trying to convince JD to poop on the potty.

-Reading These First Four Years to Joshua and Caleb

-Reading Green Eggs and Ham to Daniel and Caleb

-rocking JD in the rocking chair

-pushing them in the swings

-cooking their dinner

-buying their clothes

-hugs and kisses

-talking through their problems

-teaching them about Jesus and praying with them

-watching them play baseball

Oh, I love it all so much. What a wonderful gift to be entrusted with. I hope I can walk worthy of this calling.

And I’m thankful I don’t have to go it alone, like the seal mommas.

This guy makes being a mom more doable and more fun. I could not do this without Alan.

Mother’s Day is a reminder for me this year. It’s a reminder of how blessed I am. Healthy or not, I have a glorious life, full of purpose and every good thing. I must remember to be thankful and always share with others what I have. I am renewed with joy. What a blessing.

I better get to sleep. Alan and Caleb are making me french toast in the morning, and I’m super excited. I say Alan and Caleb, but they will probably all insist on helping.

Happy Mother’s Day, y’all!

The post Darling Photos of Seal Moms and Babies appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

You may be tempted to think, “How can you live in California and not be utterly happy all the time from these incredibly beautiful surroundings?”

Good question.

The unfortunate thing is that I don’t actually live on the beach and see these sights every single day. In fact, I pretty much forget they are there until company comes and we show them around. Most destinations are too hazardous to take on with two pre-schoolers, seeing as how I’d like to keep them all alive, and I have the hip problem. Pity. So I wait until I have other adults to go with us to these lovely places, and once I finally make it out there, I am reminded that it does indeed have healing powers.

Fresh air. Sunshine. Water. Wind. Oxygen. Green. It’s life-giving. How can I get out there more often?? I desperately need to do so. I don’t think our Creator ever meant for us to toil our days away, all shut up in our houses all the time. He put the first people in a garden, right? A perfect garden with no briars or thorns even. No sin. No clothes. Ha! Now there’s a picture….

I hope you’re enjoying this series of photography posts from Aunt Janet. Today we will share with you the scenic central California coastline.

These are my favorite.

Nature tends to disorder, and that can have its own magnificence, but well-tended gardens are a testament to the things that we can do with what we have been given.

Carmel

Pelicans!

Carmel Mission: founded 1771.

San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo Mission

visitor’s entrance to the Carmel mission

Nonna and Aunt Janet: the traveling sisters

These trees are unique to the area. They are Monterey Cypress trees.

A big thank you to our talented photographer, Aunt Janet!

And thank you to Nonna, who helped us with our boys!

Hope you all get out and visit inspiring places this weekend.

“In times of great change [which is always], learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped for a world that no longer exists.” –Eric Hoffer

27Consider how the lilies grow: They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these. 28If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith!…  Luke 12:27-28

The post Photos of 17 Mile Drive and the Carmel Mission appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

I’m not saying that I’m happy my son broke his arm, but you have to admire his all-in-spirit.

It reminds me of that quote from Finding Nemo:

Dori tells Marlin, the helicopter dad, “Well, you don’t want nothing to EVER happen to him, because then nothing would EVER happen to him.”

Simple joys. Beauty inspires happiness.

Never underestimate the power of beauty.

Togetherness

Kitchen Picnic (and hands colored with markers)

Dan’s new buddy kept shooting him with Nerf bullets, so I helped him load up his own Nerf gun and sent him back out there.

Our free-spirited JD REALLY hates wearing shoes.

Granddaddy and Nana mailed the boys new Legos. It was the biggest deal ever.

This Spiderman mask has been hanging on this picture for at least a week now. I was walking past it and just found it amusing. Looks like the work of Caleb.

Joshua hiding in my messy school closet and playing video games. If you had three brothers, you’d hide too.

Every morning. Beautiful mess.

Just cuteness.

Dressing them alike was easy. Getting a great photo, not so fast.

Alan and a few other dads took their kids on a hike.

Step 1 in planning my new schedule: listing all the things I want to do everyday. It’s completely unrealistic, but this is my 1st draft. I’d like to schedule in more prayer and walk time. Don’t worry. The boys do more school work than is listed here. This is only the parts that I have to do WITH them. This is my part alone.

“I want Nana to see my new book bag. Can you see it?”

Most exciting beach day ever! Gutsy whale to come that close to shore!

humpback whale—Look how close!!!

He just kept swimming back and forth and back and forth.

He started yelling, “Beach!! Beach!!!” as we neared the ocean. Cloud 9!

We couldn’t find little plastic shovels and buckets in the house, so we brought a pot and a real shovel. Done. The kids were quite happy.

Ok. We did find the one little blue plastic shovel.

Beauty!

“Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls. A joyful heart is the inevitable result of a heart burning with love.”   —Mother Teresa

The post Messy is the New Beautiful Photoblog appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

Half Dome, Yosemite National Park

Yosemite is so beautiful, and yet it’s like the Grand Canyon: there’s no way for pictures to do it justice. This is a place you really should go and see yourself! We are attempting, with these photos, to show you why people love Yosemite National Park!

The Homestead Bed and Breakfast Cottages

I also want to tell you about an immaculate place to stay that we found. Now, if you are trying to see Yosemite without spending any money, I have good news for you. You can camp on the park for nothing more than your park admission fee.

I don’t camp. Nope. I do not. The last time I went camping was in 2003. Alan was in Iraq. I had not seen my friend Katie in a while, and she invited me to go camping at this big Christian concert event called One Day, in Sherman, Texas. It was like 100 degrees. We slept in tents. I didn’t know any of the songs the bands were singing. We washed our teeth using water bottles, and we used port-o-potties.

I do not use port-o-potties. Yes, I know I’m sounding like a diva, so you might as well know that I have decided that I’m okay with that. I’m an adult. If I don’t want to sleep on the ground, I don’t have to. 🙂

That camping experience truly made me empathize with Alan. I couldn’t get him out of my head that day. He was in 130 degree IRAQ, wearing “full battle rattle”, and there I was wilting in 100 degree Texas, in summer clothing. I decided that while I still felt desperately sorry for my husband, there was no reason I should subject myself to that heat any longer, so I hugged all of my dear Alabama friends, got back in my car, and drove home. They stayed there and camped another night! Now this may make me sound like a wimp, but I think it’s just pure good sense. 😉

Just so you know, I don’t think any of you will melt at Yosemite Camp grounds. With that altitude, I doubt it gets too hot. I looked it up. It gets as high as 89 degrees in the summer, but the nights still get as low as 32, so take your warm blankets and shorts, if you’re camping!!

For non-campers like Me: Try The Homestead Bed and Breakfast Cottages  This place is beautiful and clean, it’s just 10 minutes from Oakhurst, and it has Wifi! You get the personal touch of a bed and breakfast, with the privacy of a cabin. This was so much more peaceful than a hotel stay! I just cannot tell you!

The Homestead Bed and Breakfast

We stayed at the Country Cabin.

We didn’t hit the road until lunch time on day 2 of our trip. (For Day One details, click here)

We stopped off in Oakhurst and picked up more of those incredible BBQ sandwiches from Alice’s Cookhouse. As I said before, coleslaw INSIDE the sandwich–who knew!

We actually ended up doing more driving than hiking in Yosemite because we wanted to cover a lot of ground in only one day. This worked out just fine, but I was disappointed that I didn’t get more exercise.

First stop: Giant Sequoia trees

Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias

This fallen tree is so old, there are photos of the Buffalo Soldiers posing on this fallen tree, on their horses!

There is a loop you can hike and see 10 or so of these giant trees, and the loop is only around a mile. This would have been more exciting if we had not already been to Henry Cowell State Park, where they have Redwoods, in Santa Cruz. We are such spoiled tourists! But here are a couple of impressive new things we got to see:

Giant Sequoia

Forest Fires: Surprisingly important to the life cycle of the forest!

The forest fires actually help to spread new sequoias. For many years, well intending people stunted the spread of these trees by putting OUT fires. Isn’t that funny!? As it turns out, the fire heats up the cones, which releases the seeds inside of them.

tiny pinecones of the Giant Sequoias

“The Grizzly Bear” tree

Are you curious as to the difference between a Giant Sequoia and a Giant Redwood?

Well, I certainly was, so I looked it up for you and made you a little chart:

              Giant Redwoods                                    Giant Sequoias

• live up to 2,000 years                          live up to 3,000 years
• branches: up to 5ft in diameter           branches: up to 8 feet in diameter
• Bark: up to 12in. thick                          Bark: up to 3 feet thick
• Can reproduce by seed or sprout        Reproduce only by seed
• Grow taller than Giant Sequoias          Typically shorter than Redwoods
• grow in moist, coastal Nor. Cal.             live at higher altitudes, require periodic dry heat: Nor. Cal.

Driving up to Glacier Point, which is at over 7,000 feet above sea level, there was still snow on the ground!

snow, still on the ground, in mid-May

Glacier Point is a must-see. These views!!!

the half-dome of Yosemite

Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park, at Glacier Point

Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park

Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park

one of the many waterfalls of Yosemite

Yosemite National Park

April, eating an Ice cream at Glacier Point

Yosemite

But let me warn you about the bathrooms…..they are a lot like port-o-potties:

I got really good at squatting…ewwww

Just for the record, Alan took that picture. I would never….but apparently I would share it on the internet, so I don’t know what that says about me…

Back to beauty:

Yosemite Falls

Alan and me at the Mariposa Grove

Wow.

feeling on top of the world

Alan and me at Glacier Point

We, in our matching sunglasses, decided that we were the King and Queen of Souvenir t-shirts. Yep. We bought Yosemite shirts too.

Yosemite

Bridalveil Fall

so silly

Yes, we did do some rock climbing, and obviously I was quite proud of myself.

“Are you coming, April?”

Alan, probably wondering if I was coming, or if I was just going to take pictures of myself.

Glacier Point

Tunnel View

These beautiful rapids are near Yosemite Falls.

This morning we slept in again, and then we headed home. Right now we are at the library, working hard again.

Hope you enjoyed the photoblog!

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse” (Romans 1:20)
1{{To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. }} The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handy work.  Psalm 19:1

The post THIS is why people go to Yosemite: Photoblog appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

This is me, showing off my Jamberry nails.

You’ve probably heard about this craze called “Jamberry”. I kept seeing it in my Facebook feed. I have a couple of friends, both which live far, far away, that sell Jamberry. I’ve seen their promotions, sure, but I didn’t get it.

What’s a Jamberry exactly? Is that a fruit? It is a real thing? Ok. It’s a nail product. Is this like Lee Press on Nails or something? What is it?

I googled it: “what is a jamberry”

Well, when you google it, all you get is virtual posters of the pretty nail designs, like this:

Anchors away!

or this:

They come in many team logos!

I think I NEED these.

Call me corny, but I’m TOTALLY considering these teacher styles. Is this the equivalent to the ’90s denham jumper with apple appliques?

You can get more classic patterns too:

I could post pics of the amazing designs all day. I’m FASCINATED!!

By the way, I’m also stubborn. I HAD to know if there is actually a jamberry fruit. Guess what! There IS!! It’s like a yellowish/purpleish Mexican tomato. Good luck google-ing it because Jamberry Nails definitely has the market cornered on the search engine results.

But that’s neither here nor there, really…..

So my friend Kristina sent me a free sheet of “nail wraps” to try out.

Have you met my friend, Kristina?

Yes, she’s pretty, but she’s also tough. This is a goat farming, home schooling three kids, sweet, Christian, home remodeling, Jamberry selling, Rheumatoid Arthritis AND Psoriatic Arthritis fighting, POWERHOUSE.

Yes, powerhouse, just ask ANYONE who knows Kristina. She’s amazing, she’s very down to earth, and you can’t not love her.

So when Kristina asks you to try on her Jamberry wraps, you try on her Jamberry wraps:

-even though I hadn’t done anything but trim my nails in like 9 years

-even though I didn’t know what a Jamberry was

-and even though I have never been to a Jamberry class and had NO idea how to put them on.

(Yes, I like diamonds too.)

Many people get to go to a class where they show you how to put these things on, but Kristina lives in Tennessee, and I live in California, so I was on my own. She did send me a YouTube video, though, of how to do it:

They are basically like stickers, but you heat them with a hair dryer before and after you put them on. I have teeny, teeny, tiny fingernails, so I used the smallest five wraps. Then I trimmed almost all of them with fingernail clippers, all the way around. I am a freak, I think. I need to buy my next set from the little girls’ section. The smallest one fit my pinkies perfectly, but after that I trimmed them with nail clippers, and that worked just fine.

They come on a sheet of paper like this:

First, I gathered my materials:

alcohol to clean nails: Well, I searched the house, there wasn’t any, so I just washed my hands and carried on….  I’m sure that’s against the rules, but the wraps are still working great.  😉

scissors: You have to cut each wrap in half: half for your left hand, half for your right.

finger nail clippers: to trim the wraps to fit your nail

nail file: finishing touches

hair dryer: to set the adhesive– You use this right before you put the wrap on and right after you put it on.

pretty nail wraps

My Tips:

As you see in the above pic, I goofed on my thumbs. Those were the first two I did, and I had no clue which wraps to use. That’s the advantage of first times. You only have to do the first time once, and then you are never a first timer again. Now I know that I only need the 5 smallest wraps for my hands.

I trimmed the excess with nail clippers, and all was well. I got the wrinkle out too. The key is to go smaller than your nail, not larger.

My only other tip: I think this will be a lot easier for someone who has experience with things like manicures and any sort of press on or stick on nails. I’d never done any of it, so it was all new to me. I remember, even on my wedding day, nails were such an after thought. I asked my friend Leigh, “Can you bring some polish or something and do my nails right before the ceremony?”

The Results

I am SO happy having pretty fingernails, I am not sure I will ever be able to go back to not caring. Having such festive fingers has been surprisingly fun. It is a MOOD lifter! I look down at them and remember that I am NOT one of the boys. Remember, I rarely get to be around another estrogen-filled person!

I’ve mentioned that I now work with middle school girls on Wednesday night. Well, let me tell you, they were IMPRESSED. I didn’t say a word about my nails, and I got so many compliments–lots of oooo’s and aaahhhh’s– on my flowery fingers.

Even my little boys have noticed! Well, sort of. Caleb asked, “Um, what is that? On your hands?”

I didn’t even know how to explain. I’m not sure what I said. Caleb replied, “Oh yeah, you’re a girl.”

OH YEAH!!!! And it’s high time I have a little more fun with that whole girl thing! 🙂 Maybe tomorrow I’ll wear a dress at home or something…..nah…

girly, girly, girly

By the way, here are a few FAQs for ya:

Jamberry wraps:

-Last 2 weeks

-Made in the USA

-completely water-resistant or proof or something….Water slides right off

-Do not chip!

-Do not contain harmful chemicals.

-Never animal tested

-Latex Free

-Non-Toxic

-Over 250 designs

She posted this photo of her Jamberry-covered nails, to demonstrate how well they hold up to the rigors of farm life:

She said this: “Just birthed 3 goat kids this week, 2 were pulled. My jams have been on for 9 days! Still look awesome! We may live in a barn but we don’t need to look like it!:)”

I thought that was pretty impressive! Thanks for the fun, Kristina! Mine have been on 5 days. I haven’t birthed any goats, but I did have my hands in lots of bread dough and diapers…..not at the same time…..ewwww…..and they are holding up great!!

The post What’s a Jamberry anyway? appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

Let’s talk about hair. I have this very thick, course red hair. When I say thick, I do mean there must be a billion little hair holes in my head.  Hmm…maybe that explains more than a few things….

It isn’t really curly or straight. It’s wavy. I was SO excited when “wavy” came back in style a few years ago, but that never did really seem to mean what my hair is.  Therefore, I have been flat-ironing my hair nice and straight for ten years now.

….Until I moved to California. Coastal California. I’m having a really, really hard time fighting back the wave and the frizz here.  Imagine having beach hair every single day. I have always feared and dreaded beach hair. I’ve never known what to do with it!!!

I finally found one regiment that seems to work for cute waves.

No, no, I did not take a before picture.

OKay, yes, I did, but I wasn’t wearing any make-up in it, and the children and my blog kept me up  the night before, so I just refuse to show you the before picture….. I know–worst hair blog ever.

First, I washed my hair the night before,put a towel on top of my pillow, and slept on it damp.

When you have thick, semi-wavy hair, it takes several handfuls of this gunk.

Four to be exact. You need at least 4 handfuls of this if your hair is as dense and long as mine–more if it’s longer! What do I use? This:

It smells yummy too.

I put this stuff in my hair in the morning, once my hair is mostly dry. I’ve been loving this stuff for years b/c it helps when I wear my hair straight too. I tried moose for a while, and that was a mess. Smoothing milk was a better match for me.

After.
Just ignore the sleepy eyes. This was after several rough nights.

I took this photo my first week of home schooling, which was a rough, rough, rough, rough week. Excuse the eye bags. My eyes are now getting back to normal. 🙂

It would obviously look more polished if I curled the ends.  I do NOT have time to do that. I have a very strict rule about the boys’ schooling starting at 9am, and some days I can’t pull myself out of bed until 7am. I don’t like to spend all morning on hair, so a 2 minute hair style that required no heat-styling tools is a win-win in my book.

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