Royal Birthday Party Part II

This is it, the last part of our Royal Birthday Party posts!!

Ms. Bree had so much fun with all her friends!!

And here it is, the steps to accomplish the perfect curls without using a curling iron or a flat iron.

What we used?? CURLFORMERS!! (http://www.curlformers.com/)

YES, curlformers, they are so easy to apply and remove. The results are perfectly formed curls without the need of any tool that may cause heat damage.  

It took me approximately 30 minutes to do her entire head.

STEPS:

1.  I washed Ms. Bree's hair the night before the event;

2.  I parted her hair from ear to ear.  I started on the back part and worked my way to the front.

3.  Without making perfect sections, I began grabbing small sections at a time, maybe 1/2 an inch,  I applied Bee Mine Curly Butter and slowly pulled her hair through the curlformer.   Continued to do this until the entire back section was done.

4. I created a medium size heart shape pony tail on the top part, (mainly so it could hold her tiara in place) added the Curly Butter and used one Goody's ouchless band to secure the pony tail and added curlformers to the pony tail.

5.  Added Curlformers to each side of the heart shape pony tail by repeating Step #3.

And as you can see the results were amazing!!  

I removed the curlformers about 30 minutes before the event started, and that was it! 

HER HOMEMADE PRINCESS CASTLE CAKE and one super happy princess!

Ms. J, Little B, Ms. Bree and Ms. D standing in front of the scene setter.  

I call this... "GIRL POWER"..

Ms. J and Ms. Bree have known each other since they were 6 weeks old and they are inseparable!  

Have attended the same school, ballet classes and more.  

She is my other daughter and to Little B and  Ms. Bree, Ms. J is their sister and as they often say "WE LOVE HER".

Have you tried the Curlformers??  if so, share your pictures and opinion in our Facebook Page.

To see more pictures you can follow our facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/CaramelCurlzNSwirls

Natural Hair & Weekend Events

This past weekend was full of events and also preparations for Ms. Bree's upcoming birthday party.

Since I've been planning her party and working on the decorations for quiet a few days, I thought it would be a good idea to take them out and experience something new.

The Wedding of Q and U

On Friday, Little Man had a school program that he was really excited about.  The Wedding of "Q and U".

They had so much fun at the Wedding of Q & U.   This is the first time I attend the wedding of Q and U, but apparently this is something the kindergartner teachers do every year. 

This helps the children remember that "U" always follows "Q" in their writing, its a great teaching tool.  You can also find this book in Amazon.com

Little Man got to dressed like he was really attending a wedding and did an amazing job singing during the wedding program.  

After the wedding program was over, everyone was asked to go to the gym for a reception! 

The staff did a really good job decorating the gym and having the wedding cake nicely displayed at the table.  But what the kids loved the most was the fact that they also had a DJ...which was their principal! 

My little man danced like a pro! 

Their principal (also their DJ) played songs like The Hokey Pokey, Electric slide and the kids danced the night away.

DANCE DANCE DANCE... BABY DANCE!!

By the time the dance was over, my kiddos were tired but yet they were so happy because Q and U got married and they  had so much fun.

Ms. Bree's hair was still looking nice after all the dancing and even though my little man was doing the John Travolta dance, his suit was still cleaned! 

Chinese New Year's Dinner & Lion Dance

On Saturday:

We attended "Dinner & a Lion Dance Show" hosted by our good friends' from "The Noodle Bowl" Restaurant in celebration of their "Chinese New Year's".

One of the most important Chinese holiday's is the New Year's celebration, also known as the Spring Festival.

If your kids watch "Ni Hao Kai-Lan"  you probably have heard of this traditional holiday and how it starts by celebrating the new year and ends on the Lantern Festival which is on the 15th day of the first month.  This is the year of the Snake- February 10, 2013.

It is also tradition to decorate the windows and doors with the color red which signifies good fortune, happiness, wealth and longevity.

One of the many activities include Lion Dance which we had the opportunity to see for the very first time.

During our dinner we were given a "red paper envelope" to feed the lion for good fortune.  Giving money is not a requirement, its optional.

What we learned:  If you ever attend a Chinese New Year's celebration where red paper envelopes are provided, remember to add a dollar or two BUT NEVER give 4 or 10, as they are considered "unlucky numbers".

We had so much fun, although we were out late, Little man truly enjoyed the show, the food and learning about Chinese New Year's.

L.O.C. Method by KandyLandKurls

The L.O.C. Method by KandyLandKurls

The L.O.C. Method is a very simple method that helps retain moisture in your hair.  

One of our favorite mama's has recently posted  about this amazing method by further explaining the very simple three steps and the products you may want to use if you do decide that the LOC Method is for you.

I use the LOC method on Ms. Bree's hair since one of our greatest challenge is retaining moisture.  

I use water as my liquid;
100% Virgin Coconut Oil as my oil;
and Bee Mine Luscious Moisturizer.

So, head over to www.kandylandkurls.blogspot.com to read more about this wonderful method! 

Our Christmas Celebration in Pictures!

2013 is here! Christmas and New Year's have passed and now we are trying to get back into our daily routines.  While my  husband went back to work on the 26th, I had the opportunity to stay home with the kids until January 1st.  

Ms. Bree's first day back to school was January 2nd and Lil Man's first day back to school was January 3rd.  

We were able to do a lot of special things with the kids this year and I am so glad my  husband loves to capture these moments in pictures.

"Making Smores"- more like burning marshmallows!

Who doesn't like to make S'mores?? I think every child does, I personally never had one before and after this I will probably never will!  

My son had the great idea of making some and my husband just went along with it.  

After I had gathered all the necessary ingredients to make the infamous S'mores, the children decided they didn't need any cookies and/or chocolate.  

Okay, so the kids really loved the idea  but EUK! The mess and the taste .. enough said.. lets move on.


"Our Christmas Village"

The assembling of our "Christmas Village" is something I do with my children every year.  

This can be fun but a headache is always guaranteed with this as well.  Every year my husband buys me a house (or two) to add to my village and now I have a total of fourteen building (i.e. Churches, Lighthouse, Fire Station, Grocery Stores, etc.) a Musical Carousel, Trees of all sizes, people and all animals.  


"The Night Before Christmas"

The reading of "The Night Before Christmas" is another tradition that we started a few years ago.  

On this night each child gets to open one present (not a toy, we give the kids new pajamas with matching slippers and a book), we drink hot cocoa and eat cookies.  

   

Little Man is now 6 years old and he knows exactly what kind of present he gets the night before Christmas and always looks forward to it.

"The Presents"

"The Opening of Their Presents"

Or what I like to tall "the aftermath" (in my most dramatic voice). it took them approximately two hours and several "you can play with it later, open the next one"...to open all their gifts and there are no words for the mess afterward.  

"Christmas Dinner"

This year we invited another family over to share Christmas Dinner with us so we set up the table a bit different from previous years.

The adult table:

and the children's table:

"The Outfits"

The girls decided to wear their new "Brave" dresses.  While Ms. A. decided to wear her hair lose adorned by a single flower clip, Ms. Bree wanted two simple buns with a "zig-zag" parting.  Simple right!

The boys ...well, they were too busy playing!

We truly enjoyed staying home with the kids for almost two weeks, but now it's time to get ready for our next big event, "Ms. Bree's 4th Birthday Party"!!

Don't forget to share all your amazing pictures with us!!  

Cornrows plus Braids & DISNEY ON ICE!!

Their second field trip was to the Civic Center to see DISNEY ON ICE! 

Wow... I really cant believe it, they are growing so fast.   

Lil B has gone on many field trips but this was his second field trip while in Kindergartner and he's attending a bigger school than last year.   For Ms. Bree this is her second field trip, and she was so excited to ride the big yellow bus. 

Unfortunately, my children are currently attending different schools, and in order to decide which parent would attend the show we had to flip a coin. I wish we could have been able to sit with hubby and Lil B! I wasn't happy about that but tried to make the best of it. I think we succeed at it.

Although Ms. Bree has attended Disney on Ice every year since she was born, this year was different.  As she is getting older she is able to enjoy herself more because she understand what is happening during this type of events.

Last year Ms. Bree decided to wear her "Tiana" gown and obviously, we made that happen.  Unfortunately, she didn't enjoyed the show as much as I had hoped because she was afraid. 

As you can also see, "Mommy" was not as knowledgeable about her hair as I am today and her hair was simply secured in one pony tail:  

I can proudly say that her hair is healthier and her hair line is in better shape than it was a year ago.

Now that we have visited the past, lets fast forward to the "now".  For this trip we did two cornrows on each side, half a pony tail into five medium size braids and small box braids on the back.

The reason I did this is because it was simple and I could easily modify this style into another style, if we wanted to.

Products I used to style her hair:  (After washing and having her hair banded for half a day)

1.  Bee Mine Luscious Moisturizer
2.  Bee Mine Curly Butter
3.  Flower Snaps to keep the ends from unraveling.

NOTE: 

The next day I applied a bit of Eco Styler Gel (Argan Oil) and gently brushed the edges of the top section and secured it with a Pink Elastic by Goody's and use a Pink Flower to accessorize it.

This year was amazing, the show changed a bit, and although there were no princesses like last year, she still got to see Little Mermaid, Tinker Bell and one of her heros ....."Woody". 

I think she got a better laugh out of seeing Barbie and Ken!  She laughed, she sang along,  and it truly was a magical show for her.

It was a wonderful experience for them.  I wish I could say that about my little man but I didn't get to sit with him. (very sadden by it) But his dad said he had fun since his dad spent a few bucks buying him a Buzz Lightyear mug, spinning top and a few other items.

Our First Criss Cross Braid

I finally did it! My first criss-cross cornrow and I am very pleased with the results!!

It has been approximately five months since I took the challenge of learning  how to cornrow my daughters hair as it's a great protective style.

Below are a couple of links to some great posts which I believe are great for beginners:

"Cornrowing-for-beginners" by Beads Braids and Beyond and Learn Cornrows which is highly recommended by KandLandKurls.  

Now, Rory from Chocolate Hair/Vanilla Care has an amazing technique and many have learned by using a practice board, here is the link to her post "how-to-cornrow".

Although the above posts are great source of information, I'm more of a visual person.  While searching for youtube videos, I came across Kate's videos.  These are the videos that I truly learned from, the link to her youtube video is "How to Cornrow instructions".

Now let me tell you, as a beginner you will make mistakes, and after five months of practicing, I still make mistakes, specially when I have my six year old asking for snacks, or Ms. Bree needs a sudden "potty break".  Please remember it's okay to start over if you are at a point in your cornrow where you can start over, but if you are towards the end of the cornrow, just leave it! Most people will never notice your mistake unless you point it out.

After practicing straight and short cornrows, you will be able to do more than just simple styles.  I wanted to do something different this time.  I have wanted to try doing the criss-cross braid for a very long time, which I also learned from watching Kate's video "How to do Criss-cross Cornrows Part 1" and "How to do Criss-cross Cornrows Part 2".  I watched her video over and over again until I told myself, "this is it, I'm going to do this".

I opted to only do a single criss cross braid because I didn't know how long it was going to take me and i didn't know if Ms. Bree was  going to sit still for that long.

On my next attempt I will probably do as many three or four.

After a few days, I did a little modifying.  I undid the side pony tails and twisted her hair over night.  The next day I removed her twists. (twist out).

 and remember, keep practicing and don't forget to share your pictures and progress with us!! 

you can send your pictures to caramelcurlznswirls@yahoo.com

Styles for Short Curls

As we all know, not every curly top has the same length or amount of hair.  Sometimes you may feel overwhelmed or confused when it comes to styling your little one's curls, especially if their curls are extremely short.  

Ms. J's hair is short and her mommy is totally okay with it and instead of feeling overwhelmed, she has found several styles that work for her lovely daughter.  She has also modified some styles to make that those styles work on Ms. J's short hair.  

Thank you Mrs Rachel for sharing these amazing cute styles with us! 

STYLE 1:

STYLE 2:

STYLE 3:

STYLE 4:

STYLE 5:

STYLE 6:

STYLE 7:

Ms. Rachel says:

"Other simple styles I have done on my daughter are the following:

• Afro puffs are an easy style you can create in minutes, you can create one, two, four... or as many as you want;
• braided buns;
• four cornrows... etc.

Plaits are great protective style and easy to do, it works on all length of hair and they can be done in different sizes as well"

PRODUCTS USED:

THANK YOU again Mrs Rachel and Ms. J for sharing these beautiful styles!!!