The book list - October (help for curly or wavy hair!)

My July 2014 "book list" post included this picture of Solomon reading Cars and Trucks and Things that Go by Richard Scarry.  I was recently contacted by Jacqueline of the blog "Deep Roots at Home" requesting permission to use this picture of Solomon in a post she was writing on Richard Scarry.  Her finished post went up this past Saturday, and it is fun seeing Solomon's picture in it.  (Post is here.) 

As an aside, Jacqueline's blog is filled with much wisdom and helpful information.  I found her post on the benefits of turmeric that she did this summer to be especially helpful for me. 

Need a quick turkey craft for your little ones?  This is one I gave Solomon yesterday.  I pre-cut everything and he glued them on.  (He colored the paper plate first.)  He knows how to spell his name and was able to put the feathers in order all by himself.

Curly Girl: The Handbook by Lorraine Massey (2nd edition with DVD) - I had nice straight hair when I was growing up.  However that began to change after I had Hunter.  Hormones can do crazy things to your hair!  And my hair kept changing after Lilly and Solomon's births too.  (Thank you Tabby for letting me keep my straight hair after your birth!)  I had no idea what to do with my hair though and just did my best to straighten it and usually wore it in braids or a pony tail.  As soon as I washed it, I would dry it while trying to brush it straight.  Then I'd use a flat iron on it.  It would look ok for a little while, but then frizz would creep in.  Ugh!  Only Diana, the woman that cuts my hair could get my hair to look like I wanted and it would stay that way until I washed it again.

Late this summer, we were invited to go swimming.  After being in the pool, my hair air dried for the first time in years.  I was quite surprised when I finally saw a mirror that day.  I had no idea how wavy my hair had become.

Then right after that, I came across a post by a women who wrote how having babies changed her hair and she posted a picture.  It looked like my hair!  In the comments to her post, I identified with several of the people and their hair issues.  Someone recommended the Curly Girl book and me, being a book person, got a copy. 

If you've got curly or wavy hair, this book identifies the different types of curls and waves and then gives step-by-step details how to care for your hair.  The author shares which types of shampoos and hair care products to avoid and warns about never using a "blow fryer."  The book also has several hair styles explained, how to cut your own hair, and a DVD summarizing much.  There are even recipes for hair care products. 

I've learned that to deal properly with my wavy hair (that has a few curls) I need to scrunch it after washing, then air dry.  (Or at least use a diffuser on my hair dryer.)  No combing or brushing except for finger combing.  I scrunch my wet hair a microfiber towel then scrunch in some hair gel.  And that's it!  It's been sort of weird getting used to wavy hair, but it has been an enormous relief.  I don't spend much time on my hair, plus it does not frustrate me anymore.

When I started this, my hair was one length and cut bluntly.

Then I recently got it cut with long layers added in. 

(So weird - I don't even recognize my hair anymore.  I suddenly don't know how I feel about this!)

Tabby has found she has some nice wave in her hair too:

Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder - I recently read this book to Hunter.  Solomon liked hearing me read it so much that he would come and sit in my lap - every time I read a chapter.  This story is part of a book series based on true events in the author's life and should be required reading for everyone!  Laura writes about the adventures of her pioneer family as they travel by covered wagon from Wisconsin to Kansas.  They have adventures on the way, and then we read along as the family builds a log house to live in.  Indians and wolves are all around them.  I love how the books really bring history to life.  Hunter was fascinated with the detailed descriptions on how Pa built their house, barn, furniture, dug a well, etc.  Solomon liked Jack, their dog, the best.

I have no idea how many times I have read this series, since I was little.  Tabby to has re-read the series many times.  And when I finished the book, Hunter begged me to start reading him the next book in the series.  I'm still reading from the book set I had as a child:

Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher - This is a wonderful old book, first published in 1917.  I read it to Tabby when she was younger and we both really enjoyed it.  Then I read it to Hunter last month.  He really liked the story line - plus the descriptions of how things were done "in the olden times."  (He was very intrigued with reading about a sundial being cut into the window of a pantry and about an old type of hot water heater.)  The story is about a 9 year old orphan girl that was brought up in the big city by an overprotective aunt.  The little girl is frail and afraid of everything.  But then through a chain of events, she has to go live out in the Vermont country with some farming relatives that she has only heard negative things about.  This change turns out to be the best thing that ever happens to her.