Hair Help! (Because Sometimes Mommy Isn't Good at These Things...)

Recently, I blew Mia's mind by informing her that sometimes I don't always know how to do things and I need to learn how to do them. If I remember correctly, this was when we were trying out a new jam recipe after picking the mother load of strawberries. Anyway, she was clearly shocked, exclaiming, "But you're an adult!" Apparently, that means I know everything! Or, so she thought. I had her fooled up until this point...

Now, one of the biggest things that I have always struggled with as the mom of a little girl is hair styling. It's not something I have ever spent too much time on for myself. Long ago, I gave up on trying to make my curls straight. Despite trying to be low-maintenance, I do stress over hair a bit. (See more about the story of my "bad haircut" here, and Mia's first dance recital here, and Logan's curly hair, and how I gave up shampoo, and the time that Mia cut her own hair!) This is an area in which I definitely have room for improvement. (Mommy really can't do everything.)

Fortunately, Mia is at an age when she can do most of her own hair, with minor touch-ups on my end. However, dance recital is one of those times when kid-styled locks are just not going to cut it. This is something I literally dreaded: having to put her hair into a bun and get it to stay that way until she was done performing her tap routine to "Why Should I Worry?" from the movie Oliver & Company. (Remember that one? There was actually an 80's theme to the whole recital.) So cute, but I need to get back on topic...

I've already mentioned one life-improving hair product that I've found for moms of girls: the Knot Genie. This made getting her hair into a neat pony tail much quicker and easier than if I were doing this on my own! Then, I heard about a really wonderful thing from Mia's little friend's mom. (Also, I'm glad I asked. I was under the impression that this mom was a hair pro, and it turned out that she just had a handy trick up her sleeve. It's all a matter of perspective, I guess.) This handy-dandy bun maker thingy is called "The Perfect Bun," and it's made by Remington. I found it in the hair accessory aisle of our local Wal-mart for about $5. Let me tell you, this is money well spent. I'm not saying her bun was "perfect." It still looked amateurish compared to some of the other girls' hair, but for me, this was the best darn bun I have ever made. And yes, it still took me some time, mostly because I was being perfectionistic, as usual, (and again, hair is not my area of expertise, not by a loooong stretch!) but the results were totally worth it.

{Mia's "Perfect" Bun}

The recital was last night, and we, thankfully, made it without any hair-raising drama. The thing that had me the most worked up was getting her hair into that "perfect" bun, and now that I know the secret to this, this will only get easier. (It was funny that once we sat down, Brett asked me if I was stressed out, and I thought What am I supposed to be stressing about?! I already did my major stressing over the hair! Once I dropped her off backstage, it was all in her hands (or tap shoes, I guess). On that note, I must end by saying how proud I am of my little dancing girl. This was the best I had ever seen her perform, and she definitely worked hard. She's really come a long way in the three years since she starting taking dance classes, developing confidence along with the dance steps! And, Mommy is learning a thing or two along the way, as well.

{Take a bow!}