Curly boys hair cut

I have never taken a hair cutting class in my life. I did how ever watch my mother cut my four brother's hair growing up and I also know how much it cost to get a hair cut professionally. My two toads have very different hair. One has brown, straight hair and the other has blonde curly hair. So they get different hair cuts.cutting curly hair is not easy. I've also been afraid that if I cut off his curls i will never see them again.

Here is what you need:
Spray bottle of water
sharp scissors (hair scissors are best)
comb
sheet (only if your not doing this on a hard surface where you can sweep up)
tall chair or stool
mirror or/and TV

choose a time of Day your child is most happy. putting them in front of the TV watching a favorite program or for some older children a mirror to see what you are doing might be enough. you can either strip them down or put a towel around them to help keep the hair off the clothes. (tip for you: don't wear socks)

Time to get started!

1. spray down the hair and comb through it.

2. take the comb and comb down the back to find desired length. remember curly hair bounces back so you will want to cut it longer then you may think. Cut at desired length.

3. using that first cut as a guide cut the rest of the hair the same length. pull hair at a vertical angle from the head with some hair from the original/ previous cut and cut to the length of the shorter hair.

continue this with the rest of the head. You may want to trim around the ears and side burns to give it a more clean look.

YOUR DONE!

Boys short hair cut

I have never taken a hair cutting class in my life. I did how ever watch my mother cut my four brother's hair growing up and I also know how much it cost to get a hair cut professionally. My two toads have very different hair. One has brown, straight hair and the other has blonde curly hair. So they get different hair cuts. This first one is very simple.

What you need:
hair clippers
the largest claw (1"-1.5" your choice)
1/4" claw
a sheet (only if your not doing this on a hard surface where you can sweep up)
tall chair or stool
mirror or/and TV

choose a time of Day your child is most happy. putting them in front of the TV watching a favorite program or for some older children a mirror to see what you are doing might be enough. you can either strip them down or put a towel around them to help keep the hair off the clothes. (tip for you: don't wear socks)

Time to get started.

1. take the large claw on the clippers, turn it on and start cutting the hair. this is fool proof. Best to go the opposite direction the hair is lying on the head. front to back on the top of the head. bottom to top on the sides.

cut until the hair is all the same length. (you don't need to cut the sides at this point if you don't want too) 

2. put the 1/4" claw on the clippers and start on the sides. start from the bottom and go up. do this in a rocking motion, pulling the clippers toward you at the top. you will have to eyeball the line around the head where you want the longer top hair line to start.

3. cleaning the edges. take the claws off the clippers. trim the side burns where you want them. I normally line it up where the top of the ear meets the head. trim around the ear. you will have to move the ear to do this. also the child will need to hold very still or you might nick them. this is harder then you might think because they are afraid of the clippers near the ear. repeat on the other side.

I don't use the ear pieces that come with the clippers because it always turned out looking worse!

3.5. trim the back by cutting with clipper to the length desired. run the clippers up and down the neck to get rid of any other hair that may be growing there. It gives it a nice clean look.

YOUR DONE!

Vanilla Coconut Ice Cream

My youngest toad is lactose intolerant. It hasn't been to bad of a change for our family. If anything it has made us eat a little healthier, cutting out food with a lot of cream or cheese. I think the hardest thing has been ice cream. We love ice cream at our house and any non-dairy ice cream is hard to find and expensive when you do. I was so excited to find this super easy ice cream recipe made with coconut milk. Now my little toad can enjoy with us without the tummy ache afterwards.

2C coconut milk (canned whole fat is best, I couldn't find any. you can substitute with almond milk too)
1/3C honey
1T + 1t of pure vanilla extract

combine all ingredients in a blender. chill if needed (must be cold) Add to ice cream maker, follow manufacturer's directions for churning. add any add-ins you choose during the last few minutes of churning.

Raspberry Jam

I love Raspberries. My family has had raspberry bushes as long as I can remember. So it is only natural that we always had raspberry jam on hand.
Now that I have my own little family and am trying to cut down on a few things -- like sugar--I went looking for a no sugar added freezer Jam recipe. I didn't find one, unless you want to add Splenda, which I do not. I did however find out about a product I had not heard of before called Ultra gel. This is a product made in Utah. you can find it in Stores around here or order it on line. Basically what it does is gel up any liquid you have, hot or cold. It freezes well too.

this is what the bottle looks like.

I found two different Jam recipes online using it and they have one on the bottle. I sort of made up my own and it has turned out great.

4C of mashed fruit (you can add a cup of apple sauce to replace one of the cups of raspberries to cut price)
2T lemon or lime juice
1C sugar (optional)
1/2C ultra gel

mix fruit, lime juice, sugar together until well mixed. slowly add ultra gel while constantly mixing. let stand 5 min then mix again until smooth. fill jars, put lids on and freeze.

finished product

I think I may try it again and not add any sugar. I think it might work.