Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Easter & Church & Hair, OH MY! (Part II)

Easter weekend was amazing!

Beautiful weather, Easter egg hunts, Church Service & Amazing Easter dinners! Now....last blog, we discussed hair and what we were going to do with their HAIR! We were both contacting each other and discussing what we wanted to do. We both didn't want to do anything too complicated, but we wanted our Curly Gurlz to shine in their dresses. You know how they get when they wear their fluffy dresses, hold the cute purse, little shoes that are adorned with flowers & rhinestones, their tiny finger nails brighten up with pastel colors, and their hairs are on point! So this is what we came up with for the Easter weekend.


Over here in Metro Atlanta (Georgia), for MadiMelzCurlz (Sdestra), I went with a simple updo and a twisted bun adorned with a pink flower to match her dress. We went to church Sunday morning and walked out feeling blessed of course!

Later that afternoon, we went over a family friend's home for an Easter Egg hunt with her hair still styled in that high twisted bun style.  She enjoyed her afternoon with friends, activities, running to get the most eggs, food and especially the candy!

The twisted bun didn't take long to put together at all.  With a high ponytail, twists, hair pins and a scarf to keep the hair looking neat and sharp, it was as simple and as classy as I was hoping for it to be.  She thought it was cute and became more "princess" like...lol.  And of course the many compliments and questions of how I did her hair and where I got her flower (hair candy from).  And I was even stalking some mothers about their daughters' hairs!!!

Check out the video for more details
MadiMelzCurlz' Easter Hair Video


Here in the Charlotte area (North Carolina), the weather was gorgeous all weekend. The kids attended Easter Parties & Egg Hunts at school. They made crafts, took pictures, played games and ate tons of candy. After those festivities, I made sure we shifted our focus to the real meaning of the holiday. The ultimate sacrifice God gave us through HIS son Jesus was what it was all about. The children were so excited about their dresses, hair and accessories but they didn't cease to thank God for HIS son Jesus. They became teary eyed while thinking about how Christ died for our sins. They rejoiced in knowing that he rose again! 


So, Resurrection Sunday was finally here!!! I chose to do an updo for the girls because of the humidity that morning. We used Flexirods for the first time to create both of their styles. Here is how JoifulzCurlz wore her hair...


I chose to put her curls up in a high pony/puff with a few simple curls hanging in the front.  They had hats also but they chose not to wear them because they didn't want to mess up their hair...lol. 


AngelzCurlz wore a similar style but I chose to cornrow the front of her hair as she tends to be a little more energetic :). This style went perfectly with her dress and they both received a ton of compliments which they proudly accepted!
Here is a picture of AngelzCurlz in her dress.  And here is a picture of her hair close up.  I decided to put her flexirod curls into a high side pony with a few curls hanging to the side.  She felt like a little princess :).  Our wonderful day ended with a delicious home cooked meal, prepared my ME!  After eating, we all enjoyed some much needed quality time together as a family.  Thank You God for your son JESUS!  Check out their video for more details:JoifulzCurlz & AngelzCurlz' Easter Hair Video                                                

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Easter & Church & Hair, OH MY! (Part I)



Greetings Beautiful Ladies!
This is the time to celebrate the life of Christ, how he died for our sins and rose from the dead. Then there are the Easter egg hunts, the Easter parties, the Easter candies, the Easter dresses & shoes....and the EASTER HAIR! Easter seems to be one of the occassions where we go "ALL OUT" on the hairstyles for ourselves and our little Curly Gurlz. Our clothes have to look prestine, shoes too hot to trott, the colors must be sharp and the family has to compliment each other while walking up the stairs to church. So what are your plans for styling your Curly Gurl'z hair?
We tend to try to think outside of the box. But keep in mind, don't make it too complicated. Look for some ideas or inspirations. If you're limited with what you can do as far as styling, there are hair accessories such as flowers, hats and other head adornments that can enhance the beauty of the hair. Braid outs, Flat twists, buns (high, low), twists, cornrows, blow outs, curls galore, a combo of styles such as a bun at the top with curls in the back....
We are still working on what we're doing for our Curly Gurlz' Hairs for the Easter Weekend....but eventually we'll come up with a style, either early or at the last minute during times of desperation! Don't let that happen to you!

Around the Easter Weekend, we'll share with you what we did in "Easter & Church & Hair, OH MY! Part II". It will consist of what we did to make our Curly Gurlz shine on Easter Sunday and during the weekend of activities, so stay tuned! And please share too!

So what are you doing with your Curly Gurl(z) Easter Weekend?

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Building SELF ESTEEM Within Your Daughters!!

Building a healthy self esteem is a crucial part of raising a happy, healthy, BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER. This is something that we strive to work on building within our daughters whenever the opportunity presents itself. We are constantly telling them that they are beautiful, loved and blessed. We want them to grow up to be strong, God loving girls who can look within themselves and find all of the love and support they need. We don't want them to look to others for self worth, acceptance and acknowledgement but we want them to walk in the confidence and assurity that they posses inside.


In our research on this topic, we came across this wonderful article that we'd like to share with you all. We found the information to be beneficial and we hope that you all will be inspired by it. We will post the link below for further reading.

What is Self Esteem?
Self-esteem is a term used in psychology to reflect a person's overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her own worth. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs (for example, "I am competent", "I am worthy") and emotions such as triumph, despair, pride and shame[citation needed]. Self-esteem can apply specifically to a particular dimension (for example, "I believe I am a good writer and I feel happy about that") or have global extent (for example, "I believe I am a bad person, and feel bad about myself in general").
~Wikipedia (The Free Encyclopedia)

Signs of Unhealthy and Healthy Self-Esteem
Self-esteem fluctuates as kids grow. It's frequently changed and fine-tuned, because it is affected by a child's experiences and new perceptions. So it helps to be aware of the signs of both healthy and unhealthy self-esteem.

Kids with low self-esteem may not want to try new things, and may frequently speak negatively about themselves: "I'm stupid," "I'll never learn how to do this," or "What's the point? Nobody cares about me anyway." They may exhibit a low tolerance for frustration, giving up easily or waiting for somebody else to take over. They tend to be overly critical of and easily disappointed in themselves. Kids with low self-esteem see temporary setbacks as permanent, intolerable conditions, and a sense of pessimism predominates.

Kids with healthy self-esteem tend to enjoy interacting with others. They're comfortable in social settings and enjoys group activities as well as independent pursuits. When challenges arise, they can work toward finding solutions and voice discontent without belittling themselves or others. For example, rather than saying, "I'm an idiot," a child with healthy self-esteem says, "I don't understand this." They know their strengths and weaknesses, and accept them. A sense of optimism prevails.
http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/feelings/self_esteem.html#

What can you do to help build your daughters self esteem?

1. Build a strong foundation. From her first breath, remind your daughter on a daily basis, through words and action, that she is strong, smart, and beautiful. Research confirms that girls with low self-esteem most commonly receive less praise and more criticism from either parent.

2. Limit her access to media early. The messages you work diligently to provide will quickly be challenged if you don’t filter media that blatantly contradicts them. A great deal of television and print media set unrealistic physical standards and portray over-sexualized, disempowered girls and women. Unchecked, it will shape your daughter’s sense of reality, self, and the standard she is expected to meet for acceptance, desirability, and success. Additionally, it’s essential that you help her to achieve media literacy so even when she’s engaged with it, she’ll have a more discerning mind. An easy place to start is the Dove Real Beauty Campaign Web site where, in addition to taking quizzes on self-esteem, she can take one on image manipulation so she realizes how unreal print media images frequently tend to be.

3. Create open lines of communication. Hormonal shifts that begin the transition into adolescence can begin as early as eight or nine years old. The further down the adolescent path she is, the more difficult it will become to establish lines of communication that will essentially become lifelines in your efforts to guide and protect her throughout her teen years. The best place to start, if you haven’t already, is by talking with her about her day on the way to school and at the dinner table every day.

4. Encourage her to find and use her voice. I always tell the girls I work with to think of their voice as a muscle—the more they use it, the stronger it will be. Speaking on behalf of your daughter most or all of the time limits her workout time.

5. Seize the power of organized sports. The earlier you can get and keep her involved the better. The opportunity to develop strong relationships with other girls while working toward a common goal and to develop confidence related to something she does rather than simply how she looks, talks, and acts is essential to building and maintaining self-esteem. In case that’s not enough, research shows a significant decrease in participation in risky sexual behavior among girls who play sports.

6. Remember that knowledge is power. This is particularly true as it applies to your daughter knowing and understanding her own body. It is especially important that she have a solid understanding of the powerful and changing cyclical role hormones play in the female body every month and the impact they have physically, emotionally, and psychologically on a daily basis. She cannot value or protect a body that is foreign to her.
7. Make no subject taboo. From sex to drugs, making any subject off limits to your daughter (whether stated or implied) will only ensure her journey down a path of shame, ignorance, and ultimately, danger. If she cannot get open, honest, and accurate information from her parents, she will get it from less-educated sources that may leave her misinformed and far less able to protect herself.

8. Dads, be aware of the power of your words and actions.
The way a father expresses his value and respect for women directly impacts the way his daughter sees herself and the degree of respect and overall value she will expect to receive from boys and men.


9. Moms, never forget that you are her most important role model. More than half of girls recently surveyed as part of a national report on self-esteem said their mothers criticize their own appearance. It is imperative that we do whatever is necessary to get ourselves to a place of knowing and understanding our value as women, if we have any hope that our daughters will do the same.
http://www.divinecaroline.com/22111/98589-girl-power-nine-ways-build

We challenge you all to focus on building self esteem in your daughters. Please feel free to comment and share your thoughts on this subject. Take a moment to share what steps you have taken and if you were successful. Leave an encouraging word for another mom that will motivate them to begin to apply these principles in their daughters lives. Thanks so much for reading this. We look forward to your comments.

Please take a look at the corresponding video on our video page!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

How we started: The beginning of a child's hair journey

MadimelzCurlz Natural Hair Journey

I started my daughter's natural hair journey when I started mine back at the end of 2007.   This is when my beautiful sister in law told me about Fotki, a photo sharing site where so many women share their hair journies. And I was hooked.  As far as my daughter, I was doing so many things to her hair...vaseline, tight rubberbands, water, etc.  But I was left with was dryness and crazy looking edges.  But I thought I could fix that.  I was using J&J baby shampoo to wash.  She was born with a full head of curls and they weren't soft because of the dryness.  I changed her shampoo and then looked at some of the natural sisters regimen from Fotki.  But natural or relaxed heads, had oils in their regimens.  I kicked myself for throwing away the jars I had of shea butter when I moved down to Atlanta.  I thought I had no use for the seven containers anymore that I paid a $1 each for from a street seller in NJ...lol.  Anyhow, I started to incorporate some products in her and I noticed her hair flourished.  The main thing that made her hair take off was mainly the techniques I was using.  I rarely used the rubber bands, I learned a technique to comb her hair, I learned to cornrow and most importantly...I learned more about patience.  I always say that if you have patience, you waste less time than if you rushed.  Although our journies consist of a relaxed head (me) and a natural head (MadiMelz Curlz), I'm happy to say that the journey has been wonderful for the both of us.  Funny thing is that I do more with her hair than my own....I just want her to shine.  So here's a question I've been asked a few times...will I ever relax my daughter's hair.  I won't relax her hair at all. I honeslty don't want her to when she becomes of age to make that decision.  Under my care, I found a way to take care of her hair and saw results.  So if I can manage her hair in it's natural state, why relax it?  But for now, my stance is to let her see what I do with her hair so she can be armed with knowledge.  At the end of the day, it's just hair!  We know there are more important things in life to enrich the soul to prepare for life.  It's our responsibility to SHOW great subconscious examples in everything that we do...they internalize that and in turn will make them beautiful inside and shine outside.

"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! – Matthew 6:22-23 (NIV)

Please take a look at MadimelzCurlz Natural Hair Journey Video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecXHY2kjYbo

God bless you all!
-Sdestra
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AngelzCurlz & JoifulzCurlz Natural Hair Journey


After having my first daughter (JoifulzCurlz), I began experimenting with styles and just about every baby product (Johnson & Johnson, Gerbers, Just for me)… just to name a few. I grew tired of using flaky gels and shampoos that dried out her hair without giving me a long lasting hairstyle. So I started to search for products that contained moisture, shea butter and all the other “good” ingredients for your hair. I was completely clueless as to what I was actually searching for.  My extent of hair knowledge was limited to jherri curls, relaxers, over processed hair, heat & color damage. I experienced this first hand for 30 years of my life. I just knew that I didn’t want that for my daughters… there had to be something better for them. Just as I got into my healthy hair care research, baby girl #2 (AngelzCurlz) was born. I knew that I wanted to incorporate my new found hair knowledge in the beginning of her hair journey as soon as possible. I basically began to shampoo their hair with a mild shampoo and I moisturized their scalps with baby oil.  I figured it was light, with very little harmful products for their scalps and skin. I too stopped relaxing and decided to begin my natural hair journey along with them.
For years my staple products included pantene (shampoo and conditioner), bb super grow and fantasia ic gel. They were not the best choice of products but at the time, they gave us pretty decent results. It wasn’t until about a year ago when I decided to try Kids Organics Shea Butter Conditioning Shampoo, 100% Raw Coconut Oil and 100%Unrefined Shea Butter. I was shocked at how moisturized the girls’ hair became after using these products. I have continued to use these products as well as Jojoba Oil and Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I am so happy that the 3 of us have gone on this Natural Hair Journey together. I think the key to our journey has been research, patience and perseverance. Healthy hair doesn’t start over night so it is important to get started as soon as possible so that you can begin to see good results. I encourage you to photo document your daughter’s journey (whether relaxed or natural) because it will show you their progress even when you don’t think you’ve had any. Get started and enjoy the journey in the process!!

Please feel free to view AngelzCurlz & JoifulzCurlz Natural Hair Journey Video!
http://www.youtube.com/user/BlessedCurlyGurlz#p/a/u/0/8p3jqDJkREY

BlessedMomOf3
"Stay vigilant and refuse to be overwhelmed."

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Stylish Blogger Award!

We were blessed to have received the
 "STYLISH BLOGGER AWARD!!!!



We'd like to thank "A Mother's Love" http://shirlenslove.blogspot.com/ for thinking of us!
As recipients of this award, we were asked to:

-Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award.
-Share 7 things about yourself
-Award a few blog you feel deserve the award

Since we are a 2 person team, we've decided to share our facts separately. So, here they are:


Sdestra (mom to MadiMelzCurlz)
1. I'm a Haitian woman that was raised in New Jersey.
2. I love to crochet, sketch, decorate and cook.
3. I must carry my Pink "A Mother's Bible" to church and on trips.
4. I'm a hardcore couponer with the zippered binder that make store managers follow me around.
5. I took a Japanese course in highschool for 2 years and can write my name to this day in Katakana.
6. I believe that people wear many hats and because you know them while they wear one hat...you can't defend them in the other hats that they wear.
7. My pet peeve is when a friend or family member starts to act "brand new" on you.


BlessedMomOf3 (mom to AngelzCurlz & JoifulzCurlz)
1. I am a "PK" (Preacher's Kid)
2. I am a HUGE tennis fan (football is a close second)
3. I am a born again christian
4. I have a passion for acting, cooking, running (falling back in love with this) and everything HAIR!!!
5. I am a self sacrificer to the heart
6. I find the humor in life!!!
7. I can play the flute, violin and the drums! YES, the drums!


Now it's time to share the love to a few deserving bloggers (please show your support for them):
 A Mother's Love
 Beads, Braids & Beyond
 Happy Girl Hair 
 Kandy Land Kurls