Ryder Learned to Feed Himself

A happy boy with his pureed prunes! Gotta love it that he's eating but man, what a mess. I should've taken pics after he finished off his strawberry applesauce dessert. He had his entire face covered in food, from forehead to chin.

Mama's New Hair & Cute Baby Pics

Ryder likes my new look, too. The proof is in the pics! Notice how shiny & healthy my hair looks--I owe it all to the Brazilian Blowout at Sirens Salon.

Hair She Goes!

I've always had curly hair. My hair is fine, not very thick and it gets really, really frizzy. It can't help it. That's just the way it is. When I dry my hair with a blowdryer OR let it air dry, with expensive products or with cheap ones, it comes out the same way: curly/wavy going every which way and not so much trying to conform to a style. The pics I'm posting prove it.

When Emma at Sirens Salon said she could give me a hair treatment that would leave my hair as shiny, silky and smooth as a baby's I simply did not believe her. Did.Not.Believe. But after my relaxing visit with the lovely staff at Sirens (and a glass of wine or two) I started to believe. And after Emma and Callie had worked some magic with touching up my color and giving me a Brazilian Blowout, I became a religious zealot believer. I'll never doubt Emma again.

Here are some after shots of my hair when we were done. My friends will think I look just like I'd stepped out of Sirens after having my hair flat ironed but this is a simple rough dry with a blow dryer, something that would normally leave me crimpy curled. I've never had hair that looked this smooth, sleek and ultra-well cared for until now, with the Brazilian Blowout treatment. On the plus side, the treatment doesn't smell funny (or strong) and there's no fear of chemical burns on your scalp, either. With a color touch up, the Brazilian Blowout and a quick cut I was in the shop for almost 3 hours, so plan accordingly. Take it from me, every minute is worth it!

I love it! My hair has never looked better. And when I wash it, I don't have to worry about it reverting to messy tresses...this is going to last for up to 3 months. Absofreakinglutely amazing!

The Art of Relaxation

I must've managed to learn the art of relaxation. Despite being sick every day of my vacation last week, I'm back to work feeling refreshed. I didn't realize how difficult it would be to be the only parent on vacation -- even with help from my sister and her family, Ryder was a handful. I never fully relaxed from parenting (two words: separation anxiety) but I did some serious R&R from my 9-5 job. I came home even sicker, stayed out of work yesterday but today I hit the ground running. Its nice to feel calm & centered at work again.

Ryder had a blast, being center of attention. He had his first trip to the zoo and freaked out in the penguin & puffin exhibit. To his credit, the penguins were within touching distance and they did splash us a few times, which had Ryder clawing to get away from me and to Maggie, who was standing the farthest away. Poor babes then discovered there was another exhibit directly behind him. The stuff of nightmares, I'm sure. Aggressive, angry, I'm-gonna-get-you flightless birds. LOL He was very much relieved that the rest of the animals were behind fences and sometimes netting. Every animal he saw he'd point to and say "woof woof". Gazelle? "Woof woof". Giraffe? "Woof woof". Snow leopard? You get the idea.

My sweet picky eater also discovered the crack that is McDonald's Chicken McNuggets. Ryder, who won't eat much, devoured three nuggets. Unbelievable! I would've disowned him had he not happily munched down on a pile of Vietnamese charbroiled pork from my com dac biet plate at my favorite St. Louis restaurant later in the week. There's hope for him yet.

I'll post pics soon, probably the ones of Ryder playing the piano. He is his father's son.