It’s Picture Day!
I was going to bake a loaf of homemade wheat sandwich bread today. It is my life’s mission to bake a big fluffy loaf of yeasty, crusty bread that I can cut into slices and build big beautiful sandwiches with. I have a recipe. I have some special ingredients. I have a vision. But I have no time.
Today is cleaning day.
Today is soccer practice.
Today is a PTA meeting.
Today is Picture Day!
I’m under the impression that Picture Day has changed a lot from when I was in grade school.
There is the choice of pose.
Are these Senior Pictures or kindergarten photos?!
There is the choice of background.
Gigi wanted purple. We chose blue. She was a feather boa and some blurring effects away from a Glamour Shot with that purple.
There is even the option for retouching.
What does that say to your child if you airbrush their school pictures?
One school picture tradition I’m hoping they’ve gotten rid of is the handing out of those tiny black plastic combs. Lord help me if Gigi combs her ‘fro out before pictures.
Obviously I used mine…to comb my bangs straight down.
Hmm…him too.
Even at 8 years old, Pea Daddy and I were on the same page.
Bad joke, but you are used to it.
Gigi’s hair is a little harder to work with.
So I thought I’d give you a little tutorial on how I do the girls’ hair. Actually, this is for Pea Daddy’s benefit since I just booked my flight to San Francisco for the Foodbuzz Festival in a month. One of the main deterrents for not going was who would do the girls’ hair while I was gone. You have a month to study up, Pea Daddy.
For Gigi’s updo, I use:
- hairspray
- comb
- a large ponytail holder (these are Goody and come in a 24 pack at Target)
- 4-5 bobby pins
- a large headband (also Goody and from Target)
- snacks (I don’t stand a chance without these. They are not Goody and they come from Target)
Starting with clean, dry hair (we use Pantene shampoo and Garnier leave-in conditioner),
I pull her hair into high ponytail,
wrapping the elastic around her hair and pulling the ponytail through 3-4 times.
I don’t pull the last round of hair all the way through, though, and make kind of a loop instead.
Using both hands, I spread both ends of the loop to make a full circle, pulling the ponytail tighter as I go.
I arrange the loose ends to face the front of Gigi’s face and sort of separate and fluff the ends.
At this point, I spray the ends.
Then, since we are growing Gigi’s hair out, I pull up any loose hair on the nape of her neck and pin it up towards the bun with bobby pins.
Once secure, I slip the headband over Gigi’s hair,
and arrange the updo as needed. I finish with a little more spray. The end result:
I hope the photographer knows to say “booger buckets” to get her to smile.
Now for Lulu.
For her side braid crown, I use:
- a comb
- a tiny ponytail holder (these are Goody and come in a package of 50 at Target)
- a large ponytail holder (the same kind I used in Gigi’s hair)
- snacks (which must be exactly equal in quantity and quality to the snack Gigi had)
I section her hair in two, making one small section behind her ears and across her head.
I pull the remaining hair underneath into a ponytail to keep it out of my way.
Then, I start with the small section and start French braiding it from one ear to the next.
I pull in little sections at a time in a traditional French braid method.
When I get close to the second ear, I try to sort of guide the braid slightly around the head so that it will lay flat later on.
I braid all the way down and then secure it with the tiny ponytail holder.
You could leave the braid down at this point, especially if you are out of snacks and Blue’s Clues is over. But I usually pull all of the hair and the end of the braid back into a ponytail and secure it with the large ponytail holder.
If you like, you can finish with spray, or you can just say “booger buckets” and call it a day.
So now Pea Daddy has no excuse not to have perfectly coiffed girls come my weekend in San Francisco. Now someone just needs to give me a tutorial on how not to miss these guys so much while I’m gone.
And one on how to make a big fluffy loaf of yeasty, crusty bread that I can cut into slices and build big beautiful sandwiches with. Peas and thank you.
Okay, that is a little odd? Retouching… I don’t know how i feel about that. Why not just take the picture and fogettabout the rest? Everyone has bad pics growing up, i think it is mandatory. I’m with you on thinking this is unnecessary! You should see my eight-year-old picture… You and P. Daddy would get a kick, especially compared to your pics! I have a gap the WIDTH of an Altoid between my two front teeth. I know this because my dad used to feed me Altoids like it was his job and i found out that this trick was possible after having an expander in my mouth for a year and removing it suddenly. It took like 3 months for them to finally go back to normal which was fun. Gigi and Lulu have quite the hairdresser, i am impressed, and i am a guy!
True story: when I don’t use my flat iron, I have Gigi hair. So, all summer, basically. And I wondered the other day how you managed such an appealing poof on her, since I can’t get beyond “don’t pull it all the way through.” And lo, a tutorial… except I’m still confused by “spreading both ends of the loop”, as I usually am when I read “how to” styles for hair, which tells you why I look feral for 4 months a year…
I have always wanted to make sandwich bread too! I have no idea how to do it. The closest thing I’ve done to bread making was when I tried to make your Pumpkin Cinnamon rolls last year and I was missing about 80% of the ingredients so they didn’t really turn out well. Boo hoo.
I have a secret to tell you though! I worked so hard in China, 31 days in a row, that my very generous company gave me the next TWO weeks off paid! Free vacation!
So I will be blogging and commenting and tweeting and exercising and cooking and traveling (Grandma’s 80th in Michigan and also to Vegas with the BF and I’ll have lots of time to catch up with you!
Are we excited!?
I hope so!
Xo,
Yes, we are very excited
Erin
I’d like to print this page out, go back in time like 12 years and hand it to my mom. I have a craaazy mane of hair similar to Gigi’s but more unruly so I suffered through maaaaany funky-not-in-a-good-way hairdos as a kid while my parents wrestled with my hair (it was a group effort). Now I stick to buns or flat-iron (The Gigi or the Mama Pea)!
Aww, the only way you won’t miss them is if they’re with you! Or if you take some crusty bread along lol.
I love the hair tutorial!! I wish I could do these styles with my own hair – I have never been able to French braid – be it on a doll, my own hair or someone else’s. Both ‘dos are so cute!! I can’t wait to see the results of Pea Daddy’s work.
I’m so excited you get to go to FoodBuzz!! I don’t have any tips for not missing your girls…I had the opportunity of going on vacation in January but I can’t bear (bare? – it’s 3am…who cares) to part with Chloe for an entire week at 5 months. All I can say is “absence makes the heart grow fonder.” You will be missed by the Pea family for sure but I know you’ll be blogging about your weekend.
Maybe I can use my pumping sessions to practice new hair dos instead of blogging and emailing…
I remember the retouching from when I was in high school in the 90′s! But choice of pose is definitely a new invention in school photos. I love this tutorial and I especially love Gigi’s face in that first pic of her. LOL!
awww I love how you do the girls hair, i was just thinking the other day how much id love to know how you do them! you read my mind! thats crazy! thanks for the tutorial!! x
the girls are too cute… i can’t believe they now have an airbrushing option!
Oh how exciting that you are going!! That’s going to be so much fun. I really, really hope to go to some sort of blogger event next year. I’m already planning on it but need to decide which one. The boobs and milk will likely determine that. LOL
GIgi’s updo is super cute – I love the side braid on Lulu. Sadly, I still do this with my hair.
They are picture perfect! You have two of the cutest little peas!
No touchups needed for these pics, which I’m sure will save you a few bucks. LoL one good thing of having beautiful children. 
Ah. Lifetouch. How I remember school picture day. The day that tiny plastic combs may be the only time that boys’ hair get untangled. The day that a change of clothes is usually necessary, lest you end up wearing a skirt or slacks and messy them up on the playground. I do not miss those days.
Okay I’m a new reader and I didn’t realize you and Pea Daddy grew up together! I think I actually said, “awww” out loud while I was reading.
Thanks for the hair how-to. I come here for your amazing recipes, but love when I get something unexpected. The snacks are a great idea. I currently chase my two-year-old around the living room with a comb and tiny plastic hair tie that inevitably gets dropped and lost. I will try the snacks!
Oh we didn’t grow up together. Just a little scrapbook magic. And magic = glue.
I think it’s sad they offer retouching for grade school photos. At this point, I’m just happy if there isn’t any pb on my kid’s face for the picture.
When my daughter was 4 I went away for the weekend and came back to find that my husband brought her to our neighbor’s house to have her hair done because he couldn’t figure it out!
I feel you on the time! I have three recipes I know will be stellar, but I just need the time to make them! Now I think I’m going to add bread to that list, too. Mmmm, homemade bread!
I wish they had retouching back when I was in school…I would retouch my face, my hair, my choice of outfit, the cavity in my front tooth…
Whatever happened to good old lazer backround??
I loved this hair post. I always wondered how you did the updo. You need to do one with her hair down too, I bet a lot of works goes into it. My sister has super curly hair and when we were little my mom just chopped it all off and blew it dry straight so she didn’t have to deal with it. Needless to say, my sister is traumatized and now keeps her hair long and owns every single curly hair product on the market.
Love the school photos of you and Pea Daddy! The girls hair looks adorable, you do a great job! Almost makes me wish I had a girl too . . . if only it didn’t require pregnancy/birth/colicky newborn.
I only wish I could get my hair to look like Gigi’s hair! Stubbornly flat and stick-straight. I’ll never achieve that glorious ‘do. Pea Daddy will have his hands full!
I don’t know that P Daddy will be doing the french braid thing for Lulu…I am just guessing. The girls look adorable. My 12 year old wore a tshirt because he did not want to “look” like he was dressing up for his picture. Ugh, I hate buying those pictures. They are so awful and cost way too much. At least girls want to look good for their pictures. I have finally come up with a great sandwich loaf for us here! That reminds me…I need to bake bread. Good luck finding the time to bake yours and have a great day Sarah!
I remember that picture day was always so exciting….when I was in school we never had the retouching option though, I think that’s such a terrible message to send to kids! The girls’ hair always looks great…my mom wasn’t as talented…she could really only do ponytails!
gigi has gorgeous hair! maybe i’m jealous becuase mine is stick straight. i hated class photos. i think the best one though was when my twin brother brought his jets wristband to school and put it on right before the photo. i don’t know how the photographer allowed it, but my mom was not pleased.
Your brother is awesome. I love it!
I’ll be at Foodbuzz- can you do my hair? I probably have less knowledge than P.Daddy, and this way you can fulfill you’re missing of the girls and I’ll have some decent looking hair for the first time in my life
Seriously impressed with these hairdos, these girls are lucky!!
Yes, I will do your hair.
The thing I remember most about picture day? They used to hand out those black plastic combs to everyone while we waited our turn, and we all knew if you bent them back and forth a million times that the comb get really, really hot.
Needless to say, those who weren’t quite as quick on the draw ended up getting their pictures taken with a few comb burns on their arms. We did not have snacks to distract us…
So stinken cute!
i don’t think i ever had good hair for picture day. i do remember when my mom started working nights and daddy got stuck with bath and bed time. i have hair like gigi’s just longer and the routine required a braid before bedtime. daddy had no idea how to do such a thing, but i could do it in on my ‘my little ponies.’ so out they came and eventually he got the hang of it. he made my brother learn too in case he ever has a little girl of his own
retouching?!?!? that’s freak’n ridiculous!!! i didn’t even have that for senior shots…well, actually that’s because I did my own senior shots. but anyhow…goodness gracious.
ya know, i was talking to my counselor the other day about how much the world is changing for our kids…everything is electronic. then i asked her, how are they going to learn how to write in cursive? where’s that big pad of paper with those huge lines/dotted lines that we had to use all the time?
And then we realized: no one uses cursive anymore anyhow.
sad story.
Gigi has GORGEOUS hair. I would kill for locks like that.
Both of them are so cute
I love the braid!
And you’re for sure going to Foodbuzz?!? Exciting! I hope I get to go!
Yup, the flight is booked! I hope you get to go too!
You are such a patient mommy! I put the kiddo’s hair in sloppy pigtails and she takes them out. I just keep cutting her hair into a bob
I have no advice on how to not miss them! But I can offer up that a nice break for mommy will make you so happy to see them again and is good for you
Have you looked into no-knead and almost no-knead bread recipes? They require an extra-long rising time, but way less actual cooking time is involved and the texture of the bread is great. I tried baking a loaf in a loaf pan last week and it stuck like crazy — I’m trying again this weekend and lining my pan with parchment!
Here’s the America’s Test Kitchen version — you have to enter your email address to access it, but I think it’s worth a read.
http://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/detail.php?docid=11829
Thank you so much! I am looking up this recipe right now!
What fabulous hair dos! I would have loved both of them when I was a little girl. At least you didn’t have to worry about the backgrounds such as laser beams, fall leaves, a library of leatherbound books…these were all available when I was in school and my mom didn’t stand a chance!
Beautiful work, and I love the use of snacks. I remember the torturous moments of my childhood spent with my mom french braiding my hair; I was usually left in tears crying for mercy. When my dad was stuck doing my hair he would only use the elastics that had two loops already because he said his hands were too big for little girl elastics. It’s really no wonder that I wear my hair down so often
I absolutely LOVE Gigi’s hair. I would kill for the curls, the thickness, the kink….everything. It’s absolutely adorable. This is one step I don’t have to worry about in the morning having boys. But, the wrestling around on the floor and shooting air guns at everything may make up for the extra time.
I love making loaves of whole wheat beer bread to make sandwiches with! It’s not light and fluffy, though. Definitely dense, but it’s slightly sweet and makes the best sandwiches! Like the sweetness you get that makes bagel sandwiches soooooo good!
You are totally one of the cool moms.
Picture Day still gives me that horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Love that ‘hair tutorial’ ha! Your girls are just precious. And congrats on going to San Fran!
Oh my goodness. I was just thinking about emailing you for a tutorial on how to do Gigi’s hair the other day. I LOVE it. I didn’t though in fear of sounding creepy so thanks for this post!
And hahahha Pea Daddy Jr.!!
Just had to tell you…they DO still give out the black plastic combs.
They have had airbrushing for awhile now since Kyle was in 6th grade I think. I know a few kids from his class who had bad acne and used it, but it doesn’t make the real acne go away…
My kids had school pics Wednesday and I had to coordinate outfits since I had them taken together, the first outfit I picked 2 weeks ago and the weather on Wednesday didn’t agree so I had to go to a plan B which I wasn’t prepared for:(
I can’t braid to save my life, I have tried so many times and practiced on Barbie numerous times, yet I still can’t do it
I love that updo you do for Gigi.
I am utterly screwed if this next one is a girl. I followed you to “ponytail holder” and the rest of it lost me. French braid? Separating into sections??? I can barely comb Ryan’s hair. Thank God for Got 2 B Glued mousse. Have fun in SF! Glad you get to go!!
Are you saying what I think you are saying?!? WHOOHOO!!!!!!!!
Wrong that I want to use these techniques on my own, late-20′s hair?
Super cute
Laura
This post is adorable!!
And you are a master at hair stylin’.
Oh, and I could not agree more with the airbrushing of photos. I mean, really? Such a shame.
It would have been so nice to have retouching when I was a kid! I was a huge acne-ridden mess! No wonder Lifetouch is still in business – they have the one-up on technology!
I made a great loaf of crusty bread in my last post. The link for the super easy recipe is there! It’s actually about 3 steps to deliciousness!
“especially if you are out of snacks and Blue’s Clues is over.” So very true. I am in that stage exactly, except for mine prefer Max & Ruby. Is it me, or do you feel a bit odd watching that guy on Blues Clues, knowing he is acting in front of a blue screen the entire show, every time? All by himself. That’s gotta take a toll.
As for bread, sometimes I’m lazy and let the bread machine do the mixing and initial rise. I shape it into a loaf and do the second rise and bake in the oven, since I don’t really like the loaf shape or texture when baked entirely in the bread machine.
The real question is, are you a “Steve” girl or a “Joe” girl? Because I never really got into Steve.
Ugh, Max & Ruby. I am so happy to be over that stage. Although we do read the books still and I do an excellent Ruby voice. A very whiny, “Maaaaa-x.” My Grandma is spot on too. Hmm…I smell a Pea video…
Although I would never question Pea Daddy’s ability’s in all things lawn & garden….I absolutely want video of him attempting the updo and the braids. Of course he can always call on Pea Babysitter from across the street if he needs some help in the hair do arena. Lord knows she spends enough time with her own
Omighosh, I will absolutely hire Pea Babysitter to come over on Friday morning, November 5th, and do Gigi’s hair for school. I’m not kidding. Pea Daddy is going to need some serious help.
I raised all boys and have not a clue about girls’ hair, so this was very interesting for me to watch. I may even get this out again and try it on my granddaughters.
You school picture…I can really see Lulu in you!
I LOVE this post! You are such a cool Mom. My mother never mastered french braiding, and I in turn have never gotten a handle on it, but I am determined to do one of those cute side braids one of these days.
i need to learn how to do lulu’s style for myself…too bad i have NO CLUE how to french braid! yikes!
Your daughters are absolutely adorable! If my future kids end up half as cute, I’ll be SO happy (though I doubt I’ll have the patience to do their hair like that!)
Ummm, so please come to DC and do my hair? That would be awesome!
Are those little ikea plastic containers? Cause I totally eat out of them too…
Yup. Best IKEA purchase we ever made.
Please do my hair like Lulu’s! I love the braided look a little hard to do on my own head haha. Oh my goodness your kindergarten picture is way better than mine. Mine is hilarious. I was pissed off to say the least They took my picture first with the wrong background, so I had to retake it. It doesn’t help what I am wearing and my ariel seashell necklace?! http://tinypic.com/r/6glzqx/7
Hilarious! You look totally pissed off for sure. I’m a little scared of you.
You should be scared that is a scary picture! Thankfully now I am a non pissed pretty 21-year old haha.
First off good call on the snacks. There were many days I had no hair do because of lack of snacks
Second I’m so excited you are going to Food Buzz. You commentary on the food will be awesome!
One of my worst childhood experiences was when my mom got tired of me crying every time she brushed my long gorgeous hair and she had it all cut off. I looked like a boy when I started kingergarten and I was soooo humiliated! Maybe that’s why I’ve always refused to cut it short.
So, I guess it would be totally weird if I, at 33 yrs old, tried to replicate either of these styles on myself?? VERY cute styles!
Not weird at all. I do Lulu’s braid thing myself. And I used to wear the Gigi bun when my hair was longer. Go for it. You have my blessing.
The girls look so much like you guys! The school pictures make it very evident!
I remember the colored backgrounds and the little black combs. I feel like they stopped handing those out when I was in like seventh grade or so — so 2001?
I love the girls hair dos. My mom was hair challenged and my dad definitely was incapable of stepping up (once, when my mom was at her brother’s funeral for a few days, my dad sent us to school in the same clothes the entire time — for like four days. I am sure Pea Daddy will do better than that!) all of this means that, from a very young age, I had to learn how to do my own hair. I could do french braids, complicated spider webs, all sorts of things — I was a gymnast and had to have it up nice for meets. I was the only girl on the team who could do her own hair. It was a special source of pride.
I’ve always loved how you do Gigi’s updo, but never known how to do it to myself! I second the comment above though, that I’m not sure what you mean by “I spread both ends of the loop to make a full circle”
May I just say I LOVE how you keep your girls’ hair out of their face? I hate seeing kids blinking through too-long bangs or constantly unkempt hair. A headband does wonders and your girls are always so fresh-faced with these hairstyles. Props!
Easy EAsy!!! Can’t wait to try the updo with Karlie’s hair!!!
Oh and p.s. at my kid’s school…the black combs run rampant on school picture day.
Jen
http://jenslosinit.blogspot.com/
I LOVE the up-do–it is so beautiful. I’m 22 but I think I can try it with my hair.
Wow – picture day has changed a lot! Backgrounds and poses, oh my!
Do they still line them up and every student watches the others have their pictures taken. Still to this day I hate people watching me as I have my photo taken, it is so awkward. Well…except on my wedding day, I was in heaven being the center of attention.
Hopefully you can get to your bread recipe soon!
My bread is in the oven RIGHT NOW. I’m not saying anything else…I don’t want to jinx it
OMG, love the tutorital! Pea Daddy can’t go wrong. Those girls of yours are precious- absolutely beautiful.
I agree with you completely, what does it say to our youth if we airbrush their pictures? I never had the luxury and learned to accept I’m just going to look the way I look.
Cute little up-do’s for your girls!
Awesome sandwich bread and easy-peasy!
http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2009/03/wednesday-baking-whole-wheat-bread/
Made it at the beginning of this week and it is delicious!
And confession: my girlie had the hugest bruised lump in the middle of her forehead last year from running into the cutting board the night before pictures and we actually did it…
Thanks for the link, Cary! And I think your retouching is perfectly acceptable
This post made my laugh.
When my sister and I were little, my mom wanted more than anything to learn how to french braid our hair. She even went so far as to sign up for a COLLEGE COURSE on french braiding, complete with “models” to practice on.
She came out of that class unvictorious. To this day, french braiding is a sore subject in my house.
Your girls look adorable, and they are lucky to have such a talented Pea Momma!
What an adorable post. This reminded me of when I lived at home and my mom had a family daycare. I was the stylist onsite- buns, french braids, and half updos were my specialty!
Having a fro growing up my entire life, I know what Gigi is in for- she’s very luck to have you as a personal stylist!
I’ll bake as many loaves of bread that you want, if you would come over and do my hair
I need to learn how to french braid. Sophia would look really cute! She mostly looks disheveled, lol
I pray that I have boys…I think I can handle little faux-hawks…major doubts about my capacity to french-braid
I’m not even going to pretend that I didn’t use the tutorial for Lulu’s hair to do my own this morning. Thank you!
I have the exact same hairdo as Gigi almost every single day. Actually, I kind of have the exact same hair as Gigi.
SO beautiful!!
Fabulous! This is fabulous! I love it.
Oh school photos…I vividly remember some horribly awkward ones with glasses and retainers. Ah, the joy of being 13.
Can you come do my hair? Because even at 31, I still haven’t mastered it.
Sorry to comment on an old post – but do you have a bread machine? I just made glorious whole wheat sandwich bread the other day, and it took me five minutes – the bread machine five hours. I would love to share the recipe if you do have a bread machine. I am trying to figure out the logistics of maxing it all by myself in the oven.
I do have a bread machine, and a pretty good wheat sandwich bread recipe now, but I’d always like to have another one! Thanks!
oh my goodness, what lucky little girls to have such a talented hair stylist for a mom!
I remember heading off to school photos with crooked bangs
sighhhhh