Time for a CHANGE!!!!!

Due to some issues with Blogger, I have to switch platforms. Sorry for the inconvenience :( I will leave this site up for a short while to make sure everyone sees this post. If you are interested in continuing to follow me, please head on over to NhappyJackie Onsugar

Thanks so much for your support!!!!!

Getting Bored!!!!

So, I've reached the 2 years with no perm mark and am getting the itch. It's like, I'm bored. I keep switching up my styles but I'm still bored. The detangling sessions are getting long but that doesn't bother me too much since I only do it about 1/month at the most. Currently my hair is in mini braids, have been for 4weeks and I plan on keeping them another 2-4 weeks. I've been styling them in different ways, but that is still not helping. Mainly, I want to wear my hair straight, but I can't do that right now because it is so hot outside my hair will puff as soon as I look out the window. I don't like having to plan my hair around the weather. I guess you can say I'm a little bummed. Not planning on relaxing or cutting again, but it would be nice. I don't want to dye it either because of how bad it broke off my relaxed hair. My new years resolution has been to keep my hair protected this year 75% of the time and so far I've stuck with that, but I am bored. Don't get me wrong, my hair looks good yall!!!!! I just feel like everything looks the same just pulled/pinned in a different way. I've got to get over it quick because I plan to start my yearly 6 month protective styling on October 1.

School has officially started!!!!!

Last year, Mya was in Pre-K at a private school in hopes of getting her to be more social and expanding her vocabulary to be equal to other kids her age. At that time, she was a little behind in her development. Let's just say...my little flower has blossomed and she was ready for her first day of kindergarten. I decided to take before and after pics to see if the fear or shock would set in when it was time to leave.

Before: 

After:

 

She was like "Mommy go to work, you're gonna be late"

My baby is trying to grow up yall :(  And not sure if you can tell, but her hair is in two strand twist. In this pic they are about a week old, but they look older due to her swimming at my aunt's house.

Vacation Pics

So...The fam and I went on vacation a couple of weeks, ago..Yeah I'm late, but you know how it is...LOL!!!  We had a wonderful time at disney and definitely plan on returning. Here are a few pics:

 Hubby and I at put-put golf

The girls and I trying to imitate the pic behind us...LOL!!!

For my hair, I kept it very simple. My sister did some minibraids for me and I am loving them.

Just a texture shot of my ends. This was my first time using the Queen Helen Curling Cream.

Hope you enjoyed!!!!! :)

Scary Night :( !!!!!

So, we got home a little late last night after a birthday dinner. Mya, my 5yo, at chicken fingers and sweet tea at the dinner. We didn't stay for cake because it was getting late and I wanted to get home. We got home around 8:50. She didn't want the cake though, she wanted a popsicle. Nothing too bad and she is staying home so no need to get up early in the morning. Around 9:15 she tells me her chest hurts and points to the center of her chest just below the breastplate (not very sure what is under there). I was like, just go get ready for bed and maybe it will stop. Five minutes later she is in tears complaining of chest pain. So, just like a  mom, I said "baby just go lay down and see if it will stop". Give it another five minutes, she is in her bed in fetal position, screaming crying and having a difficult time walking upright. Yep....to the ER we went. Since it is about a 30min drive to the ER for me she had some time to calm down. By the time we got there she is done crying and says, "mom my heart doesn't hurt anymore but my chest does". Still a little worried we stayed at the ER. They basically said what ever was happening has stopped and the test didn't show anything. If it happens again we need to get her there before it stops in hopes the test will pick up what's happening with her.

Has anyone else experienced this? Just wondering . Please let me know your thoughts.

I am still here!!!!

I know, i know......it has been a while since my last post. Things have been crazy with work, school, family.....you know how it is. But I am still here. Will be uploading some new post soon, so look out for that.

Look forward to:
1. weight loss update and regimen
2. guess who learned how to braid their own hair (finally)!!!!!!
3. new hairstyle for me and the kids
4. official length check

Product Review: Tresemme Naturals Moisturizing Conditioner

My girls and I all have 4a/4b and a little bit of 3c hair. Can you imagine detangling 3 heads with this hair type.....Yes an all day marathon!!!!! I usually detangle on Friday and style on Saturday, by the time I'm done it is time to go to church on Sunday. Back in March, I saw this conditioner on the shelf in Walmart and it was only $4.97 for 25oz bottle, so I decided to give it a try.


What it claims to do:
This lightweight and silicone-free conditioner protects your hair from damage and leaves hair looking shinier. This new natural aloe conditioner uses natural ingredients to hydrate hair.


Ingredients:
Water, Stearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Capric/Caprylic Triglyceride, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Fragrance, Lauryl Lysine, Caprylyl Glycol, Brassica Campestris (Rapeseed)/Aleurites Fordi Oil Copolymer, Aspartic Acid, Distearyldimonium Chloride, Persea Gratissima (Avacado) Oil (Organic), Citric Acid, Alcohol, Isopropyl Alcohol, Aloe Vera (Aloe Barbadensis) Leaf Juice (Organic)

Product Description:
Tresemme Naturals Moisture Conditioner with USDA certified organic aloe vera and avocado extracts, moisturizes your hair for protection against damage and breakage. Our unique silicone free formula for lightweight conditioning infuses hair with moisture for hair that's noticeably more manageable and smooth. Discover 10x stronger hair after just one use! Silicone free. No dyes. Hypoallergenic. Safe for color treated hair.

My Thoughts

I give this product 5 out of 5 stars. Yall, this stuff, this stuff, this stuff........is like sea weed in a bottle. It has turned a 1hour detangling session into 15-20mins on a bad day. It is so moisturizing for our hair that I want to buy 30 bottles just to make sure I don't run out. Although it is not an all natural product, it acts like one in a sense that a little goes a long way. I have been using this since March (3 months now) on me and my girls hair and the bottle is a little more than half full. You do not need to use a lot of it at all.

But it is suspicious:

I am not an ingredient person by all means, but this is something about this product. It almost seems to good to be true. I noticed it does not have any silicones in it, which also makes me wonder. I have tried this as a co-wash after clarifying with Giovanni 50/50shampoo. Now we all know that Giovanni 50/50 shampoo makes your hair feel like straw. Well I applied the Tresemme condish and rinsed it all out. After rinsing, it felt like I still had a moisturizing product in my hair. Like, I had already applied my leave-in and sealed. So of course this has me scratching my head because I am itching to find out which one of the ingredients is making my hair feel like this. And this doesn't just go for my hair, it's the same with my girls too. Now, don't get me wrong, I am not complaining, just wondering. Unless I hear something crazy about the ingredient list on this product......it will remain a stable for me. 

My Girls!!!!

Just wanted to share, my oldest "graduated" from K4 yesterday so of course I took pics. Baby girl was not feeling her photo shoot but I did sneak in a few. Enjoy!!!! :)

This first pic is how she wore her hair. These are just simple two strand twist held in a mohawk style with a banana clip.

Here's my baby girl

And my big girl :)

She goes to a private christian school. I sure am going to miss all of the stuff she used to tell me she learned about Jesus and the bible. She will be in public school next year. So....no more devotion, praying, chapel, worship....just study and play.

Here's a video on how I've been decreasing tangles lately

Henna for the 2nd time....Different results

It's been a little over a week since the last time I did a Henna which was my second time. This time I did it a little different:
1. Instead of using a clarifiying shampoo, I used bentonite clay mixed with black tea
2. I mixed 100grams of Henna with black tea (enough to get a smooth consistency) and let it sit overnight
3. To rinse the henna out, I used my Inecto 100% Pure Coconut Oil condish (last little bit in the bottle) until the water ran clear.
4. Followed up the rinse with SheaMoisture Moisture Retention Shampoo
5. DC'ed with my new DC.....about 1oz of honey, 1oz of olive oil, and about 1tbsp of Tresemme Naturals Moisturizing Conditioner (warm up the mixture and apply to damp hair, then rinse with cool water)
6. Applied Garnier Fructis Sleek and Shine Leave-in
7.Sealed with my new sheabutter mixture (sheabutter, olive oil, jojoba oil, sweet almond oil, and vegetable glycerin)
8. Styled only adding additional leave-in and sealant, No styling product.

Results this go round:

Please excuse the covered face, I am currently having sinus drainage which makes a yella' girl pale.

Very smooth, moisturized, frizz-free, soft, bouncy, easy to detangle, easy to style hair. So what was the big difference this time around. 6 months ago, every step of the henna process for me included protein (Giovanni 50/50 shampoo, Coconut milk in the henna, coconut milk and oil DC, Giovanni Direct Leave-in, Coconut Oil to seal, and eco styler gel to style). Now, this combo worked sell, for me before using henna. But after using henna for the first time, this combo proved to be too much. It actually explains why the SheaMoisture products seemed to make my hair feel dry. They have a nice amount of protein. I experienced lots of breaking and an extreme amount of single strand knots that I am still recovering from.

The breakage and SSK's have decreased greatly since it first began. I assume if I want to keep up the treatments my regimen wil lhave to continue to use limited amount of protein if I want it to remain healthy.

Cheating....Unavoidable?!?!?!?.....Acceptable?!?!?!

I was having a conversation with some female family members today about infidelity. We all remember being told that the only thing that will make a man be faithful is God. Now, as a Christian, I do believe that God has the power to break ill-habits. I also believe that the reason men cheat has nothing to do with their wife or significant other. So, that being said, if God has to step in and stop a man from cheating, what about the men whose life is not totally devoted to God. Does it make them an acception to the rule? Are they allowed to cheat because God has not stopped them yet? Do they get a free pass until they give themselves back to Christ? Should we as women make an excuse for them? I can see it now......"Yeah he loves me even though he cheats on me. But that's ok because he's going to hell anyway"!!!! Just a thought.

Trying to get motivated :0(

So, like many, my new year's resolution was to get fit. Did it happen????? NOPE!!! So, another peek into the future, I am going to track my progress here. That's right, for everyone to see!!!!!! I need some real motivation right now. I am so tired lately and just want to sleep by the time I get home.

Small Changes:
Today, my mom is going to bring my girls home instead of me having to pick them up. So, I am going to stopy by the park on my way and walk as fast as I can for 45mins. I know once my body/brain gets used to it, workingout will be like second nature to me.


If anyone has tips, I would love to hear them
_______________________________________________________________________
Update:

So, I didn't go walking...I went shopping. But I decided to do the Biggest Loser Cardio Max DVD. And let me tell you, you don't have to be BIG to bust a sweat with it.

Hair Diary May 18 2011

Just a peek into the future for this blog. I plan to do weekly hair diaries to help track what combos give the best/worst results, what style last the longest/shortest, techniques and so forth.

Back in November 2010 I did my first Henna and mixed it with coconut milk.

Then I DC'ed with coconut milk, coconut oil and Inecto 100 % Pure Coconut Oil Conditioner

My results and first impression: Quoted from November 2010 "I didn't notice any extra clumping or loosening of the curls at all. My hair is pretty stong due to DCing with a light protein bi-monthly, So...I didn't notice my hair feel any stronger. After rinsing, my hair did feel very soft but a little stringy, probably due to clarifying before applying henna. After DCing my hair no longer felt string but was still very soft if not softer. As for the color, not really. I guess I can see a few brownish red highlights in the right lighting but that's about it. I didn't notice any extra shine or luster. Actually, someone told me about 3 days later that my hair looked dry. I didn't think it looked dry...Oh well. Will I try henna again....YES. Why???? It didn't take anything away from my hair. There was a slight difference in the look and feel of my hair overall. Plus...the effects are suppose to show overtime with multiple uses. I plan to henna every 3 months but for only about 4hrs. I will do this for a year then reassess the condition of my hair and see if it is worth it for me."

Shortly after doing this I decided to straighten my hair and to decrease damage I did an Aphogee 2 Step Protein Treatment after a week of being straightend. Can you say TOO MUCH PROTEIN!!!!!  My hair began to break off almost immediately. I believe it was a combination of the treatments and my light protein reggie.

Well, it's been 6months since then and after doing research I tried it again. This time I mixed it with black tea. After my "new" DC my hair was so soft, moisturize, fluffy and anything else desirable it was. I then applied Garnier Fructis Leave-in and sealed with my "new sheabutter mixture". So far I am on day 3 of a braid out and moisture has not been an issue. I will have to come back and add pics later.

Stay tuned for info on my "new" DC and my "new sheabutter mixture"
Until then,

Stay blessed!!!!

Who am I? What's my history?

Just as the title says, I am NhappyJackie. A natural wife and mother of two. Just a little history on me:
I've attempted to go natural twice in my life and was able to stick with it on the second go round. I BC'ed in November of 2009 after a 12 week transition.

Since my BC I have never looked back.

My oldest daughter (5) received a relaxer that same year in August just a week before my last relaxer. That was also her last relaxer. My youngest (almost 2) will never get a relaxer in the near future. As for both of my girls, I will continue to encourage their uniqueness and create their own style. 

My plans for this blog:

I want to discuss all things natural from hair care to skin care and all in between. I plan to share tips on how I care for girls hair as well as mine. The main plan is to track my progress in caring for me and my girls hair. Also to encourage women out there who are considering going natural. There will be post from other bloggers that I may find very informative and wish to share, or at least keep it in a place where I can easily find it. There may be product reviews, regimens, make-up,daily issues, idle chatter and anything else I think may fit in.  Feel free to follow and comment as you wish.

To see photos of my journey from transition up to now, please visit my Fotki at NhappyJackie Fotki

and for videos please visit Youtube

And always,

Be blessed!!!!