Monday, June 8, 2009

I'm Not a Hairdresser But I Play One at Home

Back when Darrell and I had been married a little over a year and Julia was 5 days old we moved from Joplin, Missouri to Jacksonville, Arkansas-- a town about 30 minutes outside of Little Rock. Darrell may have been a doctor but we were P-O-O-R. Darrell was doing a fellowship which paid next to nothing. The amount of child support and alimony he paid to his first wife was literally more than his monthly salary. Add the fact that our house in Joplin hadn't sold and throw in the rent payment for the cockroach pit of a house we lived in. Needless to say, money wasn't tight, it was non existent. (Thank God for credit card cash advances.) All this to say that we looked for ways to save money and one thing we found was that I could cut the boys and Darrell's hair.

I had been cutting the boys hair already. Crew cuts were totally in so I bought a set of clippers, would set a kitchen chair out in the driveway and shave their heads. Pretty easy stuff. But one day Darrell had gotten his hair cut and came home unhappy with how it turned out and asked me to "fix it." I hesitated. Shaving the boys heads was totally different than cutting someones head with scissors, but I took it slow and fixed what he didn't like. Six weeks later he asked me to cut it again, this time from the beginning. I cut it and he was very happy with the results. I then told him he owed me $20. He paid his hair stylist $20 for a bad cut, the least he could do was pay me $20 for a good one. It was a joke but he got out his wallet and handed me a $20. From that day on he paid me $20 every time I cut his hair, including his last hair cut 2 weeks before his accident. It was considered "my" money, something very coveted back in those rough early years.

Ross has short hair again so the clippers have reemerged but I hadn't cut anyone's hair with scissors in over 3 years, until Friday. Trace told Cody that I could cut hair and she asked me to cut Gauge's.

I strongly suggested that Gauge go to Sport Clips, the very same establishment I had taken Ryan to just a couple of days earlier. But Gauge is deathly afraid of hair cuts and Cody didn't want to be embarrassed by his screaming. My hair cutting scissors have long since disappeared but I found a pretty sharp pair and set to work. Cody wasn't kidding.

He spent most of our time together screaming and crying and asking "Is she done yet?"

Towards the end he settled down and decided it wasn't as horrific as he thought.
{Notice Emma clinging to my leg.}

But he was especially happy when it was over. Here he is with his "rock star" look.
But since the scissors had been dusted off, I decided to try them out on Emma.

The key to getting her to sit still is to give her food.

{Are you sure you know what you're doing???}

I planned to just even up the back which had never been cut and was pretty scraggly. But Julia (who was photographing the event) kept begging me to give Emma bangs. I hesitated because growing out bangs its nightmare. But keeping Emma's hair out of her eyes has become an even bigger nightmare. Everything I put in her hair to keep it out of her face is removed (and often lost) at some point in the day. So...

I decided to cut her bangs. And the result?

What happened to my baby??? I am currently growing them out. But I must admit, her hair is out of her eyes.

{Yes, my house is a TOTAL mess in the background. Just keepin' it real people. But let it be known, that my entire first floor is currently CLEAN! Hence the reason I was hardly on Facebook yesterday.)

22 comments:

JD said...

Wow, you are multi-talented beyond belief, girl!! Fantastic job :o) I LOVE the "rock star" hair cut too (we call them hair trims here, because cuts 'hurt', LOL).

Emma looks adorable, and so much older!

Sweeeeeeeeeeet!

Bren said...

Great job! They look terrific! Good luck with the bangs - I have had them since age 2 and have NEVER been able to grow them out!

Unknown said...

Both hair cuts look great to me!! I have no such talent.........
As for the house, well I take many less pictures, I don't want to share my shame....LOL!

~Katie said...

Wow, can you cut MY hair? I need a haircut so badly. :)

Crystal Oh said...

Well, Denise....I must say A+ on Gauge's hair but I preferred Emma's without the bangs. Not that you didn't do a good job on them..nice and straight....it just doesn't look like Emma! She actually looks well um sweet and innocent now and we all know those aren't the first things we thing of when we think of sweet little Emma! LOL! Don't let the look fool YOU, Mama!

Queenie Jeannie said...

You go girl!! You are majorly talented because screaming kids getting their hair cut is a disaster. Sooooo reminds me of my son Shane - he did the same thing and was a blondie too. I had to cut his hair for years and I wasn't nearly as good as you are!

Have a super fabulous week!!

Brandy said...

OMGosh! Both kids look so cute with their new cuts.

And I spy a very chic scarf on the hairdresser...

April said...

those cuts look great!!! i play hairdresser at home too... fortunately hubs likes it cropped short with the clippers, so i haven't had to test my scissor skills yet.

Unknown said...

I wish you lived closer, I would bring my 2 and 3 year old boys over for a hair cut!!

Nancy said...

Thanks for letting us know why you weren't on FB. I was wondering...Emma seems to love her bangs. So cute.

Kristin said...

Both of the kids look great! Good job Denise!!! As for the house.....mine looks like that always! LOL!! I like Emma's bangs....she's so precious!

Anonymous said...

WOW! You did a great job, really. I was always to afraid to cut hair when my children were younger and now they are too old to let me try.

Melissa said...

Thanks for stopping by.

I can't believe how different kids look once you give them bangs. It takes the baby right out of em....

She looks great! I will do bangs but I take them to Wal-Mart for the actual cut. I am terrible at cutting even....

The Sharp Family said...

I LOVE IT!!! Have been debating giving Norah bangs... I get tired of it in her eyes all the time.... You got me thinkin sister!!

The Johnson 5 said...

she looks so CUTE and SO much like a big girl!

You are one talented lady!!

Unknown said...

She looks so CUTE!!!!

Gert has bangs because she has a pretty major birthmark on her forehead and kids would probably be mean...

Unknown said...

They are adorable...

How is Julia's hair?? Did she wash it yet? I am so curious about this!

Jules said...

i'm impressed! I'm also thinking I should get myself a pair of sharp scissors for cutting Josie's hair-I kinda feel I got ripped off this last weekend.

I've toyed with the idea of bangs-but Josie's hair parts naturally on the side-don't think it would look right. Plus-as you know-they are a bit*h to grow out!

Carey-Life in the Carpool Lane said...

I so feel for Cody...Jack has finally grown out of his tonsurephobia (fear of getting hair cut) but it was horrible taking him out to get a cut.

You did an great job on both Gauge and Emma...such cute kiddos!

And your hair looks great in the pics too...washed it yet?

Kay Bratt said...

She is sooooooooo cute....I want her!

Jill from Killeny Glen said...

Gauge and Emma's hair cuts are adorable!!!

Let the house go...it is summer vacation...much better to torture your kiddos with haircuts!

Shari U said...

So, what are you going to do with the $40 you made? Please don't tell me you're offering this service up for free!