Saturday, April 30, 2011

Wild Yeast Project (Day 4)

Today I threw away my yeasty sour dough start. It was not my fault and it actually smelled like sour dough as I poured it into the trash, but......
it was in a glass bowl on my counter top 'brewing' and someone bumped the towel that was covering it and caused the super absorbent tea towel to touch the top of the sour dough starter.
I didn't notice until this afternoon, but then it was too late, the towel had sucked up all the moisture from the top of my sour dough starter, making it dry and crusty. I'm pretty sure it was ruined, so I threw it out, all though the under side of the crusty top was gooey still. Oh well.
The only good news I have to share is that they the little project was moving along successfully until the towel incident. I had bubbles in my doughy mass, and it smelled right - like yeasty bread dough. I will have to mix it all in a glass jar next time though so that the towel can't fall into it by accident.
On the agenda for today, go buy another can of pineapple tidbits in 100% juice and start again. I'll keep you posted on how round #2 finishes.
Hopefully better than round #1.
So sad.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Pillow cases

Always in the past, as my little baby girls have grown into their beds, I have used the tiny baby pillows, about the size of a travel pillow. Perhaps that is what these were in their former homes, but now they are baby pillows. I use them in my girls beds when they are just over a year old as a bedtime cue.
When I put their little heads on the pillow it means its time to sleep - opposed to other times when I put them in their beds for some 'quiet time' as I cook dinner or vacuum the floors.
Well my oldest is three, so for over two years I have used these little pillows without pillow cases. They didn't come with tiny cases, and so far I have not found any cases to fit them at Target (my go to place). Today however I decided they needed something that I could take off and wash easily.
My girls are on their second round of the puking flu bug, and to say the least, these tiny pillows have taken a share of the vomit. Especially from Kalei who is fond of vomiting in the middle of the night quietly and then she sleeps in it. Very odd to me.
Then as you can imagine, the poor thing wakes up with puke dried to her face and hair. There is also puke on her tiny little pillow with no pillow case. So out comes the spray n wash, a rinse in the bathtub and a quick spray of Lysol. Then said pillow spends the rest of the day drying out.
Such a pain.
Today they have covers though; tiny, girly, pinky, flowery covers that I made out of an old pillow case I bought at a thrift store. For free I solved my pillow case crisis and my little Kalei can have clean pillow cases to sleep on as often as I remember to wash them. Yeah!
See how happy baby 'rosie' looks as she reclines
on the new pillow cases.

Now I just need to make a few more so I can have spares. Wonder when I'll get around to that?

Sorry that this is not a tutorial on how I made them, but seriously I cut 5 times, and sewed a total of 7 times, including finishing the open edges. Can you cut in a straight line? Can you sew in a straight line? Then you can probably do this project yourself. I didn't even measure the fabric, I just eyed it and made a guesstimate of how much fabric I would need. Turned out to be just about right.
Be inspired to try to and create something for yourself, maybe you have a small kitchen window needs some curtains or maybe you are sick of looking at all of your child's naked baby dolls but you can't find any clothes. Make some; be bold, be daring, it will make you sew happy!

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Wild Yeast Project (Day 3)

Well friends who actually care about sour dough, my starter is coming along wonderfully. I didn't take a picture of it as I added the 2 Tbsp flour and 2 Tbsp. pineapple juice. It pretty much looked about like it does in this picture:

Just a bit more of it.
The cool thing is it doesn't smell rotten, it smells yeasty and yesterday when I stirred it I saw bubbles on the top. That means fermentation is in the works.
Where does wild yeast come from? Well, I wasn't really sure, so here is where I went to read more about it. Turns out it is everywhere in the air, on plants, fruits, animals, in animals, in us (humans). Wow, I sort of knew this stuff, but it was nice to re-learn the extent of yeast in our everyday lives. Very cool stuff to learn about, especially for any of you homeschooling moms out there.
I guess that is all I have as an update for today. Only 3 more days before its time to make my first loaf of sour dough!

Monday, April 25, 2011

Wild Yeast Project

So if you didn't read my previous post of making my own Sour dough starter, then you are probably wondering what this 'wild yeast project' is all about. It's about making my own yeasty starter for making sour dough bread.
I already have some idea of how to grow good bacteria and yeast on my counter tops, we do our own Kombucha, and I've recently take up my own dairy Kefir again. So I have several 'pets', if you will, living on my counters fermenting and growing and bubbling.
Yum.
Unsweetened Pineapple juice, you don't need much, so I just drained these
Pineapple tidbits and saved the juice - see the label, 100% pineapple juice.


The 'mix' itself and despite the picture, that bowl is glass, which is important to note.
You might get bad results if it were metal or plastic. Glass is best when growing
bacterial yeast communities.....


So my newest one will be a sour dough critter. This is day two (technically), and I am making this starter by capturing wild yeast, rather than incorporating store-bought yeast. I must have a yeast friendly house because so far it is going well.
Last night, about 6pm, I mixed 1/4c. unsweetened Pineapple juice with 1/2 c. whole wheat flour. I stirred it up and covered it with a light dish towel. Today I stirred it and it had a lovely yeasty smell to it, and no sign of rot or nastiness. Good signs, both of them.
Tomorrow I will do the same (which is to just stir it), and then around 6pm I will add 2 Tbsp. of flour and 2 Tbsp. of pineapple juice.
Stay tuned in for further updates. I hope to finish this little string of 'wild yeast project' posts with a picture of my first loaf of sour dough bread.

On a side note- unrelated to bacterial yeast or bread products: I have a raging case of poison ivy on my face. I have it around my right eye, on a couple of my fingers, on my right ear lobe and a bit on my neck. Does anyone know something safe I can use on my face around my eye? Just checking with the blog community to see what you all can come up with. Thanks.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Baking Bread

And letting it rise on Resurrection Day! **
How wonderful.
I haven't made bread in a while, and although I would categorize myself as a novice, I do love a fresh loaf every now and then.
I've also been re-thinking the amount of bread that we buy. I'm telling you, with two adults and two little people we go thru a lot of bread. I spend at least $2.70 per loaf because I want to buy the good brands that don't have a bunch of 'junk' in them.
Some weeks it is crazy how many loaves we go thru. Perhaps we should cut the carbs, but really, I don't feel very inclined toward that solution. Instead I am pondering again along the lines of maybe (I think) I could make my own bread every other day or so. Am I good enough at making bread, do I want to commit to the time it would take to do that, is it worth it to me and my family?
Well, today feeling all wonderful with the holiday and having my family all around me, I answered yes to 2 out of 3 of those- the first was the only one with any question to it. Am I good enough at making bread?
Well, I am good at kneading after years of failure, and typically my bread rises now-a-days (a good sign), but I want my bread to be as healthy as possible. Healthy and not like a brick. I like lots of bubble holes in my bread. Is is possible to have healthy and soft/springy bread?
After doing a bit of research I have decided that I am going to start this new bread making season by trying to make a sourdough starter. With one (sourdough starter) I can have my own yeasty start without having to buy yeast at the store all the time.
I will still probably buy yeast, but less, and my family really likes sourdough from the store. I bet they will like mine too when I get good enough at it.
Today I found a website here that tells me how to make my own starter without store-bought yeast. I'm going to try it and I am going to blog about the journey and finally (hopefully) the end product of my first sourdough loaf.
Keep an ear out for how this little project is coming along.
Since I haven't started yet though, check out the loaves of whole wheat I made today. See the heel that is already missing? Can't resist fresh hot bread out of the oven. So good.
PS -to any readers who have worked with their own sour dough, if you have any tips, let me know. I'm super open to ideas.

**My husband was kind enough to point out the irony that today is the day that I decide to bake leaven bread on the most important day in the Jewish calendar for them not to eat leaven bread. I had to laugh.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

The Memas

Mema 'Taffy' - Kathy
When I had my first baby girl over three years ago, one of my mother's biggest fears was that my children wouldn't know her. Back then I worried too of how I would keep my mom's legacy of love known to my kids from over 300 miles away.
Now, three years later I'm not so worried. Even as we prepare to move even farther from the 'memas' (my mom and Ken's mom), I know that the foundation of their love is already being set in my girls' hearts. In fact, between that dynamic duo of moms, they have built quite a reputation for themselves in the mind of my three year old.
Whenever someone new comes to the house to visit, my eldest is always quick to point out her very cool swing set, and proudly proclaim 'my mema bought that for me....and Kalei can play on it too!' Or her very cool little pretend kitchen, 'my mema bought that for me one time' - she doesn't forget, which is so darn cute!
There are also the times when something breaks, and Kinsey asks if we can buy a new one. I almost always say no, and her response to that is, 'well when my mema comes she will buy me a new one someday'. Spoiled, maybe, confident that their memas love them, for sure.
Even today when Kinsey woke up from her nap, she found her elmo phone right away and had several pretend conversations with her memas, telling them all about our shopping spree at a consignment sale today. She left no details untold, and when she was done she said her 'goodbye, I'll call you later'. Wonder where she heard that line? (hint: its me, I get interrupted a lot, and have to call people back)
Mema Jody
All of that to say, that even from 300 miles away the memas have a special place in my girls' hearts. Kinsey looks forward to their visits and we count down the days starting two weeks in advance sometimes. My oldest's love for the memas has even transfered over to my youngest.
Although Kalei is still too young to remember them well between visits, she is able to pick up on her sister's excitement and easily takes to them, recognizing how special they are! Her trust toward them is quickly growing and it is a comfort to my heart when I see Kalei allowing them (the memas) to pick her up without her crying or looking fearful.
So how are we going to work things when we are even farther away?
Well, probably much the way we do now, only maybe with a bit more skype. The transition to the new house will be one to remember though. It will involve a three day long road trip from Peoria to South Carolina with both Memas, both little girls and me. For sure it will be interesting, and I'm hoping that it is more fun than chaos. I did have to warn the memas though that we will not be buying the girls lots of little knick knacks at every stop, no matter how cute Kinsey looks as she pleads for something.
I'm bringing the 'spanking spoon' just for the memas (because I'm sure the girls will be angels).
Let it strike fear into their over 50 year old hearts, although I doubt it will since I am clearly outnumbered by them.
We love you Mema Taffy (Kathy) and Mema Jody - can't wait for our girl-trip! 

I'm Not Gone Yet

As the time of our move draws near the thought keeps running thru my mind, "I'm not gone yet, stay engaged, live it here for all it's worth". It is my personal desire to finish well here before we move on, to maintain and go as deep as possible with friendships before distance gets in the way.
Many days this is very tragic and heartbreaking for me, because for every wonderful connect I have with friends and every outing to visit some of my favorite places I am left with the reality that these are memories I will have to cherish from afar. One day recently I went for my time in the prayer room and just wept as I thought of all the fun fellowship I had been having with friends.
All day I had felt the heaviness of sadness, and I knew I had to get away to the prayer room to express my sorrows to the Lord. My heart needed to 'speak' and although I wasn't entirely sure what it would say, I knew I needed to let it out.
Turns out my heart wanted to speak of its regret. After four and a half years in Kansas City, I have lots of friends, some of them dearer to me than any others I've had in my life. Now that the time has come for us to leave, I've discovered that I have not been very intentional in these relationships and how much I may have missed out on.
It's not that I haven't gone deep with women, or been truly open with them. It's that I haven't gone out of my way to make time for them in a weekly/monthly sense. Every memory I have with them is sweet and I grow so much from being with and around them, but now I realize I could have made so many more memories. It has brought me to a place of regret. For all the times I could have called one of these sweet friends up and made time to hang out, I told myself 'no, I'll see them next week' and put it off. Now I'm going far away and when I get there, I won't be able to just 'pop over' for a visit with these women. It's so sad to me.
So I wept in the prayer room, and it was a nice release and the Lord comforted me with His presence. He is Someone I can always 'pop in on' and He loves me more than all these friends of mine combined. What a well timed reminder.
As I sat there and soaked in the prayer room, I told myself I would not do this again in the next place we lived. Then I think I heard the Lord 'chuckle' to my heart, and so I rephrased my determination to 'I will try not to do this again...'. It was enough, and then I set my heart to take these next six weeks and pour myself out on as many friends as I could. This week alone I have something planned with a friend almost every single day, and although I know I will probably wear myself out doing all of these 'outings', it will be worth it to me in the long run.
These sweet Kansas City friends of mine are worth every second if I get to show them my love and friendship to them one more time.
Thankfully another sweet reminder the Lord gave me in the prayer room:  I am not who I use to be when it comes to long distance relationships.
When I first moved to Kansas City I was not good at keeping in touch with far off contacts and friends. Even keeping up with family was a stretch for me sometimes. Through learning how to support raise as missionaries and also in just having people take an equal partnership in keeping the connect, I have now learned how to continue relationships even from afar. Not only have I learned how to continue them, but how to grow and add to them even though I am not local. That is encouraging to me, because now I can use those skills as I prepare to add to my 'pen pal' list.
It works best though if the communication goes both ways though, wink.
One of my saddest thoughts though is all the friends who are having babies after I move - I won't get to see or hold their little bundles in person and that makes me almost want to cry. I've prayed for so many of these babies, I seriously can't wait to meet who I've been praying for - so send me lots of pictures (moms, you know who you are).
The end.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Finances

Anyone who is over the age of twenty or has lived on their own for any amount of time has had to manage finances. Sometimes it is not a pretty thing and sometimes it is the worst day of the week (balancing the checkbook).
Well, after having lived as missionaries at the House of Prayer for the past 3.5 years, I feel like it is a never ending learning curve that I am on in the realm of finances. Back in the early days it was never a pretty thing, even when we did have 'enough' it never felt like enough because I had so many false standards. In my mind I knew what my life should look like as an American, and especially an American with babies. Oh the stress of those early days.
A brief snapshot into how the Lord broke me out of a lot of my false mindsets and showed me how faithful He was to provide.
My life looked something like this for over a year.

  • Use up our bi-weekly check within 48 hrs of receiving it.
  • Live for the next week and a half on next to nothing.
  • Bills would be due soon after, but we wouldn't have the money.
  • I would fret, freak out, cry and doubt the Lord's word.
  • He would come thru at the last possible moment and pay our bills somehow (even now I don't remember exactly how the money showed up every month) Then I would praise the Lord with my whole heart.
  • Then we would pay our bills, have nothing left for food for the next two weeks.
  • I would fret, freak out, cry and doubt the Lord's word.
  • He would provide food and money for household items like diapers and I would thank Him with a true sense of gratitude.
  • We would be out of money again before the next paycheck, and we would always need something in that time (I learned to live without a lot of special things like my favorite kind of coffee creamer or pre-made snacks and crackers)
  • Again I would fret, freak out, cry and doubt the Lord's word.
  • Then He would provide for our needs at the last minute and I would thank Him with a true sense of His nearness.
Are you seeing the pattern? Freak out and cry, He would provide in the knick of time, and I would be thankful again, but I would only trust His goodness as long as there was a cushion of money in our bank account. The cycle was meant to break that false sense of security that was based on our bank account and it did over time. 
It is hard to maintain a sense of panic after you have been on the same roller coaster 10-12 times. You know where the ups and downs are and where the big breath-taking drop is, and so you anticipated it and it doesn't make you afraid anymore. After a while more you actually learn to enjoy the major breath-taking drop because you know at the last minute the car you are riding in will pull up and you will be saved and soaring into the air again, and its just plain exciting to experience.
So now, 3.5 years later, I wish I could say that I am always enjoying the ride, but as I have grown accustom to certain roller coasters the Lord has graciously upgraded me to larger and more scary circumstances... I mean roller coasters.
The good news, I still understand the concept that it is a roller coaster and although the breath-taking drops on this new one are a bit more frightening, I also know that when I'm the most afraid the best policy is to hold on tight to my companion in the car with me. No, it's not Ken. It's Jesus. 
I've learned He really is the best Person to hold tightly to when I feel like I'm falling too fast. When I cling to Him the hardest though and grip the sides of the car, He sometimes whispers, "its just like all the other roller coasters, so put your hands in the air and enjoy it, I'm right here." 
I wish I could say I threw my hands in the air in wild abandonment in the midst of the biggest falls, but most of the time I still cry and cling, even though I know the Lord will save me at the last moment, because He always has.
Right now I am on the edge of one of those really big drops (the move to SC), and this is a new one that I have never been down before. It feels so high, and I'm not convinced that I can see the bottom of the drop, but my faith is stirred to trust that it is there. Almost daily the Lord has been reminding me of all the other roller coasters that I've learned to ride successfully which builds up my faith. There are still days though where all I can do is just cling to Him and wait for it to be over. 
I know I won't die (financially, don't take this out of context) and I know the Lord won't let me fall and be injured, but it is still scary because there is still obvious potential for failure. It is daily staring me in the face. There are also those people around me that can see the danger of it and are always pointing it out or telling me not to ride that roller coaster.
The Lord has put me on this roller coaster though, and I know He is faithful to finish the work He has started in my life. No matter what it looks like, I know He is good and faithful and we have history together so I know I can trust Him more than I trust what I see. So many times He has saved us from financial ruin, and so many times He has provided for our needs. Might I add that He never does anything partially, He always goes all the way and provides extravagantly, throwing in a few wants as He provides for the needs.
Remember that coffee creamer that I really liked, well plenty of times He made a way for me to get some without the aid of spending the money for it. People would give me some, or it would be at the community food drop, or whatever. Another really cool thing. As I have walked this journey with Him, He has been slowly changing my appetites toward the things that I need, and I don't even drink that coffee creamer anymore. Silly, eh? Well its for real.
Hope this encourages some of you today. The Lord is the designer and builder of your specific financial roller coaster and He is totally trustworthy to keep you safe as you ride. I would rather ride on His ups and downs than those of my own making.
So throw your hands in the air and try to learn to enjoy the ride.......or you can just cling like me, that works too.


Thursday, April 7, 2011

A Few of My Favorite Things

My day consisted of several wonderfully fun points. I would like to share a few of them.

1. Getting my girls up and dressed and fed by 7:45am and to the babysitter. (whoa, it was an intense ride)

2. Drove a rickety old van all the way to Windsor, MO singing IHOP songs to myself acapella. (radio not working)

3. Participated and won almost all my bids in an Amish flower auction. (my first auction ever)

4. Made it home in time to get dinner on the table by 5pm. (whew, it was a stretch)

5. Watched a prophetic news update from Rick Joyner with Ken.

6. Watch a Hermie & Wormie movie with the girls.

7. Called a friend to tell her she and her family can come stay a week with us, so excited! (it may be the last time I see her for a long while since we are moving - the Lord is so good to orchestrate such things)

As if that weren't enough excitement for one day, I still have bath time planned for my girls (which is always so much fun these days) and possibly baking some cookies.

One of my fondest memories from the day - getting to talk to an Amish man about the House of Prayer in Kansas City and have him be genuinely interested in how it worked. We talked about the importance of the Word, the importance of raising our children well and the importance of the Spirit of adoption. We were totally on the same page, it was so cool! He even said he would like to see the prayer room some day. It was neat.
The end.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Melting Point

Despite the title, this is not a post about some science experiment I did will my kids, it is about me as a mother and I have a melting point.  In the last 3 + years I have learned a lot about my personal melting point and its triggers. If you are a mother, you can probably relate to this topic already and will perhaps find humor in my stories. For those of you who are new mothers or are not entirely self-aware on what triggers you, then read on, perhaps this will be a useful tool.

Currently I have two children, two girls and now I will make a haphazard stereotypical statement that girls are more dramatic than boys. I have watched little boys throw fits and although they are very physical sometimes, they can not compare to my 3 year old girls fits which are very emotional, high volume, with sprawling, wailing and crawling.
I'm not exaggerating about the crawling part just to make a third adjective, seriously she crawls in mid-fit to convince me that she cannot obey me. Her reasoning goes something like this 'if I can't walk, then how can I obey my mother,' sometimes she even tells me that she can't stand up and proceeds to show me her exaggerated attempts that she ends with a dramatic flop onto the floor. Its a very creative ploy, I'll give her that, but so far it has not worked to her benefit. Sorry, that was a side note.

So all that to say my little girl is emotional and dramatic and I know why. Even at twenty eight I seem to still have a flair for the dramatic in me. What brings this awful side out is a combination of things, but with just the right environment and triggers, I turn into a nonsensical ninny. It may not be all the way obvious in my exterior, but certainly there are some signs like tears (for no real reason), loud sighs, dramatic flops on the couch, more yelling than usual in my house, more than usual chocolate consumption, and the worse, completely illogical, emotional, ill-thought out statements to try and express how I am feeling.

Can you relate to that description of what a melt down looks like?

Recently I was telling someone some of my warning signs though, things that give me the tip off that a melt down might be on its way. These are personal to me, but I think some could be universal to women. Here they are:

1. Two or more days in which I have not gotten dressed because I have not left my house (even just to play outside).
2. Two or more days in which I have gone to bed early and gotten up late with lingering fatigue even when I have done almost nothing to tire myself (this is also common in early pregnancy, but if your not pregnant be suspicious).
3. Putting on more than 4 movies for your kids in the span of 3 days (only counts as a warning sign if everyone is well in your house). I use movies for my kids as a coping mechanism when I'm feeling depressed and full of self pity - which leads to a melt down.
Need some of these to make
it thru the day!
here is the link
4. Baking and eating an entire batch of cookies in one day.
5. Checking my facebook more than 3 times in one day.

There are probably more, but all of them add up to the fact that I am probably about to lose it, either on my husband or on my kids. Some other factors that play into these scenarios are hormones. Certain times of the month (uncomfortable cough) make me more prone and also stress.

How do I combat these warning signs to offset my chances of a melt down?
First I pray, I sometimes take communion too, as often as I need to.
Second I find time to go outside, which causes me to have to get dressed.
Second and a half, I fix my hair nice and wear earrings, because if I feel like I look nice, I feel nicer.
Third, I find an excuse to get away from my kids for a short time (I use 'quiet time' in the afternoon while i cook dinner when I have had a long day).
Fouth, I plan a play date with a friend as soon as possible.
Fifth, if its really bad I schedule a date night with my husband. Even if it is two weeks out, it gives me something to look forward to.

So what do these things look like in reality. Well for example, after a week of sick babies a while back, I found myself eating a lot of chocolate chip cookies and being overly weepy. So one day Ken came home to find me cooking dinner with the girls in 'quiet time' and then when dinner was done I put in my earrings and told him I needed to go to the store to buy some milk. By the time I got back with the milk I felt so much better and then the next day I phoned a friend to set up a play date for the next week.
Practically it doesn't always work so beautifully, sometimes Ken is only home long enough to eat, or we don't actually need any milk. Other times its raining outside or I can't find anyone available for a play date, but the earrings thing is something I can do all the time, and the 'quiet time' helps me make it thru the day.
On days where I'm not able to get out of the house at all, I make sure to do something special, like paint my toe nails and watch a girly movie with a cup of warm tea (after the kids are in bed). Ahhhh, so soothing.

Hopefully this was helpful to you all, and when you see me dressed kinda nice looking just on my way to the grocery store (or the prayer room) you will understand that I'm not trying to impress, I'm trying to de-stress.
Look I made it rhyme.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Tuna Tonight

Hello friends, here is one of my favorite practical meals that takes about 30 minutes start to finish, that my kids love. It involves tuna, which not everyone loves, but in our house the majority of us do. So for those of you who like tuna and want something quick and easy, here is one of my fail-safes. Is it healthy, mostly. Is it raw, certainly not. Is it delicious, I think so.

Quick Tuna Casserole

1 12 oz package of egg noodles
2 c. frozen veggies (I use whatever I have, mixed, just corn, just peas, etc)
2 cans cream of 'something' soup (something equals whatever I have, mushroom, chicken, celery)
2 cans albacore tuna in water, drained
1 small onion finely minced
1 1/2 c. shredded cheese (whatever I have on hand)
black pepper to taste

In a large pot bring 5-6 c. water to a boil, cook noodles with your frozen veggies. Drain and return noodles and veggies to the pot, stir in soups, tuna, onion, pepper and cheese. Taste, add any other seasons you think might be nice, I like to add a bit of garlic powder, and serve. It keeps nice and to heat it up on the stove top, I just add a bit of milk and stir to make it creamy again over medium heat until warm.

Yum, my girls gobble this up. I make a big batch sometimes when I know we are going to have something they dislike the next night so I can feed them the left overs. It makes them happy and it makes me happy because then I can eat a very adult sort of meal (every once in a while), like baked salmon with asparagus.
Sigh.

Oh, one of my other favorite points about this recipe, it only dirties one pot, yeah!

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Baby Hair Trials

So recently I went to the Amish Greenhouses in Windsor, Mo to buy flowers for the IHOP Mission Base. While I was there I saw a sweet little Amish baby girl playing in one of the greenhouses and I saw that her hair was braided into a piece of yarn. It was revolutionary to my world as a mom with a baby girl with very fine hair.
Poor little Kalei, she has such fine baby hair and yet I'm trying to let it grow out, but its in her eyes ALL THE TIME! She won't keep clips or barrettes in her hair, and its not long enough to pull into a pony tail.
This Amish hair trick was so amazingly cool, and very cute! So I thought I would try it.
Now I'm not quite sure how they got an eight month old to sit still long enough to let them French braid her super fine hair onto the yarn string, mine wouldn't sit still long enough for that, but this is what I came up with for my own version.
The yarn was helpful as a sort of extension and it also made for a thicker bit to work with as I twist her hair onto it as tightly as I could. The result.
Now I can see her sweet face, all of it!
How did I get her to sit still for so long you ask, there is a movie playing just out of sight - Talking Word Factory, love, love, love it, even all the cheesiness!
Now on to reality. Not sure if I used too fluffy of yarn or if her hair is just super slick, but the yarn stayed in all of 10 min.
Out of this failure, I came up with using the ouchless rubber band hair thingies and just pulling it to the side. The rubber grips her fine hair and gets it just enough to the side to keep it out of her eyes. 

If you can manage to get your little one to sit still while you french braid though, the braids are amazingly cute. 
Wish I was better at french braiding in general.