Tales from The Pandemic 17

Phase 1 for Northern Virginia allowed Hair Salons and Barber Shops to open with some modifications. Masks must be worn, maximum number of people need to be kept to a certain number (10, I think), and retail stores have to keep it to 50% capacity.  Restaurants can only do outside dinning and tables spaced far enough apart to be socially distanced.  It's a whole new world, but its nice to see businesses starting to open again.

It's been 11 weeks since Ian was able to get a haircut.  This kid needed a haircut just before the world shut down, so for someone who needs a haircut every 4 weeks, going 15 weeks is verging on enough hair to use as a mop on the floor.  Ian's hair finally made it past the cowlicks and started laying flat.  It wasn't so shaggy looking as much as it was a lot of volume!  Ina has a very thick head of hair.

We have a favorite hair stylist who Ian has been seeing for over 6 years.  We've even moved barber shops when Quang moved to a new one that went from across the street from where we live to a few miles down the road.  He knows how to work with Ian's many cowlicks and does a great job every time. 

Quang and I texted when we heard the barber shop would open again.  We got to be his first haircut!  And it was very necessary. 


BEFORE:

Everyone had to wear masks the whole time.

AFTER:  one happy boy!

Haircut: hair by hair

Ian's hair is coming along nicely. Growing out the crew cut (number 4 all over!) is well on its way to a great style.  Ian has such a great head of hair and its a shame to not do something with it.  I finally found a hair cutter who understands my vision and is very talented.  He has managed to tame Ian's cowlicks into submission. Heck, he has tamed every single hair on Ian's head into submission.  I love this guy.  Here's the thing, he is a perfectionist.  To the point that it has turned getting a haircut into an hour long ordeal.  Really.  An hour.

When we went 8 weeks ago to our local barbershop (across the street from our house!) for Ian's haircut, we didn't have anyone we particularly liked and was happy just getting the first available chair.  By chance we got "Kevin".  I told him what I wanted and he went to work.  After about 25 minutes Ian and Jeff were losing their patience.  It was very obvious that Kevin needed to stop cutting as soon as possible.  If you've ever seen Jeff or Ian when they've "had enough" it isn't pretty.  It was in everyone's best interest that Kevin be done.  The end result was amazing and I vowed we'd be back again and again specifically for Kevin. 

This past weekend it was time for Ian get another haircut.  We had plans to walk across the street for breakfast at the bagel place and it was too convenient to not go a few stores down and get Ian a trim.  I called the barber shop and asked if Kevin was working.  The answer was yes. 

While we were eating I made sure to remind Jeff and Ian to be patient and let Kevin do his thing.

After a successful breakfast with the family, we made our way to the barber shop.  I didn't readily see Kevin and asked for him.   Kevin was hunched over on the outside bench and was taking a snooze.  They rustled Kevin awake and told him he had a customer.  Turns out Kevin was not the one we wanted!  This guy was much older.  Oh my!  I made a mistake.  The guy we wanted is named Quang.  The mistake was made because Quang was using Kevin's station last time we were there.  Fortunately Quang was in the back and was located. 

Ian sits down in the chair.  All is going well.  An hour later Ian is still in the chair.  All is not well.  Since everyone is doing their best to be on good behavior, Quang is able to do his thing.  It turns out Quang didn't know when it was enough.  I feel like each hair on Ian's head, strand by strand was treated with multiple tools - razor, scissors, texture scissors, straight razor, scissors again.  OMG!  Even I am admitting it was out of control.  I kept waiting for one of us to explode on how long it was taking, but we somehow managed to hold it together.  After about 35 minutes you kept thinking that Quang was going to be done any minute.  But it kept going and going and going. For me, it was getting so interesting to see what he could possibly do next to this young boys head -- who wasn't a model or on tv or in a movie.  :)

I have to admit that Ian's hair looks AH-Mazing!  But next time we are going to make some necessary changes. First of all, Ian will be given his iPad to read a book.  That will help pass the time.  The next change we will make is to tell Quang he has 15 minutes and to prioritize on what to do with Ian's head first.  And lastly, the most important change we will make is to call Kevin by his correct name, Quang.

Ian's hair

Ian has discovered his hair.  He has decided to let it grow beyond the crew cut he has had for the past 6 years and actually give it some kind of style.  This is tricky because Ian's hair has a life of its own.  He has not one, not two, not three, but four (yes, FOUR!) cowlicks.  There are two located on the front of his head and two are on the top back part of his head. It can get pretty crazy looking and does so pretty much each morning Ian wakes-up.  The only way to guarantee to tame these cowlicks was to cut his hair short enough so it blended with all the other hair on his head and didn't have a chance to go to haywire.

As Ian's hair grew so did the cowlicks.  It was going to be a tough few months before the hair grew long enough and could be heavy enough to provide gravity to the cowlicks.  It was these days that Ian would spend upwards of 20 minutes in front of the mirror before school and work on his hair.  I gave him a squirt bottle with water so that he could wet the rebellious hair and get it in line with the rest of the hair on his head.  I was expecting him to wet the hair, comb it down and be on his way.  Boy I was in for a surprise.  I walked by the bathroom one morning and Ian's head was so wet from the squirt bottle that water was dripping off his face.  He looked like he got caught in a severe rainstorm.  It was very funny.  Ian was trying.  He was trying very hard.  

Ian with his typical short crew cut haircut.

This was a little short for my taste, but those cowlicks didn't stand a chance.



You can see some how Ian's hair has grown and how a few of the cowlicks are sticking straight up. 



Crazy hair first thing in the morning!

Holy cowlicks Batman! 

A few hours later, the hair is starting to fall nicely.

Looking good!  Now I just need it to grow long enough to comb to the side.

I love Ian's hair and can't wait for it to get a few inches longer and some of the very short layers grow out.  Ian has a very thick head of hair.  You can't help but want to put your fingers through it.   I hope we can stick through the growing out process before Ian decides he wants to go back to a crew cut.

Tidbits.

It was time for a change.  I cut my hair big-time!

Before:

A particularly bad photo of me, but its the most recent that shows my hair.  This was taken at the end of January.

After:

So much better!

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I was able to go down (all by myself!) to Orlando to hang with the family during President's day weekend.   I spent 2 days at the beach with my mom and sister, Lori.  It was a particularly memorable trip that I won't soon forget.  :)   I do have to mention, that I got one of the best night's of sleep I've had in months.  It really makes a difference when you get the opportunity to sleep and not have one ear listening for Sam to make some kind of noise.  Or, have to wake-up and face a day full of responsibilities.  The break was truly needed.  This alone made the trip worth it.

Unfortunately, my dad, Rita and Meghan were all sick and I stayed far, far, far away from their house.  I will get to spend time with them at the end of March when Sam and I go down for her trip.

I have so much love and adoration for my husband, Jeff who supports me 100% in being able to do these trips.  I miss not seeing my family. My parents aren't getting any younger.  I want to be able to visit as much as possible.  If Jeff wasn't as fantastic a husband or father as he is, I wouldn't be able to get on a plane and go.  I've said this before, but it bears repeating, I won the husband lottery. 

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Hair Hair

Sam's had all of 3 hair cuts in her life. The irony is, she LOVES to get her hair cut. But with her being a little girl, the need to get it cut as frequently as Ian is just not going to happen. A few weeks ago, Sam said she wanted her hair cut short. Sure, why not? It makes my life much easier when needing to get a brush through it. I made an appointment with our most favorite hairdresser, Abby, from Cartoon Cuts, for a Thursday afternoon.

Abby knows us very well. She was the only one who was fearless enough to take on Ian. Yes, we had a few other hairdressers at Cartoon Cuts (a place that SPECIALIZES in kids) refuse to cut Ian's hair.

Since Ian was 8 months old, Abby had been cutting Ian's hair every 8 weeks. Ian had to have been her most challenging kid ever to cut hair on. Little by little, Ian got better at having it done. Then by the time Ian was 5 years old, all the idiosyncrasies and crazy demands, complete with ear-piercing screams went by the wayside. It was pretty spectacular to see the transformation. Abby stuck with Ian through his worst and never complained. She is amazing like that and can cut a straight line no matter how much a kid is squirming, flailing around, or screaming at the top of his lungs, or lucky us, all 3 at the same time.

Earlier this year, Ian sort of outgrew Cartoon Cuts and decided to get his hair cut at the barber shop across the street from our house. I guess he's a big boy now!

Fast forward to me bringing Sam in for her haircut. Abby was so excited to see us and kept saying how much she missed Ian. And to tell Ian Hi. It was very sweet. Sam was fantastic and really enjoyed the whole process. On the way to the mall, I asked Sam how short she is going to tell Abby to cut her hair. Sam replied with, "Buzz cut". Um, no! Sam is so used to hearing Ian give those words. Uh-oh!!! Good thing Abby knows better.

Yes, Sireee. We got the "stacked" back going on. Super cute!

BREAKING NEWS: Milestone alert - 1st Haircut

I waited as long as I could.  We were one day shy of making it a whole 3 years.  But Sam not letting us brush or comb her hair was a big problem.  A rats nest was brewing in the back of her head and I feared birds were going to start calling it home.   Also, it appeared dreadlocks were well on their way to forming.

Jeff asked me yet again last Sunday morning if I had plans to get it cut anytime soon and I finally caved and said, yes, let's do it today.  I told Jeff I wanted as much help as possible and would require his assistance.  We weren't sure how Sam would react and knowing her, anything was possible.  She saw Ian get his haircut many, many times over the years, but her actually being in the chair was a different story.

We were prepared for the worst and other than Sam refusing to wear the cape, it went much better than expected.  I didn't realize I was holding my breath through the whole haircut until it was over and we were able to leave.  I guess I kept expecting Sam to have "had enough" and not care if the hairdresser was able to finish.  But fortunately Sam kept it together and let the whole experience happen without major interference.


THE BEFORE:



Big-time unruly mess going on back here.





Wow, look how long it is!!



DURING:

What a good girl. 

AFTER:

Here's the side

Here's the back

Here's the front

I am loving her haircut.  The style is easy to take care of, and the potential rats nest that can start brewing again has much less territory to take over.  This is a good thing.  A very good thing.

Haircut now, please!

My dream haircut for Ian is pictured here on the left.  I would love for his hair to be like Hugh Grant's.  Full on top, and cut close & short on the sides and bottom.  You know, something you can run your fingers through....something that can be styled or at the very least, require a comb.

Ian, however, has very different plans for his head and the first words out of his mouth every 6 weeks in Abby's chair at Cartoon Cuts (the best child's hair cutter EVER) is "Buzz cut, please."

So I try to push the time in between visits, hoping Ian's hair would grow fast and get past this point of major awkwardness....the cowlick.  OMG!  Ian's cowlicks have cowlicks of their own.  His head is one hot mess.  I've counted no less than 4 cowlicks.  Ian not only has a cowlick on each side of the front part of his forehead where his hair line starts, but he also has a DOUBLE cowlick going on in the back.  It literally starts on the side and wraps itself completely around his head. 

My days of dreaming that Ian can have a really cool hair style is coming to an end.  The other morning Ian was pleading with me to take him to Cartoon Cuts.  He had this sort of "Flock of Seagulls" 'do going on...very unintentionally I might add.  I figured we had maybe another 2 months to go and possibly one of the cowlicks might have been under control from the weight of his hair.  I was trying to put off the hair cut for as long as possible. This particular morning I was walking out of my Weight Watchers meeting and speaking to a fellow member who noticed Ian's hair and was commenting that her son has the same cowlick issues Ian has.  Then Ian and I went to Golden Nails where I get my eyebrows waxed.  There really is no place that I won't take my son with me.  He is going to make a FANTASTIC husband one day.  :)  It had been several months since he had gone with me and as the Korean lady was doing her thing, she took one look at Ian and said, "Wow, he has A LOT of hair."  Even she couldn't believe what was going on with Ian's head. 

The last thing I want is for Ian to be made fun of.  Buzz cut it is.

Hair today, gone tomorrow

I did it!  I finally had the 10+ inches I needed to cut and donate my hair.  And, boy does it feel good!  It feels good to know that I am not only helping others who are less fortunate and will be needing to wear a wig because of Chemo, but it also feels good to get rid of all that hair!

I do not enjoy having my hair long.  Most of the time I kept it in a pony tail and did very little to style it.  While I saved a lot of money on hair cuts, I would rather be able to keep my hair in some sort of shape and style.  And, I want to have fun with color again!

The irony is, the last 3 days before I got my haircut, I was really enjoying the length and how healthy it looked.  Maybe because I knew the end was coming?  I am not sure.  But for a split second I was ready to hold on to it for a little while longer.  Then I remembered the bigger reason I was growing it (Locks of Love) and made my way to the salon.

Funny enough, the woman who cuts my hair, hadn't seen me in so long, that she got pregnant and had a baby girl who is already 2 months old.  We had a good laugh about that and then I told her to go for it.  There is no looking back.

Here are the before and after pictures.

Two things should be mentioned about the "After" picture.  1., The color is actually much more blonde than the picture is displaying.  For some reason this picture is making it look very gray.  That is not the case in reality.  And 2., You'll notice the band-aid on the side of my cheek is because I am in the healing phase of having the mole taken off.  Yes!!  I did it!!!  Woo-hoo!!!

I really wish I could report on the 3rd part of my transformation (lose 25 lbs by Thanksgiving) was going as well as parts 1 and 2 (haircut and mole removal).  But unfortunately, in my quest to lose 25lbs, I've successfully gained 4 lbs.  Ugh!!  I will not give up and plan to keep trying to get to my goal weight.  Of course, I need to stop gaining first!!

Only if you call it a 'trim'

Let the negotiations begin! The conditions needed to be met for Ian to agree to get his haircut was a mile long and completely out of control. It all started harmlessly by telling Ian he could have a lollipop. Then he'd ask for two. Give an inch and he'd take a mile.

Before you knew it, this is what had to happen before Ian would get anywhere near a Cartoon Cuts:

1. 2 lollipops (and one of them better be blue!)
2. No robe will be worn or even a towel around his neck
3. Do not call it a haircut, only a 'trim'
4. No scissors can be used, only the electric razor
5. Thomas the Tank Engine (specifically "Calling All Engines") had be on the tv
6. One hand held the lollipop, the other must be holding trains
7. Directly afterwards going to the candy store Fair Oaks Mall opened for specially chosen colored m&m's
8. Only Abby can do the cut
9. Must be sitting on mommy or daddy's lap

It's surprising to learn that we'd go through this ridiculous exercise on average once every 2 months, since Ian was 12 months old. Seriously. And, even with all the conditions met, it wouldn't guarantee that Ian would sit still and be a well-behaved boy. Oh no! Either me or my husband (usually me because I was the lucky one to take him during the week) would have to use our arms and legs to wrap around his body and try to keep him still. All the while, the haircut was occurring, Ian would scream "NOOOOOOOOOO", "It's over", "We're done" Or, "Time to go" at the top of his lungs while crying and working his way out of our hold. Abbey is a pro and amazingly was able to work her magic fast and get us out of there in under 10 minutes, with his head looking completely even.

Somewhere about 3 haircuts ago, Ian all of sudden stopped asking for his list of demands when the mention of getting a haircut came up. It was a Saturday and tears came to my eyes watching Ian (who announced he could sit in the chair all on his own) doing his absolute best trying to sit still with a robe on and a towel around his neck. I never thought I would see the day that Ian became mature enough to handle the haircut experience like every other little boy and girl out there.

I guess no one knows Ian better than he knows himself. He knew when he'd be ready to do it on his own and not need a list of bribes to be met. Ian still only wants Abbey to cut his hair, but I have to agree with him on this one. She and Binh are the best stylists at Cartoon Cuts. And, now believe it or not, during the last visit, Abbey was even able to pull out her scissors. This is great news for someone like me, who is dying to give Ian a real style to his hair. We are currently a work in progress on creating something very cute.

After what we've been through, it's hard to imagine we are now at the point where Ian is requesting to get his haircut. As I was saying good-bye to him at camp this morning, he didn't ask to go to the pool when I come to pick him up or to go to Chuck E. Cheese or go bowling. He said, "Mommy, can Abbey cut my hair today after lunch bunch?"

We've come a long way baby!