Frustrating Waste of Time #853,782

While getting Zoe ready for school yesterday morning, she decided to throw me a curve ball. Instead of the usual requests for her hair, she ran to her room and brought me back this picture:

I studied it, gathered hair bands, bobby pins and hairspray and went to work. This was the result:

I was very proud of myself, but she reached back to feel it and was unsure. I snapped the above photo with my phone so that she could see what it looked like and, certain that she would love it, I handed her my phone. She took one look and burst into tears.

"Everyone will laugh at me!!!", she wailed. I tried to dissect the photo and explain how it looked exactly like the picture she brought me. I told her ballerinas wore their hair like that. But she was having none of it.

I disassembled all the bobby pins, brushed out the hairspray and then I put it in a ponytail, braided it and left it hanging down her back. She was satisfied.

And I was exhausted- all before 9am.

A Hair Raising Tale

Okay, if you have been reading this blog for more than ten minutes, you know that my daughter is a little headstrong. She also has her own unique way of doing things and she expects everyone else to get on board or else get left behind. (She's three)

This way of thinking about things extends even to her hair. I really can't remember when she started assigning her own names to her various acceptable hairstyles, but I know it has been going on since at least last fall. The fun began the first time I had to figure out what kind of hairstyle she wanted based on the name she was giving me. This isn't as easy as it sounds.

Many a morning was spent with tears, tantrums and fits while she tried to convey to me how she wanted me to fix her hair and I tried to understand what it was she wanted from me. I believe I have finally cracked the code (at least until she comes up with another one) and have compiled a list of her favorites. The original reason for this list is because we are meeting some family members halfway between our house and theirs this weekend (we live 1500 miles from our families) and for the first time, our kids will go home with our family for the summer without us. I am excited and nervous, but mostly, I fear for my family members and the days they will spend trying to figure out what it is that Zoe wants from them. I made a little flip book to send with her for reference and I wanted to share the highlights with you.

#1- Ariel Hair



This is the term she uses simply to mean that she wants to wear her hair down.


#2- Ariel Hair with Barrette

This just means she wants to add a barrette to pin her bangs out of her face.


#3- Belle Hair

The sides of her hair are pulled back into a half ponytail with the back hanging down.


#4- Cinderella Hair


She wants to wear a headband.


#5- Ballet Hair

This would be a ponytail.


#6- Dance Hair or sometimes Ballet Hair with Dance Hair

In addition to the ponytail, she wants her bangs french braided to the side, away from her face and into the ponytail.


#7- Picnic Hair

Two french braids down the side of her head.


#8- Rapunzel Hair

This can either be one regular braid down the back or one french braid down the back.
(I do not have a picture of this)


And there you have it, should you ever run across Zoe, angry in a dark alley wielding a hair elastic and a comb, you will know what to do to appease her.

Good luck!

And may the force be with you.