It's in the Genes...

Did you know that I come from a long line of...Bald Men? Try not to be envious, although I know it is definitely a trait worth envying. Ha! But it is true, male pattern baldness runs in my family. And apparently, it's effects run deeper than I originally thought. Meet the newest members of the family...our Garden Greenies. Do you see the family resemblance? Ellie's Garden Greenie is on the left and Kate's is on the right. Notice the interesting hair growth?

And poor Kate's little Garden Greenie only sprouted one hair in its first two weeks.

Despite the odd hair growth (and an eye that somehow went missing), the girls decided it was time to give their Greenies a little haircut, just to prevent the much dreaded comb-over (which my father proudly sported throughout most of my teenage life).

If you're looking for a fun, spring project that your kids will love, try making a Garden Greenie. All you need is:
Knee Highs
Grass Seed
Dirt
Wiggly eyes and face decorations
rubber bands

Just dump about 1 Tbls. of grass seed in the bottom of a knee high (and more is not better...we learned our lesson. More seed prevents proper hair growth). Keep the grass seed at the bottom of the knee high and put dirt on top (if the grass seed moves, you'll get "hair" growing from your Greenie's nose, mouth, ears, etc).

Tie the knee high in a knot to keep the dirt in place and shaped into a "head." Then use the rubber bands to pull out some dirt and tie off a nose and ears (as shown in Kate's Greenie) or just glue on a nose and ears (as shown in Ellie's Greenie).

Water the whole thing and then put the bottom in water. The knee high "stem" will work as a wick to draw the water up to the top (although I still water the top occassionally). Rewater every day. Ours have lasted for three weeks and they're still sprouting new hairs every day! Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the Bald Men in my family : )