try to find a good shampoo that works really well! a lot of my friends use pantene and they're hair is super soft and nice. maybe wake up a bit earlier in the morning to make your hair look good... ex. straighten it (use protection spray.. tresemme makes a good one) or fix up the curls with a curling iron. another thing you could do is get it thinned. go to a stylist and ask them to thin it. they'll use a razor and basically cut out some of your hair. it ends up looking a lot less puffy and crazy. you DO NOT have to get your hair cut short to get it thinned.
best of luck!
laura