Lately

Lots going on in our normally overly routine life. First of all, we had a wonderful weekend being spoiled by Nana. Food, shopping, new books, laughs, it was great. And we are excited to welcome more company tomorrow. The kids are in heaven with all of these people around to wake up early.

While Nana was here, we gave Jude his first haircut. It was nice to have a third person around. One person to hold him, one to cut, and one to take photos (obviously) and watch the girls. 

I know you all thought the tree hugger in me would just let his hair grow and be but, well, it was getting so long that I couldn't comb it in the 20 seconds he gives me and he was starting to look a bit on the wild side. So after much agonizing (me convincing George), we went for it.

It looks awesome and he looks like such a big kid with his new haircut. I am telling you, if you can, try to have kids with curly hair. It makes for the easiest home haircuts. All of the mistakes just curl up. 

Elsa surprised me the other day (as she always does). I asked her to go sign Grampa's birthday card and when I caught back up with her, this is what I found. 

Her first "E"! I am so proud. And this is what I heard her saying from the back seat while I was driving today, "Twenty seven, twenty eight, twenty nine, twenty ten, thirty." Love the logic behind that.

Keeping watch, making sure Daddy doesn't miss a spot.

And that's about it. We are just enjoying life, the weather, and family until George starts school again. The madness all starts next week. 

Happy Halloween!

Our Many Roles

Somedays I feel I would be a better mother if I only had a background in teaching or art, medicine, cooking, diplomacy, sewing and the list goes on.

But, luckily for mothers and fathers of today, YouTube exists where one can become an instant expert in anything. 


My skill of choice on this day? Hair stylist. And after just a few short videos I felt confident enough to give long layers a go on Nyah's precious curls. And I am just realizing that maybe this is why my bangs were always so crooked as a kid. My poor mom had nothing to go off of as she stepped into hairdresser role. God Bless YouTube. And forgiving curls.

I Can't Believe I am Writing This

As I dropped Nyah off to school one morning last week, her teacher rushed out and started picking through her hair with absolutely no warning. I was a little taken aback but before I had time to ask questions she broke the news to me. Another student's mother had just called and revealed that the boy had... lice. 


As in head lice. 


As in bugs crawling around in his hair and reproducing. So she was checking each kid before letting them enter school and I thought that was that. Thought she was nippin' the bugs in the butt and avoiding an epidemic of grossness.


Jump to yesterday afternoon, as we entered school to pick Nyah up. The teacher breezed by me and nonchalantly just happened to mention to me that she wasn't sure if I knew, but five kids now have lice now, no big deal. 

Um, what? FIVE?! Which at this point means bugs must live in the school and could be taking up residence on us as we speak? 

I immediately wanted to grab my children, pick them up under my arms and run the heck out of there. I am not sure what shocked me more, the thought of my children having lice or the fact that she had no doubt we would have to cut the girls' hair if they contracted the little problem.

I'm itching as I type this.


Can you even imagine if either of our girls got lice? Do you realize how much hair they have? I mean, it's a struggle to comb Elsa's hair with a regular comb, let alone a fine tooth one. When I say that washing hair and combing night is a big in our house, I mean its a huge, has to be scheduled in advanced and takes a good hour of our lives to complete. Combing our girls' hair with a fine tooth comb would result in WWIII & WWIV up in here and is not a battle I ever,ever want to wage. 

So I don't know if I should take this as a sign that the over priced preschool is dirty or just roll with it as one of those things that happens in schools and a part of childhood. And for the record, the school is great and I am sure the teacher is living out one of her greatest nightmares that could ever occur in her sweet school. 


The teachers explained that this was the first "outbreak" in nine years and the best thing to do to avoid the problems was to put product in the girls' hair because the bugs do not like dirty hair. And at that point, even the teachers and the assistants were in the restroom showing off their sprays and products to me which they apply each morning as some sort of defence. 


So I just said a little thank you to myself, as we bolted out of there, that our girls have the hair they do which can't be washed more than once a week (you think we're weird now) unless really dirty. Because I am convinced Nyah's only defense against infestation (I don't even like that word) are her dirty curls. 


And you better believe she left for school this morning with her hair completely loaded with lotion, serum, oil and hairspray in hopes that she doesn't bring any little friends home. And I thought we just moved away from all the bugs I could ever want in my life.

She asked what I was doing as I obsessively drenched her hair in any and everything I could get my hands on. My reply was something along the lines of, "Bugs. Don't want to let the bugs get in your hair." I can't wait to see how she repeats this information as her imagination runs wild with it all day.

And I can't believe I am writing this because our family that is en route to our house for the holidays suddenly just realized that something has come up and they won't be able to make it. 


Seriously guys, no issues here. I promise. Please, don't turn around.

Good Laugh

I have to share this blog entry from my favorite blogger, Rebecca Wolf, whose blog I read each morning while the girls eat their breakfast and I pretend to drink coffee, my one alloted caffeine allowance recommended in pregnancy. 


By the way, I would have never, in my wildest dreams even imagined drinking caffeine when I was pregnant with the girls. I was way over the top, by the book, OCD, can't even look at wine of caffeine or something horrible would happen to my baby. Now on the third go around, I am settling into the stereotype of the third child and am a lot more lax, realizing that I am a really healthy person and a little sip of caffeine in the morning won't hurt a thing and actually my help my state of mind. Instead of dragging around and feeling bad about it all day I am now functioning and feeling great. What can I say, I am surviving and I have to be there for the girls, they don't deserve to be stuck with zombie mom all day and luckily since I haven't been a coffee drinker until now so the little bit I do drink really gets me going and makes me want to conquer the world and stuff until about oh, about one o'clock when I crash and burn. And maybe I've even had a little coffee as I am writing this blog but the really long drawn out sentences that I am typing super fast hopefully don't make that too obvious.


So here is Rebecca Wolf's latest blog entry (click here,right here, Mom) and perhaps I find this so funny, like I laughed at my screen for a few minutes and kept coming back to it to laugh some more (look at her first grade picture), because I can totally relate. I was a product of a Mom with scissors and oh if I only had my first grade I could prove it. Crooked bangs starting at the crown of my head doesn't even begin to explain the half of it.


I feel like I am in a whole different realm raising girls with supa dupa curly hair. Bangs are not an option and honestly if I butchered their hair I am not totally sure anyone would notice. But I have no doubt in my mind that they will someday look at their first grade picture and wonder why I would do their hang the wrong way, its inevitable. 
 
We don't really do the hair cutting thing around here much. Hope I am not doing them a disservice as a mother by not picking up the shears. Nyah has had one hair cut, which she loved. 

Maybe she will have another one someday, who knows, but for now I am still enjoying a good laugh remembering my brother and I's past do's thanks to Rebecca Wolf at Girl Gone Child, she rocked it today.