Random Thoughts While Mall-Walking

• I wish I had more money so that I could buy some of these cool clothes in the windows. And the little black dresses! So cute and chic! So pointless to buy as I have NO WHERE to wear one!
• That has got to be the most obnoxious, painful-looking, torpedo-shaped pregnancy belly I've ever seen! Oh! But she is so WORKING it!
• I should probably stop listening to Weird Al and the South Park soundtrack while walking. I'm sure my gaffaws and goofy-@$$ grins are causing a few stares.
• Oh GOD, I'm STARVING! Why didn't I eat before I got here?
  
• 50% off at TCP!
• *sigh* Never mind. Nothing tempting.
• I think there are FOUR T - Mobile stores/kiosks in this place! Seriously?
• Those poor kiosk workers. I think I've found a few people even more bored with their jobs than I am.
• Eyebrow threading? I'm too much of a wuss to do plucking/waxing--threading looks just as intimidating. ...Move along!
• Anyone know if TCP backpacks are any good? Or will they rip right in two just two weeks before the end of the school year like all the other cheap-o backpacks I buy?
• BACK TO SCHOOL! Oh! The list! Oh! The humanity!
• I wish I had more money so that I could actually AFFORD to buy all the school supplies. AND eat!
• If I get a Chai from DD, will that be counter-productive to my walk? And if so, by how much? I mean, does 30 minutes walking = ONE Chai? How much do I have to walk in order to have a Chai and still possibly slim down my butt?
• Clearance at Old Navy!
  
• JUST KEEP WALKING! JUST KEEP WALKING!
• (Crap--now that stupid Dory song is on my mind!)
• More Weird Al!
• Anyone know if that Sporting Goods Place does vanity sizing? I've been eying a cheap skort. And I DON'T want to take the time to try it on! (SUPPOSED to be WALKING here!) If the sizes there are comparable to New York, I'm GOLDEN! If not--crap!
• Bah! Shouldn't be spending money anyway. @#$% DEBT!
• (Must find new, non-retail-oriented place to walk.
• Wonder how the kid is doing at GS camp today?
• I looked horrible in those styles when they were out 20-25 years ago! I certainly can't buy them NOW!
• Stacey and Clinton would have a field day HERE!
• The parents who dress all skanky and then have the totally buttoned-up kids completely amuse me...!
• Is it an hour yet?
• I'm soooo tired. Stayed up too late FINALLY getting to watch HP6 (yes, I finally took off the banner, MR). Glad I finally got to see it, but UGH.
• I wonder if that part-time job I saw for a front desk position at a fitness club includes a membership?
• Passing DD again! MOVE ALONG!
• (I've noticed my will power gets more sluggish as I get older--and my metabolism gets slower. *sigh*)
• Wish they had showers here. Good thing I sit alone at work.
  

Grandma S

Grandma Isabelle was 97 and up to a few months ago still lived by herself in her little one bedroom apartment. Her body hurt, but she never saw doctors (didn't trust 'em!) and was always sharp as a tack.

Grandma's body finally tired out enough to convince her to go into a nursing home recently. We saw her on our trip three weeks ago. Her mind wasn't as sharp, but she remembered each of the kids' names.

Saturday night, her body finally gave out.

I'll be sure to tell the kids about how even at the end when she couldn't remember the time or day or hear anything without it being yelled directly into her ear, she still remembered her great-grandkids' names.

Three oldies

Really sad when you realize you don't exactly HAVE three really good posts for the Blogdrought challenge. Ah well. Here's three of my favorite posts....


For the Birds

About three weeks into my brief stay-at-home gig

A post that reminds me of why I needed that brief stint so badly!

Can't get enough of that Shaun!

Go enter Mommy Daisy's new Shaun the Sheep Give-a-way! But please don't win--I must complete my collection! :-)

Decisions, decisions

Continue employment at depressing location with hardly any work, job satisfaction, or decent pay, and um...flittering (vanishing, more like it!) benefits. (Quickly vanishing co-workers, too!)

OR

Go seek a new job in a BLEAK, GRIM, DEPRESSING job market with no real guarantee of finding a) anything that pays better or has better job satisfaction or b) ANYTHING AT ALL.

Hmmm.... What a GRAND choice!

When you're right, you're right.

Today Izzy promptly woke up (with a SMILE!). She took a few minutes, then she got out of bed and then she got dressed without crying or screaming or throwing a fit or yelling at me to "Get out!" She ran down to the kitchen with a true Izzy smile on her face and in time to actually EAT breakfast. She got a puppy sticker and lots of hugs and kisses and praises. (And not just ANY sticker--a BEAGLE PUPPY sticker!) So nice to have my "real" Izzy back!

Of course, the Guinea Pig--who up to now has been staying primarily in her little igloo house, and even shimmying the house in the cage to reach her food and water--was actually OUT of her house this morning and didn't scurry immediately back in the second I walked in the girls' room to wake them. But I'm going to pretend that Izzy's good mood and good behavior this morning had nothing at all to do with that. Oh no--it was the firm hand yesterday. Right?

Why can't I just go back to bed?

Mornings have become a terror again in the Q household. I blame vacation. A week of no bedtimes, late risings, and non-stop sleep arrangement-shifting has left Izzy a very grouchy, dissatisfied customer. Every day is a challenge to wake her up. Every day is an even BIGGER challenge to get her to actually GET UP and get dressed. Keith and Mary and I all run around getting our clothes on and breakfasts eaten and teeth brushed and lunches packed (er--that's for ME)--and Izzy will still be sitting there on her bed, completely ignoring the pile of clothes I've laid out for her. Sometimes she may have made enough progress to get her pajamas off so that then she's sitting on her bed NAKED while the rest of us are getting our shoes on.

Ugh.

Nights are no better as she fights to get pajamas on also. And then she wants to sleep in bed with me. And then she wants me to sleep with her. And then she turns the closet light off. And then she yells to have it turned back ON. And then we'll check on her at 11:00, and she's still playing with the Old School Little People I brought home from my toy collection out of my Dad's garage. Seriously, kid. GO. TO. SLEEP!

Double Ugh.

After trying to be nice and patient (last night I was so fed up that she went to bed in her clothes--seriously, does it really MATTER if she's in PJs?), this morning I dug my heels in. No more Mr. Nice Mommy. I sat down and started the ENDLESS NEEDLING. Seriously, there are just some moments that you realize that all the niceness and patience in the world is getting you nothing but a spoiled little kid who OMG, I KNOW SHE'S ONLY FOUR, BUT SHE IS GOING TO KINDERGARTEN IN THE FALL AND NEEDS TO GET WITH THE GET-YOUR-BUTT-OUT-OF-BED-AND-GET-MOVING PROGRAM, PRONTO! So...this morning I basically kept at her until she did what she was supposed to do.

Now, listen. I WAS nice. I'm all about waking my kids gently and asking them to get dressed kindly the first two or three attempts. But she didn't listen and didn't listen, and then the buck stopped THERE. And despite needing to pack my lunch and having to track down Mary's softball uniform for her scrimmage tonight (I'm still one sock short!), I stayed by the side of that bed and kept on her until she finally got her little butt OUT of bed and finally got those clothes on. At one point Mary says, "Why are you being so mean to her, Mom?" Oh, honey. You should know by now that this is NOT Mean Mommy (she's seen Mean Mommy way too many times to ask such a silly question!). That was DETERMINED MOMMY. Determined NOT to let the four-year old continue to rule our mornings (seriously, I was still being NICE here--nice, but FIRM).

And I remembered when I was pregnant with Keith. Mary was just turning two. I taught Mary how to dress herself, and I sat there and I watched her and I was FIRM with her that SHE needed to do this. Mommy is here to HELP--Mommy is not here to DO. (And
Mommy was overwhelmed with the thought of trying to dress TWO kids for daycare in the morning.) Poor Mary--first child who ha(d)s all the stern rules. Poor Izzy--the baby of the family who has apparently been babied too long.

The firm hand has succeeded with Izzy previously. As much as I hate doing it, I'm hoping it will work with this power struggle, also.

Sorry, little one. Vacation is OVER, and everyday life is BACK.

Just when I thought I was out...they pull me back in!

We signed Keith up for the extended season of baseball. Something fun for him to do for the next few weeks of summer--great! But now the well-meaning coach is setting up practices twice a week. Games on Saturday. Well...I guess that's not too bad....

Right after that, Mary's softball coach asked her to play in the girls' all-star softball tournament! Well...that's awesome! OK! But now...she's having to go to practice like 4 times a week until the tourney--which will be a full weekend of games.

Crap!

I guess it's back to sandwiches for dinner every night for the next two weeks....

Pets

As promised, Mary got her Guinea Pig--the "orphaned" Hazel--last night. Hazel is a very chubby pig! And she's got a bit of eczema on her rump. And she's kinda up there in pig years. But she's sweet and adorable.... And Mary is beside herself to have her own pet in her OWN room. And is insisting that care of Brownie the bunny be completely made over to her brother--the actual "owner" of Brownie. (Doubt that will happen. Mary loves that bunny way too much. Maybe not enough to clean his cage, but I'm pretty sure she'll keep feeding him.)

Meanwhile, the daycare provider insisted her mother bring over her new puppy to show us. It's a miniature Schnauzer and...ADORABLE. And she was cheap (this pup was not certified due to her coloring and the fact that she was a runt). And I held her for a few minutes and DID NOT BREAK OUT. And maybe, just maybe, the breeder will have another pup available for us! (And even the certified puppies are only $300--a much better price than the outlandish $850 we were quoted from another local breeder).

Crap. I REALLY don't want the care of a puppy right now.... BUT SHE WAS SOOOOO CUTE!

The Trip

John was forced to take vacation last week by his employer. And since our daycare provider was also on vacation, it seemed a good week for ME to take time off, too.

(Wow. Did I NEED that week off!)

We decided to do yet another "cheap" vacation. Of course, ALL our vacations are just about as cheap as one can get, but economy dictates this one be even cheaper than normal. So, we decided on a trip to Cedar Point. And since we were kinda in the area--a trip to see family/friends in Indiana was tacked on. Two vacations smushed into one!

We drove off to Sandusky Monday night. We got to our hotel, discovered that it had an OUTDOOR pool (the nerve!), and since the weather was somewhat chilly and NOT conducive to outdoor swimming, we disappointed the kiddies by staying INSIDE the hotel and just ordering a pizza and watching TV. Cheap! And no one got hypothermia!

Tuesday morning was overcast and cool. Perfect! We got up and got breakfast then let loose our kids on Cedar Point. It only rained a couple of times--and at about five minutes in duration. No crowds. No hot, searing sun (We wore jeans and I wore a jacket ALL DAY). No dehydrated mama embarrassing her husband and kids by puking in line (although I did take the precaution of taking a Dramamine and steering clear of ALL spin-y rides). Seriously, it was great. We did, however end up with one trip to the First Aid station. While eating our Dotted ice cream, Izzy climbed up on the bench. I was just about to ask her to sit on her BUTT instead of the squatted, tipsy, on-the-balls-of-her-feet position she'd taken when the inevitable happened: she lost her balance and took a nose-dive off the bench onto the pavement below. She dumped her ice cream and scraped up her elbow big-time--and then started screaming like a banshee. (Was she more upset by all the blood or the loss of her ice cream...?) We calmly took her to First Aid as Mom refused to carry her purse around the park and did NOT have a band-aid on her. A cleaned-up, band-aided scrape and THREE lolly pops from the nurse later ("No FAIR! Why does SHE get a lolly pop and WE don't?" "Well, maybe you should have fallen and scraped YOUR elbow!"), we were on our way to our next ride.

All three kids did well at the park. Mary has become more and more adventurous and rode most of the rides she was tall enough to ride. She even got on the Corkscrew (the ride of TERROR! just a year ago). Keith enjoyed the Blue Streak and the Coal Mine ride but refused to ride anything he considered "bigger" than those two rides. Izzy was in her element in all the rides she was allowed on. And tried on numerous occasions to sneak into line with whichever parent was escorting the two bigger kids onto the bigger rides. Lots of mini temper tantrums when told, "Sorry, honey, you're not big enough!"

Instead of playing games, we just plunked down money for souvenirs for the kids. Keith got a flickering light saber. Mary got a water globe that had floating (and looked to me like DEAD) fish in it. Izzy got a cool glittery bouncy ball. Within ten minutes Mary's souvenir had bit the pavement--leaving behind an oily, blue gloop--and thus began another treasure hunt through the souvenir shop for another one like it. Yes, it was found. (Whew!)

All in all: a wonderful day!

Wednesday morning we promised the kids a sleep in. I let the kids and John sleep in and casually grabbed as many donuts and bagels I could carry out of the breakfast bar and then just as gradually showered and started packing up. The kids gradually woke up and grazed while watching PBS and getting ready. A brief glance at my cell phone (the hotel room's alarm clock was unplugged to make room for John's fan), caused a mini-heart attack. 10:50?! Augh! Ten minutes to check out!

...Well, we made it. Barely. Good thing most of our stuff was already packed. Oops. At least three of the five of us managed a shower (poor John!).

On the road again--to Michigan! We drove in to Kalamazoo and met John's sister Lynn and her friend Michelle for dinner. Then we went back to their place for a quick game of catch (sponsored by Mary's stuffed bunny "Snow Queen" and in which only ONE drink became a victim).

Thursday morning we had breakfast with our wonderful hostesses, saw Grandma in Three Rivers, and then headed off to Idaville to see my father. Dinner with Dad, Ruth and Kris and then some Rock Band. Then Dad gave us a mini-show of some of the fireworks he had purchased for the fourth. John and I oohed and aahed--the kids...well, they spent the evening chasing down the MILLIONS of fireflies in Dad's backyard and just weren't as interested in the show. Ah well! Then we had a really late game of catch--this time courtesy of Keith's stuffed fish Mr. Nibbles (a.k.a Blub-Blub).

We also acquired a family tent (yes!), a volunteer tomato plant from Dad's garden (to replace the seedlings I'd killed), and some of my childhood toys that Mary claims she WILL play with (We'll see) (The rest I'm thinking will be posted on E-bay--or put in the trash!). And I found my mess kit (YES!).

Friday we drove down to Fort Wayne and spent most of the day with John's sister Lori and then got a surprise visit from Lynn and Michelle. All of played the popular family game Soccey Ball...? (sitting in a circle volleying and pummeling each other with an over-sized--and thankfully soft--soccerball). Most fun. And exhausting!

Friday night the H's hosted a party, and most of the gang (and a few surprise visitors!) showed. We were snubbed by MR who decided his girlfriend's birthday should take precedence (the nerve!), but most everyone else we wanted to see were there. I think at one point I counted ten kids. It was a madhouse! And we finally got to meet Marcus's woman. She seemed normal to me...except for that dating Marcus thing! heh! We stayed up really, really late while the guys all reminisced about their old high school days together. So...tired.....

Saturday I dragged myself out of bed and dragged the kids up and started packing. I just got out of the shower when John woke up, realized the time, and EEK! We were going to be late meeting Lynn and Michelle for breakfast. AUGH! Yes, we were late (but hey, we did say 9:30-ISH), but the food was good (huge portions!) and the company better. And we met Michelle's son who could give goofy/chatty Izzy a run for her money!

We left breakfast to make the looooong drive home. Sooooo long. We got in around 7:30, ordered a pizza, and crashed in bed.

Sunday I let the kids sleep in as long as they wanted (Izzy didn't get up until 10:30!). We took it easy most of the morning. In the afternoon we went to see Ice Age 3 (meh), cleaned out the mini-van (ewww!), and John mowed the lawn. We ended the night with hot dogs and Avatar and managed to get the kids in bed by 9:00 (ugh).

It really was a great week. I wish we had had time to make a few more stops (completely bypassed visiting my hometown and completely cut out the trip to Indy--WHEN would we have fit it in?!). I wish we had had more time to visit a few more friends/family. Still: great vacation.

And now that we have a tent, maybe we'll make a few simple camping trips this summer. Starting out with a camp-out in our own back yard....

Michael

I got a record player for Christmas when I was in second grade. (I kept trying to open the cardboard box to get to the "real" present inside. I was too used to my Mom using spare boxes around the house to wrap gifts and never for one moment believed that she actually bought me a record player!) Not too long after that, I got Michael Jackson's Thriller on vinyl.

My brother and I would put it on while cleaning the house, playing the title track over and over while trying our best Vincent Price impersonation. It certainly made dusting the tables and cleaning the bathroom go a little more enjoyable.

Michael was sooooo cute back then. He's one of the few musicians who made it in picture form on my bedroom wall (Until he was later shot with a bee-bee gun by my brother. Seriously, my brother was such a jerk.).

Even when I got older and my music tastes um, adapted, I still had a little bit of a thing for Michael. He was just so darn talented, and I completely respected that. And although I didn't buy any of his albums past Thriller, I still enjoyed watching the videos on MTV--you know, back when MTV actually played videos.

...I'm sad you're gone, Michael.


------------

Can I just interject one thing, here? John and I were watching some of the coverage on TV last night. When they actually FILMED the body being moved, we had to turn the TV off. Are you kidding me? You filmed the BODY being MOVED? That's just WRONG! And GROSS! Or are John and I the only two people on the planet who did NOT want to see that? *shudder*

And poor Farrah. She got upstaged on her last grand day!

Random

1. Izzy has started saying "humungo." As in, "That piece of pizza is HUMUNGO!" or "Clifford is a HUMUNGO dog!"

2. I started using that tanning lotion stuff. It's been three weeks. Yeah. Makes absolutely NO difference on my pasty, white legs.

3. I took Keith to get his haircut at a local barber instead of the usual SuperCheapPlace. I had gone there previously, but I wasn't too happy with the results--but I figured I'd give it another shot. I was fully entertained by the fact that there were eight people in the shop, and Keith and I were the only ones not speaking Italian. Do you KNOW how cute it is to see three little girls running around a barber shop while chatting in Italian? And this time: the cut was absolutely PERFECT.

4. Mary's haircut has grown out enough now that even John admits that it looks "pretty decent." She just needed softer-looking bangs than that blunt first-day cut we were staring at!

5. Being on Facebook has made me somewhat homesick for the hometown for which I never thought I'd be homesick.

6. Izzy just seems to have GROWN UP overnight. So tall now! It's hitting me more and more that she is starting school in just a few short months. HOW did she get so big so fast?

7. Keith gets to play an extended season of baseball. *sigh* Just when I was looking forward to the end! ;-)

8. I killed my tomato seedlings when I grabbed one of the kids' cups to water it. It ended up being apple juice! D'oh!

9. A "free to good home" plea in addition to a "persuasive" essay from Mary is probably going to lead to an addition to the family--a Guinea Pig named Hazel. It'll be Mary's "great job at school this year" gift. Do you think a pack of Pokemon cards for Keith will counter-balance that? LOL.

10. I should probably get back to work. If only I had something to DO!

Last Day

It's the last day of school and coupled with the increasingly-horrible job situation I have found myself in, I am finding myself sighing and lamenting over the fact that I won't be home with the kids this summer.

Last summer was absolutely beautiful.

I am frustrated that I let "little things" like the rigors of early motherhood and lack of money keep me from getting my permanent teaching license. How silly of me! (That was said mostly tongue in cheek--as I do realize that there was not much I could have done to change the $ situation!)

Well, I am frustrated that despite the fact that I KNOW I could do any number of jobs (I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggonit...), I do not have the experience in anything but clerical work--leaving me feeling way over-educated and under-paid for the jobs I can manage to reel in.

But the flip side is....I did what I needed to do for my family. And despite professional (and monetary!) frustrations, I CANNOT be too harsh on myself or the lot I have in my life. I've got a great husband, three great kids, and I did get ONE year to be home with those kids. And when I needed to, I did the right thing and went back to work for them.

And I keep hoping that once they get a little older, and more of that @#$% student loan debt is paid off, then maybe, just maybe, I can go back to school and get that Master's, and focus a little more on ME.

Now is their time. My time will come.

Until then, I will keep putting on my happy face. I will keep looking for whatever opportunities to enhance my working life may come. And I will shuttle the kids to day care where I know that they will have a fun, relaxing summer.

And maybe it's time to start playing the lotto....

Father's Day Follies

1. Flaring tempers during helter-skelter preparations to get family pictures taken (first time in 3 years!).

2. Flaring tempers when "STOP KICKING ME" kept getting screamed in the back seats of the mini-van on trip back.

3. Desperate plea to kids to "GO AWAY, I'M TAKING A NAP," when they REFUSED to take a nap themselves.

4. Attempts to cook nice dinner for Father of The Year thwarted by "I'm not hungry" and "I just don't think I like meat" by 2/3 of the kids.

5. After dinner clean-up ruined by FLARING TEMPERS again when kids gave attitude about helping clean up the mess.

6. Dead cell phone won't give up my own Dad's phone number to call him and wish him a happy day. Rushed email to compensate (at least I sent a card!).

7. Cookie cake. And BIG apology to the Father of the Year for screwing up his holiday. (Kids in bed--feel much better now.)


Honey, despite the temper tantrums (by our kids AND myself) today, know that you are loved and adored, and we just couldn't be a family without you.

Look! Look!

My wonderful middle school art teacher has her own Etsy shop! Go visit! Beautiful stuff there!

Another Give-a-way

Another chance to win a cute kids' DVD. Bedtime for Frances. Go check it out!

Plans are Brewing....

I'm getting pretty excited.

Stay tuned!

Ain't no cure for the summertime cold

Yes. I caught a summer cold. Yes, I was miserable most of the weekend. Yes, I had to drag kids all over the place and "pretend" to be all happy and playful at Adventure Landing when all I really wanted to do was curl up in the car and GO TO SLEEP.

Saturday morning we all got up early and took Keith to his game. Not too much excitement. He got one hit, but no real action as far as plays to the infield/outfield go.

We left early to take Keith to the AL birthday party for his BFF from our previous residence. My plan was to drop off Keith then take Izzy to the mall or grocery store or something to hang out until the party got out. I knew I wouldn't know a lot of people there. But as soon as we all walked in, the mom asked Izzy if she wanted to stay and play, too. Well, how can I tell a 4-year old no to that? So we all got into the shoot-em-up-with-foam-balls room and ran around after each other. Me--coughing and gasping the whole way. Izzy showed once again how different she is from her siblings and went right down the huge curly slide--her siblings weren't so brave with that at that age. She was too little to climb on some of the equipment, so I had to help (hence the coughing and gasping from my poor, virused, respiratory system). Keith and his friend played together THE WHOLE TIME. And sat next to eat other during pizza/cake/present time. And...I just wish we could get him together with this little boy more often, because it was so sweet to see.

We ended up being the last to leave the party (UGH). Mary had a softball game at 2:00 (and wasn't SHE bummed she didn't come with us to drop off Keith at that party! heh). I pulled into the parking lot, walked Keith and Izzy across to the field, didn't recognize any of the girls/moms playing, and THEN I remembered that it was an away game (read: cold messing with synapses in brain). As we started driving away, Keith says, "Mom, I'm tired. Can we just go home?" Why YES, WE CAN. Keith played Mario Kart while Izzy and I took a much-needed nap (not that my phlegmy self SLEPT, but at least I was IN BED and not on an uncomfortable bleacher in the somewhat chilly air trying to cheer my daughter when I was so miserable! Sorry, Mare!).

Mary also had a somewhat uneventful game (although she did get to play catcher twice). She and John came home. I dragged my butt up and got to the store to throw together dinner (hamburgers AGAIN?!), and we watched some Avatar.

Sunday was simple. Laundry. Read. Chores. Read. Laundry. Read. Dinner. Read. Laundry. Read. Landry.

Well, I did start perking up around 8:00, so I dragged out the Dance Dance Revolution and made that my new cop-out work-out plan. Works great!

Then I passed out in bed. And tried REALLY HARD to focus on all the student loan debt that is forcing me to make a presence at work. @#$%. Ah well. At least I still have a job!

The Highlights

Maybe having the hair out of her face helped, but Mary KICKED BUTT at her softball game. After begging every game, the coach finally let her pitch. Hello! Skinny little thing CAN PITCH! She actually struck out the very first batter. And made a few more great plays when the opposing team was hitting the balls right back to her. It was a short inning. She showed her stuff. And coach was all, "Mary! Why didn't you TELL me you could pitch like that?" Um....she TRIED, but you kept pushing her aside (Oh! Isn't that cute! Little Mary wants to pitch!).

Perhaps the coach's attitude will CHANGE now, and Mary will get the attention (and credit) she deserves.

That's my girl!

Bad haircut

John and I sort of "had it" with Mary's hair always hanging in her face and her complete lack of interest in combing it or keeping it nice. She's been trying to grow it out, but it's just a straggly mess. So we talked her into getting some of it cut off.

Saturday morning I rushed her in to the SuperCheap place--it was just a few stores down from the CellPhoneStore where I wanted to take my suddenly dead phone to get it looked at. Well, the wait ended up being longer than they said (and the CellPhoneStore had moved out! The nerve!), so Mary and I passed the time perusing the haircut books trying to pick out something that she would like. The kid who two days prior was almost crying over the fact that I said she needed to get a "good trim" as her hair was so damaged, and I wanted her to have something easier to take care of, was now, "Oh, I don't care" about the style of her hair. And then moved to, "Oh...whatever."

So, when her time was finally up (and I was getting nervous by this time as she had a softball game in about 45 minutes--in another part of town--and she didn't even have her uniform on yet....), I gave her to the stylist, showed her the length Mary and I agreed on (just below her shoulders) and then said, "If she wants bangs, it's completely up to her, I don't care," and I walked away (to put up with wiggly Izzy and a set of brothers who were pummeling each other in the waiting area while grandma was getting her hair cut--fun!).

Well, Mary decided on bangs. ("It's kind of fun to try something different!" she said.) And Izzy and I sat there and watched the lady cut them. And I immediately thought, "WHY was I so trusting to let her pick her own hairstyle! I HATE dealing with bangs! And WHY is that lady cutting them so short? And...AUGH!"

Well, we got home, John rushed Mary off to her game (for which I was mistaken--it started a half hour EARLIER than I thought). I took Keith to his game. We all met up later (@#$% inconvenient not having a cell phone!), and John had to tell me, "I hate her hair. SOMETHING must be done about her hair."

Well...WHAT can be done now? The bangs are CUT, and there is no getting those straggly pieces of hair back. And I don't think anything can be done to fix how short they look. And I'm afraid of having someone cut more off the sides (That's part of the problem--a year ago, we had the sides cut to "frame" her face--and those chunks of hair just really make the bangs look stupid. But we want to grow them OUT now, so surely cutting them even shorter would be counterproductive?) and making it look worse. And, Mary actually LIKES her hair (and she got a lot of compliments on it at her game--probably everybody was just thrilled they could see her face). And...we'll just have to start pulling the sides back (it DOES look pretty decent like that)...and wait for everything to grow back.

I should have known better than to mess with it. I should have known better than to let her pick bangs or no bangs. I should have known to just stop at "Please clean up the scraggly ends."

Two years. It'll probably take at least two years.

*sigh*