before & after

Eva has been wanting to get her hair cut for a few months. She wanted it to be in a short bob, kind of like Whitney's hair used to be. I've been putting her off in order to be sure that she was set on it. I didn't want her to get her hair cut and then regret it and have to wait years for it to grow back!

Saturday was the big day.

When we got to the salon, we discovered that her hair was actually long enough to donate to Locks of Love! Eva was totally into the idea.

Her ponytail was so thick, it took a lot of cutting. (I took 5 pictures of that part of the process alone!)

So weird. (Incidentally, I didn't know before that you take your hair home, put it in a Ziploc, and then mail it to Locks of Love. Lucas walked into the kitchen, saw the Ziploc of hair and freaked out a little bit.)

I love the way you can see her smiling. She really knew what she wanted.

She loves getting her hair washed. Me, too.

She was all smiles throughout.

The new hairdo! I think she looks older, which hurts my heart a bit, but I am totally enjoying how smitten she is with her new look.

a few major things

Eva lost her first tooth!

She was annoyed by the fact that it hadn't fallen out yet. It was causing her grief when she ate or brushed her teeth. So one night, I just took a tissue like my grandma used to, put it over the tooth, and yanked. It was very loose, and it came right out. She was thrilled.

I got out of bed at midnight when I realized that I had forgotten to perform my tooth fairy duties. She was happy about the money, but disappointed that the tooth fairy took her tooth away. At school the next day, the class dentist (they all have different rotating jobs in their "town") asked if anyone had lost a tooth and she was so happy to report her big event.

Lucas got a haircut!

Not his usual trim where he negotiates about how little he can get cut off, but an actual haircut. Miss Kate, the school drama director, told him he was going to have to have a new 'do for Grease. I was shocked that he opted to comply 6 weeks in advance. Thank you, Miss Kate, thank you!

Now I am trying to give him positive feedback without making a big deal out of it (so that he will want to grow it out long again just to rebel against me). I think he looks so much like my brother when he was about the same age.

Max got his driver's license!

It was shockingly easy. We went in with a pile of documentation and they never even looked at it! He didn't have to get his picture taken because he is using the one from his permit. He didn't have to take a written or a driving test because he has a certificate that he passed them in Driver's Ed. (which they didn't even look at). They just checked his vision, I paid the fee, he received a brief lecture on being responsible and staying in good with his mother (since I paid for it, I own it until he is 18) and that was it! No waiting, even. It was certainly a different experience from when I got my license—I had to take the written and the driving test and failed the driving test the first time because when I parallel parked, I wasn't close enough to the curb. Huh.

Also, he went on his first date about a week ago! He is so shy, I wondered if it might take him years to embark on this particular milestone. He planned the whole thing, arranged a group date, and had a great time. I could not be more shocked (and happy for him).

We went to our elementary school's Fall Festival on Friday. I didn't take my camera because it was stormy. Eva was disappointed that, due to inclement weather, the ponies weren't there. She was determined to ride one this year. They did, however, have a petting zoo that she thoroughly enjoyed: a 500-lb. pig, a pot-bellied pig, a llama, a cow, a baby goat, a chicken, and a rabbit on a leash. She also went on a golf cart ride, did the duck pond and fish pond games, took a couple of turns in the bounce house (a huge hit), played bean bag toss and ring toss, tried the cake walk and the soda pop walk, and ate cotton candy. It's an enormously anticipated event.

She won this in the soda pop walk.

Marc started repainting our main living area!

He spent all weekend prepping and painting one wall, and putting everything back into place. Now I'm not sure I love the color we selected. It doesn't look like the sample to me. It's cooler and just not what I pictured. Marc is so frustrated he can barely talk about it. I can't blame him a bit. And I'm pretty sure we will never paint again without getting a test quart.

I'm living with it for a couple of days before we decide how to proceed...

oh, yes I did.

before & after

I finally got my hair cut and colored on Saturday (only a month overdue)! I took before & after self-portraits to document the extreme transformation. Now if only I could look like the after shot every day. I have tried and tried to just reconcile myself to my curly hair, but it's not working.
















Today I started the injection phase of my knee treatments (one per week for 5 weeks). It was cool – they use an x-ray and contrast dye to guide the injection and insure its correct placement. I was instructed to take it easy for the next couple of days and ice my knees several times. Pain relief will probably not be noticeable for another couple of weeks. Obviously, I'm hoping for an extreme transformation in this domain as well.

good and not so good

Good: Eva let me do this for crazy hair day on Wednesday! I loved looking at her, and her hair is still somewhat curly. (Don't ask me why I think her hair is cute curly, but not so much mine, but I do.)

Not so good: Lucas was home sick for three days this week.

Good: He's feeling better, and he read about 650 pages while lying on the couch.

Not so good: I have his cold now and I'm pretty miserable. (I'm hoping that it will run its course and I'll be feeling fit as a fiddle when I go to Denver for Charlotte's wedding on Thursday!)

Good: I got my hair cut and colored today after 3 months' worth of re-growth!

Good: Max had his first swim meet this week and also went on a 50-mile bike ride with his Scout troop! Oh to be in such good shape.

Good: It's almost time to pick the grapes and make juice!

Good: I don't have to teach primary tomorrow!

girls' week, part 2

We went on a field trip to Hobby Lobby. We bought fabric and materials for birthday gifts.

Bella discovered a whole aisle of boas and wasted no time trying them on.

Pretty much everything is more fun with Emily around. I never do stuff like this.

99 degrees. With a pretty high percentage of humidity as well. You can see why I so appreciated the rainy day...

Cooking is so much more fun with a buddy. Faster. Less lonely.

Jessie took us on a pilgrimage to Mary Jo's Cloth Store. I wish I had this store close to me. Although it would be quite dangerous.

This really doesn't do it justice, it is just enormous. (Or hunormous, as Eva likes to say.)

There are many, many aisles with these helpful signs. This was my favorite. I never did see any outhouse fabric, though.

We wandered the store for a long time, finally narrowing our selections. I left several fabrics behind that I now regret. (Why did I have to choose that moment to show restraint?)

Sheer happiness.

They also sell grits at Mary Jo's. Sadly, they were sold out when we were there.


We wanted to make skirts for the girls, but all we managed to get done was the washing, drying, and a little cutting. We should have started earlier on that.

Jessie, working on a last-minute handmade birthday gift for a party the girls were invited to. (Eva couldn't believe that someone she didn't even know invited her to the party!) Fiona was ever so helpful.

Eva's moods would swing wildly where Fiona was involved. One minute she was saying she didn't like her and the next she was chastising Bella and telling her that there were plenty of Legos for them all to play with. It literally could be a 180º turn within a minute or so. She sure likes to keep us guessing.

Emily made us this blueberry lime pound cake. Even those who professed not to like blueberries became believers.

On our last day, we took the girls to the neighborhood pool. Man, what I wouldn't give for a pool like this within walking distance to our house! Amazing. I managed to get fried, of course.

pool towels hanging to dry on the deck

Jessie wanted to take us to Cantina Fifteen Eleven, but we didn't have much in the way of childcare options, so I stayed home and Jess and Emily went to get take-out. It was delicious.

After dinner, Jessie and Emily dyed their hair the same color. (It was Emily's first foray into home hair coloring.) It cracked me up the way it looked like they were rinsing blood out.

Not to be outdone, I bought this hair relaxer. For black girls. Well, my hair is similar to theirs! I think. Anyway, I did a home straightener several years ago and had a lot of breakage, so I can't even believe I was considering doing this, but I was feeling desperate for a little cuteness. Unfortunately (or fortunately), I read the instructions and there was a strong warning against using the product on highlighted hair. Rats.

At the end of our last night, we realized that we hadn't taken any self-portraits. So we did what any self-respecting bloggers would do: took some indoor, end of the day shots with bad lighting. Documentation at all costs.

While taking the self-portraits, I explained that I can't take them with my big camera due to my T. Rex arms (as Jill calls them). Jessie did not know about this condition, so she insisted on comparing. So sad! I guess I really do have T. Rex arms...

Jessie snuggling with Smeagle (I show only his head here to spare you the ugly details).

Eva did wonderfully well during our return trip. Our connecting flight was delayed for awhile, however, and she was getting bored in the terminal, so she set up a dinosaur bed for herself, complete with leaf blanket. Why didn't I think of that?

recovery

When you have a hellish week and need to recover, you should try to do the following: (it worked for me!)

1. Get your hair cut and colored. It had been so long, I had almost forgotten how rejuvenating it can be.

2. Go on a big shopping trip to Costco. This was the first I had been able to do since our return from Paris, due to Christmas expenses. I filled a cart, filled my trunk. I came home and unpacked everything, stocking the pantry, freezer, and long-term storage. It was such a thoroughly American experience -- it made me feel more thoroughly home than I previously felt.

3. Have an overnighter with girlfriends. Collette gave the book club girls a night away for Christmas, and last night was the appointed night.

today happened to be Collette's birthday! {photo by Jill}

We may have all been a little giddy to actually be getting away, even though we hardly had to travel at all. {photo by Jill}

We went to the nearby theater to catch a movie while Amy went to a dance recital, but the movie was sold out. (Collette's husband had forbidden us from seeing Made in Rome, causing us to curse his name.) Instead, we hung out at the hotel and talked.

We met up with Amy and went to JCW's for burgers, fries, and fry sauce. Mine had thick chunks of avocado, yum.

Then back to the hotel for jammies, game-playing, and book discussion.

Okay, what the? I found this to be completely distracting the whole time we were there. What circumstances necessitated these signs? (Lelly?) I just can't imagine people hanging things on the sprinkler heads...

Amy gave us belated Christmas gifts, which morphed into handmade Valentine gifts. So so cute!!

Collette, ready for a game. She proclaimed herself a "game virgin," which we all found hilarious.


We played Quiddler, which is highly enjoyable. Jana and Amy both had their iPhones out, checking dictionary.com for the validity of their words.

Jana creamed us!

I am in love with this picture the Jill took. I tell you, she has the best angles!

We had a good discussion of our February book, The Help. It was a great book, and a great book club book. So much to talk about.

Jenn introduced us to her new favorite treat, Oreos with raspberries inside. Never in my life would I have thought to combine the two like this, but it is delicious. {photo by Jill}

When we eventually went to bed, Jana, who is 7 months pregnant, declared she would be sleeping on the floor. As you can imagine, that caused an uproar. We insisted she sleep in a bed, of course!

Amy went out to her car to cool off in the middle of the night (it got really hot in our room). I found this hilarious.

I can't tell you how delicious it was to wake up without hearing someone calling out "Mommy!" -- that was the best part. Also eating these fabulous tiny bundt cakes for breakfast. {photo by Jill}

We were admiring Amy's shoes, which apparently she bought at Smith's Marketplace (local grocery store). No way.

We all got ready and prepared to leave...

and then went to a matinee of Dear John. It wasn't a movie I would choose (definitely NOT a fan of Nicholas Sparks), but at least the actors were easy on the eyes, and there were a couple of tender moments.

Collette, Jana, and Amy left for home after the movie, while Jill, Jenn and I went in to the deli at Thanksgiving Point for lunch. We ate and then taught Jenn how to play Jill's Skip-Bo game. After a nice, long game, Jenn had to leave. Jill and I browsed at Emporium for awhile and then went home ourselves.

Ah yes, the prescribed treatment has worked. I now feel like I can (possibly) face another week. Thanks, girls!