Why Mommies Should Be in Charge of Haircuts

So Charlie's been asking to get his hair cut for a few weeks now. He said it was getting hard to see. He said he wanted his bangs cut shorter and wanted the sides and the back shaved. I was reluctant but said ok. He was in need and so Clayton took him with him along with Henry who was also in need of a cut. William opted out and since he got a really short cut the last two times he's been and his hair grows remarkably slower than the others so I obliged and let him stay home with me. Clayton let Charlie tell the girl exactly what he wanted. When the boys made it home they were eager to show off their new do's. Henry was so proud. Charlie hid in the garage to surprise me and surprise me he did. I wanted to cry when I say my first born with a big boy (too short for me) haircut. He likes it. But I'm going to figure out a way to gently introduce him to "my hair limitations" For instance, he has enough hair for about five people. It's extremely thick. It needs to have some (not a ton) but some length on the top to sort of "weigh it down" a bit so it doesn't stick up everywhere. Or if you like the sticking up look it needs to be cut a lot shorter than it is now so he can do a spike look. He doesn't want it spiked (thank God)! So here's my big boy before school yesterday. Clayton had to gel it down so it wasn't standing up everywhere. Thank goodness his hair grows extremely fast so in a few weeks it should be some better. All in all though it's not just terrible. I like it a little longer myself though. These pictures do not truly reflect the cut b/c his hair is wet and geled here. When it dries all that thick hair expands a lot!

Where did my baby go?

On the other hand, I think Henry's cut is adorable:

But I'm a fan of longer hair. Charlie says he can see better now, ha!

Sweet smiles

Just warms my heart!
Margaret loving on lambie:

Mary Collins loving on lambie:

my little turkey:

Hello Mess

This actually happened a few weeks ago and I just forgot to blog it. I think perhaps I was trying to block it from my mind. The setting: a Friday morning. I had gotten Charlie off to school and finished feeding the rest of the clan breakfast. I had gotten the girls down from their highchairs and was busy as a bee getting the kitchen back in order. I finished it up and went to get the girls dressed for the day. I walked into their room and headed for their closet, which is off their bathroom. I walked through the door to a holy mess. I didn't know whether to laugh, scream, or cry, or all three. The guilty parties were standing in their admiring their handywork. And when I walked in speechless they both looked up at me and grinned. It was such a mess I couldn't help but laugh. And the first thought through my mind was, "thank God we've sold the house already!" And then the reality of Friday set in (cleaning day)......better get a move on, no excuse for the house not to get cleaned this Friday.

Notice the paper towel wads on MC's shirt. It was like that everywhere, in MA's hair.....the walls......the floor.....the rug..... It looked like they were making spit balls (very large ones) and throwing them all over the bathroom.

They did it up right. They used an almost full roll of tp.

Check out those wads in MA's hair and MC's expression, so proud of her work:

And you ask, "Where was their mother?" I tell ya, we don't do an extensive breakfast around here. It's like a few bowls of cereal and such. I just had to clean off a table and some highchairs and give them a good wipe down. We're talking 5-7 minutes tops. Those little boogers move at lightning speed I tell ya, when it's mess making time. Now, if you're running late and are trying to herd them out the door then they have time to run out in the yard chasing a butterfly but if it's mess making time, they're all business. Lucky me.

Why I LOVE Having Me Some Girls!

Lord, thank you for blessing me with two beautiful daughters and thank you for blessing us with means to dress them in cute clothes. I am so undeserving and incredibly thankful!

I think they are just the most adorable things I've ever seen! Look at Margaret and that thumb! I could just eat them both up! I love having girls! I mean, I love having boys too but I love having girls!

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

We had a wonderful Easter this year! We got all dolled up in our Easter best for church (which I have no pictures of as usual) went out for lunch and hunted eggs all afternoon. I said I wasn't going to to buy the girls "Easter" dresses this year b/c nobody really dresses up for church here. Most people wear jeans and stuff (weird, I know) but I broke down and bought them some anyway. Only b/c they happened to be the ones I've been looking to buy for them since last year and lucked up and found two in the same store. They are so sweet, little pink Bow Peep smocked dresses! I'll have to dress them back up and take pictures to post. Henry had to wear a blue Stratsburg outfit which he was not happy about. All Clayton could do to console him was say, "this is the last year buddy." Thanks a lot hun! Clayton thinks after three years old they are exempt from any kind of smocking, etc. Which I totally would have vetoed had we not had us some girls. They boys just wore pastel polos and khakis this year. I wore an old dress I bought when my mom was in town a while back. Not that anyone really cares what we were wearing. But anyway, we were all kinda tired b/c Saturday we went house hunting and didn't get home until late. After church we didn't want to fight a crowd so we opted for Mooyah burgers and fries for lunch. Their menu consists of burger, hot dog, grilled cheese, fries....that's it. Anyway, it was good and everyone was nice and grease-stained afterwards. Henry dropped off a load in his pants and all over his outfit and essentially that's why I have no pictures of us in church clothes. I'm not organized enough to take them before church, that's way too complicated for me. We had a rest after lunch and then hunted eggs all afternoon. Here are some pics from the hunt:

I know our yard is real purty. I had Clayton refrain from mowing the weeds so we'd have more places to hide eggs. And although all that egg business is lots of fun and my kids love them some candy I'm so thankful for the true reason we celebrate Easter, because of Jesus' sacrifice so that we can LIVE! HE IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED! We serve a LIVING God!

TK Easter Party

I branched out from my comfort zone this year and signed up for the Easter party at William's school. I usually always sign up for the Christmas party b/c I was under some illusion that it was the "easy" party. I was soooo surprised at how easy the Easter party was....even easier than Christmas! Excuse my pictures....they're in the wrong order, backwards.....I know you're surprised. Anyway, I made a bunny cake for the party instead of cupcakes, per my son's request and made some iced sugar cookies for their goodie bags. I didn't take pictures of them b/c I was so give out after making them I didn't even attempt to reach for the camera. They turned out really cute but next time I'll head straight to the bakery b/c they're worth every single penny you pay for them. Although I doubt they taste as good as mine. Anyway, the party was a huge success. The egg hunt took up a lot of time and since we were going to be outside anyway I opted for relay races instead of a craft. See, I told you this party was easier than the Christmas one! We had sack races, three-legged races, egg-spoon races, and wheelbarrow races. By the way, watching a bunch of five year olds doing a wheelbarrow race is HILARIOUS! In fact, I was laughing so hard I forgot to snap a pic!


Here's William sack racing:
And racing with his egg on the spoon:

And hunting eggs:

And eating lunch (chick-fil-a nuggets and fruit, yum!) Henry was an honorary member of the class (Clayton took the girls home for their nap)

My bunny cake:

From now on I'm always signing up for the Easter party and praying for good weather for outside games, so fun!