age difference

"okay, see the shapes?  we're going to put stickers all the way around.  like this.  see, it goes on the black line."



the 3 year old

time occupied: ~30 minutes (some help was given, since he wanted to take turns putting stars on)

the 2 year old

time occupied: ~5 minutes

*note:  all the stickers that are actually on the square were done by me.




any questions?

i just wanted to say

that i love love love my new bangs.

they're my most favorite bangs i've ever had.

i had a couple rough days after my recent haircut...tried to scrunch and blow-dry and it was a disaster, so i got stuck straightening it every day.  but it's a pain to do and i don't like the way my hair lays when it's straight and then my bangs were too straight and sticking out weird and i was beginning to regret them.  so today we just went with the old "apply product, air dry, and hope for the best".  (plus a 3 second bang blast with the hair dryer)

myspace mirror pic:

1, angle your body

2. don serious "i'm a baller" expression

3. avert gaze

check check check...i feel like i'm 15 again.

so, just in case you were going about your saturday business and suddenly thought, "oh em gee!  i wonder what the status of heather's hair is right now??"

curiosity satisfied.  you're welcome.

also, in case you don't know me that well and were wondering...no.  that is not my shirt.  that is one from silas' collection.

if i had a shirt for every marathon i've run...i'd have exactly zero.

savages

when i was growing up, we had a black lab/chow mix named nala.

she was sweet and neurotic and in most ways very un-doglike.

but whenever we would subject her to a bath in the backyard, she always reacted the same way.

she stood, rigid as a statue, while we hosed her down and lathered her up.  her look of pathetic resignation was almost enough to convince us we truly were torturing her.  (almost.)  we tried our best to choke back our guilt as we rinsed her off in the cold spray.

and then, the second we let go of her collar, she took off like a bat out of hell.

she would tear around the perimeter of the yard three times, as fast as her four furiously working legs could carry her girth.  then she would promptly go find a dead skunk and roll in it while cackling gleefully.


my children react much the same way to the shedding of their fabric confinement.  (minus the skunks, of course.)

as soon as those clothes hit the floor--FREEEEEDOOOOOOOMMMM!

they're running around the apartment--up the couch! down the couch! jump on mommy's bed! run out of mommy's room before she grabs us! up the bunk beds!  down the bunk beds!  life is good!  WE'RE NAKED!

unrelated picture of desmond when he trashed the closet (a.k.a. his bedroom) one night

at least they usually keep their nude voodoo dances within the walls of our apartment.

although there was that one time when they both escaped and took off streaking around all the buildings...

my neighbors love me.

snapshots

monday was my birthday.  we put up balloons.

unfortunately, they're right at the height of silas' head.  so they're going to have to come down soon.

i treated myself to a haircut on my birthday.  

of course, you can't really see it here.  (but can you tell that the duck tail is gone?!)  the stylist did an awesome job and completely listened to me.  i showed her some pictures of my goal hairstyles, and she cleaned my mullet up a lot and trimmed the back to shape it so it would grow out nicely.  i was prepared to lose a lot of length but it doesn't really feel shorter.  win win win.

now if only it would grow a foot overnight.

we wandered away from the playground the other day and found ourselves here.

it was peaceful and sunny and away from everyone.  the boys threw rocks and moseyed around.  it was one of those moments where everything is perfect and quiet--a suspension of time between the arguments and diaper changes and tiredness and tasks to be done.

we don't have those moments enough.  

i'm making my way (slowly, because i'm taking notes as i read and that always quadruples my book-reading time) through Buddhism for Mothers.  as i read it i catch glimpses of how things can be--peaceful, happy.  of course, i don't control all the factors, and let's face it--most of the time life with toddlers is not anyone's definition of peaceful.  

but i've had days, moments, that make me believe.  days where, by starting the day off with a little yoga and meditation (and i mean little...10 or 15 minutes total), i helped fill my reserves so i had a well of patience from which to draw all day.  i've had days before where i was able to mentally separate myself from everything, but rather than coming from a place of detachment, which is something i've struggled with a lot, i was able to act out of love and things just didn't affect me as much.

sometimes i spend all day reacting and correcting and feeling frustrated and selfish and tired.  i love the wee beasties but they can take a lot out of me if i'm not prepared.  it's amazing, though, what a huge, huge difference it makes when i'm in the proper mindset.

the feeling i'm trying to explain eludes description.  i'm not sure if i can accurately portray it in a blog post...but i know what it is.  i've felt it before.  

and i want it back.

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

in case you're interested, my favorite parenting book:  Simplicity Parenting.

when your hair feels like it's not even growing

i've grown my hair out tons of times.

i've had short hair.  i've had layers.  i know how this works.

but growing out a pixie cut is a different game altogether.  even when it feels like it's getting longer, like i might be only a month or two away from a cute bob, i can pull out layers that haven't quite reached ear-length yet.

and then i realize.  how long.  this is going.  to take.

so if you are bemoaning the slow-growing and wondering why you ever thought it was a good idea to get all those tiny layers cut into your hair...remind yourself of all the awesome stuff your hair can do.  

i have two excellent looks i've been wanting to share.

behold, MOM HAIR WITH A DUCK TAIL:

i get compliments on this look all the time.  especially when i pair it with a cheap white hanes tee and some faded yoga capris.

 and now, look number two:  ROCK STAR HAIR

even though i can't see anything, i can just feel how cool i look.

now that you've been properly inspired, go forth and create.

the squash baby

tesla has a history of adopting butternut squash(es?).

yesterday was no exception.

the moment i mentioned we needed one yesterday, his little ears perked up.  he helped me select a squash and then insisted on holding it through the rest of our grocery shopping trip (he was very upset when the checkout clerk put his squash in a bag...it was supposed to go in his arms!), in the car, and at home; where he promptly tucked it in for a nice rest on the couch.

later they took a nap together (i'm sure butternut squash was thrilled to share the top bunk with him), and just hung out.  like buddies.

that little boy.

we do plan on eating his new best friend later this week, but he's dealt with this type of trauma before.  i think he'll understand.


and here's an unrelated but cute picture of the boys after playing in the puddles from the rain the other day.

(i just checked the weather in a vain hope that maybe it would rain again today...no.  high of 81º.  i'm going to go cry.)

my little pony

with the help of a headband i was able to pull my hair into a wee little ponytail today.

silas calls it "the pirate ponytail".

and, yes, it's not a proper ponytail because only about 1/3 of my hair is long enough to be pulled back (see all the short layers sticking out?).

but it's the illusion of a ponytail.  and that, my friends, is what matters.

you can write that down.