i am the happiest mom in the whole entire world exclamation point!

the greatest thing ever has happened.
after much pain, crying and agony,
after much begging and practice and rejection,
after more than 3 years of trying,
scarlett has allowed me to put something in her hair.

my joy is nearly indescribable. i took about a bajillion pictures. she hated it. i loved it. our teenager experience together is looking bright!

she kept her piggie tails(or her headpigs, as she called them) in ALL night. even during a windy trolley ride all through downtown. with a crazy lady sitting behind us. (someone may or may not have told her that she wouldn't be allowed to ride the trolley without pigtails in her hair.)
the men folk also had a carefree haircare trolley ride.

plus, we are on the final countdown with the boot. it's been a good and smelly friend. and we just figured out that it is possible to ride a bike with it on. very very slowly.

in other news, we have a bowl with a dead fish in it. we all love it. it just adds a little "je ne sais quoi" to the ambience of our home. scarlett tries to wake the poor thing up with her recorder. she is so helpful. ps- everyone should have a 3 year old and a recorder. it's awesome. and really quiet. and soothing. dulcet, harmonious tones. all the time. makes everything quiet and lovely. and quiet.

i have my moments

i thought having reagan in all day kindergarten and scarlett is pre-school twice a week would afford me more time to get things done. but it really hasn't. it's just another one of parenthood's cruel tricks. it's like when you thought that after your first baby was born and you quit your job that you would finally be able to get some stuff around the house. or that potty training would save you some money but the extra money actually goes to more toilet paper because someone is always using half the roll for their personal paperwork. OR, my personal fave, those favorite jeans that you couldn't wait to wear again post-partum? even when they zip up, they will never, EVER, ever look the same. having more time once your kids are in school is sort of like that, falsehoods, pipe dreams, myths.
not that it's all pickup lines and lunch packing. i do have my moments. wal*mart is still my personal hell, but it is nice to walk the aisles without my little buddies loudly questioning whether each person we pass has a wee wee or lady parts. or not having to deal with the tap dance of doom that precipitates the last minute run across the store to the potty. i only have to worry about myself getting across the store(but with my mom-bladder sometimes is it close). alone time at wal*mart has taken some getting used to. the only people who bother me now are the employees. sometimes i feel the need to act out and touch every banana on the shelf. or lick the bathroom wall. or announce to anyone within ear shot that i have cupcakes on my underpants. but i'm beginning to get used to it. and some days i even miss those kids.