Category: Living the Life

Crappy cell phone pictures aside, I kinda like it. It just feels better, ya know?

It has been almost two months since my last haircut and for about the last two weeks my hair has been driving me nuts. When I first got it cut I wasn’t crazy about the style, but finally decided I liked it because it looked cute down but I could still put it in a ponytail. For the last two weeks it has been in a ponytail every day. To me, that means the style isn’t working.

So now I have to figure out what to do with it. Again.

I’m not sure why this is always such a hard decision. I love my hair short. I love my hair longer. It’s just the in-between that always bugs me, which is where I’m at now.

I’m thinking of going short again (but not super short). The only problem with that is that it actually takes me more time to get ready in the mornings which I’m not sure I want. Getting myself and two kids up and ready in the mornings is hard enough.

But, as I said, the hair is driving me crazy right now. For one thing, I’m still in the midst of that post baby hair shedding. Seriously, you could make a wig out of the hair in my shower drain each morning. For another, Evie has discovered how fun it is to pull Mommy’s hair. Oh, and I have massive frizz going on thanks to the new little hairs growing in (due to hair falling out). Plus, it is thick (Thank God, since it is all falling out) and heavy and I can’t stand it down on my neck.

Yeah, so where was I? Yes, I need it cut. I just can’t figure out how exactly I want it cut. This pic (below) is one of my favorites (because I was much thinner there) and I really liked my hair that way but it takes a lot of upkeep to make it look nice. I’m more of a wash and go sort of girl.

But, it’s kinda funky because I straightened the front and left the back curly. A little strange, but I liked it that way.

That is sort of what I’m thinking of going back to but I’m just not entirely convinced that is what I want. So, I’m asking for suggestions. I need your help. Get out there on that great world wide web and find me some pictures of hair cuts that you think would look great on me. Please, please, please find a pic and leave me a link. I’m pleading with you people. I’m shooting for a Saturday morning haircut so you have until Friday night to find something that will make me look and feel fabulous.

Here are the only guidelines:

• My hair is at chin length now so it has to be shorter than that
• I have very heavy, very curly hair so it has to work with curls on days I don’t want to deal with a straightener
• It has to be grow-out friendly, just in case I hate it.
• The less maintenance, the better

Ok, go!

We’ve been home for two days now and I’m still not sure what to say about our trip to Dallas. Dallas is where I was born and even though I spent very little of my life there, it is the closest thing to “home” that I’ve ever really known. We spent most of our time visiting with Hubby’s family and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. I am always amazed at how much I enjoy being around my in-laws. It was just perfect in every way. I’m going to make this mostly a photo post because I have so many I want to share.

Zachary played with his cousins so well. Every time they left the room he would look at me and ask, “Where did my cousins go?”

We spent a lot of time in the pool. Zach had a very scary few seconds the first day we were there when he stepped down and couldn’t touch the bottom. After I rescued him and my heart attack ended, I got Daddy to make an emergency trip back to the house for the swim ring we forgot. All was well after that.

Evie started teething (I can feel the edge of the tooth but it hasn’t popped through yet) and got a little fussy toward the end of the trip, but she still amazed everyone with how calm of a baby she is. She really enjoyed all the attention though and hasn’t let me put her down much since we got home.

Zachary has been telling us lately that he wants to play the “frums” when he grows up. He found a couple of toy drum sticks while we were there and put on a show for everyone.

We got to enjoy visiting with Hubby’s grandpa. He’s not been feeling well and it is likely that this may be our last visit with him. Hopefully it won’t be, but if it is, we’ll at least have some very fond memories of this trip.

On Sunday, my mom and I took the kids out to visit with some very dear friends of ours. We call them our “adopted” grandparents. They have known me nearly as long as my parents have and will always hold a very special place in my heart. Even though we haven’t seen them much in recent years, I have so many good memories of staying with them out on their farm. I absolutely loved watching them hold and interact with my kids. Zachary acted like he had known them forever and Evie just lit up when they held her. It was a very special time that I will always remember.

Vivian and Clyde’s farm has not changed much since I was a kid. Everything has stayed pretty much where it always was. The house is worn, the animals are gone, and much of the grass in the yard has dried up, but it still feels like home.

Before we knew it, Monday morning arrived and it was time to head home. We were sad to say good-bye but took a few minutes out for a few last minute pictures with Papa.

Zach and Evie will miss their cousin Grant. I hate that we live so far away sometimes because they don’t get to spend nearly enough time together.

The trip home was LONG. We’ve discovered that driving at night is infinitely better than driving during the day with two kids. By the time we got home Zach was beyond cranky and poor little Evie had broken out with a nasty rash that I still can’t figure out. It’s either a heat rash, something she came into contact with, or possibly a result of the teething, but I really have no idea which one.

I have no idea who stole the last week from me, but if you know where it went could you kindly bring it back? Everything has been a bit of a blur. It is almost the weekend again (wishful thinking) and I still haven’t had a chance to write about things that happened the weekend before last so guess what? The bullets are coming.

See? I gave you a cute picture first so you would stick around. Read to the end and you just might get another one.

Here are the highlights from the last week and a half of so:

• Zachary turned three and decided that he no longer needs to go to bed when we tell him to. He actually sat up until 2:30 a.m. one night just because he is so stubborn. I’m sure that trait comes from his dad and not his mom.
• Since his party was the weekend before, we celebrated Zach’s birthday by taking him to his favorite Mexican restaurant. He got a little freaked out when they put the sombrero on him and sang, but it was definitely fun to watch.
• I ate like a pig all week last week and only managed to lose 1/2 of a pound. I’m trying to do better this week.
• I finally posted my photos from Country in the Woods up on Flickr. We had a lot of fun and the kids loved the music. It was actually a much better concert than I expected and I’m so glad we went.
• I broke down and got my hair cut. This post-pregnancy hair loss thing drives me absolutely nuts. I didn’t chop it all off like I did last time, but I lost several inches. I’m not totally convinced I like the cut yet, but it is much better than it was. I imagine there will be some pictures of it after this weekend but I haven’t had a chance to take any yet.
• Hubby managed to find a Wii Fit in stock finally and grabbed it up for me. So far? I love it! I’m hoping that I can keep up with a quick Wii Fit workout each day to help aid the weight loss process.
• We took Zach to see WALL-E over the weekend. It was actually much better than I expected. I wasn’t sure that Zach would really understand it, but he did seem to get the emotional part of it. Regardless, he really enjoyed the movie even though parts of it were a bit scary for him.
• Evie actually put herself to sleep last night in her own bed. She woke up just after I nursed her and decided she didn’t want to go back to sleep so I just put her in her bed to see what she would do. I never heard a peep out of her after that. When I went to check on her a few minutes later, she was sound asleep.

And finally, the biggest news:

• Evie rolled over from her back to her stomach last night. She’s been trying for a while but never could quite make it. I put her in the floor last night while I was helping Zach with his bath and when I came back in the room Hubby told me to watch her because she almost had it. A couple of minutes later she made it all the way over. Then she looked at me like I was crazy when I got all excited. Hey, the first time only happens once!

We had an insanely busy weekend. I think it may take all week to recover from it, but it was so worth it. I want to write about all of it, but it will have to wait until I have a little more time (and maybe have slept a bit more). Hopefully later this week I’ll get a chance to write, but until then, here are some of the highlights:

• Running into an old friend while grocery shopping
• Finding out that old friend knows another old friend of mine and will hopefully pass my number along to her
• Zach’s 3rd birthday party
• Our last Sunday at church (we’ll be looking for a new one soon)
• The free concert we went to Sunday night
• The 10 million awesome photos I took of my kids and my niece/nephews