the Punch Line

OK, there is no punch line to the "joke" I thought was going on last week. It's just business as usual here and that business is the business of LIFE.

Just to tie up some loose ends for you, Amelia is not allergic to bee stings. She weathered it like a champ. I held an icepack on her cheek on and off for about an hour, and that was the end of it. You could barely see where the stinger went in by the next morning.

We never had an infestation of head lice here. We are still kind of freaked out and occasionally Greg will get kind of crazy-itchy and think the worst, but a thorough check reveals nothing. We are stocked up on all sorts of products though, just in case.

Gwen seems to really like school. She got to do the "calendar job" all last week which consists of arranging the one whole wall of her classroom into the correct date, day of the week, number of days they've been in school, the month, the weather, etc. She LOVES that job and wasn't quite thrilled to hear that each week the job assignments change. She feels since she is the best at that job she should just get to keep doing it.

Anyway, we like the school a lot. The teacher Gwen has, Ms. McLaughlin, is great. I went in several days to help with lunches just be another adult in the room, but since there are only 15 kids in her classroom, the extra grown-ups aren't really warranted. It's nice to note that I am welcome in the classroom at any time, though. Amelia thinks she belongs there so we do go in at least once a week to help with a tricky recess to lunch transition. The "big" kids really enjoy her being there and the girls dress her up with all sorts of princess clothes and shoes. Amelia just eats it up!

Gwen is getting pretty independent and tells us she'll be taking the bus to school before this week is out. We have followed the bus to school several times, and we'll actually watch the kids get on board tomorrow (several of them are from her class). The next day, Amelia and I will follow the bus with Gwen in it. I was a little nervous about this whole idea until I realized that we are the very last stop before the bus gets to school. She'll be on the bus for all of about 4 minutes, so I think I can handle this.

No pictures today, but I will have some of Gwen's first day as well as the DEADLIEST CATCH crab pots that are now resting in our side yard.

Are you KIDDING ME???!!!

This week in review:

Kindergarten craziness, surprise mullet.... a friend tells us her daughter who was over here all day on Wednesday and went with us to the salon for Gwen's 'do tweak (which is growing on us and looks super-cute) now has lice. Amelia had a 102-degree fever and the rest of us had scratchy throats and flu-like body aches yesterday so we all missed Church, and today Amelia got stung by a bee, which is more than a little alarming since Grandpa is allergic, so I'm constantly checking her for anaphylactic shock and other symptoms. We start school on Thursday and Greg "won" two used commercial (like Deadliest Catch?) crab pots in an auction.

Where is the Candid Camera crew and the laugh track? Surely someone is joking.

Usurper of The Day

Something unexpected happened this week, Tuesday to be exact. It overrode, or usurped if you will, everything else that day.

We've had a whirlwind school season so far and it hasn't even started. We had planned to send Gwen to a Christian school here in town, but after an orientation Monday night, we sadly and suddenly pulled the plug. Gwen would have started kindergarten on Wednesday. But alas, she is still home, while I am frantic to enroll her in another school.

All day on Tuesday I was on the phone or the computer getting tips from the other moms, some of the admin staff at various schools, and even the inside scoop from some of the teachers I know. I spent hours talking to principals, librarians, and to poor Greg who was at work while I literally freaked out at home. As of this post, it seems we have found a school and we are pretty pleased with our decision.

Back to Tuesday....Mid afternoon, during Amelia's naptime, I came up for a much-needed breather, some water, and to answer nature's call and found this:

Kind of alarming to see scissors lying about on the bathroom counter when I've got a toddler, but Amelia was sleeping so I was able to remain calm.

And then I saw this:

Why, it's the bathroom rug. Hmm. What could be strewn all across it? Bend and peer at it closely.... scanning, scanning..... my, my, what's this in the waste basket?

My voice quavered like that of a starlet in a scary flick... "Gwen? Where are you, Bug? Gwen?" Of course with my mother's intuition, I vaguely understood what had happened. But until I saw Gwen, I didn't really grasp the abject horror that had now become my eldest daughter's hair....

BEHOLD!

THE MULLET TO END ALL MULLETS:

(Goodness, I didn't realize how much these looked like mug shots until just now.)

Well, I'll have you know that I am very proud of my reaction. Those of you who know me well will hopefully be rightfully impressed that I said,"Oh, wow. What happened here, Punkin?" while my inter-monologue skipped along with, "Are you KIDDING ME??!!! School pictures are in like TWO WEEKS! OH GREAT! Is that a MULLET?!! Wipe that smirk OFF YOUR FACE right this MINUTE!!! I can't believe I'm on the phone trying to find the BEST EDUCATION for you and-now-you-look-like-you've-just-been-through-chemo-no-wait-oh-man-you-look-just-like-my-brother-where's-the-Flowbee?" (Yes, we do really have one of those. Greg uses it religiously.)

So, we raced off to the salon. There was some hacking and some whacking and then we ended up with this:

I ask you, does this look like a child who is ashamed of her actions? Embarrassed? Chagrined in the least? Nope. We even asked her while we were out visiting last night how she thought Mommy felt about the new haircut. She didn't have any ready response, so I led the witness a bit. I asked if I was mad about it and she quickly, confidently answered "No", as if it was preposterous to think I'd be upset at all. Thus I must have successfully hid my true feelings of sorrow, resignation, and self-recrimination. But be assured, she is not getting unsupervised scissor time until she graduates from high school.

I keep trying to remember that it really could've been worse. I have an ongoing list of positives running through my head...

She didn't poke out her eye. She didn't maim herself or her sister. We can see her pretty eyes and face. No more tangles and fights about brushing. No more losing barrettes and hairbands. No more syrup and yogurt and milk getting into those long locks.

She is beautiful, but I really think this is just a precursor to the teen years. And I'm more than a little scared.

Granny's in town!

We have been on an exciting whirlwind since last Wednesday when my mom flew in from Toledo. Boy are her arms tired! :) Actually, she is pretty wore out....We've been hiking several times, fishing hard for halibut, on the ferry back and forth to Skagway, on the White Pass Yukon Railroad, and now Granny's recovering while we get packed up for derby fishing this weekend. Hard to believe she's only been here a week! The girls are loving it, but they are a little pooped too. Photos to come soon. Thanks for checking in!

PS: During all of our travel, we've been having a robust discussion on whether the girls look anything alike or not. These are bath pictures when they were each just under six months old. You be the judge.

Can you even tell which one is which? I'll be excited to read your comments!