self-inflicted haircuts

Right before the Christmas of 2005 I was wrapping Christmas gifts, with Madison's supervision, on my bed on a Sunday afternoon. She was three. I left the room to get another roll of tape. I walked back to the bed to resume wrapping when I noticed I was stepping on a clump of hair. It was dark and straight, and moving the dust ruffle revealed that it was about 5 inches long...and there were more clumps to be found hiding under the bed. Looking back I realize it was probably not a good idea to leave the gift wrapping scissors on the bed during my little errand. Madison was sitting in my bedroom glider not looking at me. Most of her hair was most of the way down her back. Except for her bangs. And the one side she had cut off before ditching all evidence prior to my return. I did not treat this situation as a tragedy...however it was Sunday afternoon. Monday night was the preschool program. So I rushed her to the Wal-Mart Supercenter to get the damage repaired in their little beauty shop. I may have lectured her all the way to Kirksville (and all the way back home) about the proper uses for scissors. This picture was taken after Santa gave her an apple at the program. It could have been much worse. She was not bald or injured, right?

While it would be lovely to learn from our mistakes and prevent the same mishaps from recurring in our lives, reality is not always conducive to lovely. So over the weekend I rearranged the "learning center" I have set up in the hallway. I spent the evening sorting the supplies. I can still hear my contented sigh and feel that sense of accomplishment as I looked over my work. At the end of the hall is a small school desk and two disc chairs for the kids to read in. The book case has one complete shelf of hard back children's books and one complete shelf of soft back children's books. On the third shelf are three baskets. One for flashcards, one for Beginning Reader and Phonics books, and one for the kids' favorite books that they most often request at bedtime. Did I tell you about the top shelf? On one end you will see a stack of activity books. Coloring books, work books, puzzle books, etc. On the other end you will find the fourth and final basket. I rightfully named it the "school box basket." This basket contains items you may expect. Pencils, crayons, markers, colored pencils, erasers, glue sticks, pencil sharpeners, and scissors. You know the little scissors with the plastic handles and blunt ends? Yes. I was excited about the learning center. I can't say that I even got upset with Jaron's self-inflicted haircut. You can tell he didn't lose much sleep either. I trimmed his bangs a little (after this picture) and took him to school. I think I mentioned something about scissors being for paper. Hey, boys can wear hats, right?