crazy hair day

a flame-haired isaac & purple-maned jacob

crazy hair day is officially awesome. sure, it was raining. and really cold. and during a random week in february. but, still, awesome.

isaac told us that he wanted his hair to look "like fire". i don't think we achieved that...but we had fun trying. and his hair was actually astonishing to look at.

jacob did not want his hair to be touched. at least, initially. he started to warm up after seeing isaac's technicolor hair. ragain sealed the deal by showing him how easy it was to wash the colored hairspray off. that's when he said, "purple". we tried to persuade him to add another color, but jacob tends to be a fan of the less-is-more ideology.

with the big boys off to school, those colored hairsprays just begged to tint our little blondie-locks. and, in spite of hating all hair-related activities, like washing, cutting, brushing and gelling, lucas was instantly on board. he picked purple, too...

would it be wrong to make this permanent? because, i might love it. LOVE.

i mean, look at it in the sun!!!!

LOVE.

anyway, after picking up the twins from school with lucas and my mom, we headed out to t.j. maxx.

side note: until very recently, i hated t.j. maxx because i do not enjoy digging through piles of remnants. however, it seems that lowering my expectations (to zero) is really what makes this particular shopping experience enjoyable.

anyway, i was looking (vaguely---and with zero expectations) for a kitchen rug and i was running out of places to look. so, i thought maybe a far-flung t.j. maxx might be just the place.

it wasn't.

however, while looking (digging) through the kitchen utensils, and holding onto jacob and lucas, a woman with a cart comes behind us. i was mostly unaware of her until she said, "great hair!"

should i remind you? this was my merry little band at that point:

i laughed as i turned to look over my shoulder at her, and said, "yeah, crazy hair day at school."

she laughed, too. but then looked sort of confused. she started to walk away, and then said, "uh, you have great hair, too."

then, i looked confused. but she was already gone. and i couldn't clarify whether or not she meant to compliment my disheveled ponytail and baby-bang-feathers. i think i might have been better described as sloppy, or war-torn.

i might have talked myself into accepting that maybe she thought i DID have great hair. but i didn't have time to get too high on her kindness, because as i dumped my finds onto the counter, tried to help isaac to pay for his souvenir and still keep my smile from slipping straight off my face, the cashier gave me a look of concern and said,

"looks like you have your hands full."

and for a second, i felt the weight of it. my messy hair. my slippery smile. my sometimes-short-temper. a stranger's guess that i don't have it all together. the mile-long to-do list that is waiting for me at the start of every day, and how i won't get it done. my failures and weaknesses and frailties. a reality that is hard, and different.

and as quickly as it settled on my shoulders, i took a breath and smiled. i nodded at her and said, "indeed", before bobbing out the door with my rainbow-colored lovelies and our collective great hair.

the best medicine

i am not feeling well. there is some sort of swamp in my head...

just ask k, who i mistakenly texted instead of ragain last night. i thought i was asking ragain to pick up some "sweet treats" for me on his way home. but, really, i was speaking (cryptically and affectionately) to k. and because she is a dear friend, she left her warm house, late (late!!) at night and fetched a ginormous drink and snack from sonic for me. thanks, again, k!

a get-well-soon heart from isaac

isaac has done his part to perk me up, as well. while i was slouching on the couch last night, he colored and cut out a heart, then came and put it on my shoulder. he also delivered an "i'm sorry letter" for various misdeeds the night before...

it says: "dear mother, i'm sorry for oweing you in

apologey about being naughty!"

and, just this moment, ragain walked in with an armful of snacks, including a box of the always exquisite le petit ecolier cookies. and, i just wonder, how can i help but get well soon?

oh, valentimes

yes, yes. i know. i misspelled valentines. but, on purpose. artistic liberties and everything.

anyway, february has added further proof that 2011 might really be our year. i submit the evidence for your review.

our valentine photo shoot: lucas, jacob

and isaac.

exhibit a: we completed our annual valentine cards with relative timeliness. it was not our most creative year, but the punctuality may have compensated. isaac was very excited by the arrival of valentine's day this year. he addressed one of his classroom valentines to "maddy-cakes" and although i pointed out that he might want to use her given name of madelyn, he assured me that "it's ok. i call her that. she'll like it." we haven't heard from maddy-cakes' parents, so i'm going to assume no harm, no foul. he also made several homemade valentines for jacob's former teacher, in addition to writing me a love letter for an assignment. i love a romantic soul, don't you?

exhibit b: our laptop was "fixed" for 2 hours. then, "broke" again. then, was FIXED, again. total cost... zero. if you see becky at the roseville apple store, feel free to give her a kiss from the blackard family. if you see ragain, who negotiated the gratis repair from becky, give him a solid pat on the back. we're gonna have words if you try to kiss him.

exhibit c: february has been a sweet feast. lemon-raspberry cheesecake, moose munch, key lime gelato & graham cracker sandwiches, coconut cookies, red velvet cupcakes and girl scout cookies. xoxoxoxo

exhibit d: lucas shocked me one day by singing this song out loud. it felt like a gift to my heart and i wish i could have folded that moment like a note in my pocket.

the next day, he got frustrated when i made a phone call in a parking lot after promising him a happy meal, and shouted, "hey, mom! let's play drive the car!" i really appreciated his mary poppins spin on getting me to hang up and drive.

exhibit e: jacob discovered the marvels of mc hammer. he has fully embraced "too legit to quit" and likes to shout "break it down!" during "can't touch this". this makes me laugh and cry at the same time (aka putting one foot into crazytown).

exhibit f: i may have convinced the boys that showering in our room is more fun than taking a bath in (and flooding) their bathroom. how did i do it? as isaac says, "i have absolutely no idea". budding genius or exploitation of a novel environment? you decide.

exhibit g: i still believe this is our year. i also believe in the power of positive thinking.

there. i rest my case.