Dresses
My girls were given dresses for Christmas by a friend of mine. For some this is their first dress, for some this is their first new dress with tags from the store, but for all these are special dresses. I gave them to the girls last Wednesday when they saw one in a box and told the others what they saw. I realized this is the last Sunday they will be at the school before they go home for Christmas break and therefore their last Sunday to all wear their dresses at the same time before Christmas. The girls have begged to wear them each day, but I've had to tell them to keep them hung in their closet until Sunday. Last Friday we went to the store so they could pick out tights to wear with their new dresses for this Sunday (another gift by a friend of my mom's). Can YOU imagine the shopping trip with 8 of the 9 girls (one went home for the weekend)??? Fortunately Wal-Mart has the carts with the double seat for older kids and my friend was able to go with us. Between the two carts we were able to get all 8 girls (including the one almost as tall as I am) in both carts by putting the four smaller girls in the baskets. Besides picking out their tights the girls favorite part of the evening was the race between the two carts in the parking lot. Unfortunately my cart lost even when I asked the two older girls to get out and help push. I guess that's what happens when you race with someone with really long legs. Finally, Saturday night, I let the girls try on their dresses and tights so they know what to wear and how it is supposed to look for Sunday. They asked to sleep in their tights and dresses and were so saddened when I said no yet again.At 2:30am I'm awoken by the tears of my youngest. She is crying telling me she had chicken pox. I get up and turn the light on to find she not only is wearing her dress and tights, but she has her hair done up in pig tails which she is unable to do on her own. I check for chicken pox and realize she has dry skin she had scratched on her arm. I tell her it is not chicken pox. Not willing to be convinced I put lotion on her arm and the redness goes away. Still whimpering I walk her back to bed to find THREE girls with their hair done by one another and fully dressed! When I remind them they were supposed to wait until morning they said, "But Miss Alice we woke up and thought it was morning because we can't sleep!" They were so disappointed when I told them they still have 5 hours before the real morning and they needed to go to their own beds.
They've asked why I'm keeping the wrapped presents in my apartment... because you wake up in the middle of the night and dress to the nines and then are disappointed to go back to sleep for 5 hours! I can only imagine if I were to put the presents under the tree!
As far as the chicken pox scare... the older girls saw the redness on her arm and told her it was chicken pox. After tucking her back into bed (in her dress and tights) she asked, "But what are chicken pox?" I explained they were itchy red bumps and they start on your tummy and then move to your arms, legs, feet, hands and head. I think I would have preferred this health lesson to be at a time other than 2:30am, but it's never too late (or early) to learn.
The REAL Sunday morning I woke and turned on the light in the hall (the signal they are allowed to get up, but not make a lot of noise until I come to each room and turn on the bedroom lights). I figured they'd like extra time to do their hair, but wasn't sure who would be up early. When I finished my shower and getting ready myself I go down the hall and only find my youngest in bed sleeping when I turn the bedroom lights on. I finally get to the last room down the hall and find all the girls helping one another curl each other's hair. After they finished with their hair they danced around the hall in their new dresses, tights and the long stemmed fake flowers we have in a vase to decorate the hall. I heard things like, "I'm a princess!" and "I'm a ballerina!" and "I'm queen of everything!"
To say my girls are excited for their new dresses and tights would be an understatement!
Hair Cut
My hair was getting really long and with my thick hair I get headaches when my hair is too long. I wanted to cut my hair in November, but when I casually mentioned it to my girls they all shrieked with a resounding "NO" and some even cried at the thought of me cutting my long hair. I decided to wait.
Before: Long Hair
This past week I realized I'm starting to get headaches from my long hair and should get it cut. I again, casually mentioned how I'm going to get my hair cut soon to my girls. When the one who cried the most asked how short I was going to cut it I let her know, "Very short, because I'm going to give it to kids with cancer." When she found that out she was excited for me to cut my hair... awesome! Not that I was fully letting the girls determine if I'd cut my hair, but I wanted them to be okay with me going from long hair to short hair. Now, when to get my hair cut.
I had decided I'd get it done during their Saturday activity (when the kids stay at the school every other weekend the other staff takes the kids out for 5 hours on Saturday to give the dorm parents a break). Saturday morning I got a text from another staff member asking if I was going to be around to sew up a pair of pants and I told her I could do it that evening because I was getting my hair cut. She mentioned how she needed a hair cut as well, so I invited her along.
Being new to the area I didn't know where to go to get my hair cut, but saw a few places about a half hour away in the small town on the way to the larger town. When we drove by we noticed a few places other than the place I had originally thought of, but they were all closed. We knew we could get our hair cut at Wal-Mart, but we were a little hesitant to getting our hair cut at Wal-Mart. With no other options and time ticking away we knew this was where we needed to go if we were going to get our hair cut that afternoon.
I went in and mentioned how I wanted to donate it and was happy to know she knew exactly what to do in order to donate my hair (I've been to other places that had no idea and wouldn't listen to the way I told them the first cut needed to be done... talk about frustration). I told my hair stylist she didn't have to worry about going too short because I've shaved my head when my mom had cancer and I'm not worried about going from really long to really short. I could tell she was hesitant to cutting it shorter and was trying to keep some length. I figured I'd just let her do her thing and if anything I can always get it cut again another time. In the end I was pleased with her work... simple, but not bad.
After: I like the flip.
After a few days I realized the left side was about a half inch or so longer than the right side. At first I just tried to ignore it, but I couldn't. I had to do something about it, but with my limited options of hair salons I waited until I went to California for Christmas break. I'm glad I was able to get it fixed because I'm much happier with my hair now. When I was younger I never understood why people were particular on where they get their hair cut and who their hair stylist is, but now that I've had a few bad hair cuts (or a little uneven) I have a feeling I'll be coordinating break time with hair cuts from my hair stylist.