Back to School.

There is something about this time of year, that makes the inner kid in me excited, overjoyed, ready for life....  For some reason, it is a bit off, this year.  Perhaps it is having three, up from one, in school.  Well, maybe I should change that from 1 to 5.  School causes me such....what is the word for anxiety/dread/hopefulness/inspirational all rolled into one??  Anrefulnal??  Well, that.  Anxious for me that I will not disappoint myself, dread that I will not achieve to my standards, hopeful that I will accomplish both of those, and inspired because it will lead me on the path of my future.


My girls are set and ready to go.  We went school shopping, we bought clothes and shoes, and we tried on...outfit upon outfit upon shoes upon necklaces and new to this year-earrings.  Even though Avery is in FOURTH grade, it still makes me nervous, for me-not her, to walk up to the front of the school.  Claire is starting school in a new building, mostly the same people... she is just completely overjoyed and excited.  Nora is just happy to follow suit of her sisters.  I'm going to make another excuse that my Claire Bear is headed to Kindergarten in ONE summer... Yep.  That right there is a kicker for me to grasp right now.

But, what am I supposed to wear on their first day of school???  That is just as important as their first day of school outfits, right??  Too bad I forgot to pick one of those up for myself and the Estee Lauder counter was out of my make-up during their free gift with purchase. 

The camera is ready to go.  The hair, the clothes, the shoes... all green lights.  Just not the mommy...  stalling at yellow.  Not wanting to let go.... not wanting to put a foot through the door.  At least not my foot, anyways...

Multi-purpose nail scissors

Okay, so I suppose I must take some blame for this one... I had just given Claire and Nora a shower, after a quite tiring day away from home to help poor Victoria and her poor Vue, with little success other than being able to put Noah down for a nap this afternoon. I was worn out and itching to explore my creative inspirations that are attacking me from all directions at any given moment. I had a measuring tape out and my screen open to a website of arts and craft photos. Could lead others to explore their artistic expression, right?  It was the first five minutes of my day that I had sat down for me. I head some voices behind me, but distractedly mumbled, "Okay..uh huh... yeah. All right. Yeah, sure." This is when in hindsight, my parent guilt creeps in. For all I know, a 4 1/2 and 28 month old were asking me if it was okay to put the fish in the microwave, play with knives, call Cambodia, or... cut off all their hair. Most likely it was a request to watch a movie, eat, help them find a certain pair of fairy undies, or to have a story read to them.

While I do not have pictures of the direct aftermath, I snapped a few shots of their new 'dos. I hope my overpriced salon visits as an adult has taught me a thing or two about cutting hair.

So Claire has a kinda funky flair layered side swoop bang cut.  (Great, I'm going to have to do her hair every morning, too?!?)

And Nora ended up with a grown up, little lost baby curls, bob of sorts... 

(P.S. For quick photo upload purposes, these were taken with my phone...I'll upload the real-deals later.)

This is another time, a time which happens all too often, when I must realize my little girls are growing up.  They are individuals.  Independent.  Trusting and loving girls.  I guess that's not so bad after all.