Inappropriate footwear and love of vegetables

Yesterday was a big day. Yeah, a big day of sit around and wait. See, we have wasps. Fun, right? So I had to sit around for the bug guy to come. And, we bought a new entertainment center (part of the grand TV failure of Aught-Eight). I had to sit around and wait for that to be delivered. Oh, and the boys were grumpy. And I didn't want them to make a mess. It was a long, long morning.

But finally, wasps were eradicated (or "majorly pissed off" as Bug-Guy said when he told me to stay FAR away from them for the next, oh, week or so). And furniture was delivered. All by 1pm no less, though the day already felt far, far longer than that.

So, what could possibly make the day better? I'm a glutton for punishment. I decide it's time to get the boys' haircuts. Truthfully, it's about one month PAST time to get their hair cut. It was ridiculously long. N-man's was always in his eyes, and B-man was a huge puffy curly mess. I mean, things aren't quite as dire as they were a year ago, when a trip to the hairdresser meant I needed to search for some black-market valium first. But it's still not great. Not my most favorite errand, by a long shot.

But this post isn't about the haircut. We survived it, kids are cute. This post is about my footwear. See, it had been a long day already. I was headed out to go to the hairdresser, probably my least favorite parenting task (even worse than taking them to the doctor or dentist). I was distracted. I put on my high heeled black leather boots.

I love my boots. I miss my boots all summer. I can hardly wait for fall, when I can once again wear my boots. They make me happy.

So I wore my boots. Great. Except post-haircuts, we were headed to the farm to pick up our CSA share. Going home was really far out of the way. I went to the farm in my high heeled boots. What do you think was the most ridiculous? Nearly tripping in the surprisingly long grass on the way to the pick up stand? Walking through the muddy dirt? Practically twisting an ankle in the pot-hole filled, dust and gravel parking lot? Just feeling like everyone was staring at my feet, wondering why I'd be wearing completely inappropriate footwear?

I was feeling pretty silly. Until I noticed the guy next to me. He had bare feet. In October. He walked through all that stuff, too.

I think we were about tied in our inappropriate footwear choices. What do you think? Who wins in the most ridiculous shoes (or lack there of) for CSA pickup?

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As a related aside, our CSA pick up was awesome this week: lettuce, broccoli, potatoes, acorn squash, etc. And brussels sprouts. I LOVE brussels sprouts. I mean, not an inappropriate love. Not like bare-foot-dude. He was so excited about them, he actually picked up a stalk and kissed it. So I guess I've been put to shame in the vegetable-loving department. And this entry just got a whole lot creepier. Oh, just go read Food on the Food, all you veggie perverts. Warning, her post contains naughty though hilarious language!

The One Where All is Right in the World, AKA, What is Wrong with Some People??

I think I've mentioned a time or two that my boys' mop tops are, well, mop tops. Their hair has gotten so long, and while cute, it's certainly well past time to get it cut.

So today I decided it was time to head out to our friendly neighborhood children's hair salon. Okay, that "friendly" is a stretch, as it's actually a vaguely disturbing, slightly annoying chain of children's hair salons that I go to only because they're extremely accepting of children who have a HUGE melt down starting the minute they walk through the door. Geez, I need a stiff drink on these hair cut days!

Anyway, I got to the hair salon and got the boys out of the car. We were walking along the sidewalk, and I'll admit, not going super-fast as N-man especially likes to admire every stick, weed, or speck of dirt he sees. I hear another mom coming up behind me as we near the door to the salon, and wouldn't you know, she pushed right by us, practically ran to the door, and went in right before me. In order to do this, she had to leave her two children behind! She was carrying the youngest, who was probably 18 months old, and the two others were yelling, "Mommy, wait for us!" She ignored them. They were probably about 4 and 6 years old, so while not super young, not old enough (in my opinion) to walk unattended in a busy parking lot, even if it was on the sidewalk. And clearly they were distressed at being left behind by their mother.

All that to beat me into the hair salon?

I couldn't believe it. My jaw was hanging open as I opened the door (which I held for her kids and waited for them to make it in. I didn't want her kids to get hurt or more disturbed by her behavior!) And I saw the most beautiful sight: the store was MOBBED. I mean, so crowded there was absolutely no place to sit down. I counted 12 kids waiting, and there were only two hairdressers working. That means it was, at the very least, an hour wait for this woman.

That's what you pushed in front of me for? That's what you were so ill-mannered toward me and my kids and unfeeling toward your own children for? That's what you were such a poor role model for? Ha! I didn't even need to get my kids' hair cut today. It was only a slight problem for me, as I had to go across the street anyway to get my watch fixed. So it wasn't even a wasted trip for me, even though we didn't get hair cuts. I just left, but not before I laughed triumphantly.

That's what you get, babe. I call it karma. I hope you enjoyed your 1 hour wait, crazy mean mom.

Mother of the Year

Well, it's getting close to the end of 2007, and I wasn't sure I had quite clinched my nomination for Mother of the Year. So, I decided to take my kids to get their hair cut today.

It started well. Sure, if you consider that the crying didn't start until I pulled into the parking lot. I had to carry both boys, kicking and screaming into the hair salon. They calmed down a little while we were waiting, thanks to some lollipops, but the screaming started again once B-man was in the chair. N-man, even though his hair wasn't even being cut yet, joined the chorus. I tried to console them, but mostly ended up holding B-man forcibly in the chair while the receptionist, other children, and other parents all came over to try to help me. To no avail.

I thought things were bad, and then it was N-man's turn. He cried. He kicked. He tried to jump out of the chair. He buried his head in his lap. He drooled spit all over me.

Longest half hour of the day.

The hairdresser gave me a hug after. I guess I looked a little frazzled. One of the other moms there told me I was the one who deserved the prize when the little prizes were given to my kids after their haircuts were done.

I'm pretty sure when we got home, the boys finished up the form to nominate me for mother of the year, 2007.

On the plus side, they look pretty darn cute, and it'll be at least another 6 weeks until they need another hair cut.

Random unrelated thought of the day:

I think I'm going to start a "What I'm reading" feature. Here it is, what I'm reading: Dhampir by Barb and J.C. Hendee. It's not something I would normally have chosen. Despite the fact that I loved Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I'm not really much for vampire slayer fiction. But, this book was in the house, and The King said it was good, so here I am, half-way through it. It is enjoyable, right now it's earning about 3.5 stars out of 5. We'll see how the rest of the book goes.