The Friday Four, Part 6

~1~

I'm sure similar comparisons have been made before, but the last few days have reminded me how much the weather in March has in common with my four-year-old.  You look out the window at the beautiful, sunshine-y scene and can almost feel the gorgeous spring warmth on your face, but when you step outside, it's absolutely frigid.  (Much like the bright smile on my innocent-looking, cherubic-faced youngest child's face hides a stubborn and mischievous streak a mile wide.)  And then two seconds later, the sun is gone and pea-sized hail is failing from the sky at such a rate that you're sure auto body shops are cheering and a record number of concussions will be reported today at hospital emergency rooms.  (Much like my adorable child can go from sweetest, most loving angel to fiendish, shrieking banshee as quickly as I can say, "Your half hour of screen time is over, hon!")  April is usually a bit more self-possessed.  And, if I recall correctly, five-year-olds are, too.  Here's hoping...

~2~

I can't count the number of days in the past couple of weeks that lunch for my children has consisted of a bowl of breakfast cereal.  Now, part of that is because of the surgery and the general lack of get-up-and-go that comes with the recovery process, but another part of that is a total creative block regarding the midday meal.  Most of the time it's just me and my youngest, and I certainly don't get any complaints from him when he gets to eat more Honey Nut Cheerios, but I do get twinges of mommy-guilt for not providing a balanced meal with more regularity.  Home-canned peaches or pears make appearances as side dishes.  Occasionally we have bread and jam, maybe leftovers if there are any... See what I mean?  I need a serious injection of lunch inspiration. (To complicate matters my youngest has dairy and soy allergies, and for lunch on weekends we need to work around my oldest's peanut allergy as well.)  I'm not too proud to beg.  Help?!?!

~3~

After hearing me go on and on about how much I love Buffy the Vampire Slayer, my husband finally gave in and started watching the series from the beginning.  We haven't viewed all the episodes together, but we watch a fair number while snuggled up on the couch after the kids have gone to bed, and we just finished the last episode of season two last night (and I cried again, even though it's like the tenth time I've seen it).  There are tons of great moments in the series, but what I want to share today is this fair use mash-up of Buffy and the Twilight movies that just makes me giggle every time I watch it.  Enjoy!

~4~

Haircuts just stymie me.  I've always worn my hair long, at least since that traumatic pixie/bowl cut in fourth grade (It's okay, Mom, I've forgiven you. Really.), and generally only get it cut when it grows to the point of getting in my way, or when you can tell from a distance that the hairs with split ends outnumber the ones without.  And that lack of attention to such things has now extended to my sons' hair.  Behold, Exhibit A:

This is my adorable middle son displaying his three bronze wrestling medals and an insanely curly mop of hair.  It was taken this past weekend, so it doesn't show the full extent of insanity the curls reached, but you can get an idea...

My oldest and youngest inherited straight hair, so even when it gets long it's fairly manageable, even if reminiscent of the Beatles in their shaggy phase.  My middle child, however, got his Papa Frank's thick, curly locks.  When it gets long, it has a mind of its own that says "Woo hoo!  Party time!!!"  And I never seem to notice until it's waaaaaaay past time for a haircut.  Every morning for the past two weeks I've taken one look at the incredible new avant garde hairstyle on which he and his pillow collaborated all night long and vowed to find the time to get him sheared.  And yesterday was finally the day!  His father took him to a local barber shop and he came home looking like this:

Why is it that kids always look at least two years older after a hair cut?

Now I have at least a couple of months before I have to think about it again...