The year I turned 35

There are birthdays that come and go, and I have to admit that I vaguely remember what I did.  For example my 21st birthday.  Now, I actually did not go out drinking on my birthday (so no jokes about why I cannot remember it) but I think I just spent my time with the family?  I really don't remember what I did last year....probably just stayed home.  I'm not sure.  However, I will always remember the year I turned 35 because this was also the year that Violet decided to cut all of her hair off...a week to the day that I would turn 35 (ps....I'm having the best birthday today! The weather is perfect!).

Last weekend Wyatt had decided he really needed to create some art.  Fresh off having been told by his teacher that he is "an artist", he was ready to finally illustrate his crayon manifesto (which I am not sure really needed anything extra....it was pretty entertaining as it was).  So, he grabbed some scissors and cut out dinosaurs and ninjas and attached them to his manifesto and said, "Check it mom.  Now it's got style."  Sigh, that boy.

I am very happy that he could tear himself away from his video game for a moment in order to actually make something, but I'm saddened by the fact that he left the scissors out.

Well as you all know, Violet doesn't sleep.  She manages to squeeze in about 5 hours a night, and usually these are not continuous.  An hour here, an hour there.  I try my hardest to stay awake with her, but once in awhile I doze off.

I remember waking up because I heard her in the bathroom.  At first I was very excited that she had woken herself up to use the bathroom...but then I quickly discovered that she had been awake for quite sometime.

I turned the corner into my bathroom and was greeted by a little girl...who no longer looked like my little girl.  It was like I had come face to face with a mix between Joan Jett/Sinead O'Conner (in their heyday).  Not only this...but she was also wearing her 18 month old Easter dress she had stealthily dug out of the cedar chest.

This is what she looked like:

Violet - after an all nighter

I looked at her and rubbed my eyes.  "Violet," I said in a hushed and quiet voice, "Where are the scissors."  She very enthusiastically told me that they were in fact in the living room.  I then said, "Um.  Did you cut your hair? (kind of a silly question when the answer was OBVIOUS...but I really wanted to hear the answer).  To which she answered, "Yes! Come see!"

She then ran into the living room and pointed to the floor...it looked like someone had taken off a wig.  Piles and piles of her hair lay there, looking up at me, asking why.

I sighed and laughed. Then I went and woke Chris up.  "You've got to see this." It's all I could say.

She looked like maybe she'd been out to a a really raging all night party...and she also kind of looked like the girl from the movie 16 Candles -the girl whose hair gets stuck in the door and cut off?  Yeah....

So, the next morning we went on emergency hair care fixing missions.  My brother in law was able to fix a lot of it, and then I enlisted the help of my friend Lisa (who is a hair stylist) to help even it out even more.  

Now she looks just like Wyatt -- his twin.  Everyone has been confusing her for a boy....so I have been putting makeup on her, something I didn't think I would do until she is much much older.

Here is a picture of the finished product:

Short and Sassy - Just like Violet

I was joking that 2012 would forever be remembered by me as the year that: I turned 35, I taught at Parkland, and Violet came out of the closet--because lets face it...she does look a little butch now (not that there's anything wrong with that!).