Girls of Summer

As the final weeks of summer are winding down, the girls are trying to enjoy their last carefree days around the pool. Although you can still swim in October here, it is just not the same!

This week has been pretty laid back. On Tuesday, Allison and Leah got haircuts. They just got trims, so no pictures to show. Once the big girls are in school, I will get Rachel's hair cut. She gets out of school at noon. That allows me to have alone time with her until the girls get home at 2:3opm, so we can run in and out of the salon quickly. I used to take all the girls at once, but after being in the salon for about two hours everybody (including me) is extremely grouchy. So, we have now moved to plan B, and it seems to work much better. Believe it or not, I used to get my hair cut at the same time as the girls........really bad idea. Since Rachel started school, I have had the privilege of going alone! I had forgotten what that was like!!

Yesterday, we all went shopping for school clothes. I knew this was not a good idea, but Allison and Leah are getting too big for me to pick out clothes for them, and poor Rachel just has to go along for the ride. We started our trip out with Rachel in a stroller. She is never very happy to be put in the stroller, but it is impossible to shop with her on foot. Even with her in a stroller, she manages to take a few pieces of clothing off the shelves. I call myself paying attention to where I park the stroller, but it never fails that she is within reach of something. Once in the dressing rooms-the one and only one that is big enough for the stroller-Rachel gets grouchy because she wants out of the stroller. She gets bored with the water bottle and the cell phone quickly, so it is not long before she is wailing and the big girls are yelling at her to hush. In the midst of this I am trying to add up the prices of the clothing we have picked out to get an idea of how much we have spent so far-so I don't pass out when the cashier rings up the total. Are we having fun yet? Apparently, yes, because we continue on to the next store. At this point I have decided it would be easier to have Rachel walk..........yes, I did say it was impossible to get her through a store on foot. I must have been delirious from the dressing room episode. Once in the store Rachel was on a tear. The second I let go of her hand to look at clothing on the rack, she was gone.......gone to grab clothing off the rack or pat some unsuspecting woman on the butt. Once in the dressing room she and I battle for control of the door. The big girls just love it when they are changing clothes and Rachel opens the door to the whole world. Anyway, we all survived-probably thanks to the Prozac I take!! The girls also have a few new clothes for school. I still need to buy school supplies, but I am thinking that I will plan that trip the the Super Walmart at 11:00pm when the crowds are minimal, and I will go ALONE.