Fish Are Jumping

Patrick is now eight, a fact that we celebrated by buying him a metal detector and making him a cake that he accurately but perversely declared to be "too sweet." I guess turning eight means that one now scrapes the frosting off although I always thought that was more like eighty. Steve suggested that maybe next time I could use less than a pound of confectioners sugar and I told Steve not to be an ass. Personally I loved it. Caroline was also a fan

but Caroline might be one of those people that do better when they limit their sugar intake

It is never dignified to be dragged away from cake by your ankles.

Edward - just off camera to the right - sat with his hands folded, patiently waiting for Caroline to stop acting the Fool so he could get something to eat. Edward is the only one of our children who consistently devours anything he is offered - he'd never say frosting was too sweet and the way he tackled a smoked salmon and caper pasta the other day brought tears to my eyes - he is such a comfort to me and I am telling you right now that I know which child is coming with me when I become an edibi-tourist. Loved your food memories by the way.    

So Patrick. Eight years old. What is there to say about Patrick? I just typed "he's a gift" three times and then erased it - all embarrassed because what a cliche - but... most of the time Patrick feels like a present. He is funny and loving and off-beat.  He doesn't have a mean bone in his body. When I asked who from his class he wanted to invite to his birthday party he was sincerely taken aback that I would even ask. He said, "Everybody, of course, or someone might feel left out."

He is occasionally thoughtless and often tactless and he never listens the first four times I tell him to do something and he has an irritating habit of saying "Yes master" on the fifth and he completely melts down when he is frustrated with himself (let us never forget that Steve once punched a hole in the wall after stubbing his toe - Patrick comes honestly by his self-control or lack thereof) but in the general scheme of things he is a Very Good Kid.

He is also such a good big brother. While we traveled he made my hovering paranoia about Caroline and Edward look like the neglectful disinterest a pirate captain might show his replaceable crew. He wouldn't just hold one of Caroline's hands as they walked he insisted on holding both, and he once tackled Edward into the grass when he thought a bicycle was about to run him over... from ten feet away. He worries about them and he plays with them and he is very very patient. Yesterday we broke out the kiddie pool and Patrick entertained the twins for an hour with the hose.

I

I told him afterward how much I appreciated his help and he said, "Oh yeah I almost forgot. You owe me twenty dollars for being nice to them."

I declined to pay although I noticed with great amusement that the name of his new company (he invoiced me) is "Infinity Co" and its motto is "It's too high to be a number!"

Patrick got sick for his birthday on Friday - which sucks - and then a major storm blew in (oh? you got that one too?) about five minutes after I took the birthday cake pictures and we were without power for two days. Being without electricity is annoying. Being without electricity when you have a birthday kid who is too sick to do anything but watch the unavailable Science channel is really annoying. Being without electricity when you have a kid who is sick and two filthy toddlers and you need electricity in order for the well pump to work, thus leaving you without electricity or water? Faugh. Beyond annoying. I finally got so desperate to at least rinse the cake dishes two days later that I carried up water from the hot water heater in the basement and setup a bucket sink. My mom suggested we go to a hotel but it just seemed too decadent. There must be a bit of early Christian martyr in me because being hot and dirty and bored and irritated beyond belief by all three children made me feel so virtuous and if there is anything nicer than finally washing your hair after being reduced to Handi-wipe sponge baths I don't want to know about it.

Speaking of my hair the most bizarre thing has happened. I wish I had a picture....

(why is this the only picture of me out of the 5000000 that were taken on vacation? are Steve's fingers broken?)

You cannot really tell from this photo beyond the frizzy halo but my hair has gone crazy. After having it below my shoulders for at least five years I got it cut to my chin a few weeks ago. This is not unprecedented. I have had shorter hair before. But for some reason in the interim my hair has gone from wavy to riotous curls that no amount of styling product can contain - even when I am not standing in front of a giant humidifier like Niagara Falls. My hair is now HUGE. Steve keeps poking at it and Patrick asked if I had gotten this hair cut on purpose. NO, I thought, I did not. Does hair actually change as you get older? And, more importantly, does the Brazilian keratin hair straightening about which my stylist pointedly gave me a brochure actually work? Please advise as I would be willing to adjust our austerity budget as needed if I can take the Bozo volume down to eleven.

What else?

Caroline is officially sleeping in her big girl bed which means I have to crawl around her room in the dark before I go to bed to find out where on the floor she has fallen asleep so I can transfer her back to her pillow.

It also means that her room constantly looks like a frat party just ended there so I am putting my plans to go nuts decorating a girly girl bedroom for her on hold. Meanwhile  Edward has noticed that Caroline is no longer sleeping in a crib and although he has resisted all mention of a bed of his own I have noticed his conversation has become punctuated with requests to do various things "like a big boy."

With Edward's deep and raspy and yet still pipsqueaky voice the addition of "like a big boy" slays me.

"Climb on the table like a big boy?" he says, all Lauren Bacall meets Elmo.

He realized half-way down the path to see Niagara Falls that if he bends at the waist and puts his hands down he can stop the stroller. This got old very very quickly. Caroline intervened

I found the fact that she kept hauling him back up strangely endearing. Most of the time they ignore each other. In fact when Emma at Tyler Place said she always finds twins easier because they entertain each other I opened my mouth to point out that Caroline and Edward are more like distant acquaintances than warm friends but having spent the previous ten minutes explaining the various safety pin systems we use to keep Caroline from falling out of a window naked I let it pass. 

I wouldn't say that Caroline's unwillingness to let Edward bang his nice round head against the ground is exactly the same as a special twin language that only they speak but it did indicate some kind of affection and without any previous indications of the kind I was touched. 

Where was I? Oh thwarted HGTV ambitions.

So I have been meaning to do... something... with both Caroline's and Edward's room for two years. Not knowing what we were having and being restricted to the couch for three months (god I miss bed rest) limited the decorating I did on the rooms for the babies formerly known as the 13s a and b to having Steve paint the walls a creamy yellow and asking Patrick to pick out some appropriate wall clings. He picked the alphabet (surprise!) and that's it in there. Our plan is to one day move Edward into the guest bedroom (it has a closet. his room does not) and punch a dormer into Edward's current room so that we can add both a closet and a small guest bathroom to that space. I asked Steve whether he could do this himself in his spare time and he said, "What? Can I easily change the roof line and put a waste pipe through the ceiling of our bedroom closet? No."

So I asked whether a contractor would charge more than one hundred dollars to do it for us and Steve said, "Yes."

So... so much for that idea.         

My point is that I hate their rooms but since Caroline keeps trashing the place and Edward's lease as a long-term squatter has been extended it doesn't seem to matter all that much. Still I have been trying to figure out what I can do to make their rooms more... oh, CUTE I guess... without spending, uh, almost anything. I'm open to suggestions.

We're off to Ohio for the fourth (so successful was our road warrioring that we have decided to drive back to Cleveland for a family reunion of sorts) but when we return I realized that we have nothing - literally nothing - planned for the rest of the summer. No camp, no trips, nothing. What do you do with your kids in the summer? I can foresee a time when the sprinkler fails to thrill.

Comments

[Sheridan]

Love the photo of Caroline asleep on the floor!

Happy Birthday to Patrick! I can't believe he is EIGHT!

[Steph]

I bought a DS game for myself . . but think it is one that Patrick would love. It is called PICROSS 3D. It give you a cube with numbers on it and you have to decide which cubes to keep and which ones to blast. When it is done . . it makes a shape. I'm not explaining it real well. But every time I play it I think of Patrick and the numbers thing.

Have fun in Cleveland!!!

[Katie]

My hair has got wavier as I have grown older - in my case from almost dead straight to "ooh, now I see it's curly when I scrunch dry it". I think it might be because it's getting drier.

A very irritating colleague who always goes on about her children and her pregnancies and how she planned them down to the last minute was saying "ooh, pregnancy makes your hair go curly" and although it is technically possible going through the first 4 weeks post-conception four times have this effect, I refrained from punching her and smiled sweetly and said "no, it's age I think".

Though perhaps it is the first four weeks post-conception, and going through more than four times makes your hair go even more curly.

[Tracy]

I desperately want to do the keratin straightening. It does work, according to my former student stylist, who considered it the greatest thing since sliced bread once he actually saw it in action (before that he was all "good God, Tracy, don't you dare.") A friend of mine did it and her hair did not turn out completely straight, which concerns me a bit, but for all I know she completely muffed the aftercare instructions. In the meanwhile, mousse tends to provide a stronger hold than gel (though that generally means that the big pouffy cloud of hair is simply more firmly pouffed).

Room cuteness... rugs? Target curtains?

[Joylynn]

Nothing really about room ideas or curly puff hair, but...I did want to mention that my daughter asked for a metal detector for Christmas when she was eight and loved it. That thing is really handy to have around!

[Jen]

For curly puffy hair, some anti-frizz products do help tame it into a more manageable state-the serums can work well, as long as a light hand is used, lest the hair then become greasy.

Your kids are beautiful and adorable. As the gap between my son and hypothetical future children widens (it would be a five-year age difference if I conceived now), it heartens me greatly to see the relationship between Patrick and the twins.

[Abby]

We live at the pool. What can I say? It tires him out so I can work in the afternoon.

Also. My husband hit his head on the ceiling over the basement stairs. So he punched a hole in it, of course. My 2-year-old hurls across the room any toy that upsets him. I believe our boys may be related.

[Lise]

My hair was dead-straight until I was in my late twenties and then turned decidedly wavy. My mother told me that hers did the same thing. I don't know why she couldn't have told me that when I was in high school, during the 80's big hair craze. It would have given me something to look forward to when I was spending an hour a day using the blowdryer, hot rollers, and curling iron to make my permed hair hold a curl.

[Stephanie]

Frequent reader but infrequent commenter but I am moved to chime in re: the Brazilian hair straightening system! My cousin has extremely curly hair (short, tight curls all over - think fresh perm) and she went through the process b/c she would spend so much time with a flat iron and her hair was never really straight AND her hair was getting trashed in the process. And now? Wow. She has the straightest hair and she is THRILLED. I have the shampoo, conditioner, straightener and if I take the time, my frizzy, kinky, coarse hair can be straight with just a brush and a blow dryer. AMAZING. Plus, the stuff smells good :) I want to visit Niagra Falls!

[Barb]

Do you read Bye, Bye Pie? HilARious blog. She has hair "issues" and wrote about having hers straightened recently. Go there. Enjoy!

http://byebyepie.typepad.com/bye_bye_pie/2010/06/an-update-on-the-hair-since-yall-are-obsessed.html

[afc]

rather than having steve put in the dormer,etc., how about having him install a propane generator?
re: the curl: deva curl products .. do not FIGHT THE CURL ... embrace it .. these products will make you love your hair again, curls and all:
http://www.devaconcepts.com/

[SusanOR]

Wall decals

Much better than painting -- and they can be removed easily when the kidlets outgrow that particular pattern.

We found ours on Etsy -- went with One Fish Two Fish at daughter's request (and it wasn't cloyingly pink! at my request).

[Jujube]

My hair also went from stick-straight in my youth to wavy (looking like I have just let out braids) after I had my three children (the hair becoming slightly more wavy with each successive pregnancy), so it does happen. As for unruly curls...I can't speak to any solution personally, but I do have some suggestions based on my husband and oldest son as well as a cousin who have unmanageable curls. My husband and son simply keep their hair very short and have it thinned when it's cut. With my fine, limp waves, I am horrified at the idea of cutting off lovely cherubic curls, so I certainly don't recommend that. Anyway, my cousin really likes Curl.Life by Matrix (their Biolage Smooththerapie line is also worth considering). You have to buy it at a salon, but it's very reasonably priced and she swears by it. Just go to their website and enter you zip code to find a salon near you that carries it. She also uses American Crew Pomade (scrunching in a pea-sized amount on damp hair) which kind of weighs down the curls a bit as they dry so they are more formed and less frizzy. Oh, and you should always use an ionizing hair dryer with a diffuser if you MUST blow it dry (which you generally shouldn't).

As for the bedrooms, paint is pretty inexpensive and there are so many interesting effects that are offered these days. One of my favorites (and easiest) is to buy two cans of the same color, one in a matte and the other in a gloss, and paint alternating vertical stripes around the room. It's surprisingly effective. And I definitely agree with Tracy...shop Target. It's full of cute stuff that is very budget-conscious.

[Eva]

Rigi catwalk curls rock curl amplifier. Less amplifier than controller and defrizzer. Only thing that works for me.

[Eva]

Sorry tigi.

[Gigi]

Yes, yes, yes, yes on the Brazilian Keratin Treatment! Just had it done a month ago and I am thrilled beyond measure. It does NOT take out all the curl, nor all the body, just relaxes it into softer waves. What it DOES do, and by golly, it does it in spades, is remove 100% of the frizz. ONE HUNDRED PERCENT. As in, ALL OF IT. It's the stuff miracles are made of, I tell you. Last weekend I got caught out in a heavy downpour, and when I finally got to the car I was expecting to see Roseanne Roseannadana staring back at me in the rearview mirror, per usual. But no! It was just sitting there, gently curling. Gently curling! And not frizzing! You could have knocked me over with a cheap drugstore flat iron. Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I do have to tell you this: it was very pricey, took almost 4 hours, and I couldn't wash my hair for 3 days. Three long, awful days, when my hair looked like total crap. I've never spent more money in a salon and walked out looking worse. Oooohhh, but the payoff on that 3rd day after I washed it...it was nothing short of a miracle. And now I no longer have to fear the rain, or a .0037% change in the humidity, or the beach, or swimming. The day after I had it done I swore never again, but just like childbirth, you forget about the bad parts and focus on the lovely end result. (And your 3 end results are quite lovely indeed, btw) Just do it. You won't regret it!

[Karishma]

i love your kids! that is all i can possibly say...

...except not exactly. don't get the brazilian keratin treatment. it's gross and chemically and only lasts a couple months. maybe three. the keratin coppola treatment is *way* better. it will leave you with some body and curl, but no crazy frizziness. you do have to invest in a salon quality sodium-free shampoo (if you don't, the sodium chloride will quite literally strip the treatment out) and also wash your hair as little as possible. aim for twice a week. but, if you're careful, it should last about half a year. it's also cumulative, so if you do it every four or five months or so, it will actually make your hair healthier. it's like magic or something.

[HereWeGoAJen]

Yes! I have frizzy hair and I recently cured it by totally stopping using shampoo. I just use water to wash my hair now (if that grosses you out, there is also a baking soda and vinegar solution, but that didn't defrizz me nearly as much) and it totally made my hair into a normal person's hair.

I posted about it here: http://herewegoajen.com/?p=105

And my friend posted about it here:
http://creatingmotherhood.com/2010/06/29/the-beauty-the-splendor-the-wonder-of-my-hair/

[tgsdmom]

Congrats to Patrick! What color is 8? I bet it is much nicer than 7...

Re hair: curls are also nice, esp. when there's a smile to go with them. why not try them for a while. They'll probably (partially) go away as your hair grows back.

[June Gardens]

I see someone was nice enough to mention my blog in your comments. I cover the straightening process itself in this post:

http://byebyepie.typepad.com/bye_bye_pie/2010/06/the-new-june-gardens.html

Look at me over here, promoting my own blog. My ego is as big as my hair. Seriously, though, I am SO PLEASED with this treatment. It's like I am a normal person now, with regular-person hair! You will not be sorry!

[Allison]

I've had curly hair all my life, but it is fine curly hair, not the coarse type. So I'm aware that not all products work equally well on curly hair. That being said, I swear by Frizz-ease serum and Pantene Mousse. Gel is no good, hairspray is even worse.

As for the keratin treatment, I worry how such things will be when your roots start to show. The roots will be curly, and those are the hardest pieces to straighten. Perhaps invest in a Chi flat iron instead?

[kat]

Unfortantly I have no solutions to the curly hair since it has been so humid and gross here in NYC I have resorted to putting mine in a bun everyday lately. But I am intrested in feedback on the hairstraightning...I had always heard that since I am chemically blonde shall we say that I can't do another chiemical treatment. Any thoughts?

[Maria]

I didn't want to do anything super expensive or complicated when I moved my daughter to her bed, figuring that she would have her own opinion in a few years on how to decorate. My solution? Ebay, for a comforter set which came with shams, decorator pillows, and wall art for under $100. Caroline probably doesn't care what it looks like, and it's at least a solution for the moments you want to make the bed for the house tour that includes, "And this is Caroline's room. . ."

[jan]

You will probably have to redo the rooms when they start developing preferences around five or six -- for now, I'm not sure anyone but you notices the decor. If you don't need curtains for privacy or light, they just collect dust and dander. I would go with inexpensive items that are safe and interesting for this age, that can be easily removed, or might remain of interest for more years. Glow in the dark stars on the ceiling and a moon nightlight?(moon in my room: http://boingboing.net/2007/11/08/moon-in-my-room-astr.html) Imaginative colorful throw pillows whose covers can be easily washed (a "tire," a flower, a white corduroy snowman face, etc.)? I've been intrigued by hearing that some people paint one wall with blackboard surface paint or make into a whiteboard, but I'm not sure you want chalk dust everywhere or magic marker. How about a felt board wall section for Caroline? You can buy all sorts of felt board shapes (sample, but many more than this, just google: http://www.thefeltsource.com/Educational.html?gclid=CJnGxtORyaICFYNd5Qod7W0YwQ) If you feel she will stay girly girly over time, you could get, say, a low vanity dressing table with a skirt and mirror and keep that in the later collection. By the way, I saw a magnadoodle on Caroline's floor. What *did* you take for them to play with on the car trip? When Edwad does move to a bed, it could be made to look like a vehicle. The super curling hair could be hormonal -- normally it goes straighter as you age. How are you doing in the general endocrinological/immune system department?

[AlisonM]

We just redid our 3-year old's room, and we kept all the same furniture but painted a fun colour and added some touches. A new comforter, and her absolute favourite part - those wall lights from ikea. They cost 8 bucks, and come in many shapes. She loves to play with the lights at night (small deviousness, allowed) which has the added bonus of keeping her in bed until she falls asleep. Score!

[Gigi]

Don't mean to hog the comment section, but I forgot to add a couple of things. It works best on hair that has been colored or highlighted. Weird, but true. Something about the hair shaft already being opened and more receptive, or some such scientific nonsense. Patrick could probably explain it better. Also, it gradually fades away, so there's no line of demarcation with new growth as there is when you get it relaxed. You do have to use special shampoos without silicones. My stylist is having me use Pureology. More science. I just want frizz-free summer hair, for pete's sake! Enough with the chemistry lessons already!

And finally, I have come to the realization that this process has caused me to swap one obsession for another - instead of fearing moisture, I now fear that one of these days I'm going to come out of the shower and be all Bozo-ed back up. So far so good...

[bethany actually]

Yet another link to a Brazilian-keratin-treatment success story:

http://www.mamalogues.com/2010/06/so-the-other-day-feeling.html

I have a friend who in her youth had mildly wavy hair, and by her late teens had curly hair. I myself had STICK-STRAIGHT hair until I was 29, and then when I was pregnant my hair became wavy. It was the weirdest thing to me at the time, although now--six years later--I'm mostly used to it. So I would guess maybe it's hormones, which fluctuate during pregnancy AND as one ages, that can change one's hair.

Next time the power goes out and you have a sick kid, for goodness' sake, get thee to a hotel with electricity! Even if it's only for a day and night, at least you can entertain the sick kid, wash your hair, and have a swim in the pool for your money. That's my take on it anyway. :-)

Now if you'll excuse me I need to go pack my suitcases for a trip that begins tomorrow morning at 4am at the wrong airport thanks to...oh, let's call 'em Schmelta Airlines cancelling our more reasonable flight and substituting different for us without asking. Grr.

[Darlene]

I had stick-straight hair that required two perm solutions and sitting under the hot dryer in the tiniest curlers to even consider having any body to it. After I had my son, my hair turned wavy. I love it, but it's strange to suddenly have such different hair.

[Andrea]

I also have crazy curly hair that seems to be worsening with age. Only 2 things have worked so far: Gloss Drops by Paul Mitchell, I absolutely loved how it made my hair look - but I was allergic and it made my eyeballs feel like they were being scraped by razor blades; my current is Curly Sexy Hair by Sexy Hair.

[Caroline]

STOP. DO NOT DO ANYTHING WITH YOUR HAIR YET. I say this as a curlyhead from BIRTH who has hair that is, I promise, way, waaaay curlier than yours. And I have done everything possible with it, and to it. If you do the Brazilian keratin, yes, it's great. It cost me $450 all told and it wears off, so it's not really a permanent fix unless you are willing to spend a ton of $$$ or take your chances on over the counter home treatments. I did the BK treatment once and loved it, but could not afford to keep doing it. Then I went to a Ouidad certified salon, where they cut your hair in a way meant for curly hair, NOT straight hair, and they style it specifically for curly hair, and IT WORKS. The cut is expensive ($85 - $100) but even so, I can see the hairdresser four times a year for what I paid for ONE BK treatment. The products are great and not any more expensive than any other salon stuff. Check out ouidad.com and see what you think, but I am telling you, I would NOT do a keratin treatment again because comparatively speaking, I want to be able to deal with my hair MYSELF and not have to have constant upkeep of a chemical process. Sorry to get all shouty with the caps lock, but like I said, I've been there and done everything possible with my hair, and I'd love someone to benefit from my 40+ years of trial and (mostly) error!

[Noelle]

For the babes' rooms, why don't we do a trip to IKEA sometime? They have some excellent (and really cheap!) cute stuff for kids' rooms.

Noelle

[Diane]

http://www.jessicurl.com

[Helen]

Not sure if this is wrong to say, but perhaps Caroline is preventing Edward from stopping the stroller because she wants to keep on moving forward. I only say that because that seems like something my son would be annoyed at - if I kept stopping the stroller. In fact, he's yelled at me to keep going whenever I stop. But of course, you know your cutie better than any of us. :)

About the hair, I can only guess that it gets curlier when it's shorter, but I don't think that's what you want to hear either. As always, love the pics.

[kris (lower case)]

i am just a bit west of cleveland... are you coming to make lebron stay?? just kidding...

[sara]

i really like bumble and bumble curl conscious defining creme for my curls...that and the lack of humidity in northern california :). not cheap, but the only thing that has really ever *worked*--and i've tried a lot of stuff!

[Amy]

Happy Birthday Patrick! He does sound like a gift. Just go ahead and say it! (but not to him - sounds like he might up his hourly rates)

re: hair changing, to echo some other commenters - Yes, yes, YES! For most of my life (approx. years 1-33) I had razor-blade straight hair and longed for something, anything resembling a curl. I now know how good I had it. I now, at 37 and after 2 pregnancies, have large spiral curly patches randomly located about my head, usually directly underneath stalwart patches of less-curly or even straight hair. The result is, as you might imagine, disastrous. I have to decide each morning, do I go with the curly stuff - or straighten it all into submission - and select the appropriate hair product/technique. It sucks. So far, the John Frieda anti-frizz stuff seems to work best for the straight days - haven't found any good curly stuff.

Good luck on the next road trip!

[Hetty Fauxvert]

First, yay to Patrick's Big Eight! Sorry the actual birthday was no good, though. :(

Just wanted to comment on the blackboard paint, since someone else suggested it. We painted our twins' bifold closet doors with the stuff, and while it was ultimately successful and the blackboard paint seems to be holding up well, it took us about eight or ten coats of paint to get even coverage. (YES! I said EIGHT or TEN FREAKIN' COATS of blackboard paint!) It took us several DAYS to finish what we thought would be a one afternoon project. Beware.

(That said, they LOVE the closet doors and I expect it to remain useful for roughly, oh, until they go to college. So maybe it was worth it. But that was a long few days.)

[Keren]

Happy Birthday Patrick!!

Re: your hair. My originally dead straight hair developed a slight wave at the back that intensified with age (and with kids). A year and a half ago I had it cut into a much shorter style (ear length-ish) with a fringe (Australian for bangs) and BOOM - waves everywhere and a forehead that looked like it had a small brown sheep stuck to it.

I embraced the curls, bought a fortune in curly hair products, and three weeks later my hair was back to its' pre-cut level of waviness. It was the haircut that caused it to bounce up and eventually it settled back down again. This might happen with yours too, particularly when the humidity dies down.

I still use the Frizz-ease serum that I bought though. A tiny bit on the palms and patted on smooths things down considerably.

[Henna @ AboutCabinets Blog]

the pictures are just great, its what i call a happy family, everyone enjoying themselves for once forgetting the problems or woes of life,

[Nicky]

Patrick is a legend!!! I cant get over the invoice!!

[Becky]

I am a big fan of painting/stamping/stenciling exceedingly simple murals on the walls of rooms aimed at young children. It gives them "art" that they can look at and touch without damaging and they aren't terribly critical.

A relatively quick and painless route that also has worked well for us is to install a picture rail 2/3-3/4 of the way up the wall and then paint the wall below a mellow green and the wall above and ceiling a light blue with clouds sponged on. There are a number of sites with directions about clouds but it's really just slightly thinned white paint applied with a largish sponge. It gives the room a lot of character and looks decorated without actually doing much. I added yellow curtains and it's looked decent for almost 4 years while adapting easily to most decorating schemes via sheet sets, etc. Patrick could make various planes, space ships, etc to hang from the ceiling. Alternatively, you could make a twilight paint theme in the other bedroom with a purple and dark blue combo and Patrick could make stars, planets, etc.

Also, has Steve discovered this site? It seems like he would like it and you could find some cute kids stuff fairly easily. My husband is quite a bit less handy than yours and is currently working on the farmhouse toddler bed with a lot of luck. http://www.knock-offwood.com/

[chris]

I was going to suggest going shampoo-free. My sister in law has cuh-razy curly hair and she has been so much happier with the state of it since she stopped shampooing it and only uses conditioner. She recently went to a new stylist who commented on the condition of her hair and when she told her that she doesn't use shampoo, the stylist was floored! She said that her hair was in great shape and her curls looked nice and no frizz!

[Tracy]

Kat, I've been told that the keratin treatment can be used on chemically treated hair. In fact, my stylist (he was a student and he shadowed someone who was doing these) said his trainer used it on a client with straight hair whose hair had been damaged by treatments. Apparently it's just that good. But you want the keratin straightening. There's an older "Brazilian" straightening method that uses formaldehyde and is just toxic and nasty as hell.

Anyway. If you decide to stick with the curls, there are two good ways of handling the frizz. Some people, like me, have good luck with silicone (Frizz Ease and the like) and others have better luck with protein-based products (Sebastian Potion #9, if I remember right, and some Burt's Bees products).

[Katherine J.]

I love your writing!

Re: curly hair, please forgive me if this is obvious, but it took me 2 years to learn when my hair went curly at age 13 - when you have curly hair with a frizz tendency, you can't brush your hair like everyone else. Only brush it in the shower with conditioner and I find that not brushing it at all helps it to form curl clumps, which keep the frizz down. Also echoing the comments that it takes several weeks for a new haircut to settle in and summer months are always more difficult with the humidity.

[Kathleen999]

My hair got much wavier (and it was only slightly wavy in back before) after I had my twins. And hair does change as you get older as well. Mine got thicker until I lost a ton of weight and now a lot has fallen out. I've been told it may or may not return.

As for the playing-togetherness of your twins...they are not at that stage yet. Mine didn't really start playing together until close to 4. And then...ah, it is so lovely to see/hear their games. Until someone hits someone or takes their toy. But mostly it is bliss and it is the reward for all those months/years of sleeplessness and constant baby care.

[SarahB]

My husband and I are thinking about trying to have kids, so for fun we toured the kids section of IKEA on a recent visit. Oh, what fun indeed!

Since the twins are transitioning to beds, you might let them pick out a new sheet/blanket set and get matching curtains. We are in an apartment now, and I was amazed how polished the rooms look with fresh curtains.

[Beth]

The description of Caroline's room is apt and helps me put words to the phenomenon happening in our two-year-old's room since he is no longer receptive to sleepign in his crib. I feel like a stuffed animal zoo has escaped and there is no chance of containing anything.

[Sara]

Happy birthday Patrick!

[Cris]

Your hair definitely changes at various points in your life--mines getting curlier too. As for deocrating, I highly endorse the wall cling, although, best to now let the toddler in question know they are removable/reusable. After involving our two year old daughter in the application of said wall clings above her new big girl bed, we left her for a nap. When we cam back, the wall clings had all been rearranged (not pleasingly so) and many were crumpled in a ball on the floor.

[caroline]

My hair was always had body when I was young. I got it cut short when I was 10 and as long as I dried it, it looked cute. Fast forward to 12 years old - puberty hits and my hair decides to curl. Not sorta curl, but ringlets curl. Not a good look with short hair (think Annie, but blonde and sullen.) ANYWAY, about that same time my mother was going through "the change" and her hair went from curly to straight. It was a bad hair YEAR... for both of us. Eventually I accepted my curls and my mom accepted that her hair routine would take double the amount of time that it used to. In college I decided to go for straight hair again and I tried the keratin hair straightening treatment. Holy goodness, it worked. My ringlets had only gotten tighter over time but when they did the treatment, my hair was straight and smooth... it was crazy. And it lasted.. and when it started to wear off my hair just gradually became wavy and then curly again. It's not like the Japanese straightening treatment that works like a permanent relaxer. Anyway, I recommend it.