Let Me Tell You 'Bout My Girls!

Well, let's just put it this way: They're no Ordinary Girls. Life with them at least isn't what I expected life with girls to be.

I had a picture of hair. Girly hair. The sorta hair that you brushed, and groomed, and did things in. Like French Braids. Inside-out French Braids. Maybe even a French Braid that circled the head like a crown. Evenings of giggles, and foam rollers or rag curls. I guess, we have a lot of the evenings of giggles, just how I imagined it. Even better. But, the curls? Maybe with Girl #1 from the ages 3-6. That was it.

Then she decided curls weren't cool, dresses weren't cool, girly-girls weren't cool. The rest followed in her footsteps. Gone are the dreams of patiently and lovingly wrapping their hair, section by section, into rollers. Unfurling their luscious curls in the morning, watching their curls bob and bounce around their shoulders as they run and play around the house or board the bus proudly, showing what their mother did to make their hair beautiful.

Honestly, some of the girls would go into infinity never, ever touching a brush to their hair. I draw the line at school and church...I insist they groom themselves at least for those two occasions. I have literally chased a couple of them around the house with a brush before, saying, "You might as well stop right now, young lady! I still can run faster than you and I will catch you and I will brush your hair regardless of your wishes or opinions!" Sad truth? At least one of the girls, I know could outrun me! Girl #3 is Speedy Quick. Like lightning. I won't ever tell her that. She will find out soon enough. For now, she still thinks I am faster than her. And that I will catch her. And I will brush her hair. So she stops and lets me.

So, in the meantime, they have unkempt, undone hair, just hanging there:















And their own, homemade ponytails:












And their own homemade haircuts:
















And dress up? Sure. They do like to dress up. In their own sorta way:
















But not for church. Not for school. Dresses? Ew. Way to girly. Girl #3 actually went through a phase she would have dressed up for church. She would have dressed up for school. In dress-up clothes, in all their glory. Probably still would. If I would let her. I won't. I used to once in a while oblige. Let her come to the grocery store with me in her dress-up clothes. In her Clip-Clop shoes. She loved it. Secretly...I kinda loved it too! It showed her little flair-ish personality that we see in her every day of her life. We enjoy it. Why not let everyone else enjoy it too? :)

Tree climbing has become The Middle Children's favorite sport:









See her?







Waaay up there? (click on the picture and *gulp* see how high she goes!)






And her..?
All snug there in the tree?









Monkeys!






They like to do SpyWork.











From waaay up there.







And you know what the Older of The Middle Children told me, excitedly and furtively? "Mom! Now you know our secret! Our secret places we step and hold onto and climb to get waay up here!" And I told her, "And now wanna know my secret? I've been watching you. I've been watching you two climbing up this tree. From the kitchen window. Betcha didn't even know, did you?"


Know what though? Back to the Girl thing? Betcha can't guess what's been happening lately! My oldest girl has started to let me buy her kinda Girly clothes again. And she oftentimes wears my clothes now. And shoes. And uses my hairstuff. I even find my shavers misplaced! I decided to just get one for her...to cut down on the wandering shaver thing. It's been kind of fun! She respects my fashion sense now. Even asks my opinion. Are we coming full circle?














One other thing? When I had my first baby, I had decided that I was not going to get into that girl/pink and boy/blue thing! I mean, what was that all about? I was going to dress my little girl in mini-me clothes. I mean, the girl's gotta maintain her dignity. She has to be fashionable. I dressed her in little jeans, sweaters, and boots. Found out quickly, babies don't do cute little fashionable boots.

Well, it took a few babies for me to embrace the Pink thing. And now, it's Pink, Pink, Pink, Pink. She's a GIRL, for crying out loud. A GIRL!!!!

In all her Pink Glory!