Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Cute

In my academic life, I learned a lot about kids' development. I learned about reflexes, brain development, attachment--the whole shebang. I also learned about personality development (or temperament as it's usually called). You can usually tell within the first few months what your baby's tendencies will be--for example, does he or she seem sensitive to bright lights, loud noises, etc.? Is the baby more active or more quiet? With my first two kids, I paid close attention to their development, making sure they hit their milestones on time, watching their progression through the stages of cognitive and emotional development I had learned about.

With my third child, who came along quickly after my second, I didn't have the luxury of time to observe him. I felt overwhelmed with three kids under the age of 6 (which might seem manageable to some, but not to me:) and spent my days putting out one fire or another with not much time to enjoy my little guy. When he was between about 1 and 1 1/2, we went through our toughest period. He is very

Hair days, hair days, good ol' golden hair days...

So I was thinking about my hair today--not unusual for someone like me who's struggled to make peace with her hair most of her life. Growing up in the South with curly hair--not pretty, my friend. I cut it short, grew it long, pulled it back, wore it down, bangs, no bangs, you name it. In the late 70's and early 80's, the Farrah Fawcett look was all the rage; "feathering," we called it. My hair didn't feather. The best I could do were two sausage rolls on either side of my head. But I wore it that way every day, rain or shine. When I went to college, I stopped wearing makeup most days and stopped "doing" my hair most days as well. I finally took the advice of a boyfriend who suggested that I grow my bangs and wear it naturally curly. That hairdo outlasted that boyfriend, which was a good thing. It was also something that attracted my husband to me--also a good thing. When I graduated and started working, I thought I needed "grownup" hair, so I started cutting it short again in a style I called "First Lady" hair. It also sometimes looked like the "brown football helmet" referenced in the film, "Steel Magnolias."

Out of the frying pan, into the fire!

This blog is something I've been pondering for a while now--so long, that I've grown older in the pondering. But each day I get older, each day I also find there's less time to waste. So, here I am--out of the frying pan, into the fire. Since I had my third kid two years ago, that kinda describes my life anyway.

So, a little bit about me:
Mom of three (but you probably figured that out already) amazing, smart, lively kids who leave me totally deep fried at the end of the day:).
Raised in the South but currently living in the West. Some days I hate snow--really, really hate it.
Recovering academic who left full-time teaching for the comparatively relaxing job of SAHM--hah!
Currently chasing after said 3 kids, teaching part-time, leading a Brownie troop, and trying to find my sanity in the 10 minutes or so left over at the end of the day.

Sound familiar? Then I hope we'll have lots to talk about!