The Dreaded First Haircut

One of my little boys has curly hair like Mama...and usually it results in an unkempt jungle-child appearance. I've been postponing this haircut because when his hair chooses to behave, he has beautiful little angel curls around his ears and by his neck. As any mother knows, these are very treasured little bits of babyhood and it's difficult to let go of them and realize your baby is growing up. He's been looking the worse for wear the past few days, and I've finally come to terms with the inevitable: I have to clip his hair.

No, Dad, I DON'T want to pose!

I had to groom some of the curls so
I could save them for my mom.  This photo doesn't
do them justice.

The easiest way for me to trim the back was for Dad to hold him while he watched Sesame Street and occasionally checked on my progress.

The rest of the cut needed to be from his highchair because I had to get to the top of his head. It was a little difficult to keep everything even because he kept moving around, but I really think the secret is to do only a little at a time. You can always take off more, but you can't put it back.

Wes enjoys noodles for lunch after his haircut!

In the end, he didn't seem to care that he had a nice haircut. I'm glad that his hair doesn't go into his eyes and the back of it doesn't stick straight out a la mad scientist. I'm also glad that I didn't have to drag him, his brother, his father, and a bunch of baby gear to some place to have someone to cut his hair too short and then charge me for it.
But I digress. People with the proper schooling and skill know what they're doing. Just not in my area.

I think he looks quite dapper. 

Minimal hair was harmed in the making of this blog post.

I know that this post and the last haven't been the most substantial. This is mostly for our out-of-area families that missed the occasion.

Do you have a bad haircut experience that you'd care to share?

Some of Life's Grape Questions

Let me start this post by raisin the bar.
I stepped on a grape; it let out a little whine.
Okay, okay... these puns are really starting to grape on me.

Hahaha, you're such a grape group of people.

Done. Really.

A few weeks ago, I was mushroom hunting with Indulgent Husband (for pleasure only) and I came across some wild grape vines with unripe fruit. I took a few leaves home and identified them. Knowing that Muscadine grapes are native to North Carolina, I became very excited!

 A Muscadine leaf is identified by it's saw-toothed
  edge and  is unlobed, unlike other grape varieties.

Muscadine grapes are members of the "slip-skin" type of grapes. The skin 'slips' very easily from the inner pulp and large seeds. Muscadines range in color from bronze to black (dark purple) and pleasing, both to the palate and the eye. They can be identified by their leaf shape (see below) and by their grouping of usually no more than 4 to 5 in a cluster. More often than not, I found them in pairs or stand-alones.

A pair of ripe Muscadines.

When you are foraging, the most important thing is not to know what's available in your area, or when it's peak season is; it's knowing the dangerous plants and poisonous look-alikes. IF YOU AREN'T 100% SURE OF IT'S IDENTIFICATION, DO NOT EAT IT. I don't want anyone getting sick because they mistook Pokeberries (Phytolacca Americana) or Common Moonseeds (Menispermum Canadense) for grapes. Make sure to ID leaves, stems, fruit, flowers, and whatever else is available on the plant in question.

Pokeberries L, Moonseed R

I spent about two hours reaching, grunting and being attacked by shrubbery and I'm now the proud owner of  a pound and a half of wild grapes. It isn't a terribly impressive amount, but it's just the beginning of the season, after all. I tool a stroll in the surrounding areas and ended up finding a glorious Maitake (Hen of the Woods) mushroom. I deemed it inedible because it had been nibbled by bugs and was starting to be a little past it's prime.

It was a little smaller than a volleyball in diameter!

A few other sights from yesterday:

This picture doesn't begin to explain how large this tree was...

Purple mushrooms???

Whats up, hometurtle?

Later tonight I'll be making some wild grape jelly with my little haul of grapes. Since it's a time-intensive thing (juice straining, time for the jelly to set, etc), I'll be sharing my results on Thursday. I'm really craving some jelly now...

What is your favorite part about taking a walk outside?

Summer Gold

Peaches, unlike Olympic medals, are the gold accessible to almost everyone in the summer and very early fall season; and here in the South, they're sweet, abundant, and cheap! Read more after the jump!

It's been a million years...

But I'm finally ready to begin blogging with regularity again. The boys are walking, But I'm FLYing. (That stands for Finally Loving Yourself.)

Seriously, check out The Flylady sometime if you're needing a personal life coach. She's helping me deal with my side-tracked tendencies, my three messy monsters, and well... I'll let you check that out for yourself if you're interested.

Not my photo. www.faithwriters.com

Anyhooters! I'm blogging again, and I'm going to shoot for posts on Tuesdays and Thursdays and maybe Saturdays. If there are extras, that's great! If I'm a day late, please don't be angry! Toddlers are a busy thing.

I love you guys, thanks for sticking with me!