Time to Let it Out

One week ago today I experienced something so very traumatic I have only mentioned in it passing to a few people.  I really couldn’t wrap my mind around all of the horrors of this experience until today.  I feel to be completely purged, I must let it all out.  Many of you know of my frugal nature.  I can’t help it – in fact, I rather fancy it.  I believe the only way to enjoy spending money is to feel as if you have saved a good percentage of it on the good or service you have purchased.  Anyway, this nature of mine lends itself to me waiting way too long for services such as haircuts and coloring to name a few.  So, my last haircut and coloring was in September…like I said, WAY too long.  The thought of spending $85-$100 on my hair kinda turns my stomach, so when I found the Aveda Training Institute I thought I had hit the jackpot.  You can get a cut, full color, mini-facial, and a hand massage for $55 and they prohibit tips – it’s like a frugal woman’s wonderland.  I’ve gone several times and been relatively happy with my “do” when I left.  That was until last Friday.  Honestly, I’m cringing just thinking about it.  My appointment was set for 12:00 (you know, Wayland had an office day – this was right around Luke’s nap time – it should have been perfect).  As I entered the salon, my student-in-training led me to the left of the room.  I felt my nerves flare a bit.  I had always gone to the right – toward the area of the “near graduates” – this was the side for the newbies.  My girl’s neighbor was finishing a cut right about the time we were starting.  Her client left and she completely went berserk.  “Oh my gosh, my very first haircut!!! Did you see it???  Did it look okay?  I was so nervous!!!”  My girl smiles and gives her congratulations.  I ask my girl if she and her neighbor started the school at the same time.  She says “yes.”  My blood runs cold.  At 2:15 my hair was sectioned into four different quadrants on my head – I had color on the roots of about half of one quadrant.  Let me remind you I was getting FULL color…it had been over two hours and we were no where near done.  “Lord, help me be patient.  This is her first time – let me be an example of Your love…and patience…please give me patience.”  I really meant it, but as minutes passed, I felt the onset of what I think must have been a panic attack knocking at my door.  A “near graduate” came to help with the color and at 3:45 we were heading toward the shampoo room.   I told my girl I was really needing to get home soon, my son had a basketball game at 6:00 and I still needed to feed my family – I felt we should skip the mini-facial, just wash my hair, cut it, and get me gone.  She proceeds to remove my make-up immediately (leaving an enormous red and swollen zit exposed on my cheek that had taken me at least 5 minutes to cover) then she tries to wash out the color.  It wasn’t good – I kept telling her that I didn’t think she had gotten it all – I would scratch the back of my neck and my finger would come out brown, and I’d go back in the sink.   When we finally made it back to her station it was 4:15.  She asks me if I really need a cut today or if I would like to come back some other time.  No, I want it cut today – just a trim – can we make it snappy?   She begins sectioning my hair into four quadrants again, by the time she’s done it’s 4:50.  Philip’s game is at 6:00 – there is no way I can make it.  Wayland had to leave Nathanael home alone with the two little ones while I painfully finished up.  The instructor had to take over the cut at about 5:15.  I guess he finally heard my silent screams for him to come over and finish so I could get out of there.  Five hours and 45 minutes after I sat down for that cut I walked out.  My eyes were full of tears and I was shaking from hunger pains.  My girl was so optimistic – “at least you had a day away for some pampering.”  She said it so genuinely, I couldn’t possibly object.  I made it to Philip’s game after halftime.  Wayland just looked at me with a puzzled look.  My forehead was covered in brown color – along with a few spots on my cheek.  The enormous pimple on my cheek was shining for the whole crowd to see.  I thought I possibly couldn’t look worse coming away from the salon than I did going into it…I was wrong.   He came over to see if I was okay – I didn’t have to answer him for him to know.  “Well, it’s your own fault you know.  If you weren’t so dad-gummed cheap you would have gone to a professional and not had to put up with all that.”  I guess he’s right.  I’m turning over a new leaf – I’m not going cheap on the hair anymore…I don’t have the time.

Anna’s Zoo

Bedtime at our house is always interesting.  The boys all go down pretty easily.  After we pray, Philip likes a story(preferably one from our childhood).  Luke likes a little rocking and a story.  Nathanael does just fine with big ol’ kiss.  Anna Elizabeth needs a three-ring circus complete with cracker-jacks and a juggler.  We read stories, tell stories, leave the light on so she can look at books, turn on the music and hope she comes down no more than ten times after we tuck her in.  We have found her in many different positions and with many different objects when we go back up and check to make sure she is asleep.  Last week (as you can see below) she fell asleep while reading.  The book was literally laying across her face and she was sleeping soundly underneath.  Last night was a rough night.  She just couldn’t go to sleep.  I finally suggested she find a stuffed animal or baby and snuggle with it.  She was upstairs for a while before she came back down saying, “I know I’m not supposed to be down here, BUT…could you please come up and see my animal zoo?”  “Anna Elizabeth, you better get up there right now and I will see your animal zoo when I come up to go to sleep. GO TO BED!!!”  It was a while before I got up there, and when I did I was carrying two armloads of laundry.  You can not even begin to imagine the jolt I experienced when I walked into that room and saw a stick horse sticking up between her wall and her bed surrounded by I don’t even know how many other animals.  I just saw this horse’s head hovering above my sleeping daughter and about jumped out of my skin.  I don’t know how that girl sleeps with all her paraphernalia, but whatever it takes to make her stay in bed, I guess I can live with.        

 

First Post – Its all downhill from here

I guess the idea of keeping a journal always appealed to me – just not enough to ever actually do it.  Maybe this blog will allow me to “put to paper” some of the thoughts bouncing around my head.  I just need to remember that this is a blog, on the internet, for all to see.  So if I forget that and post anything related to bedroom fantasies, secret phobias, or like material – just post a comment and tell me to keep it to myself.

I am a sales manager for an insurance company with Indiana and western Michigan as my territory.  So that means that on an average day, I am driving about 4 hours round trip.  If you give a mind like mine that kind of time to wonder – you are going to get some pretty interesting stuff.  Add to that the fact that I stay consistently wired on “SoBe No-Fear, Sugar Free” energy drink (sponsors to this blog are welcome), and it gets downright Area 51 weird. 

For example – today, I saw a hawk sitting on a fence post which reminded me of one of my favorite movies: Black Hawk Down.  That in turn made me curious as to who the lead character in that movie was: Josh Hartnet (I think).  That lead me the movie he starred in called: Forty Days and Forty Nights (or something like that).  The theme of the movie was about a guy that vowed to not have sex for 40 days/nights.  Well, I never saw that movie – but it got me thinking about sex and marriage which reminded me of my all-time favorite television show:  Everybody Loves Raymond.  Anyone who has been married for a while with multiple kids knows that that show is the most accurate comedy about marriage ever made.  Well, all of the above thought pattern took place over about 3.5 seconds – so you can imagine what my days must be like.

Anyways, this blog is supposed to be about my family.  My family means everything to me.  When Kaleesha and I used to talk about marriage, how could we have known that everything we wanted would come true.  Don’t get me wrong, we have gone through our trials by fire, but as I look back over the last 11+ years of marriage – and 15+ years of being together, all I can think is that God has given me everything I ever knew I wanted – as well as so many things I didn’t even know I wanted.  

I am 31 years old.  That means that a significant milestone was reached at some point this year.  I have been in love with my wife for half of my life now – and thats pretty darn cool.  Throw in the crush and puppy love stages and it has been well over half my life. 

I just saw Luke chase Anna Elizabeth through my office with a nerf dart gun – I had better go see if its loaded.  While I was writing that last sentence, he ran back through giving me the sign language symbol for milk (clenched fist in an up and down motion – simulating squeezing a teet), so I guess he is thirsty – gotta go. 

“Here’s to the sunny slopes of long ago”   -Augustus McCrae  (Lonesome Dove)

Welcome to Our World

Okay…so we took the plunge.  We bit the bullet.  We jumped off the deep end.  We started a blog.  Can you believe it?  Neither can I.  We really have to thank Rachel for her endless encouragement and gentle persuasion for the birth of this blog.  Hopefully, friends and family can use this site to :

1.  Hear our sometimes funny, sometimes scary, and sometimes inspirational stories.

2.  Check the latest scores/stats of our children’s most recent sports related endeavors.

3.  View recent adorable photographs of said children.

4.  Occasionally hear the rantings of a stay-at-home mom with four children in need of serious adult conversation.

5.  Experience a peak into the mind of a man, who in his own words, “knows a little about everything – but a lot about nothing.”

Our family is really excited about connecting with so many of you who are miles and miles away.  Hopefully, this will make our distance seem a little shorter and our relationships a little closer.