A Little Blond in a Sea of Black

Anyone who has seen Garrett and Ryan's hair understands. They just shouldn't be blond. Their hair is thick and kinky.

Getting a good haircut for them has been challenging.

Our local high priced, kid focused beauty shops just didn't get our kids hair. The TV screens, the balloons and the overly cheerful stylists didn't make up for bad haircuts.

So we searched. We needed a place that could deal with the anomaly that sits atop our boys heads.

We finally found some kindred spirits at a Vietnamese barber. They are magicians with the clippers and charge only $8 a head.

We are regulars now and they all know Garrett and Ryan by name and jockey for the chance to shear them.

I get a kick out of the tufts of blond in the mounds of black hair on the floor.

Don't Forget To Take Pictures

Since breaking my rib on New Years day I haven't been doing too much mountain biking. About the closest I have come was yesterday. I decided to thoroughly clean my bike which was still caked in dirt from before Christmas.

I invited Garrett (5) and Ryan (3) to help. We turned my bike upside down and began spraying, brushing and drying. I went so far as to get an old toothbrush and really go after some grime in hard to reach places.

Garrett and Ryan were having fun spinning the front tire as I dug for dirt. While I was hunched over my back tire Garrett suddenly began running for the house screaming for "Mom".

I called to him but he kept running.

I hadn't seen what had happened so I sat there for a few seconds analyzing his cries. Finally his pitch and tone convinced me I should at least go in and see what was wrong. As I walked towards the house I started noticing the drops of blood.

I picked up my pace and found Mindy holding a bloody paper towel on Garrett's left index finger. Mindy and I both looked as I pulled back the wrapping and looked at the wound.

Wow. We instantly knew he was headed to the hospital.

There was a fair amount of commotion as we tried to figure out who was going to do what while Garrett continued wailing and all the other kids and their friends crowded around to ogle at all the blood.

At last Mindy headed off to the hospital with Garrett. After they drove off I cleaned up the blood and calmed the kids down. But then I remembered something critical.

I called Mindy's cell phone. She didn't answer. I called again, and again and again. I was panicked that she had forgotten to take her cell phone.

Finally she called back.

Me: Hey
Mindy: What is it?
Me: Don't forget to take pictures
Mindy: Is that why you keep calling me?

Yep, I was panicked that I wouldn't have any pictures for a Blog. So thanks to my insistence we have pictures of what happens when you stick your fingers into the hydraulic brakes of a tire that is spinning.

It looked even worse in person

Garrett putting on a good face

6 stitches later

Polish Hunger Strike

As a child I often pulled stunts to show my parents how angry I was. My Dad would always refer to them as Polish Hunger Strikes.

It wasn't until I was 11 years old at scout camp that I fully understood the meaning. One of the boys became upset at something the leaders had required of him. So he decided to sit in his tent all day and not eat.

My Father, one of the leaders, just laughed and couldn't stop laughing. He stated: "Now who exactly is he hurting?"

Unfortunately for my Father I thought long and hard about his question. From that time on he didn't chuckle as much when I pulled stunts.

Oh the cycle of life.

Now I have a little guy pulling stunts on me, Garrett (5).

The other day we gently removed Garrett to our guest bathroom where we hoped he would quietly ponder his poor behavior and then happily rejoin the family. But Garrett felt an extreme injustice had befallen him and upon entering the bathroom he began a long and detailed diatribe of all the woes that had been heaped on him by his terrible parents. We were a little surprised at how articulate he was while screaming bloody murder for 20 minutes.

Then there was silence and we thought a lesson had been learned and it was time for Garrett re-enter mainstream society.

But upon opening the door to the bathroom we discovered that Garrett's silence was not humble recognition of his evil ways. He was only silent because he had been engaged in his own private Polish Hunger Strike.

He had discovered a razor in the cupboard and confident that we were going to forever be sorry for tormenting him in the bathroom, he shaved off his eyebrows.

His dark, thick eyebrows.

He looked hilarious. Mindy couldn't stop laughing. She quickly took a picture with her iPhone and starting sending it to all her friends.

By the time Garrett went to school in the morning he had realized his stunt wasn't turning out like he had thought, everyone was just laughing at him. So when his teacher asked him what had happened he looked her in the eye and said "My Mom cut my eyebrows". He was convincing enough that there was a brief discussion about Child Protective Services.

Wow. He's learning fast.

Mom, Dad - Help!!