I feel like a new woman!

I finally took the plunge and got almost 9 inches of hair cut off this past week.  While I was sitting in the chair at the salon I was thinking about how lucky we are as women to be able to reinvent ourselves with something as simple as a new haircut.  I am totally guilty of saying that I was going to do something drastic and when it would come down to it, I always chickened out.  Not this time...  (actually they cut the bulk of it off before I had time to change my mind.)  I was both excited and nervous to come home and show my husband.  I wasn't for sure what he would think.  I've pretty much had the same hairstyle for the 15 years that we have been together.  Would he like the new me or would he want the old me back?  I finally made it home.  I wish I could have taken a picture of Jack's face.  It was like he didn't recognize who had just walked in our house.  I think he was pleasantly surprised both at the hair and the fact that I actually did what I said I was going to do.  My new hair is spunky and even a little trendy... not two words that I would typically use when describing myself.  It's weird but my new hair has even made me feel a little more sassy.  We went to bed that night and Jack said he felt like he was getting to go to bed with a new woman.  I took this as a compliment from my husband of almost 10 years and told him that his old wife would show back up and not to get used to it.  :)

Will insert picture here soon...

Naked Christmas

Is there anything cuter than a naked kid running around?  I'm sure this is what my family was thinking as we let our 18 month old run around in buff before getting ready for bed one night while staying at my parents house; after all what happens at grandma's stays at grandma's, right?!  Just as we were all admiring this cute little body running around the house, we hear "the stream" and look down to see Jack peeing on the rug.  It should be explained here that this was not an ordinary rug, but one that was handcrafted by a person in some country that I probably can't pronounce.  One of those rugs that my mother justifies to my father as an "investment."  So, I did what any good mom would do...  I grabbed the camera and let grandma clean up the rug.  It's all fun and games until someone pees on the rug...  Funny, but when I think back to this weekend, this is one of my favorite memories.  All of getting together and just letting it all hang out.  :)  And yes, this picture made the Christmas card.

Top 10 Things I've learned about being a parent...

10.  Never wake a sleeping baby!
9.  I've learned to never get upset when your kid poos, because the alternative is even worse.
8.  I've learned to pick my battles wisely.  I'm only going to fight the ones I can win.
7.  Sometimes I am "that mom" I always complained about.
6.  I've done all of those things that I swore I would never do to my kids.
5.  Holidays are way more fun with kids.
4.  Having my own kid has made me realize how smart, understanding, and patient my own mother was.
3.  The greatest sound in the world is hearing my baby laugh.
2.  I can pick out my son's cry or scream from the opposite side of any store.
1.  My mom was right when she said that I was wrong when I told her that "I could never love something as much as I did my dog."

Merry Christmas from the Halseys 2010