Private Christopher, reporting for duty. I had been trying to get the kids haircuts for weeks and finally managed to get them in yesterday. Cate was tired of having bangs get in her hair. Mom was tired of having it look like a rats nest within minutes of brushing. I'll take a better picture tomorrow that shows off her new 'do -- it's really quite adorable. Gone is the rats nest and it has been replaced by a haircut that makes her look like a doll. Sweet.

And then there's Christopher. He's been asking for sometime to get a buzz cut. A few of his friends have close shave cuts. And he's into pretending to be a military sniper (see the camo shirt) and thought that a military cut would go with the new persona. Mom said no, but agreed to let him get it shorter than normal while avoiding a cut that would make him look like he would be off to Iraq any day. The stylist did a nice job trying to merge our different desires for his look but Christopher was still unhappy and threw a fit until I snapped and said "whatever -- shave your head for all I care." So look what we ended up with? Christopher is still thrilled but I don't recognize my boy and am less than happy.

I am also less than happy with my parenting skills at the moment. This was the second time in two days that Christopher had used being in a public place to throw a fit for what he wanted and I eventually gave in. This isn't necessarily his fault -- he's just being smart and playing his mom. However, it has to end. We're back on a zero tolerance policy of whining, grumping, yelling, growling, stomping, and other obnoxious behaviors. The first warning of any of the above win him a 20 minute timeout. Both yesterday and today, he's had several in a row -- but by the time he comes out of the second time out he's ready to be nice. Otherwise, the grumping, whining, yelling, growling and stomping only seem to grow throughout the day and get worse. After his second 20 minute time out in a row this afternoon, he told me had thrown the grumps to the other side of the galaxy. Hope they stay there!