As we begin this holiday week, some catching up on the kids. I’ve got a couple big projects in mind for this week, which figures since most of my readers are probably on some kind of reduced work schedule this week. But, S. is working days this week, so I probably won’t get around to them anyway.

M.’s first real haircut was Thursday. I say real since S. just took off an inch or two on her own awhile back, and Thursday involved going to a hair cuts for kids place and dealing with strangers with scissors. Apparently all went well, and M. came home pretty pleased with herself and the balloon she got as a reward for being good. It’s great that she can be good around strangers, which gives us hope that she won’t be a complete freak when she starts preschool in two months.

One of S.’s best friends was in town this weekend and brought M. her birthday gift a little early. One part of it was an octopus sprinkler – a sprinkler with the body of an octopus and eight foam legs that wave wildly when you hook it up to a hose and turn it on. M. was super-pumped up about her new toy, walking around holding it and talking endlessly about how much fun she was going to have with it. So it was completely predictable when she threw a fit the first time we turned it on for her. And the second. Screaming, tears, loud protests and demands to go inside. Kid just can’t handle new experiences that involve water right now, which is frustrating since it’s summer and hot and whatnot. Of course, C. walked within three feet of it and stood there laughing as she got sprayed, offering her generic sound for something that interests her , “OOOH!” over and over.

We had it out Sunday, and after M. fled and C. had her fill, we repaired to the sandbox on the back porch to attempt to keep them occupied. Some strange yet friendly dog that was running through the neighborhood saw the sprinkler and decided to amuse himself by “playing” with it. That involved making runs at it and nipping at the arms, or just standing three feet away and attempting to drink from the streams as they zoomed by his head. At least that was entertaining for M. and she got some use out of it.

How’s potty training going? Don’t ask.

C. has started saying No, although she says it in response to any question and not in the proper context yet. Just what we need, another defiant kid. I know I challenged my parents a lot when I was little, but I must have been worse than I remember. I’m being repaid for something.

About the only Web 2.0 thing I can really get into is Flickr. I spend a decent chunk of my internet time each day perusing photos under various tags, or keywords. I’ve come across a cool concept I’m going to take a crack at, the picture a day for a year theme. Mine will probably end up being 75% kids, but it’s a useful reminder to keep the camera handy at all times. I’ll try to take a pic each day, although I may not always get them uploaded right away. Anyway, here’s the <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/thebrannans/sets/72157600594732107/”>link</a>. Pic #1 is up.

If you pray, pray for me this week. If you’re into karma, pass some my way. If you just have a spare good thought or two lying around in your skull, think them for me. It’s going to be a long week with these girls.