Learning Experience For Two Please

"I don't want you to cry mommy."

So, most of you have all seen the beautiful hairdressing work a la Stellarella! I have to say that now that it is the day after, I don't see it as so awful.
Yesterday, a totally different story!!!
Today, I view it as a great learning experience for the two of us-especially me.
For me, I now know that she is capable of getting into more than I thought and I have to be more on my game with her.

Stella calling her dad to tell him the news

The story goes like this....
It was nap time and it had been a more difficult day for me because the little baby that I care for and I are working on self soothing for sleep.
I was never able to do this for Stella. The sound of her crying would punch me in my gut and as soon as I heard a whimper-bam-I was right there for her. The sleepless nights went on and on, but we are no worse for the wear now. She sleeps right through the night now from 7ish until 6:30 which is good enough for me. My favorite thing now is in the morning when I hear her feet tip tapping their way to my bed. She crawls in, puts her arms around me and we cuddle and talk about dreams from the night before and adventures we are going to have that day.
So, it had been a tough day working on the sleeping for this little girl. The other little one that I watch also wasn't really into a nap either and Stella was upstairs.
She hasn't napped for maybe 8 months now I guess. In the beginning it was off and on where some days she woudn't and then some days it would be a great 2 hour nap. She definitely needs her down time though so we can to a truce of where she will go up in her room for a little while. She is not required to nap or even stay in her bed-just her room and do quiet activities.
She has gotten into some trouble as of late with testing what she can do and what she can't. Like coloring all over herself, putting black face paint all over her face and hands. Playing with toilet paper, dumping all of her toys all over her room, changing clothes one million times. She has even gotten into trouble in my room.
It is where I keep all the stuff that I do that can't be downstairs because of all the kids. My sewing machine and all the accessories that go with that are up there, my jewelry making supplies. Stella loves to make necklaces and loves to watch me and help me and so she has taken it upon herself numerous times to go and use my beads. It started out innocently and then to get attention she began dumping them all over her floor. I have started by putting a gate across the entrance to my room because I had learned my lesson.

I thought it was just the left side, but no...

So, this day, it had been stressful and I was in need of some chill out time for my brain. The baby finally was napping a little, the other little one was finally napping for a little bit. And I heard Stella upstairs and there was a bump, but I thought to myself "I don't care if she is getting into a little mischief I don't want to move for just a couple minutes.
Then a little bit of time goes by and I hear her up there and then all of a sudden-"Mom...I accidentally cut my hair by myself..."all in a whisper.
"What?" I say as I drag myself up the stairs, thinking it can't be too bad.
It was bad.
Very, very bad.
And now, what do I do? How do I react?
I was in the state of half crying and half laughing because this couldn't really be happening. "Don't cry mom, it'll grow back..."
It was so innocent. She see me cutting people's hair all the time. I cut her grandmas, her friends, hers, her dads, my friends. It's this weird talent that I have that I will do nothing important with because I am the last person who should ever be a hairdresser as I don't even like to wash my own hair!!
So, I can't get mad at her really can I? I made sure that she knew it was not okay to cut her own hair, that it was dangerous, that it takes a long time to have hair grow back...I was mostly mad at myself. How lazy I was, how not into I was in the moments before the debacle. So, I learned my lesson and she has too.
Now, what do I do with the hair? It's not as bad at day two. I put her in the tub last night, per my mom's request, to see if miraculously it would look okay after. No, but it does look better wet!
Today, it's okay. I am going to just sit with the hair style for a while. Let the hair begin to grow. Everyone says "Give her a cute pixie cut" I don't think they realize that it is even too short for a pixie cut!! I am hoping to cut the length a little to help out with the extremes of the different lengths she gave herself, but right now she is too afraid to let me. Yesterday she kept saying, "I don't look like Stella, but I sound like her..."
This morning while we cuddled in bed she goes to me "The hair came back, it's all right!!" As she rubs her hair and can't quite see herself yet. I think the hard part for me as well, is that she has the most amazing red hair!!! I mean people come up to her and tell her they wish they could put it in a bottle and buy it. I was so excited when she was born and had gorgeous strawberry blond tiny sprouts of hair. And it has just gotten so beautiful as she has gotten older and we have explored the wonders of the outside world and the sun has kissed it in spots. Oh, just beautfiul. But, you know what? It doesn't make her any less beautiful with this new look.
A learning experience for two for sure.