i feel pretty

as i mentioned before, the girlchild and i had a day of beauty yesterday.  i told her that morning i'd take her over to old navy to use her xmas gift card, then surprised her with a visit to the local beauty college.   she seemed pleased when i told her what we were doing in mt. vernon!  i set us up for haircuts and manicures, and told her at the start that she didn't have to do anything extreme or weird; if she just wanted a trim that was fine with me.  it had just been so long since we got haircuts, and we were both a bit shaggy.  the ladies we got as hairdressers were awesome; both were young and cute and friendly, and i ended up getting about an inch and a half taken off, and some new layers, and the girl got the cutest inverted bob.  it "drops off" at the front; so she has that great shaping in the back, and then it makes kind of a dramatic swoop near the front.  super, super cute.  i forget it takes a while to get a haircut at a school (because they're training, they fill out forms, the teacher comes over during all the parts of the cut and talks to them about what they're going to do and makes sure you're doing okay), and we ended up being there for quite a while.  not in a bad way, but by the time our nails were dry, we were hungry!  i took her over to the local sushi place and we sat at the bar and ate conveyor belt sushi until we almost exploded.  by the time we got home, she was happy, tired, had cute new hair and a few new outfits.

it was kind of a rough week for her, and i think getting out and doing "girly" stuff was good for her.  when things at school go wrong or are stressful, it's easy as that age (at any age, really) to just focus on that, and i like to remind her that this will pass, and that 6th grade isn't going to be a big deal in the grand scheme of things.  it's also important for me to let her know that even if school is shitty, and she's dealing with bullshit girl politics, that home is a good place, and that she can be herself here and be loved.  it wasn't just about haircuts and nail polish, we spent a good time together talking and hanging out, and that's what i was really aiming for.  although we do look super cute now, which is kind of a bonus.  i want her to have weekends like this that she can remember, that remind her that just because a girl tries to make your life miserable at school that she has a life outside of there that is awesome and fun, and in the end, more important.