Who's That Girl?

Think back to when you were in elementary school - can you remember 'the dirty girl'? You know, the one that looked unkempt, maybe wore stained clothes? At the time, and even now, you didn't know why she was that way - was it a family thing? Did she get in a tussle on the way in?

Now I have my own three year old, and I can't help wondering - is she the dirty girl?

I pick out the girls' clothes at night, but there is no guarantee that they will actually wear what I leave out for them. LP wants to wear what she likes. Sometimes she will wear jeans and other times jeans are a tool of the devil meant to constrict her innards and you can't pay her to wear them. Sometimes corduroys count as jeans and other times they are awesome. Basically, she wears what she wants and I try to provide an acceptable option.

Not only does she often pick out her clothes but she dresses herself. Heaven help you if you try to help her and she is not in the mood. Yesterday one of my friends wrote to tell me, "I was talking to LP this morning and noticed she had both shirts on backward. She proudly explained that she 'beat Daddy' getting dressed." When I asked the Hoos about it, he hadn't even noticed. He was just proud of himself that he got her hair in a ponytail. He thought her hair looked too wild.

LP's hair is another challenge. She has perfectly straight, beautiful blondish hair. She wakes up fuzzyheaded. And she isn't keen on letting you brush it. And she really really doesn't like things in her hair. Ideally, LP wouldn't have bangs. But if you want bangs to grow out you have to be able to pin them up to keep them out of your eyes. Not happening. This morning I got LP to accept putting a clip in - but SHE had to do it. Who knows what she looks like.

Finally, OxyClean is my hero. It goes in every load of laundry and I typically have something soaking in a bucket full of it. That being sad, little kids are messy. Every stain doesn't come out even with Mighty Ox. There is just no way. And, every day at day care more stains get added. Yeah, my kids have stains on their clothes, yeah clothes cost money, and no, I am not always sending them in brand new clothes that will just get ruined.

My question is, how come most of LP's and AK's friends look so well put together? I know they all have awesome moms. But I think LP's and AK's mom is okay too. What is the magic trick? Hook me up!