Barrettes

I need to learn to relax!!!! And I'm not talking about unwinding and letting go of the stresses of daily life. I'm talking about my inherent desire to have things match, line up, or generally look nice. Today at work, I edited an entire PowerPoint presentation that was a group effort because two people didn't line up their text properly. I mean really, this presentation is for a large audience, at least make it look like we know what we're doing.

This desire to have things just so also translates to Madeline. Even though she's only two, I still want her shoes to go with her outfit. No light-up Dora shoes in this house! Well, my precious offspring has decided that she only wants to wear barrettes in her hair. No ponytails, no headbands, and definitely no leaving it down. She MUST have barrettes. Which is fine.

EXCEPT, they rarely make it home from daycare. At some point during her busy day, she somehow (or maybe one of her friends) finds the time to rip the barrettes out of her hair and leave them on the playground, or who knows where. So...I'm getting kind of fed up with going to the store and paying $3 for 12 pairs that last two weeks. Now, I know this doesn't seem like a lot of money, but it is when you are only giving in to the whim of a two-year old.

Well, today I got a BRILLIANT idea! I went to the dollar store to buy some barrettes. I figured that they were 1/3 of the cost of what I have been buying, so that wouldn't be as bad. And to my delight, the packages at the dollar store have 30 pair!!! I was in awe of my own brilliance.

Until...I got home and opened the package. There is a reason they were only a dollar. Unlike the $3 packages that I normally buy, these were not perfectly matched in pairs. Not good for my peace of mind. So, did I spend the absolutely gorgeous summer night outside enjoying some gardening or a leisurely walk around the lake? Nope, I sat upstairs and matched barrettes.I did end up with about 90 pairs out of what should have been 120. And I do have a pile of mismatched barrettes for that day when I finally throw caution to the wind...