haircuts

Tim's family gets together every Sunday. His brother's family, his sister, and our family meet at Tim's parent's house to eat and spend the day together. His mom and dad love having the whole family over except on .....haircut day.
I think my kids perceive haircuts as painful. Even just trying to take a snip here or there with the scissors ilicits a very strong reaction......I often liken it to "open-heart surgery without anesthesia." Tim wouldn't even mention haircuts until after we had eaten and everyone was relaxed.
It took 7 people to cut one child's hair. I know, that sounds crazy! Tim's dad would sit in a chair in the middle of the kitchen. He would put either Nate or Nick on his lap, facing him. He would bear hug the boy. Phil (Tim's older brother), Dawn (Tim's older sister), and I would try to hold them still by grabbing flailing arms and legs. Tim would man the clippers. The crying and screaming would begin. We were all covered in hair, tears, spit, and sometimes vomit, and the cuts weren't always even. Tim's mom and sister-in-law would wait upstairs. Their job was to shower the boys as soon as they were finished and also offer some comfort. By the time we were finished, most of the adults were also crying. It broke their hearts to do something so upsetting to the boys.
These were Sundays that I envied my friends that had the cute pictures of their child getting a haircut in the salon. This is another ritual that so many people take for granted while we dreaded them.
We have now graduated to haircuts at home. The only one who needs to be held is Noah. I can still handle him, but not much longer. Nate and Nick do a great job with tolerating the haircut.
We've come a long way.............