Thursday, September 29, 2011

It's just not fair...

I'd say one of life's big mysteries would have to be why toddlers are so excited to help out with chores, when they really only serve to make whatever you're trying to do that much more difficult to get done, but once they hit an age when you can really put them to work, that helpfulness just disappears.

Well, I'm told that's what happens, anyway. I think, until Brigid proves otherwise, I'm just going to assume that she'll always like to pull weeds as much as she does now...













Also, this is why I think we should just skip the present part of this whole birthday thing that's happening this weekend. Seriously, have you ever been this excited to pull up a darn leaf?

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

To the Theater!

To be, or not to be: that is the question.



Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer



the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,


Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,



And blah, blah, blah...enough with the Hamlet already. Can we get back to decorating for Halloween now,
MOM?!?!?



Thanks.



(We took Brigid shopping for Halloween/birthday decorations on Sunday, and she latched onto this skull, refusing to leave it behind. So, through tears of pride, we bought it for her. Oh, our little Halloween baby...)

Monday, September 26, 2011

Go Jackets!

So, attending a football game with a toddler...

...well, it wasn't a complete disaster, actually. In fact, I'd say, overall, we ended up having a pretty good time.

Steve and I headed down to the Georgia Tech campus around 9am, with Brigid in tow (And by in tow, I mean, in my arms. For multiple city blocks. I was just a bit warm when we finally showed up at our neighbors' tailgate). We chatted, we had a beer or two, we continued Brigid's tradition of making me change a ridiculously stinky diaper in a less than ideal location (we are now up to side of the road, parking lot of an abandoned restaurant, church bathroom on four consecutive trips to church, and football tailgate), and we found an empty fire truck...






(The fire truck is owned by our neighbor's friends, and Brigid loved it. She may or may not have decorated the inside of that truck with Disney Princess stickers, as well, which I'm sure the guys just loved...)

Our seats were awesome, and we had access to the club level lounge behind us, which definitely came in handy when Brigid started getting tired of sitting in one spot for too long. With a nice little break in the lounge for lunch, we actually made it through to the end of the game...




Well, with that break and the iPad, anyway.




Technology is a wonderful thing...

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Potty Shirt

Brigid turns two in a couple of weeks, and since it seems like it's about that time to start with the whole potty training extravaganza, we've been letting her run around the house diaperless in the evenings. And she seems to be understanding the general concept of the idea, as long as she's only running around diaperless, right next to her potty chair.


Get her away from the potty chair? That's a different story, all together.


Anyway, as we were getting Brigid ready for her bath last night, Steve took off her t-shirt and handed it to me.

According to him: 'That doesn't have to go in the hamper, she's only been wearing it since I got home. That was just her potty shirt...'

I...yeah.

For future reference, any article of clothing that includes the word 'potty' in the title earns an automatic ticket to the basket o' dirty clothes.

Glad we've cleared that up...

Elmo will now forever be tarnished for me. Potty shirt, indeed.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Motor Mouth

After all of the complaining I did about Brigid not talking, at all, you'd think that I'd be thrilled she's starting to pick up on the whole communication thing. And I am, because nothing is funnier than hanging out with a toddler who, when she sees a stuffed giraffe, yells 'ZOO!!' triumphantly in your direction.

And when you ask her if she saw a giraffe at the zoo, she nods proudly, followed by a quick 'Da-da'.

Yes, Brigid, daddy was there.

'Mom-mom'

Yep, mommy was there, too.

'Me'

Well, yeah, kid, of course you were there. Because if you hadn't been there, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

The problem, now, would be that since she is officially taking the time to learn this 'talking' process we've been on her about for the last six months, she expects us to decipher every word that comes out of her mouth. And when the correct context is there, that's no problem.

But when you walk into Target, bribe her into the cart with a couple of fruit snacks, and she immediately starts yelling for 'SHEESE!!', it takes a minute (and a near breakdown in the dollar bin aisle) for you to realize that she is, in fact, requesting cheese.

Which you didn't bring with you, of course.

So, you will be forced to go buy a pack of Target brand string cheese, because that's what she wants, and she won't be satisfied with the individually wrapped colby cheese mini blocks, which is what you would prefer to buy, if you have to spend your money on an emergency cheese purchase.

And Brigid will happily eat said string cheese, until she gets to the last third of the stick, which she will (in the excitement of the Halloween aisle) shove into her mouth all at once. Then, she will decide it's too much, and she will spit partially chewed up string cheese into your hand, because she is a giver, that kid.

And then she will say 'DOWN!!'.

And you will hightail it out of the store, because you do NOT need to be picking up the trail of destruction she will leave behind her if you happen to make the mistake of giving in to this request. Which is something you've learned from experience, at the party supply store next door.

The lesson, as always: Never leave the house with a two-year old.

(Which bodes well for our painfully optimistic attempt at taking her to a football game this weekend, doesn't it? Send your well-wishes my way, please...)

Monday, September 19, 2011

Go Irish!


My little Irish cheerleader...







My kid, she needs a slide of her own. We took her to a small play area on Saturday morning, and she went down the world's worst slide approximately 25 times. And on Sunday, I took her next door to play with our neighbor's Brigid-aged nephew, and wanted nothing to do with him.

(It was maybe the funniest thing I've ever seen...both kids seemed to think that if they didn't look directly at the other child, the other child didn't actually exist. There was A LOT of side-eye going on there...)

But the neighbors have a slide. 

And that's all it took to win her over. And, it was all I could do to get her out of their yard when naptime rolled around, which I'm sure left the entire extended family with a fantastic impression of the little lady.

Toddlers...what are you going to do?

Thursday, September 15, 2011

The Many Sides of Brigid

While Steve was riding roller coaster after roller coaster with his siblings last weekend (shudder...I, uh, took a pass on that part of the Six Flags festivities...), Brigid and I were left to find our own forms of entertainment.

And entertain ourselves, we did...


Happy!


Sad.


Happy!


Mischievous.


HAPPY!


Mad.


MAD. 


MAD!!!!!!!!


Happy!!

Well, we enjoyed ourselves, anyway...

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Changes

Two months ago, we took Brigid to King's Island, and she hated it.

Well, maybe hate is the wrong word, but she didn't like the rides and she was terrified of the theme park creatures that were wandering around. The only thing she did like was the ice cream, and that's just because the poor kid inherited my over-indulgent sweet tooth.

What a difference a couple of months make...











It took us 20 minutes to get out of the park entrance, just because the kid wanted to hug every single creature we passed. I couldn't believe the change in such a short period of time!

She's still not the biggest fan of rides, but at the rate she's going, we'll probably have her on the biggest, scariest roller coaster there by Christmas.

Well, Steve will, anyway. I think I'll pass on that milestone...

Monday, September 12, 2011

Video Proof...

Remember when I said Brigid had a killer ghost impression? I wasn't kidding...


Please just ignore my squeaky voice at the beginning of the video, and just focus on the awesome giggles at the end of it. Goodness, that kid is a ton of fun...

Friday, September 9, 2011

Fall makes me happy...

Things I am grateful for this week:

1) I have a job flexible enough to allow me to meet Steve and Brigid for a lunchtime shopping trip at Old Navy. Even if that shopping trip was made a little less fun through the appearance of a toddler tantrum (or five)(seriously...kid was not happy today...).

2) Old Navy's ridiculously cute clothes for little girls...and their sales prices. Brigid is going to be the most adorably dressed little two-year old ever, come birthday time.

3) The Toys 'R Us closest to my house deciding to move to a new location, forcing them to offer everything in the old store up for 30-40% off...just in time for Brigid's birthday shopping. And Christmas shopping, for that matter. We are set.

4) Brigid's love of all things Nightmare Before Christmas, which, combined with a birthday only a couple of weeks before Halloween, means my early Halloween decorating binge will actually come in handy this year.

Actual conversation with my husband, earlier this week:
Me: I think I want to have a beach theme for Brigid's birthday this year.
Steve: Right, because our house is decorated EXACTLY LIKE A BEACH right now.
Me: So, you're saying that's a bad idea?
Steve: ...
Me: I guess we could do a Nightmare Before Christmas themed birthday.
Steve: That probably makes more sense.

5) The heat in Georgia finally breaking (even if it's just a temporary reprieve), because 65 degree weather means it's nice enough outside that I actually WANT TO RUN in the evenings. Which is kind of a good thing, since I'm also grateful for...

6) ...candy corn and pumpkin spice lattes. My Target has both a Starbucks and a candy aisle.

I'm not saying I want to move in there full time, or anything, but if you need me this month, that just might be the best place to find me...


Happy Friday!

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Once again...

...I will acknowledge that when it comes to Brigid, I am completely and utterly screwed in this whole parenting thing.



I mean, really? And I say 'no' to those eyes and cheeks, how again?

I just don't see it happening...

Guess I should probably start saving for that pony she's going to want in a couple of years, huh?

(photos by my brother-in-law...because I still haven't even looked at the pictures we took while we were in Florida, yet. I am lazy. Thank goodness there are other family members to cover for me.)

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Early Bird

I am pretty busy most days, so when I get a few minutes of free time, I like to tackle fun projects that I've lined up for myself. And for the long weekend?

Well, don't judge me or anything, but the project that I tackled? It involved Halloween decorations.

Yes, I know that it's only September. Yes, I know I am beyond early for all of this. Yes, I know that as I went through Target yesterday, they were just starting to put out their own Halloween decorations, meaning that I BEAT TARGET WITH MY DECORATIONS!

And I don't care. It takes me some time to get everything the way I like it (I'm still not completely done at the moment), and I want plenty of time to enjoy my creepy house when I am officially finished, so I started two months out.

Plus, because I am so on top of all things Halloween related, I am now the proud parent of an almost two-year old who can imitate a ghost, complete with 'oooooooo' noises and jazz hands,* thankyouverymuch.

So there.

*Yeah, I don't get the jazz hands, either, but it's beyond adorable to see her do it...








Monday, September 5, 2011

Florida, day six...

...and a good-bye to the beach on day seven...



















So...when can we go back?!?!

Friday, September 2, 2011

Florida, day five

Tropical depression...



















Thursday, September 1, 2011

Florida, day four

The one where it rained...