Friday, January 27, 2012

The Dark Side

January has proven to be totally uninspiring at our house.  Once Christmas passed, it was like someone took a big fat pin and popped the little bubble of joy we'd been living in.  I no longer had a reason to buy random gifts or drink too much on a Tuesday night.  Weekends kind of lost their luster when I couldn't justify making fudge every day.  Basically, life became meaningless.

And then my precious daughter was replaced one day by an angry, sick, and whiny toddler.  Girlfriend had the flu, strep throat, and pneumonia.  All in the same week.  Normally, this doesn't phase her but this little illness not only knocked her flat,she went down swinging...taking us with her.

Case in point:  
  • Last week, I tried to lovingly sweep the hair out of Morgan's eyes, only to have her karate chop my hand while yelling, "Get out of my BUSINESS!!!  Why are you IN MY FACE?"

  • While trying to get her in her pajamas over the weekend, Morgan decided her bedroom made a much better combat zone.  In her attempt to wriggle away from me, she decided to head butt both me and her floor.  Not surprisingly, her nose immediately began gushing blood, turning her carpet and my t-shirt into something that closely resembled a crime scene.

  • And if all that weren't enough, the anger management carried over into the next morning.  David went in to her room to wake her up, only to have Morgan yell, "Get out of here, you STUPID man!" --- Nothing like a timeout after being awake for less than five minutes.  Yeah, we should totally start every Saturday that way.


 It's been a long couple of weeks, which have not only made me question my parenting and my sanity, but also whether I should start replacing my morning coffee with gin and tonics.Until then, I leave you with pictures of my child sleeping -- right now, that's about the only time we're all getting along.







Sunday, January 8, 2012

Safe and Sound

There's this interesting phenomenon when you have a baby.  Right from the get go, everything is about keeping them safe and secure.  First, you bring them home from the hospital tied to a car seat-


Where you continue to store put them, wrapping them so tightly they can't use their limbs.


For a while, they're small enough to wash in the kitchen sink,

And they can't escape the prison known as the play pen.


 But then they learn to walk, and you have to come up with more creative ways to keep them from getting lost in the woods-


Or climbing into the dryer.


 When all else fails, you remind them that it could be worse living at the zoo-
Because dad could just start carrying them around like a baby kangaroo.
 

Ultimately, there's no one sure way to keep them out of trouble...which means I just need to keep looking for a bigger box to put her in.

Friday, January 6, 2012

The Real Deal

A few weeks ago, I highlighted Morgan freestylin' it in the living room.  But her ability to shake her tiney hiney is actually being rooted in legitimate classes, classes where she learns positions, and form, and words like "Arabesque" and "Grand jete" and "plie" (she can even do some of them!) -  David and I recently had the opportunity to watch Morgan during "rehersals" for their spring recital...I use the term rehersal very loosely because getting four toddlers to coordinate a dance routine is a little like herding cats.

Regardless, it was precious and we were SO proud. It's moments like these that make me wish she would stay three forever.
 
 
 Our little ballerina girl.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Where's The Beef?

New Year's Eve was really low key this year. We actually watched 2012 arrive while watching reruns of The Office on Netflix. However, that didn't stop us from celebrating with a proper dinner. Given that our Christmas Eve had a bit of an Under the Sea theme, David and I decided the best way to ring in new year was with a big ole' slab of prime rib.

Although we were super excited for our gourmet meal, Morgan was not nearly as interested in spending quality time with Mom & Dad. In fact, when I tried to convince her we were having our own New Year's Eve party, she informed me I was wrong because we didn't have any balloons.

 But then I reminded her we had party hats...

 And all of a sudden it really was  a party.

So we raised our glasses,

Toasted an upcoming year full of new adventures,

And promptly ate a cow.

Happy New Year!!!