An Anomaly at Apple

Hi Friends,

Isla's been so good and helpful lately. She's been really interested in helping me do tasks and know what our schedule is. She is always very interested in being a big part of our plan so I was kind of surprised today when she lost it at the Apple store when I chose to torture myself by picking up our computer that just got repaired (thank the Lord!) alone. Now let it be known- my Hubby wanted to do this over the weekend when one of us could watch Isla and one could lug out the mammoth beast (that's the comp ;) Instead, I had errands at Bell Square so I decided I was just going to do it.

Right -- like just do it.... *enter eye roll here*
No biggie.
Just stroll a 30 lb desktop through the parking lot in Isla's stroller and somehow let it not topple and shatter on the cement while having an iron grip on Isla's little wrist so she won't get pancaked by a car (because actually listening to me scream 'no there are cars' doesn't create fear in her brain)
Why do I DO THIS TO MYSELF?!

Anywho- I seriously thought she'd hold it together. And right about the time I let her out of her stroller to put the computer in I was reminded that (A) she's two. (B) it was late afternoon - almost her worst hours (C) The apple store is full of childless yuppie men who have ZERO clue what Toddler hysteria looks like.

Needless to say, at one point I looked down and Isla was barefoot, with her pants pulled up to her knees and she had thrown 3 stuffed animals on the floor. I was getting flustered and although I know the guy helping me was trying to help by begging me to have the computer taken to my car, I was so thrown off by his sheer panic--literally the 'eyes wide open' emoji- at my situation which he labeled, 'it appears you have, uh....alot going on here' *insert eyes scanning Isla running amok*

 I informed him I had done this with her several times and was just fine taking it to the car which in all reality wasn't my best choice, I should have just given in and done the damned car delivery thing but I just wanted to flee- with my crazy shoeless toddler, my newly renovated desktop, my last shred of dignity (cheeks burning mind you). I literally felt like such an outsider--which is totally crazy! Crazy. I'm not the only one to have kids....or to be crazy enough to take on that task but it was definitely one of those moments where I felt all eyes on me with a bunch of brains skeptically thinking, "how's she gonna do this?" I just couldn't help but feel like an anomaly--  one mom with a crazy kid in a sea of brightly lit technology and yuppy techies. ug.

Needless to say, I did it. We all arrived home safe and sound and next time I'll take the bearded techies advice and get the damn thing delivered to the car.

Cooking with Isla

Hi Friends!

Isla has just started getting really interested in cooking with us. She made pizzas with my Mom on one of her visits and that kicked off an interest in standing on a dining room chair in the kitchen stirring things and trying to do dishes when she's done- obviously a big help!

She is actually quite good at putting on the pizza sauce after I roll it out and putting on her toppings (extra cheese for that girl!) and yesterday she requested to make cookies for her little friend, Gemma before their playdate. It was so sweet to hear her talking to herself about making cookies for her buddy and she was thrilled to share a cookie with her today. Of course I held this post to get a pic of them with their cookies and then I forgot *fail* but the cooking pics are still well worth posting!

Do you cook with your little one? What tasks are easiest for them to help with?

mouth.full.of.cookies.

nom.nom.nom. 

:) 

xo. 

S

New product!

Hi Friends!

My BF and her 3 year old shared how wonderful this sorting pie from Amazon was with Isla and I over a FaceTime chat and I picked it up for her last week. I am SO happy I did!

It was on sale on amazon (for $18) and will grow with Isla as her skills develop. Right now she loves sorting the pieces by color by hand and trying out the pinchers for a little bit before growing frustrated and throwing the fruit down her shirt (a rare response I assume? :)

She loves this thing and played with it for a solid 45 minutes today (just enough time for me to prep/make dinner ;) As she gets older we can use the other activity wheels to sort by color, number of items and item type (i.e.: berries, bananas,etc). It's really well made and I have a feeling it will be a hit for months to come. Check it out here.

Bonjour!

Hi Friends!

I'm home and finally kicking my Euro-jetlag in the butt. I swear jet lag is 10x worse with a toddler because they just don't give a rip if you're exhausted or your body wants to eat eggs at 2am or you could crumple on the floor at 9:30 because it feels like the middle.of.the.damned.night-- they just don't care and pretty much neither does anyone else because at the end of the day you ran off to Europe and no one feels bad for you....least of all your 2 year old. So that little ball of wisdom is exactly why I have been radio silent for the last couple days--that and the fact that I'm buried in laundry, my house is 78 degrees (no seriously) and my computer is once again on the fritz. I actually belted it into the stroller and took it in for round 2 of repairs today at Apple. Please say an extra little prayer tonight for my computer. Until it returns all of our vaca pics are held hostage on my camera and iPhone and I want nothing more than to upload them and live vicariously through our adventure once again.

For now....pics from my afternoon with my favorite girl. Here's to me...getting back on the 'real life' wagon and blogging again....!

xo.
S

One PM.

Hi Friends! 

It's only 1:00 pm and I've already had SUCH a day. 

I did Isla's entire music&dance class with my zipper down. #humiliating. 

Then I accidentally locked Isla in my car. 

Then I overshot my driver's seat while trying to get into my car and rammed my head into the top of my SUV. OWWW! I literally held my head in my hands for minutes while Isla repeated, worriedly from the backseat, "Mama sad. Mama cry. Mama sad. Mama cry" 

And to really top it off I want to punch my Hubby in the face. Thankfully I'm practicing patience and adult restraint (if only I could act like a 2 year old and get away with it! :) 

It's just one of those days--lets hope a 2nd cup of coffee and watching the start of Frozen helps! 

xo. 

S

Easter goodies!

Hi Friends!

I wanted to do one of those fancy 'what's in my kid's Easter basket' posts but my stupid Mac is still broken which means my Photoshop is still down and I am plunking away on this damned laptop with 45 cords running out of it to try and upload pics. So annoying. Any who- that fancy post is not happening so you'll have to just pump up your creative juices and pretend this looks totally pro legit. Kthanks.

 I wanted to go a little 'light' on Isla's Easter basket this year since she has little gifts to open while we're on vacation next week. Those eggs are full of bunny grahams (fitting right?!). Here's the breakdown of her other loot! 

 Yep, Bizzy Bear are pretty much 'gold' in my house right now! (Thanks again Ash!) Isla LOVES these and they're so well made! 

A book I admired at Ashli's last year and finally picked up at Costco for a total steal! 

 The inside...isn't it cute :) 

I absolutely LOVE these! They're so cute - More on this to come! 

 Tegu blocks-- a great deal on Amazon! These are in my purse now, perfect for traveling and distraction! 

Yep, the Easter bunny believes in dental hygiene. Isla thinks it's a toy. 

xo. 

S

Barfy Slide

Hi Friends!

Today was good but felt SO much like a Monday-- laundry was backed up, I had to do 2 loads of dishes to catch up and our house was just constantly cluttered-- typical 'day-after a holiday' right?!

Isla quickly went from a delightful little morning angel to a demanding, cranky, destructive afternoon menace. The whole time she was just chatting to herself and was always busy doing something. At one point I looked over and she was drawing huge swirls on the windows like a mad Jackson Pollock.  I swear she never stopped talking all day-- it sounded like she was speaking in tongues at certain moments because she was trying to get so many words out.

Then I took her to the park and she didn't even hesitate to climb much farther than normal. She was swinging from high rings and sticking her head in places its not meant to go... pretty much just scaring the crap out of me.

The real highlight was when she was at the top of the big slide with a line of kids behind her all waiting their turn to go.

She looked at me, bent down and barfed all down the slide.
Like right down the long, bumpy slide- it was like a slow motion horror film.

Unfortunately too many parents and kids saw for me to tell her to slide and make a run for it. We had walked to the park so I of course had nothing to mop it up with. I had to walk up the playtoy, remove her shirt, put her jacket on (with no shirt underneath- classy I know) and slide down myself while mopping it up in front of me as I went- so ridiculous and such a COMPLETE MOM MOMENT. Moms of other little barfers out there will TOTALLY understand!

I hope everyone got outside and enjoyed some of the afternoon sun today---lets hope it sticks around awhile, I'm so over Spring rain!

xoxo.
S

More Momvice

Hi Friends! 

Yesterday I remembered the other product I'm loving right now-- My good Friend, L introduced me to the Sip Snap and kindly gifted one to us with a nice little traveling case. It has saved me on multiple occasions.

 Just last weekend I was at D&E's for a lovely dinner party with my in-laws and we forgot Isla's sippy cup in the parking garage which was too far to just 'run over to grab'- so I snapped the sip-snap on one of the drinking glasses and voila! It worked perfectly! 

This company started as a kickstarted campaign and now sells these things on their website- YAY! 

Go grab one--and share with a friend! 

Genius Momvice

Hi Friends!

A couple quick notes on kid stuff that's rocking our world these days!

First of all, this kiddo app-- Vine Kids is seriously the best thing ever! It's kid appropriate vines (you know, 6 second videos users post) was brilliantly put in one app for kids. Isla loves watching videos of other kids, animals or sesame street so this app is just perfect....and the videos are short so I don't feel guilty! (Thank you L for the tip! This SAVED ME today!)

Second, I know I've mentioned her before but if you aren't following Thrifty Littles on instagram or through her blog you really should be. I just scored Minnetonkas and Salt Waters at a discount on diapers.com (which I didn't even know sold shoes!) because of her posting (not to mention the tegu blocks the Easter bunny will be dropping off Sunday :) She posts deals on kiddo and some maternity products. Her style's great and she's really reliable on her sales. Seriously, do it.

Third, my good friend (and stylist guru, L :) tuned me into www.6pm.com and it's seriously the bees knees! It's the sales side of Zappos and they have raging bargains! I got shoes for our adopt a family over the holidays with them and I've scored Mini Melissa flats and Hunters at a SERIOUS bargain.

Lastly, I snagged Washington state flashcards from Bright Eyed Baby for Isla's Easter basket and they are SO STINKIN CUTE and really well made! I can't wait to post pics! The shop is fairly new but the owner is working on new states currently- I can't wait until they come out with Florida for my Nieces!

xo.
S