Kate and Mommy Time

This...

plus this....

equals this...

And one weak Mommy. Dinner in the living room in front of the t.v.

Seriously???

I swore we would never do that once we had kids!!

Mark was at a Masons function Thursday night for a little while, which left Kate and I home by ourselves.

I made dinner and told Kate to go to her chair. She thought I meant her rocking chair in the living room, so she went right over there and sat down.

When I showed her dinner and asked her to come in the kitchen, she whined and patted at her rocking chair.

Ahh, what the heck? Eating in the living room once won't kill her right??

I couldn't resist. She looked so cute sitting in her little rocking chair waiting for her dinner.

So, we had a living room dinner with the t.v. ON. Baby Einstein to be exact. At least it was educational.

Then, we read books to get all the "eating dinner in front of the t.v. toxins" out of our systems. :)

Late Night Partyin'

On Sunday nights, our home church group comes over and as much as we try to stay as close to bedtime as possible, it's hard. Kate is a party animal and likes to be right in the middle of the action. She has a hard time going to bed knowing we still have company out in the living room and she is missing it. So, on nights like this, we let her stay up a little late.

I know, I know... not the safest place for a toddler to be. Daddy was right there, though, I promise!

And don't look in my cabinets!

I mean it! I said DON'T look in my cabinets.

They need a little "reorganization"! (like everything else around here)

Now this... this warrants staying up until 9:30. Coloring with one of her best buddies, Ryan.

I mean, does it get any better than this?

Busy Morning

While I was baking these yummy things for breakfast this morning, here's what went down:

My sweet little one week away from being a one year old, master walker, avid explorer, and expert tantrum thrower got into the trash can no less than five times. When she came to me covered in coffee grounds, it was time to put the trash in the laundry room. Check. Wipe down baby. Check.

Then, she started digging through my purse. Take away my iphone. Check.

Want to play with my makeup bag? Harmless, sure. Until I realize she is EATING some grape flavored lip gloss. Big chunks of it all over her face. Throw away the lip gloss. Check. Wipe down baby... again. Check.

Wanna help Mama make some beer bread? Kate sits on the counter (loser parenting at its finest) while I mix and pour. In go her hands, covered in beer bread goo. Wipe down baby... again. Now, her hands smell like beer.

So, you know what she settled for? Sitting on the counter playing with the corkscrew. Don't report me. Sometimes, you just gotta pick your battles, ya know?

And that, my friends, is how any given HALF HOUR looks around here these days.

We play dress up with our kid

Mark was editing some pictures, and I noticed a trend...

We kinda dress her up... a lot. Like she's our pet.

On a side note- Kate is not using the skunk costume for Halloween. She's going to be a little ladybug. Can't wait to get pictures!

Question

Question for all my blog readers (all five of you!):

Is it wrong to keep your baby in her doorway jumper for over an HOUR while you clean your insanely messy kitchen...

...because your husband cooked dinner last night and used three skillets, the Foreman, five bowls, two cutting boards, a mess of spoons, and emptied out all the leftovers from the refrigerator (i.e. lots of tupperware), and you had like 20 people over for dinner Wednesday night and you still hadn't swept and mopped from that shin-dig.... whew!

... even when she is fussing... and pooping... and chewing on the dust pan (ewwww, sick!)??? Not to mention you were listening to your ipod all the while, ignoring all of this?

Never mind, no need to reply... I think I already know the answer.

I Need More Sleep...

We have one of these:

So, this morning as the coffee is brewing, I am making Kate's little bowl of rice cereal. As I go to mix it with water, I stick that little bowl under the coffee dispenser and fill it with coffee instead of water by mistake (what baby doesn't need a pick-me-up after 11 hours of sleep, anyway?) . If that wasn't bad enough, any normal (less sleep deprived) person would right away think, "Hey! I am filling my eight month old's bowl with coffee. Better stop." But, me with eyes barely open, just kept right on goin'. I even started stirring it up until I realized it was brown. Nice, huh? How's that for Mother of the Year?

On a side note, my precious baby is not the reason I am sleep deprived. She is the best little sleeper. She sleeps until at least 7 every morning, and this morning when this story occurred, she had slept until 8 a.m. The real culprit is my night- owlness that kicks in over the summertime. And due to the fact that we have people over, oh let's say, EVERY NIGHT! But, we love it and wouldn't change a thing. I love my house crawling with people. So, the lesson to be learned is... I better get to sleep earlier or I might burn the house down one day.