Ingridisms

So in love with her braid and "crazy" bun. 

This weekend was a tough one for little Ingrid. She came down with a hacking cough on Thursday and today, thanks to a newly-purchased humidifier, she's starting to sound like herself. She's been couped up for days and has been a trouper throughout the recovery process. Granted, she's watched about 1.6 movies a day, which is her version of a perfect day. Sorry, movies plus Goldfish crackers = Ingrid's perfect day.

On Friday afternoon, I fired up my laptop from the living room so Dan could work and Ingrid could rest (instead of hacking on toddlers at daycare). Girl has ever-so much going on in her little head right now. She's a bundle of energy and imagination. Her verbal stream-of-conscientiousness can get tiresome, but here are some highlights:

Same same! When colors, shapes (or princesses) match up, Ingrid declares "same same!" Just like hummus was once hummy, I'm savoring these moments before she realizes it's "same thing!"

Just like _______. Insert any Disney princess here. This is exclaimed when wearing a necklace, skirt or hat. Or dancing. "Mom, you're wearing a skirt just like Cinderella. Mom, you're wearing a necklace just like Princess Aurora." Or, "Ahwoorah."

I don't want to take a bath. I want to take a bath. I don't want duck in bed. I need ducky. Translation = Ingrid needs to sleep.

Thank you so much, for everything. She grabbed my face, looked deep into my eyes and said this phrase, slowly. I started to tear up and tell her how much I loved her. She cut me off mid-sentence by informing me "Cinderelly said that, 'member?!" 

"Harper is ________. My friend. My dog. So cute!" Finally, after almost three years of ignoring, Ingrid is embracing Harper with her tight little toddler hands.

Can I have yogurt? Morning, noon, night and middle of the night, this kid will always and forever want yogurt.

Happy Monday!

Apartment Woes

This transitional period, this month of waiting around in an odd furnished apartment, has been unsettling. I was going to type rough but, we're not exactly slumming it.

The shelves are stocked with well organized Tupperware and the TV is huge. So huge, I longer wear glasses while viewing. Game-changer! Other Apartment Pros include: 

• Three recliners. One stand-alone and two flanking each side of the couch. 
• Walk-in closet 
• Found $20 in the parking lot
• Proximity to the Milwaukee County Zoo and work 
• Dishwasher 
• Really good water pressure 
• An actual bed - as opposed to a bed frame. 

As I'm reading through this list, it's painfully clear that we weren't "living large" in our little lovely Bay View apartment. Here are a few Apartment Cons - or to be dramatic - Apartment Woes: 

• It's way too quiet. You might be asking yourself: "Lindsay, shouldn't this be included in the Pro list?" No Mom, it shouldn't be. There are literally dozens of people living here and apparently they never make any noise. No one ever leaves for work in the morning, comes home late or let's out a congratulatory "Wahoo!" while watching The Real Housewives of Orange County (Two words: chin implants. Anyone?) 
• Make-shift office in the kitchen. 
• No yard
• Spare mattress is propped up against the wall 
• Coin laundry
• Our bathtub was clogged for about three days. I finally was forced to shower while standing on a milk crate. Somehow I felt like I was in Water with Elephants. No, not because I felt like an elephant but, because it reminded me of what might happen on a cross-county, circus-like train trip. 
• Weird kitchen utensils. Ingrid's play-kitchen spoons work better. Honestly. 

But as great as the water pressure is (and it's almost perfect) - this place is not ours. It's a runner-up to a contest I didn't even know was happening. A few blocks from here, the real winner, our new house, awaits. Teasing us with its breakfast nook, staircase and guest bedroom. I've been limiting my posts on this lil' ol' blog because I don't want to jinx the upcoming closing or complain about a temporary situation. But, it's my blog and I'll bitch if I want to! 

Here's hoping for more positive, peaceful and productive thoughts tomorrow. 

A Little Video: Trip to the Zoo

Waiting for the train to leave the station. Ingrid was so excited she started to look worried.

Mark my words, one of these days I will hold my phone correctly/the other way. 

Happy Wednesday!

The Very Merriest Mother's Day

Out of my three Mother's Days, this one was the sweetest. Ingrid woke up wanting to read a book which was a welcomed change from the typical yogurt request (I have shugurt?). 

We called Grandma. Fixed the clog in the bathtub. Went to the zoo. Laughed really hard at otters. Rode the train. Laughed hard when reminiscing about the otters (apparently, they are hilarious). Sipped on Thai iced coffees (what do they put in those delicious things?) Took a three hour nap (Ingrid). Watched way too many episodes of Sex and the City (Me). Went to the park. And now, she's in bed a half hour early. 

We had a 30 minute window where the wheels started to come off. I wanted to pull a Zach Morris. To motion my hands in a sharp "T" shape and declare "Timeout!" 

Timeout: What happened to the bubbly, cheery dog and toddler? No, you can't have a sucker before dinner or ever because we don't have any. Please stop chasing after distant leaves your old eyes mistake for bunnies. Seriously, we don't have any suckers. 

Then, Ingrid started to sing "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" and asked to dance. Of course we can dance, lovely little lady. Right after my heart stops aching from sweetness overload. 

It was the very merriest Mother's Day (wording ripped from a weird Mad Hatter story). 

Happy Mother's Day!

First Haircut

Today, after almost 25 months, Ingrid had her first haircut.

On the way to the kid's "salon" she informed me that she "didn't like haircuts" and wanted to go home to watch a movie. Like all parents of toddlers, explaining things like haircuts, moving, patience, nighttime, ants and orange peels requires some creative thinking. For example:

Why are we not living in the house in Tosa? It's not ready yet.
Why can't we pick up ants? They like to stick together as a family, in the sand.
Why do we need hair cuts? Because that's what big girls do.

Hair cut explanation fail.

I dreaded the experience mainly because Ingrid didn't have a jacket when I picked her up from daycare. It was 50 degrees, rainy and she was dressed in a tank top, striped pants and striped shoes (read: ragamuffin). I'm not proud of the next move: I wrapped her up in (clean) yoga pants and booked it into the salon (wait, "salon").

A reluctant Ingrid instantly fell in love with every mirror, toy, sticker and smock in the joint. The staff had toddler haircuts down to a science: pop in a movie, cover them in a butterfly cape, add some sparkly hairspray and finish it off with gifts. Gifts like stickers and a pom-pom hair clip.

Toy Story 2 and butterflies? Guess I'll zone out. 

As we were leaving I asked her if she liked getting her hair cut. She responded with "Yeah. See ya next week!" I wrapped her awkwardly in a warm bundle of yoga pants, I thought well, this went better and somehow worse than I expected - like a lot of moments in parenthood. These parenthood cliches keep creeping up and I always mistake them for original thoughts.

Lesson learned: always keep a pair of emergency yoga pants in case you're caught in the rain.

How we got to this new, weird, apartment where Harper sleeps on an ottoman.

So, a lot of things have changed since Ingrid's birthday. Short list:

• I got a new job! 
• Our closing date got pushed back.
• Dan and I went to Chicago! 
• We moved out of our little apartment. 
• We moved into a tiny apartment.
• Good news: I'm less stressed about the upcoming Listen to Your Mother show because, it doesn't involve packing tape.  

I won't bore you with the details because they are essentially more embarrassing for me than they are boring. Thankfully, the new job has been wonderful. I don't even care that I'm in this "honeymoon" state where nothing is wrong and I assume everyone is probably a joy to work with. You know when you emerge from the other end of a breakup and start to date again? Only then can you see your ex for what he was. It's a lot like that. I feel like I'll be able to wake up happy (again!) and enjoy productive, positive days. 

I'll get real with you. Right now, I'm totally cool with this temporary situation. 24 hours ago when we didn't have internet, shampoo or a functioning knife - well, that was a different story. Side bar: baby shampoo is amazing for volume. Should you ever be in such a bind. 

The facts of this unplanned situation: our home buying process didn't line up with our lease and we're living in a bizarre furnished apartment. I'm walking on sunshine at my new job but I'm new and not yet comfortable. At home and at work nothing feels settled. Add the Listen to Your Mother event and Dan's graduation and we're just a ball of transition around here. We're eating meals out of the home more that I'd like. Harper hasn't had enough walks hence, this day-before-the-move surprise: 

But here's what's amazing: even if for some reason, this house doesn't work out, we'll be moving into our first house at some point. Dan will be done with school. Ingrid will once again watch Bubble Guppies. I'll eventually feel at home at work and at home. Harper will have a new park and new doors to destroy. 

To wrap up this weird, raw and honest post - here are some recent pictures: 

Happy and squinty.

Bay View Bread.

Happy Second Birthday!

Boom! It's a doll house.

Watching Bubble Guppies. Natch.

"I'm getting notes of...vanilla, awesomeness and sprinkles. For sure, sprinkles."

Whipped-cream hangover.

And now, Chicago.

Hashtag trending: tea.

Delicious, tea.

My first trip to The Bean!

Awkwardly holding it up. I guess.

Looks like we need more tea.

Off to The Aviary and The Girl and The Goat. #pretendingtobefancy

Do we want warm, tea-infused tequila? You bet we do.
#tea 

Hello!

Naturally posing on the ledge while looking at dozens of people waiting in line to do the same thing.

Natural.

We are up high.

Yolk. Eggcellent choice. Man, do I love breakfast.

Nice {bronze} legs.

Thanks for sticking with this one. More to come!

Thinking of: Ingrid's Second Birthday Party

The internet is a wonderful source for inspiration and discovery. What's the cast of Full House is up to now. Well, the internet tells me that "Stephanie" has a three-year-old named Beatrix Carlin Sweetin-Coyle.

It's also a source of frustration. A frustration with the seemingly endless stream of jaw-dropping DIY ideas. After spending a few minutes on Pinterest I feel defeated even before a project has even started. Who are these people making Pottery Barn-worthy headboards? Do fashion bloggers have part-time modeling gigs on the side? Because, ok, we get it. 

Tonight, I set out on an internet adventure to find Ingrid a sweet dress for a Tea Party themed birthday party. Then, after drooling over tablescapes and party favors (complete with monogrammed labels, natch), I decided this theme will work best when she's a bit older. When she can invite friends over to clink little teacups and decorate cookies. 

I thought about her favorite things: yogurt, babies, Cinderella, chocolate, bubbles, ice, books, dancing, playdough, M&Ms and the moon. 

Behind babies, the moon comes in a close second. 

If we head outside during sunset/nighttime hours Ingrid will look up in the sky and search for the moon. Once spotted, she screams: "MOON!" as if it's the first time she's witnessed its glory. If she can't find it, she'll let you know that it's "too cloudy." 

On Valentine's Day we were walking to a frozen yogurt shop when said "moon" over and over. I looked up in the sky and scrunched my eyebrows in confusion. We couldn't see the moon from where we were standing. Then, on our walk back to the car, I noticed a crescent-shaped pattern on bricks for a carpet shop. Sure enough, there was the "moon." The beloved moon. 

So, back to the party. 

The time will come for princess themes (the girl loves her Cinderella...), tea parties and "Mom, I'm too old for that kid stuff." parties. This year we'll be celebrating one of her favorite books: Goodnight Moon. 

Goodnight Moon is one of those books you think you remember as a kid but, once you've memorized it, it's so much better than you remembered  It's simplistically wonderful. During an episode of Mad Men this season, Pete read the book to his daughter. I love that generations of parents have said "Goodnight stars. Goodnight air. Goodnight noises everywhere." 

For Ingrid's second birthday, we'll make moon-shaped sugar cookies and you better believe there will be a red balloon. I'll leave the intricately decorated cake pops, waterbottle wraps and matching cupcake liners to those wonderfully patient moms (and dads!) who apparently have never-ending creativity, patience (and bigger budgets). 

That said, here are some great Goodnight Moon party ideas. 

You can find more over on my Pinterest (ha!) Parties board: 

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What are your favorite kid-themed birthday parties? Any ideas on activities for toddlers?