Friday Faves

This week has been half-fun/half-challenging. 

Bobby is in this phase of toddlerhood where it's really difficult to find an activity or a place to hang out where it isn't more effort than it's worth to coexist with him. Hanging around the house has been frustrating lately, because he incessantly whines or floods the downstairs bathroom sink or pulls all of the frozen food out of the freezer or pummels his sister or Oh-Dear-God unlocks the front door all by himself and walks right outside. But, alright, that's fair--nobody likes to stay in the house all the time. Taking him outside would be the logical choice, right? 

So we go outside (often), and then he wallows in mud or sneaks out the broken fence or runs across the street to the neighbors or Oh-Dear-God goes missing altogether. And it's not like I'm not watching him. I'm right there. He's just a flipping Houdini. Well, that, and I have another little person to keep my eyes on, too, and I only have one damn set of eyes. So, alright, outside is more effort than it's worth. I'll run errands with him and get him out in public. HA. 

Going to the grocery store is a full-warfare affair. There he steals his sister's cookies or shrieks or Oh-Dear-God screams "HELP ME" at the passersby while I quietly whisper "Sorry" and want to curl up inside myself and die a little bit. So that's not fun. Alright, well I'll take him to some sort of fun activity out in public, like the pumpkin patch or the zoo. 

So we do things like that, and there he unrolls all the pumpkins off their perches while Vivi runs into traffic and loses shoes and he throws pumpkins and then he Oh-Dear-God runs away from me and won't follow my command to "come here," so I have mentally debate whether it's better to spank him in public and risk getting carted off to jail by a PC parent or go and physically pick him up kicking and screaming. 

This age is a fun one.

He's not just terrible all the time or anything; he can be sweet and downright adorable about half of the time. And I know this is a phase that wild boys go through and surely it will pass soon. My question is what do I DO with him that is enjoyable for both of us--with a wild little tot sis to boot?

Because this only lasts about 4 minutes. 

One fun thing we did this week was make homemade Halloween bark with some of our friends. It's a good older toddler/little kid activity, and they had so much fun tossing all the toppings in. Vivi, meanwhile, did quality control testing with the Oreos.

Here are a few fun faves this week:

* I have NO babies on the way, but I have several friends who do. IF I were pregnant and needing a diaper bag, I would be all over this camo one. It's trendy enough that it kind of just looks like a regular tote bag, and it's not a bank-breaker.

* Isn't this little buffalo plaid drop waist dress adorable for a little gal? I can see it with little ribbed tights and brown suede boots for a fall family picture. May have to do that..

* Last year Old Navy had these awesome thin quilted vests that gave a good look because they weren't ridiculous and puffy. As soon as I decided I wanted one, of course they were sold out everywhere. Well they're back, and I'm gonna be needing one in this army green ASAP!

* This post made me LOL, because I am a master at angry-cleaning. Actually, I was unaware that there was any other way to clean.

* We have hit a wall with potty training Bobby. Things were going great for a while, until lollipop bribes finally became passe and lost their luster. Now I think we are gonna have to go with a different approach. He's not the kind of kid who will really care about a reward chart, so I think we may try impressing him with some really cool big boy undies. These Darth Vader undies may be just the ticket. At least they would work for me..

* Speaking of Star Wars, who wants to pay $4,000 for a super cool toddler bed? Yeah, me neither, but let's look at it and dream, shall we. Is this not the most bad-ass thing you've ever seen?

* I know I posted about some adorable snake skin flats last week, but now I've seen them in gold, and I think I like those even better. 

* Baby Gap has been really toying with my heartstrings lately, because they have this adorable little gender neutral Red-Riding Hood set for a little bebe (although I imagine it might be better on a baby girl?). Even if you don't go with the suit, please, please somebody get that little riding cap to put on their newborn. I can't take it. 

* And I think it's just about time to make our annual homemade pretzels while watching Hocus Pocus! That may have to happen this weekend! 

Happy Weekend-ing!