The Guy Outside

KC was quite taken with one particular Halloween decoration this year. We have a “guy”, a torso really, who we purchased a couple of years ago before we had a child. He’s meant to stick out of the ground like an un-dead thing trying to escape the grave. He looks a little like Freddy Krueger minus the hat, knives and striped sweater.

When I first started pulling the decorations out I paused for a moment wondering if he was a bit much for a two year old. She was standing right next to me so I just pulled him out and smiled really big and said “Look! Isn’t he silly?!” At first she seemed a tad unsure, but she got over it pretty quickly.

Ted put “Uncle Freddy” outside the following day while he was home with KC. The next day while I was home with her again as she continued to recover from a bad cold, she starting talking about a “Guy outside, Mommy. Guy outside.” It didn’t click at first so I said, “Did you see someone walking by out there? Are they walking a doggy?” Then she informed me, “Outside, in the rocks!” I understood right away. She was talking about our Halloween guy.

Every day she tells us about him. “Guy outside! “Go see him.” Every day we go outside to check on him. Apparently when Ted first put him out, KC was there and he assured her, “He won’t hurt you.” So each time she informed me of the “guy outside”, she was careful to add, “It’s ok, Mommy. He won’t hurt you.”

She absolutely blows me away sometimes. This kid is kind of a bad ass. I am pretty sure this guy would have scared the bejeezus out of me when I was little. I distinctly recall seeing a photo of Freddy Krueger in one of the local circulars that came in the mail. It was a very clear photo of his disfigured face in an ad for the video store where Nightmare on Elm Street was a new release. It bothered me so much I had to throw it away. I was probably in middle school at the time. (Can you say, “Wussy”?)

Here’s a shot of KC and her friend “Uncle Freddy” who will probably chill with us for a few more days before he goes back in the attic until next Halloween:

Here are a few more shots including one of the little skeleton “ghosties” Ted hung from the trees…

and here is KC in her fairy costume…

I went totally cheap this year and used the tutu and wings she got for her Birthday plus a 2nd hand crown.  Hey, it works. Plus, just as I suspected, she lasted about an hour or so visiting Grandma, Grandad and her cousins before she insisted on removing the whole get up. We had some fun and then we rushed back to our house to greet all our trick-or-treaters. I am sort of ashamed to say we didn’t bring KC around to trick-or-treat with our neighbors. I don’t think she minded though. She gave out big handfuls of candy to each child who came to our door.

She also ate more candy than she has in her entire short life so far. A big lollipop, assorted sweet tart things, a gummy brain, part of a tootsie roll…and that’s just what I witnessed. She was (and I kid you not) HIGH AS A KITE. It was absolutely hilarious when it wasn’t annoying the hell out of me. (You try diapering a two year old on a candy high. Not. Fun.)

Here’s a shot of her running around our front porch at the peak of her “trip”:

“Hey, man. You got any good stuff? I need another fix. Sweet-tarts? Hershey’s? Charlston Chews? Seriously, dude. I’ll take anything.”

Halloween is pretty great and kids make it even better. I look forward to next year when the festivities will have even more meaning for her. Hope you had a spooky-great Halloween.

Speaking of Clothes…

Check out the adorable shirt I just got for KC.

It was custom made by a friend of a friend. She has a business called Fussy Britches and her stuff is simply adorable. If you are interested, click to see her FaceBook page. The photo albums show some others she has done. A real website is in the works.

Do the clothes make the girl?

Because, if so, KC and I are in trouble. We are both having pants issues. I purchased a pair of jeans (ok two) recently that were clearly too baggy for me. Standing still in the fitting room and eyeballing myself in poses I never make in real life, I decided that the bagginess was worth the “rear view” if you get what I’m saying. (Hint: they made my butt look good. I think.) Reasoning that stretch denim always shrinks, I purchased them and promptly washed one pair in hot water the next day. I now have a pair of jeans that is still baggy, but is now also just a little shorter than I’d like. Great.

I seem to have this issue with pants a lot. Sometimes I find the perfect pair, but normally they are either too small or too big. Often the ill fit doesn’t become really apparent until I wear them for one day. I come home to find my mirror image has gone from “denim diva” to “wrinkly, mom-jean wearing dork”. I have given a lot of jeans to good will.

KC is in this place with me right now except that she’s powerless. I buy all her pants. I buy them without her. I eyeball what looks like a good fit only to find she will grow out of them inside a month, or they are much longer than she is. Most recently I bought two pairs of pants at Carter’s that have no waist. I didn’t notice it before, but they don’t taper in at the waist at all. They actually get a bit wider. She wore them to Grandma’s and just walked right out of them on the spot. My daughter is two and has not got the hourglass figure of girl just yet, but she still needs some kind of mechanism to keep the pants on. (Hello? Elastic?) I don’t think she would put up with suspenders at this point in life. She barely puts up with the pants.

Clothing is frustrating at this age. Since they walk and run you really have to make sure it fits and is comfortable. It’s of even more importance than my own clothing actually. I am only just starting to realize this fact. Babies are easy. They can be wrapped in pools of extra fabric with rolled sleeves or legs. They just lay there so who cares?

Next time around I’m just going to recycle old pillow cases. I’ll cut neck and arm holes. Wa-la!

At this very moment I am heading to Old Navy to check out their toddler clothing. They always seem to have functional stuff. Fingers crossed I don’t waste any more money. The people at good will are going to love me otherwise. I don’t keep receipts for very long. (And by “long” I mean for more than 24 hours.) I am a compulsive thrower-outer. Ever see that new show Hoarders? I am the anti-hoarder.

Speaking of which, I also need some big plastic bins to store some of KC’s old clothes in. I feel like I should keep some of my favs in case we do have another girl someday. Surely I’ll be glad I did. However, the urge to purge them all, or at least most of them, is very strong. Very strong indeed. Maybe I’ll deflect this urge by organizing the all the paperwork piled in my office into file folders. Who am I kidding? I’d just toss most of it out. I can already hear Ted: “Hey, Jen. Have you seen the warranty info for the washing machine?”

Um. I have NO idea where that is. I think I saw you with it last. As a matter of fact, I’m sure of it.

One-5-oh!

I was making love to bag of Chex Mix when it hit me. It’s Wednesday Weigh-in Day! Joy. We don’t have a scale here at work so I figured I might as well go to the gym and work off all those pretzels and rice squares. With fingers crossed (and all articles of clothing save for a teeny-tiny towel removed) I got on the scale and…Yes! I have lost one pound since last week. I am finally at 150.

Ultimately, I’m aiming for about 140 if I can do it. Truth be told, I am pretty happy with 150. I never was one to obsess over the numbers. However, if I can fit comfortably into some of my pre-pregnancy shorts by the end of summer I shall certainly do a little jig. They are still too tight to wear in public. Screw scales. Pants are the real test for weight loss and general good health.

I realize the blog has been somewhat comandeered by this fitness/weight-loss kick I am on. I hope my regular visitors (All 3 of you!) don’t mind. I will try to intersperse more posts about “Life With KC” for those of you who are growing bored with all my inspirational talk of “inner goddesses” and “badassery” and what not.

Shoe Fetish

KC, you are too funny. While driving home from Ocean City this past Sunday, I figured a stop at the outlets near the bay bridge would make a good driving break for us. I need to buy you some comfy shoes for summer. A cross between sneakers and boat shoes would be nice so they can be washed easily. I immediately saw the Stride-Rite outlet as we pulled in. Perfect.

Now, I am fully aware that you love shoes. I guess you might have gotten that from me. Although, I fear I have become very lapse in maintaining my own shoe wardrobe. I have shifted my shopping focus away from myself and over to you. I am an episode of “What Not to Wear” just waiting to happen, but that’s a subject for another blog post.

I was also somewhat aware that the temptation you would face in that shoe store would be great and hard to ignore. I don’t know, KC, I must have been tired and not thinking clearly. I never should have taken you in there to browse without the benefit of another adult companion. You immediately started yelling “Shoes!” in your loudest voice. Repeatedly. You squirmed and, since it was supposed to be a break to stretch your legs, I let you get down. I tried in vain to corral you in one spot while I scanned the boxes for your size.

Seriously, KC, you must have pulled about 15 little boxes off the lower shelves, yelling “shoes!” over and over. Pulling off tops, whipping out paper protectors, examining each shoe for all of 2 seconds before dropping them all over the floor. People started to notice. One sales kid looked a tad concerned, but left us alone. I tried desperately to find shoes for you and also clean the wreckage in your path. I tried to hold you while I looked, but that was a mistake. Crying loudly is more alarming than yelling “shoes!” I  suppose. Even considering the mess.

I finally decided it was not worth it. Needless to say, we didn’t try any on. After maybe 10 minutes total in that store I decided we needed to go. I felt a tad guilty knowing that most of the shoes I cleaned up were probably not put back in the proper box due to my frantic speed. Future customers were going to be annoyed at that.

I powered on and didn’t give up on our “break”. Ten minutes is not a very long rest and there were so many stores. I saw a Carter’s down the way. You were better there. Not nearly as many shoes, but still too many things that a 19 month old needs to grab and touch. Ten more minutes in the Carter’s, then I tried an LL Bean store. A big store. Lots of room to walk around unnoticed by sales people. This time it was socks. You ripped the cardboard on one pair. An older lady smiled at us, but in sort of an uncomfortable way. We left and got back in the car.

Luckily you slept the rest of the way home. I’ll give you one thing, KC, you do sleep well when we make that 3 hour trip connecting us to GG and Gramps. Thank you for that. Next time I will leave well enough alone and just drive through.

In Your Easter Bonnet

Just before Easter came, I thought that maybe I should have tried to find KC an Easter Bonnet to go with her dress. She seems to adore hats. I quickly realized there was really no need…

She’ll make the most of what’s available, or look adorable with no hat at all. Besides, who would want to hide such a perfectly round head?

Ode to Snow Pants…An Homage In Pictures

Oh, Beloved Snow Pants…Thou Art as Puffy and Warm as…um…well, thou art puffy and warm. On with the picture show…

What's this? Surely tis a dream...

Tis no dream! 6 inches fell during the night...

Pardon me, kind sir. Does this ensemble make me look too portly?

No matter. It keeps me quite warm...

...and warmth I shall need in this brisk wind!

Now, to find my way 'round without opening my eyes will prove a challenge...

One step...now two...no, no. This is just not working...

Excuse me, kind sir! Would you kindly ferry me to my destination?

A refreshment break you say? Capitol idea! I'm parched...

Delightful indeed! I have never before heard of such a delicacy as "roof popsicles".

***

Eventually, at our final destination…

Thank you, sir, for your trouble, however...these pants. I simply cannot move of my own accord.

***

A short while later…

Ah, yes! There we are! I can see my own feet again.

Fin.

Dressed for Success

Bear with me, ’cause I’m trying on a new look for the blog. I really don’t think this template fits just right, but it’s here for the time being. Speaking of dressing up and trying stuff on, here is what sometimes happens when daddy gets us dressed in the morning:

Dresses over jeans are so two years ago!

In his defense he did look at her and laugh once he realized how silly this is. He thought it was a shirt at first. You know, because a stripped shirt over the ladybug onsie, instead of a dress, would have totally worked. The even more surprising part…Grandma didn’t change her before we picked her up that afternoon. She must have been afraid we’d think she was judging our fashion sense. A shirt that isn’t warm enough for a 20 degree day is one thing. I often get a baby in a sweater back at night. This….this is just odd. No danger here.

Truth be told, I don’t mind this kind of thing too much. She looks cute in an offbeat kind of way. And, honestly, there are not too many years in our lives we can get away with such creative outfits and still be considered so adorable. Maybe later when we are over the age of 80, but that’s it. During the years in between people start to wonder about such blatant disregard for fashion rules. Or, you get famous by designing your own shit and winning Project Runway.

Ted and I do sometimes disagree on how she looks however. Even though I boast a laid back attitude, (I often say that come the day she wants to go to Safeway in a tutu and rain boots I’ll be very supportive. Pleased even.) I do occasionally get bristly with her Dad if he puts her in jeans and a baby Metallica t-shirt for a party. Seriously? We hardly ever get to dress her up and you choose this? It’s clear we have different agendas when it comes to showing her off to friends and family. Plus, I have a completely ridiculous amount of hand-me-down dresses that aren’t going to wear themselves, people.

Lucky for us, KC is getting to the point where she’s going to start picking stuff out on her own. She already zeros in on any and all head gear. She’s got knit caps for the cold, a baby-sized Boston Red Sox cap in pink that she actually likes to wear, and she constantly raids my closet to pull out all my baseball caps as well. She recently got a red velour outfit with matching red head band (courtesy of Grandma) and she keeps the head band in her toy box in case the urge to be more fashionable strikes at random. Cute. A little dorky in the “sugary sweet girlie” way, but cute. Dad hates it of course. Last week she chose to put it on just before we left for that playdate at the doctor’s office. I’ll leave you with that visual. Oh, and the awesome Longwood jacket was courtesy of Ted’s cousin, Steph. Jaunty!

C'mon, people. I'm due to meet Olivia Newton John in, like, 20 minutes. Let's go!

No lack of cuteness here.

I want to enter KC in the “Beautiful Baby Search 2009” contest that is done by Parenting magazine and Regis and Kelly Live each year. Is that totally cheesy? I’ve looked at the photos from 2008 and now the (already huge) slideshow that is growing for this year’s entries. She’s as cute (if not cuter) than a lot of the babies. Then again, there are a ton of kids already entered and many of them are indeed beautiful. It’s open until mid February so the number is sure to double. The likelihood of her winning is slim at best. No offense to my beautiful daughter! Who knows, though. I suppose it doesn’t hurt to try.

It’s tough taking a photo that fits the bill. We have a ton of great photos of her, but not a whole lot that make good “head shots”. I think the judges really want to see a dead on face shot (no food smears) which shows that your kid likes the camera. Just a gut feeling. KC never sits still! Plus, outdoor light is so much better but, due to the cold, we haven’t spent much time outside lately. Indoor shots mean major red eye for KC. She’s like her mama in that way.

The best photos I’ve taken so far are below. I had to do it while she was strapped into the car seat, but they came out really nice. What do you think? I am taking photos each day to try and get that perfect “face shot” that clearly shows what she looks like and lets her great personality come through. I’d love one without the “restraining device” cleary highlighted.

Somehow, even though they are great shots, it just doesn’t do her justice. Not like the ones where she’s goofing off in a hat and sunglasses, wearing a beer box, or chowing down on some corn on the cob. No lack of cuteness, or personality with this kid. The key is capturing both just right. We shall see…

*****

Adendum: I did in fact enter a photo this week. Not the exact one, but very similar to #2 above. Fingers crossed. There are about 362-gazillion babies already up on the random slideshow, and that’s not even all they have recieved. KC isn’t up there…yet. I keep checking! If you love looking at cute babies you can check it here. Sounds like March 9th is the day they unveil the 10 semifinalists on the show.

My parents went to see Metallica and all I got was this stupid t-shirt.

Ok, this is cool.

Yeah, rock and roll! I like it!

Wait. Is that a coffin? Seriously??

I fear for my future. You people are disturbed.

Ok, so I admit, it’s a tad morbid to put a coffin on a kid’s t-shirt. Eh. What are you gonna do. It’s heavy metal after all.

The Metallica concert at the Verizon Center this past Thursday was great. Very energetic show. Everyone said so. Metallica was even inducted into the Music Hall of Fame recently, which makes fans everywhere happy. Fun day for Mom and Dad. Especially for Dad. He was on cloud 9 the entire weekend. KC may not grow up to appreciate the fine music her parents love, but that’s ok. We’ll keep trying to force it on her. That’s sure to do the trick!

We saw another Dad with his daughter at the restaurant where we gathered to await “showtime”. He said it was her first concert. He was a big fan and was getting to share this milestone with her. It was cool. I joked with Ted that maybe he would take KC one day. Of course, this Dad was about our age and his daughter looked to be about 15. If Ted does get to take KC to a Metallica concert 15 years from now, both he and the band may need walkers. Eeek.