A Day Out With The Goose....

Saturday brought us some errands to run, which is always an adventure with The Goose! We started at the walk-in clinic to get a sports physical for Boo. (Boo is big sister Haley... I told you, everyone has a nickname in this house!) Of course, The Goose wanted to touch and climb on everything. Keeping her distracted didn't last long, but we gave it our best attempt...

A cell phone doubled as a mini computer for a short little stretch. Naturally, being as animated as she is... you can bet that The Goose has a big & vivid imagination. We were rolling at how prim & proper her gestures were, and I wish I could know what little vignette she had going on in that cute curly head of hers.

Next, she decided to take Mama's picture....

"Say CHEESE!" she tells me... I'm sure this is because I always have my cell phone camera in her face, doing my best to capture all of her blog-worthy moments.

Yep, this is pretty much where the fun in the doctors office stopped. It only lasted about 5 minutes. The rest of the visit was spent tearing her off medical equipment, and prying her out of the under sink storage cabinet. Fortunately, the wait wasn't terribly long. I have a feeling The Goose's screeching protests on behaving had something to do with that!

Next stop was some errands at Village Pointe. I love this shopping center, and wish it weren't so far away. During warm weather, they have a concert series on Saturday nights.

They have bubbles blowing everywhere, face painting for the kiddos, and dancing. A perfect environment for The Goose to stink face everyone she sees. Here are some of the best examples of the evening....

First, a general overview of all the by-passers. She had this expression for a good five minutes or so, checking everyone out. I love seeing people chuckle at her as they are walking by.

Next was a good ole stare down with another little tyke. She's usually pretty nice to other "babies", so I have no idea what this poor little guy would have done to deserve this.

I don't think I need to specify who won.

Before heading home, we thought it would be fun to take her up close to the stage to watch the band & see all the people having fun dancing. Her expression was priceless....

A music critic and a dance snob.... Just like her Dear Daddy. Had he been there, I don't think he could have been more proud!

Shopping with The Goose today... Of course we had to get her all gussied up! Naturally, she is a pill... With all her opinions on what she likes and what she doesn't. How can she be so picky already? Actually, it's quite funny to hear her throw in her two-cents on everything from shoes to clothes to food; and I often hear by-passers giggling at her commentary. Of course, she was NOT FRIENDLY to strangers who took a notion to gush over her outfit. I wonder what she thinks of these people (not much, judging by her facial expressions) and thank God that she is not yet at an age to pop off at the mouth. I just hope when that day comes her Dear Daddy is with us... I do not want to miss seeing him double over in laughter!

So...I won the battle over sparkly shoes, compromised on some clothes, but totally lost a war over lip gloss. Secretly I'm ok with this... After three bouncing boys, I was ready for a girly girl. Since she is more rotten than all three of those boys put together, and not exactly a dainty, demure little thing... I am always delighted and ready to indulge her interest in sparkles, ruffles, and lip gloss!

Here she is with her loot...

By now, I should know better than to think that The Goose is EVER doing what she should be.

Before I continue with the story, let me note, that I am not one of those moms that uses the TV as a constant babysitter. But sometimes a mother just needs to get some things done. So the other day, I tucked her into her brother's bedroom to watch one of her favorite movies. Blanket & sippy cup in hand, she happily settled right in. Or so I thought....

It wasn't but a few minutes later, as I was sweeping under the dining room table, that I heard the screaming.

I could tell it wasn't an "I'm hurt" scream, (big sigh of relief there) but it also wasn't her angry scream. (Her angry scream is her most used tactic on her brothers in getting her own way. It is so forceful and loud, that most often they give in to her because: A.  It is seriously so deafening, one will do nearly anything to get her to stop immediately; B. After hearing this banshee like screaming, they don't even want to imagine what kind of wrath is to follow; or C. She is so good at such a production, that they figure they'll get blamed for whatever it is she's crying about.)

So naturally, even though I'm not in a panic, I run to see what the problem might be. And here I found her....

She had climbed all the way up the dresser. And got herself stuck.  I'm not sure if she was trying to change the movie, or just wanting to push buttons. With The Goose, who knows?

But as scary as this is, (a million different what if's and other worries flash through my head) I have to admit I had a total "bad parent" moment.  I mean, I had to get a chuckle out of her situation AND I made her suffer there an extra 20 seconds while I snapped a picture. You can tell by her face, she is totally giving me that "what is wrong with you, get over here and help me already" look. I know, I know... bad parent moment. But really, she did get her own goose this time! How often do I get to say that?

Fiesta!

The Goose likes to get into things. Things that she shouldn't... Like Mom's cosmetic bag (we've demonstrated the wrath that brings), or her sister's room (post on that one coming soon), or... The pantry.

Along with the fridge and the bathroom, the pantry is one of The Goose's favorite places to cause trouble. Do you suppose this is a preliminary interest in culinary adventures? Or is it more like mastering the art of domestic monstrosities? Probably a little of both, huh?

Usually, The Goose is fairly pronounced about the things she gets into. Often when I catch her tinkering with something she shouldn't, she takes off running.... laughing hysterically until I catch her. If she's in a more serious mood, instead of laughter she will protest relentlessly. I usually find this hilarious, which makes her even more angry. (I guess one of us is always getting the other's goose!)

But yesterday, The Goose took this pantry maraud to a whole new level!

Yes, here she is... with taco seasoning she took from the pantry. And she's hiding out with it.... IN THE CLOSET!

She was having a grand ole time... sprinkling it on some clothes she took out of the drawers, smearing it on the floor, and also eating it. (Gross) Her breath smelled like onion and chili powder for the rest of the day. That was a lovely little bonus!

You know it's bad when you have a child that gets in to everything. But it's REALLY bad when they have the forethought to plunder your stuff and then hide out with it. And God help me, this child is barely 2 years old!

On the bright side... while I'm sure The Goose (who beleaguers this house with a military like force) will create  many more disasters in the wake of this revelation... She will also create many more stories to share with all of you... So at least these adventures (um, maybe undertakings is a better word) are good for something, right?

Busted!...

Thought you all might like to know that my assumption the other day was correct....

Here she is, at it again.... Who needs a sippy when you can chug it right from the carton? Thankfully, this gallon is towards the bottom, so no mess. (Is it a problem that I've just busted my 2 year old drinking out of the milk jug & I'm actually pleased, since there is no disaster in the wake of this?) Seriously... you might expect this out of a teenage boy. But a tiny little 2 year old girl.... Only The Goose!

My apologies for the short commentary this evening, it's been a long & busy day. I don't know about Gigi, but MY goose is cooked... I'm sure she will conjure up more antics for me to share tomorrow!

The Pedicure

Cleaning up after dinner should be a relatively easy task. Right? Not where The Goose is concerned! Instead this equates to Mom being distracted for a few minutes. Aka.....Prime time for causing trouble!

As I'm doing the dishes, The Goose must have decided to give herself a makeover.

Here she is, proudly painting her toes. Is it me, or are the curls of her hair looking a little like devilish horns today? Of course, she is proud as a peacock of the masterpiece that she has created. "Mom! Look at Dis.. my TOES!!!"  Then she stands up, and shows me that she has also adorned her belly.

Oh My! She is just so tickled with herself, never mind the mess she has just created for me. So what is an exhausted mom to do in a moment such as this?

Well, after all the antics she puts me through.... She owes me a pedicure at least. Don't you think?

The Goose is a milk junkie.  The amount of milk that this child consumes in a day is crazy. Even more amazing, is that she can chug a sippy full of milk in seconds. One of these days I'm going to time her with a stop watch. I'm not kidding, she could challenge a house of frat boys in a chugging contest and make them look like chumps. (Lets just hope that this is a skill that she never realizes!)

So this habit is getting seriously expensive, and I've been spending the last couple of days trying to put her through a milk detox program. Easy enough concept, right? And yes, I've tried the obvious... Offer something different to drink... Distract her with something fun to do... Cut her off, put my foot down, & just say no... yeah right.

If you've been following along with the blog, I'm sure it comes as no surprise when I say that The Goose is: independent, determined, & tenacious; among many other wonderful things. This translates into many leadership qualities, that will serve her well, I'm sure. But the translation right now means "Give me what I want, or I WILL find a way to do it myself." Let me just say that this has been a battle of wills all day long!

It doesn't matter the subject... When I say no, The Goose takes that as a start point for negotiations. Naturally, I got rebuttals and arguments this morning when I said "Enough milk, let's try something else." By mid-day, she resorted to some pretty good temper tantrums when I offered juice and water in her sippy cup.

By this evening, she concluded that her normal fluency in getting her own way was not going to work, so she tried a new approach... After two cups of milk with in the hour prior, I cut her off again. So The Goose toddled off into the kitchen, and brought back the entire gallon of milk.

(I wonder what goes through her mind as she does this? Perhaps she thinks I'm just tired...After all The Goose has been at it double time today, and she wants to do me a favor. Maybe she's proud of herself for taking such initiative...What a "can-do" attitude, right? More than likely, it's more like "get me my freakin milk, woman!" Yep. That last one is probably right.)

So while I was giggling at my adorable curly-headed girl, I gently told her no. I got up, put the milk away & brought her back some juice. After all, I am determined to get this habit under control.

Surprisingly enough, there were no arguments or tears. She toddled off into the kitchen to get her favorite blanket. Here I am, thinking "success!" we've made considerable progress. Now you know what this means..... Yep. I got goosed.

Uh yea... It wasn't but a short time later, while I was helping one of her brothers log on to a computer game... she just went and took matters into her own hands.

(I have a feeling that she decided to bypass the sippy cup, and down it right from the jug. Sadly enough, she has done that before. But it worked much better because the jug was less than 1/4 full. This one had quite a bit left, so it probably got too heavy.)

So this is how I found her, I don't know if you can see it in the picture, but she has a towel & was trying to scrub up the mess. (I gotta give her that at least.) I got another towel, and finished cleaning up the ocean of milk on my floor. As I am wringing out the towel in the sink... I feel the familiar clanking of an empty sippy cup on my hip and The Goose starts in: "Milkeeeey...MAMA!"

Ok, Goose.... You win!

Goodnight friends... The Goose & I will catch up with you after the weekend!