hahaha bless your soul, you really think you're in control?

It's December...technically it's practically mid-December.  When did that happen?  Maybe it was during the plague that took hold of my entire family the day after Thanksgiving (more like black-lung Friday).  

We have a couple of huge projects to finish in December (let alone how I just adore making little handmade touches with all my gifts screw that ...which I fear I may not have time to finish this year.  

Huge project number 1-- the child we had turns 2 on Friday.  We will be having her birthday party on Saturday evening.  The second birthday party doesn't feel like as much pressure as planning that classic and perfect 1st birthday party does.  In fact the second party feels as though it should really be an homage to her father and I as we are about to embark on the cliche that is (REALLY TRUE)-- the terrible twos.  

Sloane always likes to be early to things. For her own birth she was 5 weeks early.  She started her terrible two phase at about 18 months.  Joy -- extra time in the terribleness.  I know, I know, as my friend Kate will remind me, I have always loved the age 2-5, as a mental health professional I wax on philosophically about how interesting their brains are at this age, that their personalities are forming, that they are learning things so quickly it is hard for us to keep up with what they know and don't know....I said ALL of these things, BEFORE I had a kid that was 2, heck before I had a kid at all.  And now I tell you all of those things are true but this stage is damn hard.  

A rational human being (as I like to fancy myself) has a difficult time guiding their child (which really seems like running and screaming NO from every corner of the entire house all day long so that said child doesn't electrocute, poison or choke themselves or somehow otherwise need stitches or emergency medical attention) through the day when they are dealing with a complete and utter psychopath  irrational human torpedo being. 

I am truly beginning to understand the meaning of "ignorance is bliss" as it applies to raising a two year old.  It literally translates to: "if your kid doesn't know about _______ (ipads/pods/phones/books/tunes, shopping carts with the cars attached, ice cream) they cannot tantrum over said item, and the lack of a tantrum is BLISS my friends (sorry to shout about bliss, but it's hard to come by these days and excites me).  

Which leads me to, big project number 2 in December.  The "Santa gift".  As you can see above Keenan and I are not wanting to introduce another tantrum-invoking item into our daily lives. So although she is asking for LOL Elmo (a torture device that would not make anyone over the age of 3 laugh out loud) we are compromising with putting batteries into her ("broken") Let's Rock Elmo (thank you K's mama) and getting her Potty Time Elmo book and then giving her something that has no whistles, bells or touch screen.

Enter stage right the thing I found next to an apartment house dumpster in August:

Santa's elves are very busy sanding and painting and hammering and accessorizing!

I loved watching Mr. K sand this to see all the different colors it has been for different kiddos (it's been pepto pink, country blue, and primary yellow) for Sloane it will be Overalls Blue by Valspar

We found this at Lowe's...Blue is her favorite color

This is Dylan Velvet, it looks a little too gold on my screen, but it's for the accents

I also found a large tool bench/area at a garage sale for 5 bucks, which will serve as her sink and counter.  I've had a lot of fun designing and working on this for the tiny terrorist tot.

Go to amazon they have lots of M&D 25% off today!

We've themed most of her presents around the gift as well.  Including some swag from Melissa & Doug, I really don't think anyone does it better when it comes to play food.

Hopefully this gift will be one to carry her all the way through the terrible twos into a more serene state of being (of course she's my first kid. translation: I don't know anything).  One can only dream.

title courtesy of lyrics by CeeLo Green: Crazy (or the toddler-parent's theme song)

Linking up to Sugar & Dots  & Ginger Snap Crafts & Whimsy Wednesday & Apron Thrift Girl & Sir Thrift Alot