The power of math?

Three months ago, I had no idea what/who Team Umizoomi was. Never heard of them. But suddenly, Lindsay was constantly asking for them. So, we built up our Tivo library of Team Umizoomi episodes and the rest is history. Lindsay is OBSESSED!

For that that don't know who Team Umizoomi is, they are miniature trio of problem-solvers who use their "Mighty Math Powers" to solve the "problems" of the citizens of UmiCity, who all live in a town paved with origami. Yep...you read that right. Between you and me, the "problems" they solve are more like annoying sidenotes in an adult's day than they are real problems, but I suppose to toddlers a parent being stuck in traffic with the cake for their birthday party is a real serious problem. Here's a picture of them for those that haven't seen them before (that's Milli, Geo and Bot for those keeping track at home).

Anyway, Lindsay is obsessed. I'm not exaggerating even the slightest when I say she asks to watch Team Umizoomi before she even opens her eyes in the morning. No "good morning" or "I love you"....it's "I wanna watch Team Umizoomi" and then she gets off her bed and groggily stumbles to the living room.

Her obsession reached a point of no return the other day. We've been trying potty train her for the last week or so. About three days in she is sitting on the potty chair and she looks up in the air and says, "Need help Team Umizoomi!" (That's what the "Umi Friends" say after explaining their problem to the trio.)

I almost fell over laughing. She was asking Team Umizoomi for help to go potty in the potty chair. However, I tried to keep my composure to see what would be next. She just stared into the air, apparently waiting for Team Umizoomi to appear in the bathroom. After about 30 seconds of staring into the air she looks back at me and says, "Team Umizoomi not coming" in the saddest, most dejected little voice you can imagine. (Those are the breaks, kiddo.)

So apparently Team Umizoomi can't solve potty training problems with their Mighty Math Powers....which is disheartening on some level because I consider it an actual problem. Or maybe they can because she did go potty before getting off the chair.

Could you resist?

I don't care how busy you are. If your 2-year-old offers you "coffee" during the middle of a task, you "drink it" and you enjoy it.

Dinner can wait, right?

Lindsay's lines

My Lindsay spent some time with our very good friend Lindsay (who is 9 months preggo right now) this past weekend. I was trying to explain to my Lindsay that our friend Lindsay is having a baby and that baby is in her tummy right now.

Low and behold, last night my Lindsay walked up to me, stuck out her belly and said, "There's a baby in there!"

I thought it was hilarious. Kevin said, "There better not be." Our friend Lindsay said, "She is HILARIOUS." Her response was over text though, so I'm not sure if she was laughing or just fed up with being pregnant. I'm guessing the latter.

Either way, I'm still laughing about it today. Sure wish I would've got a picture of her little belly sticking out as photographic proof though.

Parenting Mistake #2

Don't ever forget your child's favorite stuffed animal that she insists on sleeping with each night at the hotel you stayed at the past weekend.

I accidentally left "Beaver" at the Kelly Inn in Fargo this past weekend. Lindsay loves that thing. Never sleeps without it. Here's the photographic proof:

The good news is that they have it and my brother is going to bring it back to us this weekend.

The bad news is that last night was a disaster and her and I ended up sleeping on the couch all night and she cried off and on throughout the night. Maybe it is a coincidence and she just had a rough night of sleep as a function of very little napping over the weekend and lots of excitement the past 2 weeks.

I hope that is the case, but I'm not confident. This could end up being a very long week.

I'm no tough guy

I talked awfully big about my 2 kid-free weeks. All the fun things I would do and how great it would be to have all that peace and quiet.

While I've indeed had a lot of fun with Kevin and my friends, I have to say that I'm officially over it. We've golfed, went to a movie in the theater, eaten out, went to the State Fair, drafted fantasy football teams, went to sporting events and concerts and camped. All fun!

But....I want to see the kiddo. It's too quiet and I'm too old to have all that adult fun anymore. Sitting at home and reading kid books, watching Dora and playing in the sandbox is what I now crave more than anything else. I'm at peace with it. I'm old and I'm in love with a little blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl.

How could you not miss this face? Can't wait to see her this weekend!

Parenting Mistake -- first entry

Not sure I've made a much bigger parenting mistake prior to tonight.

Tip: NEVER show your 2-year-old new Dora sheets for her new big girl bed 20 minutes before bedtime.

Technology!

As a parent, sometimes you start to feel a little sorry for yourself (or at least I do). You know, like those times when you see younger, cooler people with no kids having fun or when you are busy running errands with a whiny kid and you see a retiree taking their time to stroll through the aisles of Target.

On a recent drive back to North Dakota was one of those times. It was just Lindsay and I in the car and not even 30 minutes away from our house, she became irritable and a downright crabass.* I had 9 hours in the car and we couldn't even make it to the western suburbs before the trip was a disaster.

*Sidebar: Not that I blame her. Have you seen the carseats these days? I'm obviously on board with them because of the superb safety, but she may as well be in an enclosed padded box that is harnessed to the backseat. She can't see outside, can't reach for anything and has no one to play with back there.

Anyway, it was at that point I remembered that we had recently purchased a portable DVD player so that she could watch cartoons on long trips. Talk about a godsend. We pulled over, threw in a Nick, Jr. DVD and we were good to go. Even more of a godsend, that DVD had 6 episodes on it and automatically looped back around to the beginning when it ended! Check out this happy camper!

Yes, you read that right. I let her watch 6 episodes in a row and even let it loop back around to the beginning and start over. Judge all you want, but that was a phenomenal drive back to good, ol' ND! Happy kid and momma got to throw on her iPod and listen to P!nk, JT and Rihanna to her heart's content with no whiny interruptions whatsoever!

Honestly, I'm not sure how our parents made it without one of these miracle machines. One less thing for me to feel sorry for myself about. Guess I'm going to have to take my martyr business elsewhere.