Hey Kid, I Want My Beach Pail Back!

I took LO to a playground yesterday in Malibu.  It's very nice and the beauty of it was that, unlike on weekends, it was practically empty.  I was so excited to have an afternoon outing just the two of us, and I was especially grateful for this time now that I'm faced with the possibility of starting a new job.

I packed up all the gear -- new beach toy set, stroller, sunscreen, hat, snacks, toys for the car ride.  To be honest, I was feeling pretty good about myself as a Mommy, which these days constitutes being able to locate my keys and cell phone before going out.  We sang songs in the car and LO was in the zone, that perfect post-nap, blissful mood.

The playground has a large sandy area with a jungle gym and slides and a large adjacent sand box with an umbrella.  We parked the stroller at the sand box, got out the new beach toys and started raking sand.  I sat in the sand with her as she diligently filled the pail.  She was so happy.  She walked a few steps away to check out a rock in the sand when a big boy (probably around 5) ran over from out of nowhere and jerked her pail away.  I said "Hi" to him and invited him to play with us.  He laughed at me.  I asked nicely if he'd give it back since it's brand new and she's just a baby and...  He didn't care.  He took off running into the playground.  I shouted, "Hey!" but he kept going.  I was fuming.  He took my baby's new beach pail!

What I really wanted to do was chase him down and body slam him.  I could feel the anger welling up inside of me.  I couldn't go after him and leave LO alone in the sandbox.  He was too far away for that.  I couldn't carry her around while I chased him either.  He'd be too nimble.  I looked around for any signs of his concerned parents -- nothing.  It was the weirdest feeling, the instinct to be protective and put the hurt on that little kid.  What are the rules on a playground?  At what point can you body slam other people's kids?  Eventually a parent yelled out from somewhere for him to give it back and he did.  My blood pressure dropped back to normal and we had a wonderful time together at the park.  

Is It Too Late to Mention that I Have a Wooden Leg?

I went on a job interview recently and this week was the second round.  The exercise was to produce a sample of the show and then they'll make their decision after seeing the candidates' creations.  I was reminded of one of my favorite skits from "The Tracey Ullman Show," where Tracey and two other candidates are given a box of random items and given :60 to do something creative with it.  This probably aired in the 80's but it's totally relevant today:

Special Skills - Part 1

Special Skills - Part 2

Anyone had a similar experience?

Walking and Talking

LO started walking this week!  It began with standing without holding onto anything, then progressed to a few steps and now she's unstoppable.  She falls a lot, but she just gets right back up and goes!  Today we went to the park where the grass was kind of high and kept tripping her up.  Every time, she got right back up and went as fast as she could toward the big kids kicking a soccer ball, shouting "Baw!"

Peekaboo!

New vocab this week includes:
Key
Where de key? (I swear)
Where dat?
Yo-ur (yogurt)
Cheese
Doowr (door)
Puh (her beloved cereal puffs)
Nana (banana)
Poon (spoon)

What a week!