Day Three

3:40
Today was a good day! They girls had their Valentine parties at school, and had a great time. One of the only messes of the day was equal to several smaller ones, though. Lily and I made a homeade snow globe at Christmas time out of a pickle jar, a plastic ornament, and LOTS of glitter. So, I turn around in the kitchen, and there is my little destructo, holding it with a big smile on her face. You know those messes that you can see happening before they actually do? Well, this was one of them. But, I barely had time to process that I needed to get the jar from Gabs when it came crashing to the tile. Wet glitter is NOT fun to clean up, especially when it is accompanied by millions of glass shards.

5:02 Pouring juice into her pasta.

5:03 Eating juicy pasta.

Curiosity that could kill a fish!

Day Two

8:40 We made it through breakfast with no major messes. Then I find my angel (see pic below) in the bathroom. With toothpaste.

On the wall.

And.... it's not really a mess unless it's in her hair.

9:31 I go in the office to check email. The office is heaven for Gaby. She can now open the door unless I lock it, charge in, grab some contraband and head for the hills. Today, she grabbed a pen and made her mark on the office door before I caught her.

9:45 Dog Food. One of her favorite things. She loves to dump it, pour it into other containers, and yes, unfortunately, eat it on occasion. Note the Dora cup, (the container into which she was attempting to pour), and the bewildered dog to the left. Lucy the dog is a slow eater, so it is hard to keep the dog food put up all day. The dark spot on the rug is the water she poured over the dog food just to top it off.

9:55 Finds another pen and draws on self and sister.

11:45 Eats her ice cream cone at old McDonald's using both hand to scoop it into her mouth. (Joyfully!)

6:03 Smashes large valentine sucker on dining room table.

6:11 Where is Gaby? Who opened the bathroom door? LILY!!!! You can't see in the pic, but that would be shampoo all over the tile.

"Life is not fair." - Lily, age 4 (actual quote)

7:20 Gaby is playing in Lily's room, and decides to eat some styrofoam out of a hat box. Swallows some before I pry her little mouth open.

7:23 Lily and I are picking out her clothes for school tomorrow, when I hear a slurrping noise behing me. It is Gaby, drinking the water she has just poured into Lily's vanity. Not sure where the water came from. Probably hoarded it away for just such an occasion.

7:44 While getting goody bags finished up for valentine parties tomorrow, Gaby takes off with a stamp I didn't use in a bag because it has a skull and crossbones. No, that's not lipstick on my sweet baby's face. It is a dead pirate. Gaby does not stop at her face.

This will be super cute with her skirt tomorrow! We've already had two baths today, and mommy does not have the energy for a third.

Day One Pictures

Raspberry hands.

As you can see from the paper towels, she did try to clean this up herself.

Raspberries in the hair.


Raspberry girl.

Day One

5:15pm
Gave each of the girls a small bowl of raspberries. Gaby decided to wear hers. See pic.

5:30
Gaby is cleaned up and on the go. I cleared the dishes and put them on the kitchen counter. Apparently too close to the edge, because Gaby pulled down Lily's uneaten raspberries and finger painted the tile with them. See pic.

5:39
Gaby dips comb in toilet and tries to comb Lily's hair with it. Lily is not happy about this.

5:41
Gaby is pulling food out of the pantry.

5:52
Gaby head butts her sister. Neither are happy about this.

6:42
Spills mommy's cup of ice and takes off her diaper. Heads for the hills, and while mommy is cleaning up ice, pees on sister's floor.
While mommy cleans up pee, Gaby comes strolling in with the dog's water dish, complete with water. Heads back to the kitchen to try to pour water into a cup. This is one of said terrrorist favorite pastimes: the transfer of liquid.
While mommy writes this incident down, Gaby is dancing on dishwasher door.

7:12
Gets out of bath, and in the span of 3-4 minutes gets into lip gloss, spills bath paint and pees on the bath mat.

Note: day one's timeframe is only TWO HOURS.

How I came to the conclusion that my two year old is a terrorist

As you read this you may think I am being harsh. But as you read, you will also come to the conclusion that my two year old is, indeed, a terrorist. She is the cutest, sweetest, funniest, zaniest and one of the smartest little terrorists ever, but a terrorist nonetheless.
Over the past month or so, I have felt compelled to try to document the daily whirlwind of incredible messes, countless paper towels, wet ones, and towels used to mop them up, and an average of two baths and two extra loads of laundry a day created by my Gaby. Just this week, as I thought about the particular messes of that day, I thought, this child is a mess! But more than just a ordinary mess. She wreaks havoc. Major havoc. Lily was a strong willed child. I am used to that. This is more. She doesn't play with toys. She doesn't watch tv. She is on the constant lookout for her next big mess. And she uses her charm and adorable little face to get out of trouble. It is impossible to stay mad at her for longer than it takes to clean up her mess. Thus: she is a terrorist, wreaking havoc, making demands, getting away with all of it.