Family Reunion/Barbecue/Awfulness

So we had this family thing yesterday. And it was whack, yo. A cousin of mine was in town and another cousin hosted a BBQ so all family in the area (most of us are in the area) could see him. Never mind the fact that I'm not really close to this cousin or any of my cousins for that matter. But you know, whatever.

Whenever we have to go anywhere that we've never been before I always give myself a pep talk. Actually Peter and I give each other a pep talk. It goes something like this...

“Okay. The next two hours are pretty much going to suck. We'll take turns constantly following Monkey A around trying to keep her from:

a) Breaking anything
b) Climbing everything
c)Hurting herself (badly)

We can do this! Go Team!”

And I can honestly say we rarely worry for nothing. And today was no exception. Some of the highlights of the afternoon/evening:

-Trying to keep A from getting hit by some sort of golf ball sling shot type contraption that was part of a game akin to 'Horseshoes'.

-Trying to keep A from climbing in to the pond as though it was a pool.

-Trying to keep A from escaping out of the yard when the fence was left open.

-Worrying about A falling down a few cement stairs that she was fascinated with climbing repeatedly.

-Trying to get A to eat when there were SO many cooler things she could be doing mom, sheesh.

I think you get the idea. The worst part is that everyone tries to convince me that she is just an average normal (almost) 2 year old. Come on people! What kind of a moron do you think I am? I wasn't born yesterday. I've been around 2 year olds plenty. I happen to know for a fact that my kid is way more psycho than most. She does things that most kids don't even think of. She is constantly finding new ways to get into trouble. And... she. never. stops. So quit trying to tell me it's her age, she's fine, don't worry about it... I don't see YOU running around after her. That's my job.

I don't mean to complain. I love my A. I do. She's sweet, her personality is out of this world and she is going to grow up to be the most incredible woman. But man, does she tire a person out. We always leave that sort of function feeling totally drained and usually a bit depressed. We often vow to never agree to attend something like that again with Miss A in tow. But we never seem to stick to the rules we make up for ourselves.