Jackpot...

In an attempt to get my, ahem, lazy child more comfortable with the idea of crawling, I have resorted to leaving her alone on a blanket surrounded by all her toys.  She inevitably ends up on her belly at some point, and as long as I'm not in a place where she can see me see her whine, she remains happy as a clam.

I think the idea is brilliant.  A little risky, perhaps, but brilliant nonetheless.

Until today.

I set her down, dumped out the toy basket, turned up some music and snuck into the kitchen to fix some lunch.  As I stirred my scrambled egg whites in the sizzling pan, I gave myself a hearty pat on the back for brewing up this ingenious little trick.  Certain she would be crawling by the time Reece got home, I reached for the carton of mint chip ice cream in my freezer to reward myself.

And then I heard the jingling.  A very familiar sound.  The jingling of my car keys, Lola's favorite toy of the moment.

But my car keys weren't included in the jumble of plastic, wood and rubber I had so gleefully set out on the blanket just 6 minutes before.  Of that, I was sure. 

I slowly peeked my head around the corner.  I saw my kid.  I saw my purse.  The purse that had been hidden behind the garbage can about six feet away from her.  I saw the contents of said purse covering the pile of toys I had left her to play with not 6 minutes before.

As always, Miss Lola Maria seemed quite pleased with herself.

Apparently lip gloss isn't just good for the lips, it's also good for the teeth.

I had a good chuckle over this little incident.  I called my mom to spread the word and got distracted for a moment too long.

That's when I noticed the blue dye around Lola's mouth.  And then the remnants of what was once my pack of Stride gum.

Who needs the chewing gum when you can just snack on the paper box that holds it?  It took several finger sweeps to remove all that crap from her mouth.

This kid is trouble.  But there's a part of me that loves it, and can't wait to see what mess she makes next.