Thursday, May 1, 2008

I a pirate! Arrrr!

This morning when I went to get Reagan after she woke up, she looked like this:


This is an achievement because when she went to bed, she wasn't wearing that shirt. She was wearing pajamas. The tightest, most form fitting elastic banded pajamas we could find to discourage her from stripping. In order to get her pajamas off, she first undoes all the snaps down the front. Then starts to strip off the arms and when she gets stuck she lays on her belly with all fours behind her in the air . She's caught in the pajamas like she'd been hog tied at the rodeo. After about five minutes of wriggling and corresponding wriggling noises, she eventually works the pajamas off. Usually the diaper then comes off and gets tossed at the diaper pail. Unless we had the foresight to put the diaper on backwards. Then instead, after her many tugs it just hangs off of her with a judicious amount of butt crack showing like she's training for a plumbing apprenticeship.

Today though, she kept the diaper on. And she dug out that shirt from her laundry (which, as much as I hate doing laundry I'm not discouraging a recycle here and there). I'm sure it was inside out and crumpled, but she managed to put it the right way and put it on properly. When I saw her she pointed to her shirt and proudly exclaimed "I a pirate! I a pirate! Arrr!"

Very cute. My toddler is a pirate today. A messy, glittery, pirate (yep, the eye patch is glitter and you find it all over you days after she's worn the shirt). If it had been a weekend or Friday I would have said, "Great, your half dressed. Put on your pants and let's go matey!"

Unfortunately though, it was a Thursday. Thursdays aren't good pirate days. Why not you ask? Well, because she goes to a school that requires her to wear uniforms Monday-Thursday, and they are pretty strict about it. So when she declared today to be pirate day I said, "Yes, you are a pirate! Arrr! Let's put this dress on and finish getting dressed." I figured as long as she had the pirate shirt on underneath she would be fine with putting a school jumper over the top. Oh, no! That wouldn't do at all. She bawled as Bill put the jumper on her all along crying "I a pirate! I a pirate!"

Once the jumper was on her, she took five minutes before she had it stripped back off. She proudly pointed to her shirt once again bared, now cheering, "I a pirate! I a pirate!"

What's a mom to do? I did what I think any mom would (I think?). I put a pair of uniform pants on her and sent her to school proudly bearing her pirate shirt. I should have added a headscarf bandanna and an eyepatch or a parrot on her shoulder to complete the look. Sometimes I suck.

I sent a uniform shirt along with her. I sent Bill with instructions to tell them if they didn't want her to be a pirate today that they could change her shirt, but that we weren't going to do it. Surprisingly, she came home a pirate today and we were void of a uniform violation notice. I'm glad to see that.

We absolutely love the school and wouldn't possibly send her anywhere else. When I learned that she would have to wear uniforms I was disappointed because I love to overbuy for and overdress the girls. But I figured if they wanted our girls to wear uniforms, then so be it. I figured creativity could be expressed in so many other ways, it doesn't matter what they wear. Today was the first day that I really questioned that logic. I think if Reagan wakes up one day and wants to be a pirate, then she should be a pirate. But on the other hand, what have I done to set a precedence for her not wanting to wear her required uniform and buck the rules?

I guess it all comes down to whether or not I want to encourage creativity or encourage following rules. Can't I do a balance of both? I'll add that to my to-do list for today.

Most importantly, who am I to tell her pirate day can only be on Friday?

Arrrr!

51 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh! Look at your little pirate. She is so cute. Loved reading how she managed to get that way. That was awesome. Gosh I wish I was flexible enough to wriggle out of clothes like they do. :-)

Anonymous said...

Bridget-
I have been reading your blog,along with a few other may mommies' blogs and I find your family so amusing! I love Reagan's antics, she reminds me of my 3 year old. We have a highly coveted black and pink pirate shirt that is "recycled" often!

Mama Mia said...

LOVE IT...the other day Braeden refused to take off his new hockey pj's..so I bribed (Spelling?) him w/ a t-shirt w/ an excavator on it...which is really for his b-day b/c he is having a truck party, but I needed to get him dressed!
Arg to Reagan@

Kaycee said...

That is sooo adorable!! I'm happy she got to express herself w/o yall getting the violation :)

Julie said...

Hilarious!!!

Aly said...

Arrrr to you Reagan! What a little character. Your hands (and heart) must be so full with your adorable little girls.

Tricia said...

She's adorable and obviously a fashion trend setter in the making.

Finding Normal said...

That is too cute!

Lisa@BlessedwithGrace said...

She is SSOOOOOO CUTE!! Great post.

EmBee said...

How old is she? And already so adamant about self expression... Well more power to her! I say give the school the job of explaining their reasons why you can't be a pirate every day! Let your freak flag fly Reagan!

Rhea said...

Adorable pirate shirt. She's a cutie!

Perksofbeingme said...

Oh my goodness! You're little pirate is adorable. I'm glad you sent her to school as a pirate. So adorable! I just came over here from SITS and I'm glad I found you!

Rose of Sharon said...

What a cutie pie! That's a tough one....to encourage creativity or to follow rules. I say pick your battles. The only problem could be next time she might want to wear her own clothes again, but yet, it is so neat to see them be so individual! Like I said, tough call! Regardless, she is adorable!

:0) Sharon

Judy Schwartz Haley | CoffeeJitters.Net said...

that was precious! I could just picture her trying to get out of those pajamas.

and yes, this is an age when they are discovering a sense of self - yay for letting her be who she wants to be, a sparkly, glittery pirate. to cute.

Anonymous said...

She's adorable.

Claremont First Ward said...

Definitely the cutest pirate girl ever, with the greatest stripping ability around.

Cecily R said...

Rock on!!! I admire you more than you know for letting her be a pirate if she wants to be a pirate. Too often I think we strip our kids of that creativity to follow the norm. Way to go mom!!!

And the middle of the night stripping? Hilarious!!

Sunshine said...

So caaaaauuuuute! LOL! I forgot how when my girlies were little they'd squeeze out of their pj's too. Loved how you put her diaper on backwards as a deterrant (sp?) too. Ha ha...

And I loved the line that said, "Sometimes I suck." I think I'm gonna have to hang that up somewhere. Too funny.

Don't even get me started on clothes and my girls...it's a battle I cannot win.

Saw ya on SITS.

Jen said...

boy, I wish my son would be a pirate. He is stuck on being a princess.

Mama Dawg said...

I hate school uniforms for the very reason that it stifles creativity with clothing.

Melanie Dickens said...

Aren't kids just amazing. Houdini should take lessons from them.

Jennifer P. said...

I love the diaper/plumber reference!

And good for you mommy---sometimes you really just have to have a pirate day :)!

Tami said...

I love it! Your girls are adorable :)

Lula! said...

Everyday is pirate day in our house...ARRRRRGHHHH! And your pirate is Captain Adorable.

Unknown said...

Very cute. :-)

You pick your battles and in this case I think you did really well :-)

I'm a great believer in school uniforms, for many reasons. Sending the uniform shirt along was brilliant, The school sts the uniform rules and it is then up to them to enforce it. You gave both your daughter and the school options. Well done!! :-)

Shelley said...

What a cutie-pi-rate!! Love the story. I'm glad she escaped without walking the plank or getting a uniform violation! :-)
Blessings
Shelley

Nicole said...

So cute! I love her little rosey cheeks. I don't know why they call it the terrible two's, if ya ask me, it's definitely the terrible three's.

Debz said...

Naked baby syndrome comes with the territory I'm afraid. But hey - at least she kept the diaper on! That's a step in the right direction.

Anonymous said...

That is so cute! Love the story - been there, done that! What a good mommy you are to encourage her creativity!

Unknown said...

She's got determination and will power wrapped up already...

Simply Stork said...

even pirates wear pajamas...

(I have 3 boys)

I must admit it was funny to read about a stripping pirate :o)(lol)

~simply~

Melissa Lester said...

She is such a cutie! It is amazing how quickly girls develop opinions about what they want to wear! At 9 and 6, my boys rarely care what they put on (accept for their desire to wear jeans and sweatshirts in our oppressive Alabama heat), but my 2- and 4-year-old girls always have a perfect outfit in mind!

Merrie said...

My girl is all about picking her own clothes, too. Sometimes I am in awe of her selections, mixing a stripe with a polka dot, but if she's happy, the world is an easier place to be!

"I a pirate!" Too cute!

scargosun said...

"I a pirate!" Insanely cute. The stripping is hilarious and the diaper on backwards is genius! I am going to pass that tip on to friend for her little stripper.

Connie said...

Absolutely adorable mate!

Sherri said...

Cute!!

Acrimony said...

I can't believe they require uniforms on kids that little. I imagine the boy moms are buying new uniforms by the dozen!

Adiel | Rose Gold Lining said...

Uniforms for toddlers, huh? Interesting. Very cute pirate you have there though! :)

KatBouska said...

I"m surprised they didn't change her shirt...I went to a private school and they were very strict about that. ;(

She looks adorable!!

Anonymous said...

She probably did her pirate routine at her teachers, and after they're all laughing at how cute it is how could they possibly make her change?!?!

On the serious side...I think it's important to teach our kids to follow the rules. Not that there isn't a time for being rebelious :) I see so many parents not even teaching their kids about rules/limits. And it's sad to see the end results. You teach her the rule now. When she's a little bit older you teach her the "why" behind the rule (when she's old enough to understand that). Then, as she's growing she'll be able to make informed judgments about what's right and wrong...

Unknown said...

What an adorable little girl and she sounds alot like my darling daughter.

Alison said...

Cutest pirate ever (except when my daughter dressed up as one, of course!) Our preschool doesn't have uniforms, or we would have had many battles. She will have a uniform for K this year, but doesn't seem to mind.

Danielle said...

A pirate indeed! She's adorable!!!

Anonymous said...

She is too cute!! And clever, to boot!

It is such a fine line, huh? Too much pressure on us parents, we want our kids to have freedom and creativity, but we want them to be responsible, law/rule abiding little ones, too. It's stressful!

angela | the painted house said...

Adorable! She must be Houdini to get out of the bedtime get-up!

Michelle said...

Oh good, I'm not the only mom of a two year old who changes her clothes at night (or naptime) and pulls off her diaper.

I will say that I have found judiciously applied masking tape to help greatly with the diaper issues. But I haven't figured out how to get her to put on and keep on the clothes I want her to.

I love the pirate. And the display of personality!

Anonymous said...

This child has to be the cutest ever! Adorable! And your blog is THE most beautiful I have seen in a LONG time (besides the SITS site, of course!) Added you to my reader right away. Gonna be gone out of town for a week, but I will definitely be back!

Kimba said...

She is a real cute! Love those pictures.

Staci said...

very very cute!!

Gina said...

Too cute!!! and good for her expressing herself!!! they start that SO YOUNG its amazing.

Gina said...

A uniform? Seriously. She's 2. She's cute- and still 2.