Conclusions

This afternoon we went to Mia's 2nd Birthday party at LOL. We love Mia. We love her mom, Traci. We loved the party music (super fun!) and loved the cute, yummy cake balls. It was great to see all of the other mommies and their kiddos. Kylee had a lot fun. All that being said (and 100% true), I did NOT have the best time at the party.
Kylee pulled out her pony tail holder soon after we got to the party and absolutely refused to keep her bow in her hair. Ok... so, not a national crisis, but a tragedy none the less.
Once the birthday festivities ended, the kids were given $5 game cards. That's when the real stress came. I showed Kylee how to swipe the game card into the machines. She loved that and really liked pushing the buttons. Unfortunately, what she liked even more was running from me. That, of course, is a major no-no (especially in a place that crowded with no security system). I tried to keep hold of her finger, but she managed to escape several times. So, I gathered up our stuff as quickly as I could, gave all of our tickets to a friend, and left (exhausted, starving, and with a major head ache).
On the car ride home, I came to several conclusions:
1) When in doubt, bring the stroller.
2) It is time to buy Kylee a leash, even if that makes me look like a bad parent.
3) It is time for me to finally finish reading the parenting book I started months ago and to review any notes I've ever taken about parenting and/or toddlers.
4) We will not be going back to LOL, at least not for a loooooong time.