At what point...

...do kids have to wear pants? I mean, when is it kind of weird if they're running around in just a shirt and unders?

Let me backtrack: I rarely wear "real" pants at home. I admit that this makes me sound like the sloppy stay-at-home-mom I swore I'd never be. I shower every morning. I blow dry my hair. I put on make-up. I put on whatever shirt I'm going to wear, set out the jeans, and then put on comfy pants. Jeans are ready and waiting when it's time to go out. This isn't a new thing with becoming a mom--I've done this since high school. If anything, the comfy pants have gotten more subtle. It's black, grey, or navy yoga pants now. In high school and college, it was full on pajama pants. Even if I'm only going to be home for 45 minutes, I put on the comfy pants. It's a big enough thing to Ostler girls that we'll actually call each other when Costco has their 2-pack yoga pants back in stock. It's even become a verb--as soon as I get home, I walk in the door, take off my shoes, and comfy pantasize.

Since she was a baby, Mabes has preferred to go pants-less. If she was cranky, the first thing we'd do was to take off her pants. This usually turned the crabbiness into this:


And who could blame her? No pants is always more enjoyable than pants, and I just loved seeing those meaty thighs.

Mabes with pants, about to head out.

So on Saturday, Dave and Mabes returned from a morning at Home Depot, Mabes used the bathroom, and then decided she didn't want to put her jeans back on. I was taking pictures of them and the new tool set Dave brought her from his work trip* and then I started to realize: is it weird that she's just sitting there in her underwear? Granted, they're the bigger, more boyshort-like style training pants that she really only wears on laundry day. But still, they're unders. And she's a kid.

Mabes with a tool belt, but without pants.

So my question is this: When do I need to have a pair of Mabes-sized yoga pants sitting next to mine, waiting for us to come home? Or have we passed that point?

Also, I found myself wondering where the line between cute and annoying was while we were shopping at Trader Joe's yesterday. Mabes insisted that she would be a big girl and stay right next to me while we shopped. Considering the relatively small size of their carts, it's probably best that she walk. She decided that dancing would be much more fun than walking, and when I would stop to get something, she'd curtsy or plié. She was staying close to me, so I was happy.

Then we got to the cheese section. People were smiling at her, but I thought she was still close, so I continued to search through the cheeses. Then I realized that while I tried to figure out how they had rearranged everything, she decided that all that extra room meant she could do Mexican Hat Dance-like twirls. So I grabbed my string cheese, cart, and spinning Mabes and rushed to the front, while wondering if those people were genuinely amused (it was pretty funny) or if they were forcing smiles while trying to get around my whirling kid. Once at checkout, she was undeterred, and continued to do what can only be described as some sort of jig while I paid. And while other customers may have been annoyed, the checker LOVED Mabes and gave her 6 stickers, bunch of daffodils, and then decided that Mabes needed her own to hold, so she pulled out a single daffodil and gave it to her. We left Trader Joe's very happy.

$1.49 for a bunch of ten buds (or free if the cashier likes you) and you just bring them home, put them in water, and they bloom overnight. It's like a glass of springtime in my kitchen!

*I actually got it at Target during their 75% off toy sale--it was $3! We figured Mabes would like that more than a lanyard, key chain, or thumb drive, which is what Dave typically brings home from these shows.