On tomato cages and string bean girls

I am fairly certain that if I were to contrive some sturdy and substantial device to contain my tomatoes next year that I would be blessed with midget plants that produce one tomato each. It is like betting on the Kentucky Derby winner to take the Preakness. Sure, sometimes there is a Triple Crown winner, but that is like once every 40 years. Trying to buy clothing ahead for the exceptionally tall child is right up in there as well.

I get the feeling that Target is about to start rolling out the red velvet holiday dresses in another week and I'm still stuck guessing what size pants M is going to be wearing in another month. It is like a cruel guessing game with your wallet somewhere in the middle. Last year she was wearing her Halloween shirt in January because she slowed down when the weather got cooler. That was after a late summer growth spurt had me nearly cutting the sleeves off shirts when all I could find were snowflake turtlenecks in late August.

This year I'm hedging my bets a little differently. M spent most of her summer in shirts that were slightly too big and unless she develops a pituitary disorder in the next month, I think I'm good for the rest of the warm weather. Also, god bless the the adjustable waist and capris. For fall, I'm banking on her new love of dresses and buying her leggings to go with them. Worst case, her mastery of pants on, pants off is at a point where she can wear jeans again, and we all know how cute rolled up jeans are.

Also new this year, but I think working to my advantage, she's growing out of the toddler sizes. My MIL showed up a couple of weeks ago with *gasp* little girl sized clothing. I expected her to swim in it, but in reality, it is just a little big. In brands that tend to shrink, as well as outerwear, I see us venturing over to the other side of the brightly lit big box for things that come without T's on the ends of the sizes.

That isn't to say that I don't love my string bean in all of her lanky glory. It reminds me on a regular basis that she will not always be small and to enjoy her while she's still fits in my lap. She can already wrap her legs around me when she insists on a full "big hugs" and I wouldn't have it any other way.

On a side note: We have eaten our first tomato from the garden. The bottom half was rotten, the top half tasted amazing. There is hope yet, though they have all torn their tomato cages out of the ground. If I am not blogging about by Wednesday, look for me in the tomatoes.