Begin 20 minute long kicking, screaming, shrieking, "DON'T YOU PUT MY MAYANAIZE 'WAY!" spitting fury of toddler temper tantrum.

I actually wasn't sure whether I wanted to laugh or cry. A few times, I couldn't help it, I had to look away and giggle a little... I mean the whole thing was just so ludicrous, and I did not put the mayo away, I never got it out. Not to mention the whole facet of the thing where what she is being refused is the right to eat mayonnaise with a SPOON, by itself. (Many thanks to Google for assisting me with the tricky spelling of mayonnaise. Two n's? But, WHY?)

It really was her longest and most ferocious tantrum that I have been witness to, and I kept thinking she was just mostly hungry and if I could just get her to eat something, anything... well, anything but the mayo or whipped cream she was insisting upon, because, COME ON.

Banana? No.
Spaghettio's? "NO WANNA SKETTIO'S!" Ok.
Eggs? "NO WANT EGGS!"
Applesauce?
Raisins? "NO LIKE RAISINS!!!"

Finally I made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and she got interested and asked if she could make "ants on a log," and of course I said yes, got out the raisins and let her put them on, and she sniffling, red-faced, tearstained, "I DID it Mommy!"

Oh, gosh, she is TWO isn't she. I breathed a small sigh of relief and then she started smearing the peanut butter everywhere, threw a kidney bean on the floor, watched the dog eat it, then chased him demanding the bean be returned to her. I'm exhausted just thinking about it to write it all down!

I know there are some nice ones you can buy; Haba and Selecta both have wooden cash registers. But they are pretty pricey, and I just don't want to obtain another plastic toy. So I decided I'd make one, at least for now.

This was my inspiration. I saw that and just thought, ok, I can do way better than that! So I did. I used a postal priority mail box I had hanging around, and covered it in felt, and then made buttons, burned myself with hot glue six or seven times, cut my middle finger with extra sharp scissors twice, and then... well, here it is.

I'm feeling a combination of humility and proud. I was quite proud of myself and then Bella got up this morning, saw it, and said "What's this box Mommy?" Hmph, I say! It still needs numbers, which will make it look much more cash register-y IMO. I decided to go with picture buttons for now, and I made those by printing out pictures of food and then hot gluing the pictures to felt squares. (I was going to be all reuse-y and green and use old magazine pictures, but of course I couldn't find any of the foods we actually have play food of!)

So there it is. It needs numbers for the digital display, and I think I will collect some of my receipts and try to make some kind of receipt dispenser. But I'm pretty excited about it. Hopefully Bella will figure out that it's not just a box at some point. :)

Formaldehyde is a normal, essential human metabolite with a biological half-life of about 1.5 minutes (Clary and Sullivan 2001). It is endogenously produced and is involved with methylation reactions for and biosynthesis of some proteins and nucleic acids. It is also rapidly metabolised to formate and excreted in urine or to carbon dioxide and exhaled (WHO, 2006 and Clary and Sullivan 2001). ~ JustTheVax

So...

Babywearing to the rescue!

It was 9am, and we need to leave by 9:15 at the latest. I went upstairs, put on my carrier, and grabbed my big strong and sleepy pile of toddler cute, and got her on my back. This of course woke her up some but she was cozy and snug and safe and she was ok with it. So I just walked around getting everything ready and talking to her about our day, and all that we would do... and by the time I took her down at about 9:10, she was ready to get dressed. We were out the door by 9:15, no tears, no muss, no fuss!

I just thought I'd share this as an idea; I know lots of people wear their kids to sleep, as I do, but I haven't heard of wearing them awake before! :)

Charlie and I laughed until we cried.

She is right, too; we just got a yellow balloon the other day.

Then I said that I needed to get something to make dinner, and my husband asked her what she'd like for dinner. She put one finger on her chin, and said "Hmmmmmmmmmmmm."

She thought for a minute then said, "I want beans and rice and a spoon and some milk!" I was shocked, as she has never said what she'd like to eat before. Then she touched Charlie's tummy and said, "You hungry Daddy! You need a soda! You need some beans and rice and milk for your tummy! That make you feel better Daddy!"

She is just talking our ears off lately and she has *so* much to say.

So I came downstairs and made an early feast for my family. White basmati rice, black beans, wagon wheel pasta with a little butter, and a pan full of sauteed veggies to put on top of everything, and a little parmesan on top. Yum.

I promise...

Parents of unvaccinated children have more dangerous diseases to consider than parents of vaccinated children - some parents do not think first. In the year 2000, an unvaccinated preteen came down with a fever and parents took him to a pediatrician's practise. He infected six children in the waiting room with measles, three of these children were under 12 months old. Two are now dying.

SSPE was something no one ever mentioned when I began my first foray into the vaccine controversy three years ago. But as there are more and more outbreaks of measles, it will become something that is ever more important to know about.

But I *love* Kai Lan. Super cute and she is not overly girly.

Of course I'll like it even more when I'm not coughing like crazy all the time and the weather warms up and we can spend all day outside at the pool, instead of cooped up in the house!

Bella's Favorite Egg Drop Soup
15 oz chicken (or no-chicken) broth
2-3 eggs lightly beaten
1/2 cup (or so) finely chopped spinach
spices to taste

Saute' the chopped spinach in a little butter. Add the broth, bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and add the eggs by drizzling them into the soup in a thin stream. That's it; the heat of the soup cooks the eggs instantly.

This is excellent with basmati rice, or noodles, or whatever floats your child's boat. Bella ate two big bowls of this for lunch today. She calls the egg "noodles" and she even picked out a piece of spinach, and said... "Leaf!" Then ate it and said "yum!" (That's like a miracle around here!)