Saturday, November 24, 2007
The Decider
One of my most vivid olfactory memories is of my parents' medicine cabinet. The scents of orange-flavored children's aspirin, menthalatum, rubbing alcohol, bandaids and other medical marvels mingled in an unforgettable incense. For a short time, the medicine cabinet contained Flintstones vitamins. How we talked mom into such a sugary frivolity, I'll never know. Perhaps the same way my kids talked me into Dinosaur vitamins.
The most popular children's vitamins today, at least among Max and Boo's friends, are gummy bear vitamins. But a quick analysis at Costco proved that Dinosaur vitamins pack more nutritional punch with less unwelcome sugar. So Dinosaur vitamins it was. My kids were pumped.
Dinosaur vitamins come in three flavors: purple triceratops, orange brontosaurus and red tyrannasaurus rex. Of course, color-challenged Boo sees purple as blue, his favorite color, so for quite some time, he was purely a triceratops kind of guy. When we started to run short of the horny beasts, I started presenting him with wider options. But sometimes the daily decision is more than a wee child can bear. That's when Boo pulls out a page from Max's playbook. With index finger moving to and fro, Boo encants:
Eenie meanie chipsalenie
Ooh ah tumballini
Atchie catchie Liberace
We pick you!
His finger lands on one of the prehistoric reptiles. And sometimes he simply gobbles up his prize.
At other times, though, his finger hovers above its mark. Then it begins to move slowly among the animals, like the pointer moving magically around a Ouija board. And after a spell, sometimes lengthy, he decides. I've heard it said that when Winston Churchill was confronting a difficult decision, he would choose an alternative and then guage his reaction to it. Following in distinguished footsteps, Boo seems to have discovered this mighty wisdom at an early age.
Initially, I was exasperated. Such unnecessary nonsense! It was a vitamin, for heaven's sake, and I had dishes to wash, snacks to pack, shoes to find, teeth to brush, and carpool line was queueing up at school, while we hadn't yet pulled out of the driveway.
Then the thought struck me: This will pass all too soon. In another week or month or season, Boo will grab a vitamin (or not) and be done with it. So now I study his beautiful face, eyelashes flitting back and forth, as he concentrates on making the only decision that matters right now.
The most popular children's vitamins today, at least among Max and Boo's friends, are gummy bear vitamins. But a quick analysis at Costco proved that Dinosaur vitamins pack more nutritional punch with less unwelcome sugar. So Dinosaur vitamins it was. My kids were pumped.
Dinosaur vitamins come in three flavors: purple triceratops, orange brontosaurus and red tyrannasaurus rex. Of course, color-challenged Boo sees purple as blue, his favorite color, so for quite some time, he was purely a triceratops kind of guy. When we started to run short of the horny beasts, I started presenting him with wider options. But sometimes the daily decision is more than a wee child can bear. That's when Boo pulls out a page from Max's playbook. With index finger moving to and fro, Boo encants:
Eenie meanie chipsalenie
Ooh ah tumballini
Atchie catchie Liberace
We pick you!
His finger lands on one of the prehistoric reptiles. And sometimes he simply gobbles up his prize.
At other times, though, his finger hovers above its mark. Then it begins to move slowly among the animals, like the pointer moving magically around a Ouija board. And after a spell, sometimes lengthy, he decides. I've heard it said that when Winston Churchill was confronting a difficult decision, he would choose an alternative and then guage his reaction to it. Following in distinguished footsteps, Boo seems to have discovered this mighty wisdom at an early age.
Initially, I was exasperated. Such unnecessary nonsense! It was a vitamin, for heaven's sake, and I had dishes to wash, snacks to pack, shoes to find, teeth to brush, and carpool line was queueing up at school, while we hadn't yet pulled out of the driveway.
Then the thought struck me: This will pass all too soon. In another week or month or season, Boo will grab a vitamin (or not) and be done with it. So now I study his beautiful face, eyelashes flitting back and forth, as he concentrates on making the only decision that matters right now.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Boo's Eggcellent Choice
Over the last few months, the boys have grown increasingly partial to the ranch, making our return home more and more unwanted. To sweeten the deal, we've adopted the unfortunate habit of treating them to ice cream as we leave town--that is, if they're still awake when we get to the interstate. (After all, you can't very well transport of Nutty Buddy 100 miles and still enjoy it at the end of the trip.) One of the many glories of hour after hour of fresh air, dirt, sun and water is that the kids are pretty well spent by the time we pack to leave. After 15 minutes of jostling on the dirt road, they're often asleep before we make the turn for home. Sometimes, they're long gone before we even cross the cattle guard and lock the gate.
Such was the case with Boo on Tuesday. When he awoke in our driveway, he was inconsolable.
"I WANT ICE CREAM! WHERE'S MY ICE CREAM? I NEED ICE CREAM RIGHT THIS MINUTE!"
And so forth for a good 15 minutes. I tried bargaining, but without many chips, it was a losing battle.
"Applesauce?"
"ICE CREAM!"
"Raisins?"
"ICE CREAM!"
"Pancakes?"
"ICE CREAM!"
He continued to wail. I started the laundry.
In a few minutes, Boo brightened.
"Mommy, I know what I can have instead of ice cream!"
"Great! What do you have in mind, honey?" I clenched my teeth and waited for the unacceptable. Like chocolate cupcakes.
"SCRAMBLED EGGS!"
"Oh, Boo, that's a PERFECT alternative to ice cream! What a FABULOUS IDEA!"
Three organic, Omega-3 enriched scrambled eggs later, we were both happy.
Such was the case with Boo on Tuesday. When he awoke in our driveway, he was inconsolable.
"I WANT ICE CREAM! WHERE'S MY ICE CREAM? I NEED ICE CREAM RIGHT THIS MINUTE!"
And so forth for a good 15 minutes. I tried bargaining, but without many chips, it was a losing battle.
"Applesauce?"
"ICE CREAM!"
"Raisins?"
"ICE CREAM!"
"Pancakes?"
"ICE CREAM!"
He continued to wail. I started the laundry.
In a few minutes, Boo brightened.
"Mommy, I know what I can have instead of ice cream!"
"Great! What do you have in mind, honey?" I clenched my teeth and waited for the unacceptable. Like chocolate cupcakes.
"SCRAMBLED EGGS!"
"Oh, Boo, that's a PERFECT alternative to ice cream! What a FABULOUS IDEA!"
Three organic, Omega-3 enriched scrambled eggs later, we were both happy.
