Baseboard: 1, Gavin: 0

So, yeah, this is what happens when a still sometimes-unsteady toddler gleefully chases the fluffy kitty so he can pet her but trips over his own feet and catches the baseboard with his eye. Not to worry though, he's fine. I think I've now lost count of the number of black eyes he's had but this might be only #4? 5?

Sad... But True

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
- Knowing when to come in out of the rain
- Why the early bird gets the worm
- Life isn't always fair
- and maybe it was my fault

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust, his wife, Discretion,, his daughter, Responsibility and his son, Reason.

He is survived by his four stepbrothers:
I Know My Rights
I Want It Now
Someone Else To Blame
I'm A Victim

Now many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

Toddlers and Treats

So, a couple years ago if you'd told me I'd morph into one of "those" moms I probably would have either laughed or been a twinge offended. Yet here I am...

It's a funny thing, giving treats to young children. I've always been frustrated by those parents who maintain on iron control over what their children eat. I mean, some pizza, a sucker, a little ice cream or popsicle is NOT going to hurt them! Soda is also ok, when introduced at an appropriate age and consumption limited. As I deal with Gavin though, I find that viewpoints I held as a non-parent I don't really go along with anymore.

My son will soon be 19 months old (a teething, sassy, defiant cutie pie). Over the last 19 months I've figured out that a child's obsession with sweets is a learned behavior, completely dependent on when and how much parents give their kids. I've seen pictures of babies clearly under 1 year old (8 or 9 months old maybe?) sucking on candy canes, lollipops...can we say "cavities" before the teeth even come in?? I was horrified.

I'm not trying to be hypocritical or anything, because I love sugar myself, but I just don't get it. There is NO nutritional value in candy or most sweets so why give it to them? Why introduce something early on which will only bring on earlier temper tantrums when you have to say "no." Also, I may be a little hyper-sensitive to this but obesity (which I firmly believe is a genetic trait) runs in my family. I'm that much more paranoid about establishing healthy eating habits now with Gavin so that hopefully he'll avoid all that.

Why do I bring this all up? It's been on my mind lately to bring dessert into the picture for Gavin. I mean, I LOVE dessert. There's a plate of brownies currently staring at me on the desk in front of me at work (I brought them in to share). Oh and ice cream....mmmm, ice cream. The problem is, I want to make sure Gavin still gets good nutrition at meals so I'm not cutting back on his portions really. So if I don't cut back on portions but still give him a treat that he's not demanding, I risk the all-dreaded blowout diaper (NOT a pretty sight or smell for you non-parents out there). My semi-solution this weekend was to bake a Gingerbread Apple Crisp. Fresh fruit with an oatmeal crumb topping made me feel good about just giving him this as part of his meal instead of as an extra at the end. Between Gavin and I though, the crisp is long since gone. ;)

I learned this morning though that my son loves candy, courtesy of day care. Last week at their Valentine's party he had a jelly bean and apparently wanted more (um, duh, who wouldn't??). It just makes me feel even more that I need to maybe not be so up-in-arms about sweets. Maybe give him a little brownie at lunch or do more crisps or cobblers to incorporate into breakfast or dinner.

It's such a crazy line to walk and I'm really trying not to step off on either side!

p.s. I've known this a long time but it's fun to be in the mom position instead of the child position this time: dried fruit can often taste like candy. Gavin gets super excited over raisins. Dried papaya and pineapple are also very candy-like dried fruits. Yay for sweet nutrition! ;)