Monday, January 16, 2006

Do Chickens Have Fingers?

My Darling Daughter is such a crack up. We had a big family day today since Dear Hubby had an extra holiday from work. We took Dear Daughter (and Dear Son, though he isn't old enough to care) to the Wonders of Wildlife museum (click the link if you are curious). We purchased season passes late last summer as Dear Daughter enjoyed it so much. It's a nice activity if it's cold or hot outside. We are getting back into the running-around-with-a-newborn groove. Today it went something like this:

8:00: everyone up (Dear Son and Dear Husband had alread been up awhile as Dear Son was doing his usual need-to-break-lots-of-wind fussies); get Dear Daughter dressed
8:15: feed Dear Son
8:30: everyone has breakfast
9:00 am: Dear Husband gets a shower
9:30 am: get my own shower
10:00 am: get all the baby and toddler gear together that is required for an outing. This includes Dear Daughter's potty insert for using public toilets, her goldfish snacks and juice cup, her beloved taggie book, a bib in case we stop for lunch, Dear Son's diapers (lots of 'em), a complete change of clothes including extra onesie and socks in case of a "blowout," burp rag, blanket, changing pad, wipes, stroller......
10:15 am: get everyone loaded up and pull out of the driveway; contemplate with Dear Husband whether I need to stay out in the car and nurse the baby when we get there or just wait until he screams and either try to find a discreet nursing place or return to the car
10:30 am: Dear Son starts screaming to be fed when we pull into the parking lot; I stay out in the car to nurse him while Dear Husband and Dear Daughter head in.
11:00 am: I go to find Dear Husband and Dear Daughter inside the musem
12:00 pm: change Dear Son's diaper; leave museum and stop at baby supply store to buy some gripe water for Dear Son (I've heard it is really good to calm a gassy baby; I'll let you know); promise Dear Daughter that we are on our way to Applebee's (her favorite restaurant) so she can have some "ketchup with french fries on top."
12:30 pm: park in a remote area of parking lot, climb into back seat of the van to get fussy Dear Son out of his car seat and nurse him again before he drives us all batty with his screaming; promise Dear Daughter it will be "her turn" soon to get her french fries (thereby avoiding a big toddler meltdown); stop at the vet's office to get the geriatric cat his blood pressure meds and potassium and iron supplements
12:45 pm: change Dear Son's diaper again while waiting in the van for Dear Husband to come back out of the vet's office (what's the saying... "Shit happens?")
1:00 pm: get to Applebee's; take Dear Daughter to the bathroom to go "pee pee" and finally get our lunch
1:30 pm: Dear Son starts fussing again and needs to be held; Dear Hubby and I take turns as we try to eat our lunches one-handed and simulataneously try to prevent Dear Daughter from dumping the milk out of her cup into her lap
2:00 pm: finish lunch (this is much later than we usually manage to get lunch, but doing things on a newborn time schedule takes much longer what with all the stops for nursing and changing diapers); debate with Dear Hubby about whether we can make it home before Dear Son demands to be fed again; decide to "go for it" and drive home

Let me say this, minivans are great when you have young kids. I have been able to climb from the front seat, inbetween the middle seats, and to the very back seat to get Dear Son out of his car seat and nurse and change him in the very back seat. How we ever did this stuff with Dear Daughter before we had the minivan is beyond me.

So...as we were sitting in the parking lot as I nursed Dear Son at 12:30, Dear Daughter began howling about going to Applebee's. Poor thing was hungry, I am sure. It was already past lunch. We gave her our talk about waiting her turn and not having a fit. She shaped up pretty quick, lest she lose the privilege of getting her "ketchup with french fries on top." While we waited for Dear Son to finish nursing, we talked to Dear Daughter about what she wanted to eat for lunch besides french fries...a cheeseburger or chicken fingers? She stated she wanted chicken fingers. Then she paused a moment while contemplating this and tossed out this question, "Do chickens have fingers?" How do you respond to such a logical question coming from a toddler? It reminded me of that commercial a few years ago about the chicken nuggets...something about what part of the chicken do the nuggets come from?

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