Two Quick Thank Yous and Competitive Parents

Okay, so just a quick "thank you" to the big brains behind Disney/Sargento's "Fun Cheese Shapes".  Ella loves cheese, and up until now, I've been giving her shredded cheese, but it makes a huge mess.  The cheese shapes are fun and not messy, and you get to eat Mickey's head every time!  So, again, "thanks" to the creators of this awesome product; I no longer have to clean slightly melted globs of shredded cheese out of the crevices of Ella's pajama legs :)

Also, another quick "thanks" to the Heluva Good company for making the White Cheddar & Bacon dip.  I'm currently in chip 'n dip heaven!

It's amazing how competitive parents can be.  I don't consider myself to be a competitive parent, because, kids develop and grow on their own timeline, and you can't force them otherwise.

But, to force your child, who only has two visible teeth, to eat something she clearly shouldn't be eating, just to make yourself look like the better parent - um...NO.

We were at Walmart the other day, and we stopped into McDonalds for a quick snack before grocery shopping.  Tom, Ella and I like to share the chicken nuggets, and, yes, I know I shouldn't be giving her McDonalds food at her age, she's too young, and it's not the healthiest.  We don't do it a lot, and we also take the breading off of the nuggets so she just eats the chicken.  Moving on.

So, this woman and her two kids is sitting across from us, watching us give Ella nuggets.  At first, I thought, "Oh, great, she's going to chastize us for giving our baby junk".  Then, I see her give her baby girl (who was clearly much younger than Ella) a Chicken Select.  A freaking Chicken Select.  The thing was almost bigger than the kid's head, she had to hold it with both hands, and couldn't open her mouth wide enough to even attempt to eat it.  I was watching this poor, sweet little baby (who we later found out was only 7 months old), as she drooled all over the Select, and finally, in a last-ditch attempt to hold it with one hand, drop it on the floor.

The mother sighed audibly in disgust, picked the Select up off the floor, put it on her tray, and gave the baby a fry.  She stopped trying to make antagonizing eye contact with me after that.

Meanwhile, Ella was just as happy as a clam, holding a nugget in one hand, a fry in the other, bouncing in her seat and giggling away. 

Seeing the other baby, Ella held out her nugget and said, "Nuh-nana?"