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Snap Crackle Pop
I’ve been sitting on this post for a silly reason. I’m afraid of the United Mothers of the Web. (Lovingly referred to as UMW or “UmWuh”) I’m afraid that if I admit that I feed my baby rice crispies, everybody is going to jump on my case for giving my baby cereal that contains sodium that may or may not be harmful to her liver. Arg! I’m such a wus. But you understand. Unconventional mothering ideas don’t always go down smoothly here on this blog. Still, better to be nagged than end up in the ER right? So here goes:
I discovered that Baby Bug LOVES rice crispies. It wasn’t really my idea. Her smarty pants scientist Auntie Tickle gave them to her when I was visiting. I figure if her scientist Aunt thinks they are okay, then they probably are. Who knows though. New studies come out every day. My mom gave me cows milk at six months and now that’s like giving your baby blueberry cheesecake or bubble gum or something. It’s impossible to keep up on everything.
Anyhow, Baby Bug LOVES rice crispies. Loves them, loves them, loves them! Maybe even more than she loves me! Just kidding. She does give those little puffed pieces of rice more undivided attention than she gives me though. She loves the way they taste and she loves to grab them with her little chubby fingers. It keeps her occupied for many many many minutes. I think they could keep her occupied for days if I would just keep putting handfuls of the cereal on her high chair tray. But I don’t, because I worry about things like sodium.
Let me tell you, rice crispies are a dream come true when I need to do a sink full of dishes or microwave the next serving of baby food. She’s as quiet as a mouse and doesn’t mind sitting in her highchair while I busy myself doing other things. No more grunt grunt grunting or whine whine whining. I can take a little breather from fetching the sippy cup off the floor or shoving spoonful after spoonful of pureed green beans into her little birdy mouth.
Rice crispies, I love you too.
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Forrest, the Backwards Footed Kitten
My mom has a bunch of pepper trees that grow along the outside of her front yard. Every year one of the neighborhood feral cat has a litter of kittens in the burrows at the base of these pepper trees. My mom first discovered these kittens in her trees when the city came to do their annual tree trimming and almost sawed a kitten in half with a chain saw. My mom rescued the kitten and that cat has been in the family ever since.
It’s not like my mom wants more cats, it’s just that she has a soft spot for them. (With this newest batch, the cat count is up to a shocking 18!) She took in the latest litter and bottle fed them with the intention to get them fixed and find them homes (though not necessarily in that order) so the feral cat population wouldn’t continue to grow exponentially in her front yard. But of course along the way we’ve all fallen in love with them.
One of the most special kittens is Forrest. Forrest has gimpy back legs. They are on backwards. He was born this way and seems to be in no pain at all. In fact, he romps and plays with his brother’s and sister as if he was a normal cat. He holds his own and wrestles just fine. He runs just as fast as the other’s by using his extra strong front paws and dragging his useless back paws behind him. The only thing he can’t do is scratch his ears with his back leg. He tries. It breaks your heart. He’s such a cute little guy.
We’re hoping to find homes for all the kittens but I have a feeling Forrest is going to stay. He has special needs and somehow he’s managed to crawl right into our hearts with those funny back legs.
