Another Chocolate Story

Some people probably think I'm kind of a freak about not letting my babies taste the sweeter things in life. If you are one of those who think I should relax a little, then this story is for you!

Last year Easter Sunday fell on the weekend right before Caitlyn was born. I was ginormous and uncomfortable, but still I took Jaden to our family's egg hunt in the park. Being only one, I didn't want her eating candy yet, so her eggs were empty. I figured the colorful plastic shells were treat enough.

Inevitably, she opened one of the eggs and it wasn't empty. There was ONE Hershey's kiss rattling around inside, and Jaden popped it in her mouth, foil and all, before I could stop her. You should have seen her eyes light up! The sugary explosion caused streams of chocolate drool to pool in the corners of her mouth. Me? I scooped as much as I could out with my fingers, and held her hands far away so she couldn't lick her fingers. I was pleading with my sisters to bring me the baby wipes, but they were too busy laughing their asses off.

After that, she kept opening her empty eggs...it was a little sad.


Ever since, I have slowly introduced small bits of other sweet foods, but never candy. NEVER candy for an entire year. Right up until....now.

This weekend I took Jaden shopping at Target and as we went through the check-out, I tossed a Snickers bar up on the counter with her new shoes. I never said I wasn't a hypocrite. She heard the crackling of the wrapper and asked me hopefully, "Crackers?" Um. Okay, I went with that. "Mommy's crackers." I told her. I couldn't believe she actually bought that.

After I clicked her in the carseat, I stupidly set the bag beside her. (Can you see where this is going? I didn't...I am an idiot.) The carseat rear-faces, so I couldn't SEE her, but I could see her head moving around. We talked and she seemed in an extremely good mood. It wasn't until later that I realized she wasn't talking or singing as much as usual. Apparently, her mouth had been too busy.

When we parked at home, I opened the back door to discover Jaden covered in chocolate. In our 10 minute drive home, she had devoured that entire Snickers bar. I just stood there with my mouth hanging open. Around a mouthful of nuts and drool she happily exclaimed, "Mommy crackers!"

Here is Jaden in all her glory. She looks a little comatose. Could be the sugar shock, I guess, but we also discovered later that overdosing on chocolate produces a laxative effect.

The irony that this weekend marks the anniversary of the Hershey kiss incident has not been lost on me. And I'm sure this will be used against me at our egg hunt this year. I suppose I'll probably let her have a jelly bean or two. Or maybe even a Peep. I mean, her little two-year-old body is no longer pure. I always knew chocolate was the "gateway" candy.