Sugar Buzz

I used to be a no-nonsense no-sugar-cereal for breakfast kind of Mom. That ship has sailed. Very, very far away. My kids now enjoy a hearty bowl of Fruit Loops before heading out for a day full of learning. (I mean, at least the word “Fruit” is in the name…counts as one food pyramid serving in my book.) And then, on some Saturday mornings like today, they decide to skip all pretenses of cereal being the vehicle by which the sugar gets into their mouths and instead go right for the canister of the sweet nectar itself. It’s basically the same thing, but for some reason, eating sugar straight up seems SIGNIFICANTLY worse. I came into the kitchen this morning to find my three oldest in the middle of their morning routine. Scarlett, however, had climbed up onto the counter and was eating sugar by the fistful. Elle made sure to immediately tell me unprompted that it was “only Scarlett doing it!” (Instant red flag.) Elle came back in the room later to tell me that “Scarlett might tell me that other kids were doing it too, but it was definitely just Scarlett.” This happened about three times with a variety of sentence structures. In other words, Elle basically tattled on herself. When I confronted Rose she caved surprisingly quick and admitted she had taken a taste as well. When I turned my pointed glare on Elle she gave me the most sheepish look I’ve ever seen on one of my children, then fessed up. (She got to spend the rest of the day learning valuable lessons about lying – and the best way to clean our toy closet.) Scarlett had been elbow-deep in the sugar long enough by the time that I walked in that some of the sugar had started to dry onto her skin. She was like a walking gum drop. The palms of her hands and feet were totally covered, so I couldn’t put her onto another surface. She had to be carried directly to the bath. Also, you can’t tell this from the picture, but apparently they were planning on whipping up something sweet for dinner because that Crock Pot is full of sugar too. As a reward for their bad behavior I decided to take them to the library after this. (Yes I know…the library trip was poorly timed.) Once there, Scarlett decided to urinate all over the place like a drunk homeless man. It was a good morning. We have fun.