Is there life without Cheerios?

Undergoing MyBlogLog Verification

You know how annoying it is when those danged Cheerios are always underfoot? The stray Cheerios that you step on with your barefoot on your way to the toaster. The shriveled, hard as a rock Cheerios that you find wedged in the crack of your car seat. The stuck-to-the-table Cheerios left from breakfast. Or the WORST - the Cheerios that have managed to get in between your sheets when Darling Daughter was watching a DVD in your room.

So you're with me with the annoying Cheerios thing, right? Now imagine that it lasts THIRTEEN YEARS. That's right. Annoying Cheerios - They're Not Just for Toddlers Any More.

My Darling Daughter is what you would call a picky eater. Always has been. When she was a baby she insisted on green beans at every meal. My mother thought I was torturing the child, but baby INSISTED on green beans, and if she didn't get them - oooh boy. (Now I wish she would eat green beans. But they're not on her Approved Food List.)

She gets upset when I reference her Approved Food List, but I don't know what else you would call it. Her list is only about 6 items long. You should hear us place an order in a restaurant.... "The chicken fingers basket please ... no sauce, no coleslaw, no applesauce, NO PARSLEY ON THE PLATE or remotely touching the chicken fingers." Or, "A short stack of BUTTERMILK pancakes please...no syrup, no garnish, NOTHING ELSE ON THE PLATE. What, no buttermilk pancakes? Never mind then, cancel the order."

And that's it. Those are the only two restaurant foods she will eat.

One constant on the Approved Food List has been Cheerios. These have been a favorite of hers from the get-go. When she was a toddler I longed for the day when I no longer had a circle of dry Cheerios on the floor around her high chair. Now I realize I am doomed to have that Cheerios circle around whatever chair she uses in the kitchen. Specifically because she does not eat them in milk. She still eats them by hand, dry - hence the dropped Cheerios. I've learned to dread that tell-tale C-R-U-N-C-H when I step on them. And apparently Cheerios can only be seen by the amazing Mom Vision , because I am the only one who ever steps on them sweeps them up.

In fact, she has loved Cheerios so much that when she was three years old, she named her kitten after them. Here's a photo of Cheerios [now 10 years old] waiting for her turn in the kitty bed ...

Yes, I stand at the backdoor and yell "CHEERIOS!!" when the cat goes outside and doesn't come home in a timely fashion.

I guess it could be worse. All these years, I could've been standing at the backdoor yelling "CHICKEN FINGERS".