Snap, Crackle, Yea!!!!!!

    I crunch them under foot each time I step into my kitchen.  I find them plastered to the baby’s diaper when I take her from her high chair.  I have them spilled all over my car.  Rice Krispies, everywhere I go!!!!!!  I very rarely eat cereal myself.  I prefer toast for breakfast, or leftover pizza if there is any in the house.  But lately, despite the mess they are creating all over the place, I have been feeling unusually grateful for Rice Krispies.  Those tiny little puffs of rice have made my life a little easier in recent days.  It is thanks to the humble Rice Krispie that I can write this blog, that I can eat a meal without pushing my plate ever farther away between each bite to keep my 8 month old daughter’s little grabby hands out of it, and that I can enjoy a bit more peace at Sunday Mass. 
    We recently started introducing finger foods to our baby.  And, at our house, that mean Rice Krispies.  I tried Cheerios with my oldest daughter but worried so much about her choking that I ended up breaking them into fourths before I would let her eat them.  Who has time for that?  So we tried Rice Krispies and discovered they are the perfect snack for babies first taste of “real” food.  They are more affordable than the fancy name brand finger foods and are just the right size for little mouths.  So now, thanks to the blessing of baby snack time, I am able to get a few more things done around here.  I can stick my daughter in her high chair toss a few Krispies her way and wash the dishes without the lovely background music of screaming which I had become accustom to.  In fact, of all baby’s latest milestones- pulling herself up at the coffee table,  the crib, and the side of the bathtub and then chewing on the edge of whatever she is standing next to, babbling da-da over and over all day long while daddy is at work but then refusing to go to him when he comes home in the evening and I would like a break, getting on her hands and knees and rocking back and forth while she tries to find the coordination necessary for actual crawling and then inevitably resorting to rolling all over to get where she wants to go- finger foods are my favorite!  And it isn’t only because of the freedom it has afforded me.  It is fun to see her moving on from pureed vegetables and fruits and having her participate a little more in family mealtimes by feeding herself.  I also love her cute little lopsided chew as she gums her cereal to oblivion.  And she really does look adorable wearing a “beard” of slimy rice on her little chin.  But, I admit it is mostly because I can now pop a Krispie in the baby's mouth when I am trying to talk on the phone and can now actually hear what the other person is saying.   So, while it may seem really silly, I consider Rice Krispies one of the littlest and most often overlooked blessings in my life.