My Bologna

You might have noticed that I am not always the world's most traditional or most appropriate parent -- my plan for raising the Cupcake to adulthood is to encourage silliness and subversion at every turn. As Diamond Dave once said, "Might as well jump." Basically, if we can make it to kindergarten or so without being on a first-name basis with the local E.R. staff, I will consider it a job well done.

So -- with G still out of town and the prospect of another unassisted bath night looming, I did what any other parent who is half out of her gourd would do: I went for the diversionary tactic. After school yesterday, to distract her from the fact that yet again we would not be watching "Dora the Explorer" after school, I took her to McDonald's for dinner. (Oh, yeah, I also didn't feel like cooking.)

Despite any suggestions I might make to the contrary, we don't really eat nothing but junk food at my house. Not any more, anyway, and definitely not where Cupcake is concerned. She has at least one serving of fruits or veggies at every meal. And it's not all the same things all the time, either -- this week I've given her fresh cantaloupe chunks for breakfast, and at dinner on Tuesday she tried Brussels sprouts for the first time. (She finished them, at least.)

But you know what? I've seen some of her friends at school "eat," if you could call it that, and I'll take what I can get. There are kids her age who'll eat nothing but hot dogs. Some eat only waffles and string cheese. At least one of the kids is on an all-organic diet, and he gets lunches of brown rice and soy milk and carob candies. Eww. I try to give Cupcake healthy food, but I throw fruit snacks in her lunch box. I'm not a monster.

And anyway, you can get Happy Meals with apples now, so there is nothing to feel bad about. Except maybe not sharing your milkshake with your two-year-old, but ... uh, I don't know anyone who would do that. Do you?