The Carrot Dance

Deciding what to eat around here during the day is never much of a problem. It's either going to be orange yogurt or pink yogurt. Occasionally, things change up a bit and a request is put in for yellow or even green yogurt, but that's about it. Lil' Miss is your classic picky eater. If she was stranded on a deserted island and could choose the foods she'd be left with, I have no doubt she would take, well... yogurt, of course, but also some cheese sticks (yeah, I think we've got dairy covered on her food pyramid) and Pirate Booty which would definitely come in handy if she runs into any scallywags.

Now before you look down your nose and condemn me as a rug-of-a-mother, you must know that I have tried everything short of hog-tying to get her to eat more foods. I don't keep unhealthy snacks in the house, she's rarely given desserts, and she's gone to bed hungry rather than eat the food I've made for dinner more times than I can count. I've tried the "just-three-bites" approach which later turned into the "Ok, fine. Just-two-bites" and eventually dwindled into the "How 'bout just a little nibble, Sweetie Pie?" (Thanks Tori, but apparently that method only works at YOUR house.) So, I'd finally resolved myself to the idea that she's probably not going to die of yogurt poisoning and that she'll eventually try new foods in her own time. And that's the way its been, until last night...

It was nothing short of a nutritional miracle. At the risk of sacrilege, we're talking Weeping Mary Statue miracle. While Lil' Miss was eating the aforementioned yogurt (I believe pink this time), Baby Dude and I munched on carrots dipped in ranch dressing. And then suddenly, as I snapped apart a particularly large carrot stick with my teeth, it came to me. I can't explain it. I mean, how do you explain divine revelation? I had composed countless impromptu songs before, but this one was on par with no other. It was exceptional, bordering on perfection. The melody carried an upbeat, almost ethereal sound and the lyrics expressed a soulful honesty. Huge smiles beamed on their faces as they sat transfixed by their mother who was clearly in a prophetic state. Snapping apart another carrot, I launched into the chorus again, this time adding choreographed dance moves to accompany the song. The room erupted with applause and cheers. Baby Dude immediately joined in and at the snap of his own carrot stick, the song began a third time. His tippy-toed feet marched to the beat and his arms swung back-and-forth in perfect rhythm. Thatta boy. He was definitely tracking me. This girl didn't have a chance. Sure enough, by the fifth chorus she was snapping her own carrots to begin the song and in just a short time had devoured an entire bag of those divine veggies. Oh yeah...uh-huh!

And now, without further ado, I give you, "The Carrot Dance"...

The carrot dance,
The carrot dance,
The carrot, carrot, carrot, carrot, carrot dance!
The carrot dance,
The carrot dance,
The carrot, carrot, carrot, carrot, carrot dance!