Modern Day Novelties

I remember when baby carrots first came out. They were so cute and handy! No peeling, no chopping, and best of all, ready to eat healthy snacks right from the fridge! They were a treat. We didn't use them exclusively, of course, because they were more expensive than their peel-bearing longer cousins: the carrot. But we had them occasionally and we loved them.

Fast forward about 20 years....As a busy mom, I cannot justify peeling and cutting carrots (the hands down winner for favorite veggie in our house). Baby carrots may be 50% more expensive than traditional carrots, but we're talking less than $2 on a grocery order. Baby carrots rule in our house. That is, they did rule, until my munchkins-turned-shopping helpers noticed "those big huge carrots like Bugs Bunny eats" at the grocery store. They begged and pleaded to try them, and they absolutely loved them! I still, however, love the convenience of baby carrots.

I have this little shopping sanity saver: If you are a good listener, patient and helpful at the grocery store, you can choose an item to purchase. There are restrictions, of course, but we usually do our prize browsing in the produce aisle, or the cereal aisle where they choose something they consider a treat...like blueberries or raisin bran. Lately, it has been big, giant bugs bunny carrots. So I've dusted off my vegetable peeler and moved it to the front of the utensil drawer.

Big carrots are not the only surprising attraction at our house. On a recent family trip which included a hotel stay, the kids were absolutely taken by the bar soap! Come to think of it, they pretty much only know liquid soap. It quickly became an obsession (especially for M), and we brought home the half used hotel soap for her to continue to enjoy. Even the Easter Bunny brought both kids bar soap in the Easter Baskets (smart bunny!)

It really seems we've taken the old "the toddler likes the box better than the toy" bit a little too far.