My Little Cookie Monster

Recently Violet's most-asked question has been, "Cookies aren't candy, are they Mom?"  The easy answer to this is, of course, "No, cookies are not candy."  But that opened up to a whole new set of problems.  Turns out the reason she was asking is because she wanted a post-lunch cookie, but didn't want it to be counted against her when she was later planning to ask for candy after dinner.  So I to started answering the question with, "Well, cookies aren't candy but they are BOTH desserts."  Stubborn Violet, "BUT, they AREN'T candy."

It's not that I'm super-strict about the cookie and candy intake at our house, I've just been spoiled by Lorelei's insane self-control.  We're generally over-flowing with Halloween candy for months because Lorelei only eats one piece a day, if that.  When I was a kid I had terrible cavities - this story made an impression on Lorelei, she has been religious about not chewing hard candies or eating too many sweets. 

Violet is a whole different story.  She constantly asks for candy, cookies, whatever sweets happen to be in the house.  But she eats so little, has always eaten very little - we've had to beef up her milk with Instant Breakfast for a couple of years just to make sure she's getting enough calories and stuff.  I just can't justify giving her cookies after lunch and candy after dinner when those meals probably consisted of three bites total of whatever she was offered. 

I can just imagine what she's going to be like when she goes off to college - every meal will end with candy and cookies and she'll be a star because she can barf on cue, then go on with her life like nothing ever happened.