Bubble Gum Yogurt

I took the girls grocery shopping with me this morning. They have a love/hate relationship with the grocery store.

At first it's pure love. I think the colors, the smells, the sights, and all the possibilities of things we may bring home are really exciting. Plus, as two little blond girls they get a lot of attention. Every time I turn around someone is tickling them, or pinching their cheeks, or telling them how beautiful they are. When Elise was first born this kind of attention from strangers really freaked me out I mean Americans pretty much ignore stranger's children, they certainly wouldn't come up and tickle them... but now I'm used to it and as long as the girls like the attention I do too.

Somewhere around halfway through the store it turns to the hate part of the relationship. Mom has said no a few too many times, a few too many strangers have touched them, and they're just about overwhelmed. It's about this time that I look for something cheap and with at least a tiny bit of nutritional value for them to pick out and bring home. Somehow having that little perk carries them through the rest of the trip.

Today it was yogurt. I was examining the cheeses, trying to decide which one might taste close to Jack or Mozerella, and the girls were getting fussy. I noticed the colorful yogurt containers on the lower shelves and told them to pick one out to bring home. After much deliberation they chose little pink containers that had extra little compartments on the lids, full of something to stir into the yogurt. I didn't look too closely, but noticed that the front said something about being a good source of calcium and vitamin D. Perfect, I thought, probably full of sugar, but it's not like I'm giving them lollipops.

We went through the check out with the girls holding tightly to their pink yogurt cups. I strolled the cart home and left it in front of my building. Yes, you read that right... I live just down the street from the market in a 10 story building and just bring the cart right home with me, then when someone else goes to the market they bring it back... very convenient! I LOVE IT!

The girls could hardly wait to eat their yogurt so before I even put away the groceries, I sat them down at the table and started peeling back the aluminum lids. It was at this point that I noticed that the pink containers weren't full of raspberry, strawberry, or cherry flavor yogurt like I had assumed. They were bubble gum flavor. Bubble Gum. What kind of twisted person would even consider that to be an okay yogurt flavor?

Next I opened the little lid compartments and found that they contained what looked like colorful sugar crystals. Resigned to the fact that this was not the healthy treat I'd been hoping for, I handed them over to the girls.

Elise, my little direction follower, stirred hers into her yogurt. Marie smiled and greedily grabbed the "nandy" (her word for candy) and popped it in her mouth.

Then I heard the sound. I don't think I've heard it since I was sitting in the back of a friends car at the age of eleven, but it's one of those sounds you never forget.

Marie's smile turned to a look of surprise while her nandy fizzled and popped around in her mouth. Pop rocks! I bought bubble gum yogurt with stir-in pop rocks!

Yes way.

I'm still cringing when I think about it. Seriously, I just got a gross-out quiver up my spine.

But at least it was a "good source of calcium and vitamin D." (eye roll)

To my relief, neither of my kids were big fans of the disgusting mixture in front of them and said that next time they just want some peach yogurt without those twirly swirly candies.