So does that mean that in an effort to not teach her bad habits, I should hide every less then desirable habit or word or thought I have from our daughter? Or even purge it? Kids are smart, they pick up on so much, is it even possible to hide it?

But you see, this particular restaurant has fantastic fries and a good burger so I quickly found myself “helping” Belén way more than I needed to…until her plate was nearly clear.

So I think I am of the conclusion it is actually a net caloric positive having an extra mouth to feed of which it is very easy to share food with.

nd then, I reel it all in with a rendition of a song you are likely familiar with which my mom used to sing to us when we would ask her such questions.

Que será será.

Whatever will be, will be.

The future’s not ours to see.

Que será será.

To be awarded to those who are on a budget, on the go, attempting to juggle it all with their cup of Joe.

In short, it did not go well and she seems very freaked out to be sitting on a potty which surprises me a bit because she is such a little imitator I thought she might like to mimic mommy and daddy on this one. Not so.

Not that not having Dora on the DVR would be the end of the world…it certainly would help my sanity on those days when I get “I’m the map. I’m the map. I’m the map. I’m the map. I’m the map. I’m the map. I’m the map. I’m the map. I’m THE MAP!” stuck in my head. Those Dora songs really are terrible. I would love to see the Barenaked Ladies rewrite the songs on Dora.

One night last week when we were out and about, we all found ourselves a little bit hungry so we stopped at a local Mexican restaurant. Belén was past her bedtime and restless which led to her running like a crazy woman around said restaurant (yes, we were those parents!) I finally caught her and attempted to entertain her by taking pictures of “daddy” with my iPhone. She actually took this picture.

My dilemma was what to do. I will cut to the outcome and just tell you that I did nothing except for saying, upon getting up to leave, “Come on Belén, let’s get away from this negativity.” HELLO PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE ALECIA! But I was really torn about if I should say or do anything. It was none of my business but seriously those POOR kids.

Until then, I will continue with the reality of fragmented conversations and divided attention and those few, very rare thoughtful and complete conversations.

Was I too horrible or do you agree this was a good opportunity to teach a very important concept involving safety? Was it okay to allow her to hurt herself in this contained environment for the sake of learning? Obviously I felt like it was a perfect situation (assuming she learned the lesson) but I understand others might not agree with that.