Smooth(ie) Move

I like smoothies. I mean, who doesn't? What would anyone have against a smoothie? They can be really healthy for you, and on great occasion, I actually buy one. Normally I'm way too cheap to spend $5+ on a drink. But today I thought my 2-year old & I deserved a treat. My gym has smoothies and, on sale today, was the Very Berry for $3.25. Ok, I thought ~ it really is berry...blackberries, raspberries, strawberries. Just thinking of all those antioxidants made me shiver with vitality. With the diminishing supply of fresh fruits & vegetables, I also wanted to provide M. with some lovely vitamins & protein.

I belly up to the smoothie bar, order up my Very Berry, adding a protein powder (extra dollar, but worth it for M.) & substituting apple juice for soy milk (add $.50 but, again, merited in order to get her more calories & less sugar). Since the protein powder fluffs it up, we were presented with one large drink, & a smaller sized one as well. M. is a very capable little girl & she was proud to carry her own smoothie to the van. I knew in the back of my Mother brain, that it might not be such a grand idea since the small cup was much larger in her petite grasp. I was hoping that as long as she kept the straw in the cup, we'd be able to contain the Very Staining Berry in her stomach only. But Miss Goofball decides she'll do her little shuffle-feet move, & in an instant she is DOWN. A massive face plant right into the concrete...not exactly a smooth move. I am admittedly a paranoid Mom, and especially when it comes to the girls' faces & teeth. So there lay M., at an angle because of the small slope of the walkway. She was bawling like crazy, but I could tell it was more of a scared & upset cry than one of pain. I picked her up in a mere microsecond to happily discover that she was boo-boo free. The only thing that was bruised was her ego.

With Very Berry all over her hands, a little on her (white) sweatshirt & a bit in her hair, I believe that smoothie saved her face from harm. A blob of the cool drink lay in a puddle on the ground, with poor M. pointing & blabbering & bellowing. I wiped her off, scooped her up & took her to her car seat. And believe it or not, because the cup just cracked in the middle, & because I have plastic bags in my repertoire of items in the van, I was able to salvage most of the $5.01 drink for her to enjoy at home.

I now plan on inventing a haute couture beverage holster so that, in the future, I have hands to also carry my purse, gym bag, hold M's hand & grasp the car keys. Smoothie-drinking Mothers everywhere will thank me.