Puffs!

I have become one of those mothers who opens food while still in the grocery store so her kid will eat the food and shut up. One of BB's favorite snack foods are the toddler puffs that come in the Pringles-shaped can. He's not picky about the flavor, or whether or not it's name brand. We were at WalMart today and I put some puffs in the cart. I tried to do it when BB wasn't looking, but he caught me and wouldn't stop shrieking "Puffs! Puffs!" and trying to climb into the shopping basket behind him. The boy has lungs like his mamma, and my ears can only take so much. Knowing that I was forever ruining him and will now be held responsible for his turning out to be a juvenile delinquent, I caved and opened one of the cans. I placed the puffs next to him in the shopping cart, allowing him to reach in and get puffs for himself. BB calmly got 1 puff out at a time, examined each puff closely, and then ate it. My ears stopped ringing, and people around me started commenting on what a good baby I had. Until the register. When we had to let the lady scan the puffs. Which meant letting go of the puffs and placing them on the conveyor belt. Which caused BB to cling to the can of puffs in a death grip, crossing both arms in front of the can to protect the puffs from the evil mommy who wanted to take the puffs. After a brief struggle, the puffs were wrestled away long enough for them to be scanned, while BB reached frantically for the puffs, calling their name and straining against the cart in an effort to climb out of the cart and rescue them from the equally mean register clerk who was clearly torturing the puffs by scanning the bar code. We were causing a scene. And BB didn't care. I just knew that I was going to be talked about over dinner at many households that evening. Relief was felt by all involved when the puffs were returned to their rightful owner. I placed them beside BB again, and he picked up the can and hugged it, rubbing his forehead against the can like he does when he loves something. Far more affection than I get most days! This time, instead of eating the puffs one at a time, BB turned the can upside down and tilted his head back in an attempt to pour the puffs into his mouth. Only it didn't work so well. Puffs instead rained down inside his clothes, all over the cart, on the cash register, and onto the floor. I left the mess, and I don't think we'll be going back to WalMart anytime soon.