This Just In ...

Welcome to Kyla's Korner - Musings of a Mother

Posted by Kevin Fischer on July 26, 2009

Kyla's Korner

By Jennifer Fischer

Welcome to Kyla’s Korner – Musings of a Mother.  I’m sure readers of our Barking Lot feature have been wondering why I write about dogs and DON’T have one but DON’T write about babies and DO have one.  Well, wonder no more.  I’ll be writing about both from now on.

As with the Barking Lot, my goals are to entertain, enlighten, inform and occasionally cause you to stop and think.  No major controversies on my blog.  I leave the heavy hitting to my blogger-extraordinaire journalistic husband.  Kyla’s Korner will be similar to The Barking Lot in that I will walk down memory lane occasionally, offer observations and opinions, highlight something in the news and yes, brag about our beautiful daughter Kyla.  Honestly, how could I NOT brag about this beautiful face?

Since today is National Parents Day, I thought it would be perfect to debut this new special feature on This Just In.  Kevin & I waited a long time to be parents and we are so proud, and humbled at the same time, to be given this honor.  We had no idea things would be so amazing and we’ve only been at it for four months!  As any mom (new or veteran) knows, taking care of a baby/toddler/pre-schooler/etc. is a full-time job.  So, although I have the privilege of being a stay-at-home mom, my days are busier than when I worked full time.  This means that Kyla’s Korner, although a regular feature, will be done when I have a spare moment or two to type.  Especially after managing to crank out another edition of The Barking Lot, I’m guessing it will be about every other week if I’m lucky.

Kevin and I are die-hard Disney fans.  It surprised no one that Baby Fischer’s nursery theme was Mickey Mouse.  Not just ANY Mickey Mouse, buy-a-bunch-of-knock-off-Disney-stuff-from-Wal-Mart Mickey Mouse but a very classic look, complete with an artist’s hand-painted mural of “Mickey Parts.”  I put as much thought into our baby’s nursery as we do our actual trips to the Mouse House.  Of course we won’t be going down there for awhile, but we are already day dreaming about what our first perfect trip with our daughter will look like.

We already agree on several things:  The first time to take her there (the Christmas season,) where we should stay (The Contemporary,) and how old she should be (five years old, just approaching her sixth birthday in March.)  Kevin and I both love dining out at fine places and Disney is a gastronomical wonderland for adults.  You don’t always have to eat burgers & corn dogs down there!  So naturally we talk and plan about all the fun places we can take Kyla to eat.  But we also talk about what she WON’T be allowed to eat:  anything healthy.

OK so that’s not quite true.  If she wants a fruit cup she can have one.  If she wants sorbet for dessert instead of a hot fudge sundae, she can have it.  What we have agreed on is that basically on her first trip to Disney she can have whatever she wants to eat.  And if that means a frozen Mickey-shaped ice cream bar at 10:00 am then that is what she will get.

Obviously our daily at-home routine will not mirror our Disney dining plans.  At home it will be three “squares” a day with healthy & nutritious snack options.  Soda will be limited; water will be the drink of choice.  But what ever happened to the “let a kid be a kid” idea, especially on vacation?

Now before all you granola-eating health nuts have a non-cholesterol-induced coronary, let me explain.  We will not intentionally stuff her full of sugary, non-nutritive junk the entire duration of our trip.  However, we will NOT be bringing this book along.  Nor will we be following ANY of the tips from this blog. Yes, we know the startling statistics about juvenile obesity in the United States.  We’re not talking about Johnny the Kindergartener who weighs more than I do.  We’re talking about an average child wanting an average amount of fun.

One of the fondest memories I have of my childhood is getting up Easter morning and St. Nick’s morning to a basket or stocking, respectively, brimming with chocolate confections.  And on those two very special mornings I was allowed to sit on the sofa and eat chocolate for breakfast.  Well, I had cereal later of course.  But I could shuffle out of bed with my eyes barely open and pop a piece of chocolate while muttering a very happy “Good morning” to my parents.  Somehow, I survived.  I had no more cavities than any of my friends.  I did not suffer from childhood diabetes.  I was not obese.  I did not wreak havoc on the house, strung out on a “sugar high.”

One of the events we are most looking forward to with Kyla is the Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at Disney World.  This ticket-only event celebrates the holiday season with Mickey and his pals dressed in their holiday finery in special parades.  There are extra holiday performances on the stages.  It even SNOWS on Main Street (with the help of bubble machines hid out of sight from the rooftops of the buildings.)  And they hand out complimentary hot chocolate and cookies at designated areas.  You can go back for seconds (and thirds!) if you’d like.  How great is THAT?  But they even had to take the fun out of that opportunity by offering apple juice and apple slices at these events.  (Before anyone talks about the unfortunate kids who DO suffer from Juvenile Diabetes let me assure you they have long offered sugar-free cocoa.)

So if you happen to see us in Disney World in five years… or even the next time you see a happy, well-adjusted child at our Wisconsin State Fair:  If he or she is eating a caramel apple and already has a “moustache” of hot fudge and Mommy & Daddy are carrying a bag of cotton candy for the kid’s dessert, don’t assume that the child will weigh 300 pounds by the time they are in junior high school.  Don’t “tsk tsk” as you walk past and mutter something like “I wonder what is in their refrigerator at home?”  Don’t be a “Food Scrooge” and try to find the nearest fresh fruit stand for your little darling.  Step right up to the ice cream stand and watch that sweet innocent face smile up at you with eyes that say “You are the best parent in the world right now.”  Something tells me they will remember that WAY more than a bunch of chilled grapes.