"I want nor pokey, please."

For those who don't know, Ben doesn't say "more", he says "nor". Whatever. He'll get it eventually.



The other day, the twins were at school and I was doing some work on the computer. Ben was running around doing all sorts of Ben-ish things and he tells me he's hungry and needs a snack. I asked him what he wanted for a snack (which, as all mothers know, is a critical error in dealing with a two-year-old). He said, "I want pokey".

Hm. Pokey? He's hungry so he wants a shot? No way. Can't be it.

"Ben, can you show me what 'pokey' is?"

"YEAH! Follow me!"

At this point, I'm a little nervous... do I have a snake in my house? Do I have a skewer full of meat from the previous tenants (which, considering the things I have found under the stove since we moved in, would not be a stretch)?

He runs to the fridge and opens the door and pulls out... (is the suspense killing you?) the container of cookie dough we have yet to bake! POKEY?! REALLY?! I said, "Is this 'pokey'?" Ben: YEAH!

I told him it's called cookie dough and he said, shaking his head, "No, Mommy, that's pokey!" (As if to say, silly mom, let me help you... po-key!)

Sidebar: Yes, in our house we do occasionally eat raw cookie dough. For the five people in the world who don't know, Wendi and Hailie are allergic to eggs, so our cookie dough (and anything else you can imagine) has no eggs - we use various things to substitute - I can elaborate at another time. No, they won't grow out of it. And no, it's not one of those allergies where they'll get a rash and a tummy ache. They throw up everything you can possibly imagine that is inside of them, their throat closes up, they pass out, then die. No joke. (Yes, we have emergency medicine to halt the progress of this reaction, but the more they are "exposed" to eggs, the more swiftly these events will unfold. Have to avoid the allergen all together.) It is called an anaphylactic allergy. I have the same thing to tree nuts (no, not peanuts - those are a legume, not a nut). Believe me, I know exactly how much trouble this causes.

SOAPBOX ALERT! For the curious, here are a few things that contain eggs (aside from the obvious cakes, cookies, meringues, etc): nearly all breakfast items (french toast, waffles, pancakes), many marshmallows, candy corn, some breads, Snickers bars, many granola bars, anything with nougat, chicken breadings, creme puffs (NO! I love those!), many crackers, corn dogs, many noodles, some pizzas... I could go on for eons! "Egg substitutes" are all egg whites and some oil. Needless to say, I know it's a pain more than anyone else. But, I also know what it's like to have this type of allergy and how you feel like you're this huge burden to everyone because everyone makes comments (can't have this, your parents are going without that). Which, since you're reading my blog, irritates me to NO END when people say that now about Hailie and Wendi "making" us not be able to have eggs... Although the implied meaning is that we obviously love them and are glad to make that sacrifice, that is not said aloud nearly as often as how hard it must be. No, it isn't hard. It's a change. Actually, an easy one, thank you very much.

Ah. Better.

Back to the Ben story - So, I gave him a little piece of cookie dough and then sat him down with some pears while I swiftly baked the rest of the "pokey", which magically turned it into "cookies" according to Ben. He must think I am just amazing. I can turn pokey into cookies, I have magical kisses which will heal any wound, and upon my words we all go outside to ride bikes. "I am the all-powerful Mommy!" (It's so fun to notice the things that kids believe and marvel at!)