Over the last few months, my passion for the chocolate banana smoothie (Vivanno) has landed me on the doorstep of Starbucks more than I’d like to admit. Starbucks and Mommies go hand-in-hand like diapers and wipes (we should seriously get VIP discounts). Did you know there are 6 Starbucks are within walking distance of my home.

It started with an extra straw and evolved rapidly in to 2 straws, 2 stir sticks, a lid, a cup sleeve….I was insatiable. These items represented peace and quiet to me. For some reason, my toddler was fascinated with these items. The silence would sometimes last for a full 10 minutes at a time…sheer bliss.

This “love affair” started at the “chewing” stage (already peeled straws), next he entered the “straw peeling” stage, then came the “drumming” stage where we branched out from straws to include stir sticks. The next stage happened completely by accident when I forget Caden’s water bottle. This was the most exciting stage for me. The “drinking water from a straw” stage (his first time was at a Starbucks). There was only one drawback to this stage, it was the last time I was able to enjoy my smoothies alone with no mooching, from  that day on it was “share-zees” all the way. Lately, we’ve been “threading” straws and stir sticks through coffee cup lids. What’s next? Who knows. It’s likely he’ll be enjoying his very own half-sweet hot chocolate or steamed vanilla milk….awwwww.

Thanks Starbucks. Thanks for the memories and for keeping me sane by occupying my son for 10 minutes while I went to my happy place.