Spicing up my weekend

It's been one week and I'm proud that I've adhered to my new fitness routine, and as minimal as it is , it's better than nothing. 

18-month-old Anika has her own ideas of how I should spend my time. And "Exercise for Mom" is not on her agenda. 

But on Sunday afternoon, Anika was completely entranced by a puzzle, so I took advantage of the opportunity and did some sit-ups. 

I did ten reps before noticing the potential situation developing in my kitchen. Anika opened the refrigerator and in her hands was a bottle of hot sauce with a flaming skull on it. She ran to me, jumped on my stomach and touched the bottle to my cheek. 

I splashed water on my burning skin and grabbed the bottle away from her. But before I was able to get the bottle, she had opened it up and spilled it all over the kitchen floor. 

After I wiped up the spill in record time, I saw it: a huge fingerful of hot sauce heading directly into her mouth. I tried to stop it, but she was too quick. 

I waited for the reaction. 

No tears, no crying, but instant puking all over my shirt and her dress. Cough, cough repeat. Cough, cough, repeat. 

I tried to get her to drink milk, knowing it could tame the burn. I cut up a banana, but Anika didn't want anything near her mouth. 

I didn???t know whether to call the ER or Poison Control, but I was not looking forward to explaining this to anyone. I was ready to dial Poison Control when it stopped. She cuddled up next to me and we sat there for a half hour.

Eventually, she got her energy back and returned to her favorite puzzle. 

I sat right next to her and played with the puzzle, too. I did not go back to sit-ups or any other exercise promise I made to myself for the day. I did not pass go, I did not collect $200.

By dinner, the trauma wore off and Anika was back to her hearty appetite.  Me? Well, I'm still trying to recover.

NOTE: I like to keep organized, so I'm reposting my old blogs in one spot. This one originally ran on April 6, 2009.