I've created a Honey Monster

Last night at bedtime, Anna had a little cough, so I said to her, "Here, let me give you this little teaspoon of honey. Its what my mommy gave me when I was coughing and couldn't sleep." And when she was out of Robitussin, most likely. But last night it seemed sweet and cozy and Anna, of course, loved it.

Tonight, after our elaborate bedtime ritual, which is: bathe, pick out clothes for tomorrow, pick out PJs, pick out books, read books, sing 2 songs, get water with 5 ice cubes, count the ice cubes in Spanish, tell 2 stories about when she was a baby, talk about tomorrow's plans, and finally sneak out to obstensibly tell Daddy she needs a kiss, after all that, she said, "I have a cough. HACK HACK. I need honey." I said no, she didn't need honey, and she said, "I really do, I can't sleep, HACK HACK, I really need some honey." I said, "I'll see..." and shut the door. A few minutes later, she comes into the kitchen, "I have a really bad cough. HACK HACK. Hear that? That's a cough. Can I please have some honey?" I can see she's trying to add honey to the already overblown bedtime routine, and I am not going to add a big spoonful of pure sugar to the whole scene. I had Daddy put her to bed, but I sense her lingering around her bedroom door, hacking away. Better go nip this in the bud...

BTW, Colin is much better today, took a 3 hour nap, and if you start singing the Backyardigan's Pirate Song, he gamely chimes in at the chorus, "Argh, Argh, Argh!"