Our 15 month old is addicted to STARBUCKS???

Tonight started out like any normal night. Immediately after dinner, Little Monster started running around and asking us if he was going to get his nightly Baa-aaah? baaa-aaaah? Translation: bath.

Yes, Little Monster, you're going to get your bath. We went through our normal routine of him tossing about 3/4 of the water out of the tub in various entertaining ways. First there was the splashing, then the pouring, then the splashing again. He even let us lay him on his back to rinse his hair without too much ado. He got his vitamins, dried off, and got to run around and be "NAAAAKEEEEED BABY!" for a while. Then we got him in his jammies. Not the Momma put him to bed so that I could make an important phone call to my dad. All was fine. He said "niiieee niiiieee" made the kissy smack sounds, and rolled over to sleep.

3 minutes later he started crying. We ignored it a bit. Sometimes, he whines while he's falling asleep. 10 minutes later, the crying got a bit worse. He went to sleep. 20 minutes after that, there was a loud thud. Thinking perhaps that Not the Momma forgot to put the crib rail up, I went up to check on Little Monster. Turns out he wasn't asleep yet. Seeing Mommy come into the room, and then leave severely upset the poor child. I tried to get him back to sleep, but every time I tried to return him to his crib after that, he acted as if I was dumping him into a vat of sulfuric acid. He would let his heels and his head touch, and arch his back so high it looked like he was trying out to be some sort of gymnast. After a few minutes of what I like to call "let's torture Mommy time," Not the Momma and I decided we should take him on a car ride. It might help him forget whatever was bothering him so much.

Now, Not the Momma and I, we're bad. REALLY BAD. We both love Starbucks. So much, that when I lived in Virginia Beach, I stopped there every day. I stopped there every day until one day when I drove up in my husband's truck instead of my car... and the dude at the counter said.. "So, you traded in your little blue car for a truck, huh?" I was mortified that I spent so much money in such a regular fashion in one place. That day I resolved to quit drinking the stuff. It worked, because shortly thereafter (3 days later) I found out I was pregnant, no more heavily caffienated drinks for me. But now, Not the Momma is back, and I'm not pregnant anymore. Now, NOW we go to Starbucks, A. LOT. Until tonight, I didn't think that Little Monster understood where we were going, or even cared. But tonight, on our drive, we stopped to get a 'sip for the road.' He wasn't asleep yet, and when he saw that glowing green circle of friendly goodness... I'm a bit embarrassed to admit... His face lit up with a giant smile, he clapped his hands and said.. "YAY!!" more enthusiastically than he has in a long time. Why does he like Starbucks? Not sure. It isn't like we share our drinks with him on a regular basis, no seriously, he's only had a few sips his whole life. Nevermind that his first drink out of a straw was a frappuccino-like drink (thanks Mom). Tonight, though, we paid the same amount of money for a half gallon of milk for about 12 oz. He drank it, and is happily sleeping in bed, with no trauma, and no screaming this time...

But.. When? When did we brainwash our 15 month old kid to be excited about Starbucks? I'm concerned, and maybe... Maybe it's time for Not the Momma and I to lay off the expensive frozen coffee drinks. But then, I hear Not the Momma say "bah" and I totally agree. I'd die without the stuff.