Why is it that, when you want kids to wake up, they don’t? And you want them to sleep—like now!—they won’t? I found myself wishing for the first thing recently with Olivia and her twin siblings. So I found something to keep me occupied while they napped.

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Usually I don’t like to eat my own cooking. Usually it’s a form of self-punishment. So I eat out, when I can. That’s not to say I can’t make anything decent. I’ve been told my sandwiches and ramen are delicious. Nevermind that the praise came from someone who’s an even worse cook than I am. And don’t knock sandwich- or ramen-making. You know it take skillz. You’ll see just what I mean in a few pics…

So I went to a Japanese-style ramen place recently, to see how the ‘pros’ do it. It was my first visit to such a restaurant. Here’s a jar of sesame seeds, one of the available add-ons.

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I searched. I sniffed. I searched and sniffed. All the while asking myself, as I walked from one candy display to the next, “What do I get my favorite candy sniffer who’s turning four?” I got Olivia this. Because not only is it candy and in green, her favorite color, but it’s also a Thomas the Tank Engine candy. Olivia is a girl of many obsessions. Must be why I adore her so much.

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Hellooooo! ¡Hola! Ni hao? I know I’ve been a bad, bad blogger. But I’ve hopefully been doing good, good things. I got another job working after work and on the weekends, for a small but growing company that’s affecting futures of kids…kids like Olivia, my one-and-only Candy Sniffer Extraordinaire.

Speaking of that nearly four-year-old candy addict, she was who instantly sprang to mind when I sniffed these candies. They smelled fruity!

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