favorite of the week - large cutting implements for the diaper bag

I've been thinking about my favorite things this week. I think I might make this a regular around here. Do you have items that you have a weird emotional attachment to, or that make you feel clever or sophisticated (or otherwise) every time you use them, or that you feel you really couldn't live without, or fill your heart with warm fuzzy feelings when you look at them?

I was struck with a feeling of weirdness in the food court of Sam's Club the other day, when I opened my diaper bag and pulled out a rather lethal looking pair of kitchen shears, and proceeded to (very efficiently!) cut up hot dogs for each of my children. I tried to imagine to myself that all the people who were already staring at the pregnant woman out alone with 3 small children in tow were just admiring my ingenuity and foresight.

I mean, who carries these around in their diaper bag? (Answer: only exceptionally brilliant people, of course.)

I love these scissors. They are awesome for cutting up meat without dirtying a cutting board (I hate getting meat juice on my cutting boards), and I use them for cutting up the girls' food every day. They actually come apart and the large piece doubles as a santoku knife too.

I always kick myself when I forget to slip them in the diaper bag on days when we end up eating pizza or hot dogs on the run, or at a church function or birthday party (not that we would ever stoop to eating hot dogs or pizza. That would be unhealthy, after all). It gives me an immense feeling of satisfaction to reach in my diaper bag and come up brandishing these babies. Its about 16 times faster than trying to use a silly plastic fork on a paper plate. They have saved me from many public meltdowns from hungry children, and from personal starvation, since I can't eat my own food until all the girls' food has been properly cut up and distributed. I definitely recommend adding them to your baby shower registry ;).