Thursday, May 22, 2008

Two ships in the night

Tonight was one of THOSE nights for me and my dinner. I was so looking forward to a fresh salad after indulging in a fat-fest on a lunchdate with my two men. All it was going to take to satisfy my tummy was a little chopping, dicing and mixing, right?

As I opened the vegetable drawer I noticed my prepackaged salad mix resembled the color of the dirt on my kid's feet and not the crisp green I was hoping - luckily there was a back-up head of iceburg lettuce on hand.

Next, I juggled a cucumber, tomatoes, carrots, celery, zucchini and baby spinach to the counter. Mmmmmm...this was going to be good.

Rip apart lettuce: check
Dice carrots: check
Slice cukes: check
Slice zucchini: check
Cut tomato: check
Dice celery: check

I'm exhausted. All the while I'm serving the ever popular mini-pancakes to the kids because hubby is out at a going away party for a former colleague. No big deal, they love those things! I have made the mistake of dressing them up with whip cream and cherries for so long that it's expected each time they appear so the masterpiece takes a little longer than normal. Mini-pancakes are plated. I'm back to finish my creation...

"Mommy, I need a drink."

Don't worry salad, I'll be right with you.

"Mommy, I need a drink, too."

OK, we're almost on our way. Wait, I need something to drink, too. Check.

"Mommy, I want more."

What?? You finished 10 mini-pancakes in 60 seconds? How can this be? Hang tight my healthy, lowfat creation, you'll be mine soon.

OK, second round on the table for the kids, salad in hand, I'm off to the dinner table.

"Honey, why is your face red?" I ask.

Son replies: "I'm putting on lotion."

"Huh? Smells like maple syrup." Off we go to the sink to wipe his face because his eyelids are sticking to his brow. I'll just steal a celery piece to keep me going.

All washed up - back to my seat. Yum!!

"Mommy, can I be excused?", my daughter asks. Great, she has sticky fingers for sure and even with her best efforts she'll leave most of it on her hands, so up I go with her to the sink to do a quick, yet efficient, rinse of the sticky fingers.

Finally, everyone has been excused...they are up in their rooms playing. So much for eating together tonight. At least we were in the same room most of the time. I take a few bites - nice and refreshing and exactly how I imagined.

Wait. Why are they back? What is going on?

"Mommy, we're bored. Can we watch this movie?" Off to the DVD player...

Next time, I'll just heat up a Lean Cuisine.

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