Confucious

Big Daddy-O was away and the girls and I had to run an errand in the late afternoon.  It took longer than I had anticipated, so at 5:20 pm I decided to pick-up Chinese food for dinner instead of cooking at home.

“But I don’t [...]]]> “Everyone eats and drinks, yet few appreciate food.”

Confucious

Big Daddy-O was away and the girls and I had to run an errand in the late afternoon.  It took longer than I had anticipated, so at 5:20 pm I decided to pick-up Chinese food for dinner instead of cooking at home.

“But I don’t like Chinese food, Mama,” Pip whined.

“Honey, you’ve never tried Chinese food, so you don’t know if you like it or not.”  This next bit is rather shameful, “Do you know that you used to say that you didn’t like chocolate chip cookies?  Then you tried them one day, and you liked them!”  It wasn’t true, but at least it made her think about making uninformed decisions about food preferences!

We strolled into Q.F. and ordered the four-item combo; rice, veg, chow mein and prawns.   Just for fun, I had them throw in a few spring rolls.  (My mouth is watering just typing the words, ’spring rolls.’)

We got home and I had dinner laid out in a flash.  Pip seemed to like the looks of her dinner after all, and chomped into her spring roll without hesitation; or plum sauce.  ”Mama, I LOVE CHINESE FOOD!”  were the words that I heard at least three times that evening.

“Fantastic, Pip!”

“I think I could eat a WHOLE spring roll all by myself,” she ate one and a half rolls, then polished off everything on her plate.

After dinner the girls ran around a bit while I cleaned up, then we all danced for awhile before bath-time.

Once I had put Fig to bed, it was time to read to Pip.  I got onto her bed while she looked for her book of choice.  When she joined me on the bed, she performed an energetic little bounce on all fours and surprised us both by purging a good portion of her dinner on the bed.

“I threw-up Mama.”  Pip was very calm.

“Yes you did, Honey.”  I began to strip the sheet.

“I don’t know why I did that Mama.”

I explained that perhaps her body wasn’t used to Chinese food, perhaps she ate too quickly, or perhaps it was just all of the activity straight after dinner.

By the time I finished my explanation, Pip was snuggled into bed and ready for her book.  I had to let a small chuckle escape before I began reading.  I couldn’t help myself; it was the vision of her exuberant, ‘I LOVE CHINESE FOOD MAMA!!!’ coupled with the sudden vomiting image.   Pip didn’t see the irony, of course, but she laughed when I chuckled, just to keep my giggle company.

Chinese Proverb

We don’t typically eat dessert, but every once in awhile Big Daddy-O brings home some sugary delight when he goes grocery-shopping.  Last night it was those evil little two-bite brownies.  Ironically, Pip didn’t even know they [...]]]> “The more you eat, the less flavor; the less you eat, the more flavor.”

Chinese Proverb

We don’t typically eat dessert, but every once in awhile Big Daddy-O brings home some sugary delight when he goes grocery-shopping.  Last night it was those evil little two-bite brownies.  Ironically, Pip didn’t even know they were called ‘Two-bite Brownies’ when she took one nibble, then popped the rest of the entire brownie in her tiny little mouth.  I found myself looking at a guilty chipmunk across the table.

“Pip, did you put the whole thing in your mouth?” I asked.

Her mouth was too full to speak; all she could do was flash a gooey, chocolate grin.  ”Oh, Sweetie,” began my husband, “you don’t want to eat too fast.  There’s no rush.  You should eat your dessert slowly.”

Now, those of you who know my dear husband may be rolling your eyes right now because you realize that this is a PRIME example of the pot calling the kettle black.  Firstly, my husband eats faster than our dog, and secondly, he has been known to have two helpings of dessert after consuming three servings of dinner!  Granted, he doesn’t do this on a regular basis, but I’m not exaggerating!

At any rate, I couldn’t possibly let an opportunity like this go by without giving my husband a hard time.  With a twinkle in my eye I said, in my most sarcastic voice,  ”Pip, you should definitely listen to your father because he ALWAYS eats VERY slowly.  He SAVOURS every single mouthful of his dessert; he chews SLOWLY and he NEVER, EVER  puts too much food in his mouth.”

Big Daddy-O chuckled, and Pip, who had finished swallowing her brownie during my little monologue, asked if she could please have another.

“Sorry, Sweetie; ONE brownie after dinner and that’s all.”

“But Mama, I need two desserts.”

“Why is that, Pip?”

“Because I eat a lot faster than Daddy.”

Lord help me.