Chew on This...

In the bygone baby days, it took me an hour of careful packing and planning to get out of the house with the kids. Diapers, wipes, teething rings, toys, blankies, extra clothes, bibs...and snacks. How I do NOT miss that routine. We've been able to do away with most of the stuff, but my growing boys still require sustenance every few hours to keep them motoring happily along. So nowadays I grab our refillable water bottles and some cereal bars as we head out the door on our adventures.

My record on remembering the edibles has been pretty spotless, but it was bound to happen sometime...we were just finishing up our exploration of the Port Discovery Children's Museum in Baltimore...approximately an hour away from our pantry at home...at 4:00 (PRIME stomach-rumbling time), and I was caught empty-handed. This is like a McDonald's commercial waiting to happen, right? Not for this mom! I had already spotted vending machines in the lobby, one of which was even labeled "Healthy Snacks", almost as though they expect nutrition-obsessed mothers to frequent this type of educational museum (hey, wait a minute...)

Before the little monsters could even build up a good head of steam to start clamoring for food, I quickly interjected the snack machine tidbit. Derek's mouth dropped open in mock astonishment. With a grin that split his entire face, he said, "REALLY? Are you sure? I mean, this isn't like you at all!" I hadn't even begun to formulate my retort when he continued, "Are you even our mother?" And for his grand finale, he raised his voice slightly, turned around in circles, and called, "Help, I think we're being kidnapped; she's letting us have junk food!" (Riley, meanwhile, was staring in wonder at the contraption, trying to figure out how to get food from it. I guess we missed this lesson somewhere along the way...)

So, I learned two things from this experience. One: Derek has made tremendous strides in employing sarcasm for humorous effect. Two: all of the lecturing--I mean instruction, of course--about eating properly, etc. etc. has at least made SOME impact. Oh, and also: don't forget to bring the Fiber One bars!