A Little Snack

A lukewarm Diet Coke w/Lime, shredded carrots, tortilla chips, a slice of processed cheese and a Kinder Surprise egg. Put them all together and what do you get? Lunch.

I'm at the computer searching the web and perusing eBay for school uniforms. Brynlee has been accepted to Entheos Academy, a charter school near our house. We are so excited about this because they teach children based on their aptitude, not their age. Since Brynlee is reading already, this was a great choice for us. However, they require uniforms; khaki pants, skirts or jumpers, navy blue/burgundy/white polo shirts. I understand the whole "everyone will be equal" concept. I just don't think you have to look like a shorter version of something you'd see walking out of a Microsoft facility, Chamber of Commerce Networking Convention or the PGA tour in order to be fully and appropriately educated. But, I digress...what was I saying? Oh yeah..lunch.

So I'm racing to outbid 'harmon****' on a lot of uniforms that I don't necessarily want. (You know what I'm talking about if you've ever gotten into the proverbial 'eBay race' in the last few minutes of the auction.) I'm hearing the pitter patter of little feet coming downstairs. "Mommy! I made you a snack." She very carefully sets a small blue and yellow daisy plate in front of me...shredded carrots, tortilla chips, a slice of processed cheese and a Kinder egg. For those of you who don't know what Kinder Surprise eggs are, they're a kid's treat in Europe/Russia that we buy occasionally at Arbat, a Russian food store. They are hollow chocolate eggs (milk chocolate on the outside and white chocolate on the inside). Once you bite into them, there is a small square plastic capsule/egg thing, sort of like you get in the $.25 gumball machines. Inside, there are toys, candy, etc. Russians give them for Easter and they're really fun. Sigh...again...I digress...stick with me...I'll get to the point sooner or later.

Anyway, since I was out spraying the 4,306,295,299 ground burrowing wasps that have made their home in my garden, (a story for another time) I missed lunch today. Brynlee said, "Mommy, you need to have a snack or you won't have energy." Technically, I'm not sure that processed cheese has anything in it that remotely resembles "energy generating" but the thought is nice. I'm losing my New Year's resolution to kick my Diet Coke habit so, lukewarm as it may be, the Diet Coke is a welcomed treat. Besides, I would much rather have her bring me a hodgepodge lunch of muted, neutral-colored "food" than throw things at me.

"Thank you sweetheart! What's all this for?", I said. "Because I love you." she replies. Then it comes...the stare! If you've been around kids, you know that it means "I'm waiting for you to take a bite". So I take a few carrots and nibble on the chips. I just can't bring myself to eat that cheese thing. "You can try the egg Mommy." she excitedly advises me. I already know what she's getting at. "You can have the chocolate if you want." Again, it reaffirms my suspicion. She wants the toy that is lurking inside my egg.

I remove the thin foil wrapper and put gentle pressure on the egg until the seam breaks open. A brightly colored yellow capsule is hiding inside. "What is it Mommy?" she says, barely containing her enthusiasm. I'm not sure, so I open it. I stare at the little blue object inside. I'm still not sure what it is, so I look at the information sheet enclosed.

Nice..It's in Spanish, Italian, German, Czech, Ukranian and Russian. Oh look! Pictures!!

Uh huh...Well, according to the pictures, I think I'm supposed to draw a circle on the ground, chuck this at the wall, watch it bounce and then hope that it lands in the circle. I think that this is a very good indicator as to why Russia is not exactly at the top of the "World Domination" food chain. Don't get me wrong, I dearly loved Russia and the Russian people when I went, but hurling things at the wall and "hoping for the best" is a little more brawn than brains. I'm sure scientists don't test their theories this way. "Why, yes Dr. Smartypants...we should test this nuclear bomb by chucking it at the side of our local Wal-Mart and see if we receive a result we can document." Whatever! It's a toy, probably made in China and contains more lead than plastic. Maybe throwing it at something will make it break faster. Oh well, I'm sure Brynlee will love it.

"Oh." she says dejectedly. "You can have it." Thanks a lot. I'm not even sure what it is. She skips back upstairs and as I look at my lunch (using that term loosely) I see the makings of a good little Mommy. She has a temper to rival Naomi Campbell, but there is such a sweet side to her. Not only did she notice that I didn't have lunch, she did something to help the situation. She does this a lot with Landon too. When Landon is tired and grumpy, he throws lots of fits. This includes arching his back and hurling himself backward. When Brynlee sees him getting irritable, she goes in her room, gets her pillow and puts it behind him. In her words, "that way, he won't hurt his head if he falls".

Since my last post, I have been trying to pay special attention to when she does good things. This is one of them. I never want the little things that make her special to get lost in the process of growing up.

Brynlee - I love you my sweet girl. Thanks for the best lunch ever!!