"Delicious"

You probably don't read many blogs that, within a span of two months, have THREE posts in which the topic of fish sticks and macaroni is covered (see "Identifying Trends" and"25 Random Things - Mommy"). Even I, a huge fan of this meal combination, never thought I would stoop this low. But I've learned through my parenting experience thus far that kids have a tendency to make you do things you never imagined possible. Sometimes good, sometimes bad... If you're keeping score, this is probably a point for the "bad".

Tonight, as I was "cooking" dinner, Ivie was standing on Macie's personalized stool (thanks, White family!) at the stove watching me. She was intrigued by the "smoke" coming out of the mac and cheese pot, but it only kept her attention for short bursts of time, so she was up and down off the stool several times in the 8 minutes that the noodles were cooking.

(A few side notes, just for the record. You HAVE to hand it to me for actually cooking the boxed version of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese instead of the microwaveable single servings that are so much more my culinary style. Never mind that the box I used expired in December of 2008. Processed mac and cheese doesn't go bad, right?!? Mental note to not get the 16 boxes of mac and cheese from Sam's Club in the future...)

Anyway, after Ivie asked probably 5 times in this 8-minute time span if the mac and cheese was "ready yet?", (to which Dale commented that he can't WAIT until we start driving for family vacations - pretty sure Ivie's going to be one of those "Are we there yet?" kids...), the noodles were finally cooked and Ivie was able to stand on the stool and watch me put in the butter (don't worry, I only use 1 tablespoon, as opposed to the SIX or something that the box calls for!), the cheese sauce, and the milk. And then I put a serving (or two... I mean, really, Kraft's definition of a serving is absurdly small, even for a 2-year-old) in her bowl.

She quickly hopped down from the stool, grabbed her fork and spoon from the utensil drawer, and reached up on the counter to pick up her bowl and take it to the table. As she walked away from the counter, mac and cheese in hand, she exclaimed excitedly, "DELICIOUS!!!".

There are several things funny about this. First and foremost, neither Dale nor I have ever heard Ivie say the word "delicious". There's not much cuter than hearing your child's vocabulary expanding in a way, and, more specifically, at a time, that you never would have predicted. But secondly, and just as funny, I'm pretty sure I have never, ever, heard the word "delicious" used to emphatically describe Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. Not even in the Schaeperkoetter home growing up. And that's saying something for a family who considered fish sticks and macaroni a staple.

Here's to many more "delicious" pots of mac and cheese.