Day Eighteen: Dinner with Elmo

Wednesdays are always busy, busy.  I don't get home from teaching Spanish classes until about 7:45.  Usually, this means Jack is waiting to be bathed and put to bed, after having had dinner with Mike.  Tonight, though, Mike is travelling.  Jack had a lovely homecooked meal with his GaGa (Mike's mom).  I picked him up there and drove him home.  Since Jack asked so nicely (six times) I sang the Elmo theme song the entire way home.  It's a short song.  Every time it finished I heard his sweet little "more?" coming from the backseat, and I couldn't help but sing out with gusto once more.

By the time we got home Jack nearly fell over himself running to his spot on the couch to watch Elmo's World.  This is part of our nighttime routine, developed by yours truly.  I am normally anti-television, especially for Jack.  However, after his bath I have to grease him down in Eucerin.  Eucerin is extremely thick and laggy, and smearing it all over a baby is neither fun nor easy.  The only way I can do it is if Jack is distracted by his 15 minute Elmo show. 

My requirements for my own dinner tonight were as follows: I needed to be able to prepare it, eat it, and clean it up by the time Elmo's World was over.  Since I am a teacher, I am also a speed eater.  Really, tonight's challenge posed no problem to me at all.  I grabbed some leftovers from the fridge, warmed them up, and two minutes later dinner was over. 

Some of you are thinking how sad and banal this sounds, but guess what?  I like it!  This is one of the perks to Mike travelling: I don't have to worry about cooking some tasty, balanced meal.  I will eat anything old thing that's sitting around, and Jack is always pleased to get to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. 

Guess what else?  I don't have to clean up the kitchen!  Ha! 

Let's all please turn our attention to Mike.  Right now he is probably lounging in his hotel room in Mississippi, watching ESPN with the volume turned as loud as he pleases, eating... what?  Eating what?  I will tell you, it is not homecooked.  We have our first violation.

Mike claims exemption during travel.  I'm not so kind to give him full exemption, but I'm also not motivated enough to have packed him a cooler full of homecooked meals for his trip.   Therefore, I will have to think of a proper punishment for this violation.  Any suggestions are appreciated.