Called Out

There was a day when I cooked and cleaned. That was the day that we moved into our first apartment as newlyweds. Things went downhill from there.

I used to love to cook. (Cleaning and I have never had a love affair.) I made everything from scratch. My kids didn't know that you could buy cookies until I introduced them to the goodness of Oreos. I invented new dishes (admittedly, that was never my forte), I enjoyed making healthy meals for the family, I even grew a garden and canned it's bounty so that we could eat home-grown goodness through the lean winter months. There was little that I didn't do. One of my most fun things to do was bake bread. I was truly a freak.

And then I had kids. Many of them. And the older they got, the more verbal they became. Things they loved last week were suddenly poison-infused this week and there was no way they were going to eat that. Mostly because Friend So-And-So's mom made box mac-n-cheese and it was far superior to my cheesy homemade offerings. I got so frustrated that I quit cooking from scratch.

The last few years have been rather lean in our home. We frequently have "find it yourself" nights here. It's sad, really. But my evil plan is working because Becky is now becoming quite a little chef, and is enjoying it.

Today I got a call from the propane company. They were following up on clients with unused tanks to see if they could reclaim them.

Ummmm, we use our tanks.

You normally go through a tank a year, and it's been 2 years since your last fill-up. I thought maybe you weren't using them any longer.

Huh. Apparently I don't' cook as often as I should.

Nothing like a random stranger calling you out.

9 comments:

Michelle said...

Wow. Two years? That's impressive. I'm with you on loving to cook... and I *make* the wee ones eat what I cook. Or at least put a bite in their mouths and eat it. Little Miss discovered tonight that yes, she does actually like cooked carrots in her stew. Huh.

Then again.... she's three. I figure by four I'm sunk ;) Right now we're avoiding playdates... maybe that's the secret! Grandma's busy trying to ruin them, too, though.

KG said...

*snort* That's totally hawt if you ask me. PS - boxed mac 'n cheese is the bomb.

The Sports Mama said...

If you were wondering, I'm doing a little happy dance here in the desert.

Becky can cook!

which is fortunate, seeing as Jock refuses to learn how to make anything more involved than Velveeta Shells and Cheese.

imbeingheldhostage said...

amen to the poison infused cooking. My hubby resents the kids for killing my enthusiasm to be a Julia Childs :-)

Andrea said...

Well....maybe you use your oven a lot more than the stove??? And I was just like you!! Now, frozen pizza is our friend!!

Momisodes said...

Oh man. I feel like I've traveled down this road as well. And boxed mac and cheese was definitely what lured us in!

Quarantine Hobby said...

Haha. I don't blame you. I have a feeling that if I had four kids I wouldn't cook much, either.

Karen said...

Totally unrelated to the post...Micah has absolutely beautiful blue eyes!! I don't know how I never noticed till the picture in this post.

Now, about the cooking thing. I am so happy that Becky has learned to cook. That is great for everybody. I am really spoiled because the RS loves to cook and cooks at least 3 nights a week. He cooks insanely well and nobody complains. Here is to hoping it goes that way for you with Becky.

JennyH said...

Haha!! that is good!

Maybe Becky can start cooking the family meals!!