Cheetos for breakfast

Those who know me well, know that I am a little fanatical about how my kids eat.  I try not to have junk in the house (except for Chad's coveted Pop Tarts!) and I make sure each meal is well rounded.  Like a good mommy.  But in true Kerin fashion this gets a little rigid and I'm sure it annoys my children.  So in an effort to combat my strict nutritional rut we implemented "Backwards Night."  It only comes around on Fridays and the Fridays are chosen at random so no one knows when it's coming.  The girls squealed when I announced, "Go get your favorite jammies on....we're going out to dinner!" 

We headed to IHOP to have breakfast for dinner.  The girls ordered WHATEVER they wanted....of course they chose the pancake with the whipped cream and chocolate chips. I shuddered.  They each poured the gooey goodness of all 4 different kinds of syrup on their pancakes...bright red strawberry, artificial blue blueberry and pecan.  I even caught Olivia with her lips wrapped around the spout of the strawberry syrup.  Gross.  I think Chad was most surprised by my lack of concern!  We acted really silly making funny faces and weird noises.  I am sure all of the senior citizens enjoying their $2.99 steak were thrilled with all of chaos coming from our table.  It was so refreshing to not worry for once about "proper behavior" in a restaurant and to not be constantly telling the girls to "knock it off."  After all, it was backwards night!

After the sugar fest we drove around looking at the Christmas lights in our neighborhood.  Everything from the house synchronized to a Christmas radio station, the one with an ornate train collection and even a cute house with a hologram of Santa in the window.  We had so much fun together spending the evening acting like children!  The girls promptly passed out when we got home.  Chad and I sat and talked about loosening up a little and having more fun.  I have personally been working on lightening up and not taking everything so seriously.  Chad's schedule has been rough on us because he is not here very often.  I have made a huge effort to create new family traditions in hopes that the kids don't notice his absence.  But of course they do. 

So this morning as we all detox from our sugar comas, I am reflecting on what matters most to me.  Oh sure, cooking meals, cleaning the house, doing laundry....these are all important, but it is not what makes us a family and it is not what I want my children to remember when they are grown.  So if you come over and there are piles of laundry laying around, the house is a mess and we are eating Cheetos for breakfast, don't worry....we are just making memories.