Kids + Food

We babysat J's nieces over the long weekend. It was a great and funny and awesome experience -- they are really, really good kids and so much fun to be around. But wow. Let's just say that we have a newfound respect for their amazing parents, and all parents in general. Oh, and Baby J+E is going to be a longgggg way off.

Of course, children must be fed. We wanted to make sure they continued to eat healthy meals, but hey...we are Aunt E and Uncle J...and we were also there to spoil them with a little Love Fat.

Cookies
After making sure they'd eaten breakfast and a healthy lunch, we made some cookies. Meaning, Aunt E brought log of dough she had made well in advance, the girls shaped it into cookies. In the end, the only thing we needed to wash was a baking sheet and a bunch of little fingers - homemade without the mess.

Pizza

"Please decorate your own slice of pizza with whatever toppings you like while Aunt E and Uncle J sit very still and close their eyes for just one second. Thank you!"

Whose slice is whose?

A "happy" face, initials and a peace sign, and a "special design"

Cheetos
What is up with Cheetos? Why do kids love them?

"What would you like to eat?"
"I like Subway's!!!"
"Why do you like Subway?"
"Because..."
"Which sandwich do you like?"
"I don't know...I like the Cheetos!"

So as a treat, we went to the grocery store and let them pick a bag of chips to take to the beach.

They all picked Cheetos (Flamin' Hot, for the oldest). And because they weren't allowed to finish the entire bag in one sitting, we'd close up the bag and put it away for "next time." Well, "next time" couldn't come soon enough.

"Aunt E, where are my Cheetos? Are they in your bag?"
"Can you put them in the refrigerator with my name on it?"
"When can I eat Cheetos tomorrow? After lunch? But when after lunch? Like what time?"
"I'm done with my breakfast. Can I eat Cheetos now?"

And it went on and on.

We also learned that you get "spicy fingers" from eating Cheetos, even if you're eating the regular cheese flavor. We saw lots of spicy fingers this weekend!

Subway

Making healthy food at home is a lot of work. Luckily, we had confirmed that the girls really do like Subway, and not just because Cheetos grow on trees there. But what kind? And those sandwiches are so big...could they really handle them? We had no clue.

We ended up getting the wrong type of bread with the wrong fillings in the wrong size, as you can tell by the less-than-enthusiastic reception.

"I need to kneel on my chair and bend over to eat this"

"Uncle J, please take out the pickles [cucumbers]!"

But it wasn't anything that a bunch of napkins -- and the promise of more Cheetos -- didn't fix.

Frozen Yogurt
Don't you love it when you go to a self-serve frozen yogurt place and it ends up costing way less than you thought it would? Well, that will never happen when you take three girls to get frozen yogurt and let them pick their own flavors and toppings.

But it's all worth it...because how else can you stir your concoction into a soup and then drink it out of a Dixie cup? "It's like hot chocolate...but cold!"

Cheesecake Pops
As you may have deduced, all three girls have a major sweet tooth. So we had the ambitious undertaking to make cheesecake pops - yummy and impressive for even the most discerning tween. It was a little messy but a lot of fun.

Shape into little balls and roll in graham cracker crumbs

Cover with chocolate, nuts and sprinkles

Try to patiently wait as it all cools

Yum!

Then their parents came back, and we tried to sneak out before anyone could complain of tummy aches from eating too many pops or "tasting" the melted chocolate one too many times. Not that we'd let that happen under our watch...

A moment of sugar-induced silliness