Secrets

My husband got some Quaker Dinosaur Egg cereal for the kids' desserts when he was at the store the other day. It is Brown Sugar-flavored oatmeal with little candy Dinosaur Eggs in it that melt when you add hot water and reveal little candy dinosaurs. He wasn't wild about getting it, but the kids begged for it, and he figured there were less-healthy things they could be having. But he emphasized that this was for dessert.

Two nights later, it was time for the kids' supper. They had had a bag of chips the daycare had given them as a snack and a glass of milk already, so I knew their appetites would be next to nil, but I also knew they'd be hungry at bedtime if they didn't eat, and Miranda is such a slow eater, I knew if she didn't start soon she wouldn't finish. "So, guys, would you like Dinosaur Egg oatmeal for supper?"

"Yeah!" they cried. Then Miranda added, "But Daddy says it is only for dessert."

"It is, really," I said, "But this will be our little secret, okay?"

The kids agreed that it was a secret and I made the oatmeal. Now, I don't really keep secrets from my husband, so I did tell him after the kids were in bed that they had had Dinosaur Egg cereal.

The next day, when my husband presented them with lunch, Xavier took one look at it and said, "Yuck! Can I have something else?"

Exasperated, my husband asked, "Like what?"

"Like Dinosaur Oatmeal!" Xavier suggested.

"Honey, that's just for dessert."

"Mommy let us have it for supper last night!" Xavier pointed out.

"Yeah," Miranda chorused. "But we're not supposed to tell you that."