Tater-tot Catastrophe

One of the customs that I adopt during a deployment is called "dinner ease." Basically, there are two types of dinner..."find something to eat" and "who wants McDonalds." Hence...dinner ease.

Well, tonight I decided to make dinner, like actually make something hot, not just set out bowls and Fruity Pebbles. I thawed hamburger all day, cooked it up with chopped onion (which I will admit that I bought in the frozen food section from Ore Ida already chopped). I added two cans of cream-o-mushroom soup (easy pop lids) and a dash of garlic powder. Then I decided that I would take my good mothering moment one step further. I invited Spencer to help me finish up the casserole. He eagerly accepted, pulling a dining chair into the kitchen and next to the counter. I had him unwrap a bullion cube and drop it into a little bit of water to dissolve. He stirred it diligently until it was nothing but a puddle of brown. I let him pour it into my pan of soupy meat. Then I brought out the main ingredient. Tater tots!!! I poured the tots into the pan and ask him to stir. He was so excited. (He takes his helping and eating very seriously.) He stirred with vigor while I dug out the casserole dish in the cupboard behind him.

Sudden catastrophe.
I heard it before I saw it. A heavy glopping sound...and another...and then as I turned I watched the whole contents of the pan pour onto the dining chair, Spencer's socked feet and then the floor. Frozen tots bounced around the room, leaving little trails of soupy mess behind them. Spencer held a wooden spatula in one hand and the large pan in the other. The pan was heavy as he tried to lift it back up and onto the counter. With each attempt (and there were three) more of the tater tot mess poured out onto the floor. To an untrained eye it might seem like he was shaking our hot dinner onto the floor. But to anyone knowing Spencer another story was being told. His face was filled with panic and instant regret and apology. He finally got the pan back up onto the counter...it got lighter as it got emptier. I had to laugh or he would have cried. We laughed together as we used our hands to scoop up the mess.

Well, needless to say we are having Fruity Pebbles for dinner and I am not going to try anymore "good mothering moments" anytime soon. It's "dinner ease" all the way baby!!