Outsmarted

Flashback a few weeks ago...

Like any child of 3, Christie wanted ice cream cake.

Not just ice cream, but the ice cream cake that we had gotten from Baskin Robbins for the party we had over the 4th of July. And this wasn't just any ice cream cake. It had 6 clown cones on it-more than enough to keep a number of children occupied. Or one Eric.

But that was days ago. Now, we had the uneviable task of trying to clear out the ice cream and cake from the freezer in a manner that would not just allow us to keep our weight at the same level, but also in a way that would not make the ice cream a breakfast, lunch and dinner temptation to Christie.

Making that part of the task difficult was Christie's built in radar, which zeroed in on the sound of the freezer door opening. It was a skill that rivaled anything that Herkie had done. In fact, it would be likely that if any of Herkie's dog friends knew this, they would mercilessly taunt him like a French knight protecting the Holy Grail.

So as Lisa opened the freezer door on this particular afternoon to put something away, the unmistakable pitter patter sound of a running toddler was immediately heard rounding the corner.

"I want ice cream cake," Christie declared.

"Um," stammered Lisa as she quickly closed the freezer door, "we don't have anymore."

"In the fweez-uh," Christie insisted.

"There's no more ice cream cake," replied Lisa.

"In the box."

"What box?"

"Tha-yer. In that box." Christie pointed to the closed freezer. "In the fweez-uh."

"Ooooohhhh, that box. " said Lisa opening the freezer. "That box is empty, sweetie. It's all gone."

"Show me."

"What?"

"Open box."

Lisa looked over at me for a way out, knowing full well she had been caught. She'd been called out by a 3 year old. I wracked my brain for a solution so hard that I was sure there was smoke coming off my head. Quick creativity was never one of my strong suits. In desperation, I looked over at the TV in the family room...and found the exit door.

"Christie!" I yelled. "The Wiggles are on!"

I mentally patted myself on the back, knowing full well no child could resist the lure of those crazy and colorful Australian kiddie show gods. Surely she'll be running to the TV in no time, completely ignoring the ice cream cake! Later on, we could discuss the mass disapproval of our methods from parents all over the world. Right now, it was a matter of creating a distraction. Right now, it was a matter of getting securing the freezer. Right now, it...

"Don't want Wiggles. Open box."

...was a matter of giving Christie ice cream cake.