Do all moms have a secret stash hidden in the kitchen? David Lebovitz' blog has a picture of "Anti-stress" chocolate bars and a commenter mentioned the stash of chocolate chips all moms have. My mom kept cinnamon Red Hots under the dishtowels. Sister MD and I ate them regularly. I know we've discussed our thieving tendencies with her, as adults, but I don't think she knew about it until she was told. There was a code among us thieves. We never finished a bag (one must leave a reasonable number so the Mom doesn't notice any missing) and we never opened a new bag.
Around here, it is Dove chocolates. I love chocolate, especially the good stuff (and can ignore milk chocolate completely) but I don't crave it. I keep chocolates behind the tea bags and most days at about 1pm, I eat two. I can stop after those two which is what I like about them; with some treats I can't stop. Sometimes I forget to eat them, some times of the month I need more than two. I don't drink caffeine, so it may be the combination of the sugar and the caffeine that help me at that dragging time of day. Or, it may be that they remind me to take a deep breath and enjoy my time alone for a bit. Either way, they're there for good, and if you visit and need a dose, you know where they are. Just don't tell the kids.
My secret stash isn't all that secret. I have a bowl of chocolate that sits on our counter in the kitchen. Currently, it is full of Kit-Kats, which I can't eat (damn wheat), but usually it has kisses or something else small and yummy and the adults grab from it as we go through the kitchen. And then ... outright lie to the kids if they ask what we're eating.
ReplyDeleteThat bowl is also part of one of my favorite "Daddy's home" rituals. Which is, when Mike gets home from work, he gets a hug and a kiss from each of the girls and then they have a piece of chocolate while I finish up dinner. They all love it. Mike gets some "Welcome Home" affection and the girls get a piece of chocolate. Yum!
Right now, since I can't eat the Kit-Kats, I have been maintaining a stash of peanut butter cups that sometimes are lunch. I find that I can almost always ignore candy if it is around. I get into an "Out Of Sight/Out of Mind" mentality and ... just forget it's there.