Gumbo

I can't believe that I never got around to telling this story, so here it is....Brian and the girls planted a garden earlier this summer, which has provided us with a lot of fresh veggies all summer long.  It's been a real blessing for the budget to cut our produce bill!  Anyway, recently, we have been getting quite a bit of okra.  Now, Charlotte is a huge fan of Princess Tiana and she has a Leapster game that talks about chopping vegetables for gumbo.  So, she knows that you need okra to make gumbo. 

So, a few Sundays ago, I decided to make gumbo with our fresh okra.  Awhile back a student that worked with me brought me a gumbo seasoning mix from New Orleans.  I had yet to use it and I figured this would be the perfect time.  So, Charlotte, Emma, and Cristina were all in the kitchen helping me with the gumbo.  Charlotte chopped carrots and okra.  Emma diced up onions, peppers, and celery.  Cristina looked cute, which was helpful.  The gumbo turned out to be fabulous and the girls were all excited that they had helped to cook gumbo.

Fast forward to the next morning and I am running late getting ready for work. I come out of the bedroom and am walking to the laundry room to grab some clothes.  Emma and Charlotte are standing at the dining room table beaming.   They announce that they have made me gumbo for breakfast.  They are super excited.  There is a bowl of diced vegetables - celery, cucumbers, carrots, okra, and tomatoes - swimming in salty, seasoned water.  Now, as much as I wanted to appreciate their effort, the thought of eating this mix made me want to barf.  I had just brushed my teeth and in general I don't like to eat right after that anyway.

So, I say, "Mommy is running really late for work today.  I don't have time to eat right now."  Charlotte says, "Well, breakfast is really important."  Emma says, "And you need to eat your vegetables."  (Cringe....they've learned so much from me!)  So, I stall a little and say, "let me finish getting dressed and I'll be back." Then, when I come back, they are still at the table and have added a little spice to the mix.  I feel awful as a mom, but I just cannot eat this stuff.  If the veggies weren't floating in water, I might have been more inclined. So, I say, "It looks yummy!  Why don't you put it in the fridge, so I can have some when I get home?" 

Thank my lucky stars this appeases them.  When I came home, my bowl of "world famous gumbo" as they called it was waiting in the refrigerator.  They seemed to have forgotten about it by then.  Thank goodness for short term memory in kids.  A few days later, it made its way into the trash.  My mommy guilt has really got me on this one.  Weeks later and I still feel bad about not taking a bite of their gumbo.