Meet the second most important man in my life.  This is my two-year-old nephew.  My role during the birth of my niece is to watch over this little guy for the next week.  He’s great for the spirit, bad for the diet.

Every time that we are together, we bake.  I helped him make his first cake (an ice cream sandwich cake).  We’ve made cookies for Santa, a gingerbread train, desserts for family dinners, and more.  This time, I promised him cupcakes.  He came with us during our emergency chocolate run the night before his Mom’s departure and picked out what he wanted:  Funfetti Cake mix (of course!) with green icing.   So I bought green gel dye, green sprinkles, and cake mix and got ready for at least one activity to keep the little tyke busy during our days together.

This week will prove to be a tough week for him in terms of transition (Mom and Dad at the hospital, a baby sister coming home), and a challenging week for me in terms of stamina.  My nephew loves his Auntie because she plays full out with him all day long (except for nap time, of course!).  I’m like a giant, stuffed toy who sings, dances, tickles, reads stories, and lets him do grown up things like baking cupcakes.   I love every minute of it, but it is its own special brand of working out.  By day’s end, I’m exhausted.

Breakfast, 8:30 am

The morning got off to a good start.  I ate a bowl of Fiber One Raisin Bran while he ate his breakfast.

Snack, 11:00 am

By mid-morning, he was plenty riled up from all of the playing on our first big day together.  I needed to get him focused on a more subdued activity, so I suggested we make the cupcakes.  Here he is licking the batter.  I had some too.  Once the cupcakes were baked, I planned to save icing and decorating for Day Two.

Lunch, 1:00 pm

I was so busy preparing my nephew’s lunch and making sure that he ate well, I just sort of grazed.  I ate my carrot sticks and 1/2 cup of the rice dish I made as a part of his lunch, and then had the last leftover slice of pizza once I got him down for his nap.

Snack, 4:00 pm

You guessed it– a cupcake with no icing.  We each had one.

Dinner, 6:30 pm

My niece was born in the morning and we went to let my nephew meet his new baby sister late that afternoon.  He was completely smitten!  But when the visit was over, he had a complete meltdown.  He didn’t want to leave his Mommy and his Daddy and his new baby sister.  He cried that super-loud, super-ugly, heartbroken I-will-be scarred-for-life-cry all of the way to the parking lot and for at least 20 minutes in the car.  

I tried dozens of diversion and consolation tactics and finally resorted to the Golden Arches.  I asked him if he would like to take me out to dinner like a big person.  We could go to a restaurant and he could place the order and pay all by himself, just like a big boy.  But, he couldn’t cry because big people never cry when they order in restaurants.  Naturally, his version of a great restaurant is one that serves chicken nuggets and french fries in a cardbox box with a plastic toy.

We went to McDonald’s.  He ordered two Happy Meals (one with a hamburger for me; one with chicken nuggets for him).  I gave him my wallet to pay and he wanted to use a credit card instead of the cash!  So, I let him.  We had tons of fun playing with our toys (Superman action figures) and eating the nastiest hamburger and the saltiest fries I’ve had in at least a decade.  The caloric count is now listed on everything McDonald’s serves.  The meal (complete with a child-sized soft drink) cost me about 700 calories, but the moment was priceless.

Back at the homestead, once my nephew was settled into bed, I ate about 3/4 cup of tortellini with alfredo sauce to get the taste of that hamburger out of my mouth.