The boys then proceeded to take turns batting their eyelashes as fast as they could while the other counted, “One Mississippi”.  However, the “One Mississippi” kept getting slower and more drawn out until they got up to 30 bats in “one second”.

**Edited to add: the stars peeled off within minutes of the boys putting the shirts on.  FAIL.

At one point I came down from the bedroom trying to help Andrew with something… after the mere trip downstairs, I had to put my head down on the kitchen counter, literally crawl back upstairs and crashed on the floor for about a half hour before making it back into the bed.  It was bad.

That, however, is not the point of this post.  The point is how AWESOME my 7 year old was during all of this.  Marc was able to pick up Andrew from school for me (which that alone brought me to tears, because I didn’t think I could manage it), but he had to work late that evening.  Marc and Andrew had basketball practice at 7pm.  Marc was going to end up getting home just in time to grab Andrew and leave.  I needed the boys to eat dinner before that… but obviously wasn’t up to anything.

I asked Andrew in my barely audible voice if he would make dinner.  So, with a little verbal instruction from me and him running up and down from bedroom to kitchen, he:

•    Got the rice maker down from the top shelf of the pantry & made rice
•    Got corn out of freezer and heated it in the microwave
•    Warmed up leftover pork chops in the microwave

These were the only things I even suggested he could do (and he was excited to do them).  But get this, he went above and beyond.

•    He asked me what I wanted to eat and when I told me I couldn’t eat, he proceeded to bring me a little bowl of rice and a glass of water on a tray (cooling rack) up to the bedroom for me.  I still couldn’t eat, but it was SO sweet of him.
•    He completely dished up a plate including cut up meat for him and AJ (I’m pretty sure he “forgot” the corn on their plates).
•    He made a plate for Marc complete with corn, rice & pork chops waiting for when Marc came home.
•    He even “made” Crystal Lite for Marc. (However, there was only a little bit left in the fridge, so he poured that into a glass and filled the rest up with water – Marc said it was terrible, but wasn’t about to tell Andrew).

He really went beyond anything we would have imagined and he did with such a willing and enthusiastic spirit.  I’m so proud of him (and didn’t care that the kitchen was an utter disaster when it was all done.)

“Mom! BOTH of my names start with A.  AJ and Adam!

After a few he started complaining, “Mom, these are getting flippery!”

I also asked AJ if wanted a smoothie.   On Pinterest lately, I’ve seen a lot about Green Smoothies.  Smoothies that claim to taste great and be full of nutrition, even if they look a little funny.  The green is caused by the handfuls of fresh spinach thrown into the blender along with frozen bananas, peanut butter and milk.  We always have spinach on hand as we supplement almost all our meals with a salad… even if the boys usually only eat 3-4 leaves each time.

So, I tried this on AJ, using soy milk and adding a squirt of chocolate syrup as well. Since I had never tried it myself, I erred on the side of sweet.  I blended until nice and smooth and tasted it before I gave it to him and I admit… it was really, really good.  Not sure just a tolerable way to “eat” spinach, but a really delightfully, rich treat.

I made sure I gave it to him in an opaque cup, with lid and straw; hoping he wouldn’t notice the green until AFTER he tasted it.

AJ loved it!  LOVE IT!  Once he was half-way done, I showed him my cup and the ‘green-ness’ of what he was drinking, claiming it was a Shrek Smoothie.  He didn’t seem bothered one bit it was green, even thought it was a little funny that we had green tongues. 

Then he asked for seconds.

I think we have a winner here with the green smoothies.

And we are the proud owners of a brand new garbage disposal.