Saturday was Reid’s last [1] Kindermusik class for the session. They sang and danced for about 25 minutes and then had a party for the last 20 minutes. Each parent was supposed to bring a treat of the sort that would be appropriate for breakfast. I’m paranoid about peanut butter contaminating something I bake and so I took the safest course and brought single-serving packages of animal crackers. Or at least I hope that the companies that make cookies keep accurate track of what goes in them. The side benefit of the single-serving packages is that the kids can take one with them when they leave. There are always far more treats than little kid tummy space.

I think that Shannon was expecting muffins and fruit but there were plenty of cookies on the table. Reid chose a variety of fruit, some cheese and one plain cookie, which she gave to me after a single bite. I restocked her plate with fruit and cheese and allowed myself an M&Ms-and-chocolate chip cookie. Reid was keen to eat the animal crackers but I convinced her to wait for the ride home. Many of the other kids decided not to wait. The moms who had baked cookies and muffins took quite a lot home but we walked out with only 2 extra bags of animal crackers. I felt bad that the other moms had expended that extra energy. They probably felt bad that Reid was stuck with a mom who brought store-bought cookies to the party.

What shortcuts have you rationalized without regret? (Or with regret, I suppose, if you want to share that.)