Supper - Monday Night Style

Erin works late on Monday nights, so I get to pick the kids up from daycare, make supper, have a little playtime, then it's bedsnack, stories, and bed.  Monday's tend to have a slightly different schedule than the nights that Erin is home - we don't usually get home until about 5:30, then we've got to build a consensus about what to make for supper, then the cooking gets done.  Usually we eat at about 6:30.  That's usually - but when Dad's in charge, the schedule is a bit more flexible...

However, this Monday night I picked the kids up a little later than usual at just after 6 PM (golf tournament for work - yes, poor, poor me) and we finally got home at about 6:30.  After some negotiating, we settled on hot dogs on the grill, sweet corn (for the kids), and Brussels sprouts/carrots for Dad (with some extra Brussels sprouts for Buddy because he loves them).

I went out and started the grill and Buddy follows me outside with a backpack full of animals.  Because what 3 year old (don't say almost 4 year old - we've still got 3 more weeks people!) doesn't carry around a backpack full of animals just in case they meet someone new.  Lo and behold, our neighbors had some friends over, and Buddy decided to go over and show them his backpack full of animals.  One of the nice girls sat down and talked to him while he proceeded to take every animal out of the backpack and show them to her.  Punky soon found her way outside and joined in the conversation - she LOVES talking to older girls.  I busied myself grilling and getting the rest of supper ready while the kids talked.

We finally got to eat at around 7 PM and settled into our meal - Buddy with a hot dog on a piece of bread, oddly with no ketchup or mustard tonight, and Punky with hers cut up and lots of ketchup and mustard (I'm not-so-secretly proud that my kids like mustard, much to Erin's annoyance).  After a little while, the kids started telling knock-knock jokes.  (A little background - we heard that they were telling knock-knock jokes to their cousins Abby from Grandpa Max and Grandma Debbie's house into Yankton on Friday.  I hope their laughter cheered Deb up a little on a hard day.)  Buddy's best joke of the night went like this:

Buddy: "Knock-knock!"
Punky: "Who's there?"
Buddy: "Stick."
Punky: "Stick who?"
Buddy: "Stick."
Punky: "Stick who?"
Buddy: "Stick."
Punky: "Stick who?"
Buddy: "Stick."
Punky: "Stick who?"
Buddy: "Stick."
Punky: "Stick who?"
Buddy: "Ummm...aren't you glad I didn't say stick?!?!"

Punky and I busted out laughing, and Buddy soon joined in after giving his mischevious little smile.  Sometimes the best knock-knock jokes are told just a little bit wrong :)  He also tried the same joke with 'Bugs' and "Brussels sprouts" (the kid seriously loves him some sprouts!) but not quite with the same effect.  Punky tried a few jokes too, and we all had a good time laughing at the dinner table.

Some play time, a snack, two stories, and then bedtime soon followed.  These Monday nights with the kids are a little bit hectic sometimes, but I love them and am sure I'll be looking back fondly on them in the future.