With Easter coming soon, I have taken advantage of stocking up on marshmallow peeps. I can't justify eating them alone. If I am tempted to eat an entire package of twelve yellow bunnies or eight blue chicks, I set aside one for Charlie. If I don't eat them all myself, I don't have a problem.
Yesterday evening was one such occassion. Jill made carbonara, but had used noodle "shells" instead of regular spaghetti noodles. Not surprisingly, this consternated Charlie, as well as the detestable smell of parmesan cheese, to the point of his initiating a hunger strike. However, I was able to use the peep dually, as incentive for Charlie to eat five small bites of his dinner and as expiation for my indulgences.
After dinner, Charlie walked circuitously around the dining room table, savoring his one peep. After several dozen laps, he stopped. "Dad," he said, "tonight when I am listening to my Charlie and the Chocolate Factory CD in bed, I am going to get up and pause it and say a prayer for you to stop eating peeps. They are not good for you."