Anatomy of a Monday Night Dinner

We begin in the morning...

6:45 Phoebe's alarm goes off

6:46 Abby's alarm goes off

7:00 Mom showers, Dad gets breakfast (pomegranate seeds and cereal) for girls

7:15 Get-Your-Shoes-On Battle begins

7:22 Shoes finally secure, Mom starts freaking out about missing bus. Dad and Girls laugh at her. "Mom have we ever missed the bus?"

7:30 Bus Arrives. (No kisses, but...yes! I think that was a wave from the window!)

7:35 Mom removes drumsticks from fridge, lays them down on cookie sheet, brushes with Dijon mustard. Mixes bowl of breadcrumbs with Parmesan, salt, and pepper. Searches for leftover herbs, finds only sage, which she chops up and adds to breadcrumbs. Finds leftover brussels from Thanksgiving. Places everything together in fridge.

8:07 Mom and Dad catch train to NYC.

What Mom projects will happen...

3:30 Girls will get off bus with sitter, will check in with Mom or Dad when they walk in door; Mom will get school download then give 9-year-old orders to preheat oven to 425° at 6:00.

5:40 Mom will board train home.

6:25 Mom will walk in door, remove chicken from fridge, press breadcrumbs into mustarded drumsticks and shove in preheated oven.

6:30 Mom will pour glass of Pinot Noir. Will now start to pay attention to her children, maybe even remember to check notices in backpacks.

6:45 Mom will decide which brussels to make: These or These. Probably the first, the ones with bacon, since there is a good hunk leftover from Thanksgiving...somewhere. Where is that bacon?

7:00 Dad will walk in: Jake.

7:05 Chicken removed from oven.

7:15 Dinner.

PS: This morning, my cow0rker, who lives and dies by her Slow Cooker during the week, did this: She took one frozen pork tenderloin, an ummeasured bag of lentils (about a cup and a half as she sees it), 1 onion (chopped), 2 cloves garlic (whole, smashed), about 4 sprigs of thyme, 5-10 peppercorns, 1/2 cube of beef bouillon, 2 strips of bacon into her slow cooker. She added water about halfway up the pork and set on the 10-hour setting. We'll let you know how both dinners turn out tomorrow via twitter.