Horrible Muffins

Since Madeleine has preschool tomorrow, which happens to be her actual birthday, I am planning to send in a special birthday treat for her to share with the class.  Because the teachers have stressed that they would appreciate healthy snacks be supplied when parents want to bring in a special treat, I attempted to combine the idea of a birthday goody with healthy food choices and decided to make whole-wheat pumpkin muffins rather than cupcakes.  As many of you know, I make pumpkin bread all the time, and my kids love it, but today I used a slightly different recipe, one geared specifically towards muffins rather than a bread loaf.  I guess it was a big swing and miss, because the kids didn't express their usual appreciation for the finished product.  Since I had made two dozen muffins for Madeleine's class of 15 kids -- more than enough for one muffin per kid but not enough for two -- I decided our family could enjoy the extra 9 muffins for ourselves.  I brought one, fresh out of the oven, into the living room for the kids to split and asked them if it tasted okay.

ME: Tell me how they taste, girls, because I need to know if they're good enough to bring to Madeleine's school tomorrow.
JULIA: (chewing contemplatively) Mmm...wellll...
ME: Are they good?  Bad?  What do you think?
JULIA: (still thoughtful) Mmm...MEDIUM.
ME: So they're not very good?
JULIA: Well, they don't taste THAT good.
ME: Uh-oh.
JULIA: Sorry, Mama!
ME: Madeleine, what do you think?
MADELEINE: I don't like it.  I don't want any more. (pushing an uneaten chunk away from herself) STICK IT AWAY!
ME: Huh.  Maybe they'll taste better with a little icing on top.
JULIA: Yeah!  That's a good idea!  Put icing on them!
ME: Okay.  So they're not so good, huh?
JULIA: (full of guilt) Sorry, Mama!  I'm sorry!
ME: You don't need to say sorry.  I asked for your honest opinion and you gave it to me.  There's nothing to apologize for.
JULIA: Well, Mama, I bet they'll taste good with a little icing on them.
MADELEINE: Yeah, I want you to put icing on them, because they just taste a little HORRIBLE and...they need some icing on them.

Well, at least I don't have to worry that my kids are placating me.

I had actually tried a muffin as well, and liked it just fine, but apparently I don't have a little kid's taste palette.  I whipped up some icing and frosted the top of each muffin, then let the kids each try another one.  Julia took a bite and exclaimed, delightedly, "Mmmm!"  After her earlier expression of remorse over telling it like it is, I wasn't sure whether or not to believe she really liked it.

ME: Does it really taste good, or are you just saying that?
JULIA: (sheepishly) Well, I like the frosting, but I guess I still don't like the OTHER stuff.
ME: So, you like the icing but you don't actually like the muffin?
JULIA: (hanging her head) Sorry, Mama.
ME: Julia!  You don't need to be sorry.  I really do want to know the truth so I know whether to send these in tomorrow or not.
JULIA: Well, you could just send them in because the frosting is good.
ME: What don't you like about the rest of the muffin?
JULIA: Well...the TASTE, I guess.

Madeleine, on the other hand, seemed to consider the problem solved once the muffin was topped with icing.  She gobbled it right up, exclaiming "Yummy!" after each bite.  In fact, she eschewed her lunch (peanut butter sandwich - her FAVORITE) in favor of the newly-iced muffin:

So, I guess I'll just send the muffins on in, and worst case scenario is that none of the kids like them.  Best case scenario is that  they eat the icing off the tops of the muffins and are happily sugar-satisfied.  And hopefully, even though they are now coated with icing, the muffins themselves will still qualify as a healthy snack to the teachers. 

A plate of horrible muffins, made slightly more acceptable with icing on top.

In all honesty, I'm not terribly worried about how the muffins will go over tomorrow; even if Madeleine doesn't wind up enjoying her birthday treat, I don't think she'll care.  I'm not even really convinced that she understands that tomorrow is her actual birthday, given that we just celebrated at her party over the weekend.  In fact, I'm not even sure she truly understands that she'll be turning a new age tomorrow.  I tried discussing the matter with her on our walk home from dropping Julia at kindergarten.

ME: Madeleine, do you know how old you're turning tomorrow?
MADELEINE: Three.  Or four.
ME: Not four.  Just three!  You're turning three tomorrow because it's your birthday!
MADELEINE: Or four.
ME: No, you're not turning four tomorrow.  That will be on your NEXT birthday.  Tomorrow you're turning three.
MADELEINE: Yeah!  I'm turning three!  Or four.

I wonder if she thinks she'll be turning my age, then, since the last time I checked, she reported mommy's age as three.  Um, FOUR.


While Madeleine will officially be older tomorrow, she doesn't seem quite ready to leave her rascally toddler ways behind just yet.  This afternoon I was thrilled to discover that she was using her brand new jumbo glue stick, which was included in her birthday gift of a scrapbook kit, to paint her entire bare leg with sticky glue.  After I reprimanded her and told her I would be taking the glue away unless she promised me she would ONLY use it on paper, she gleefully announced to me, "Yeah, but I was just SMELLING my glue!"  Yes.  That is just what every mother wants to hear.  Awesome. 

It's good to know that although she's getting older, Madeleine still intends to keep me on my toes...