The children have a routine at breakfast time. Prayer comes first, cereal comes second, and then comes...drumroll please...SOMETHING ELSE. Sometimes the "something else" is a banana or yogurt or applesauce or an apple or grapes or once in a while it's a cookie (those days are very rare).

I also have a routine at breakfast time. After I give the kids their cereal, I sit on the couch with my computer and my breakfast, and I check my e-mail and various other things on-line. The children know that they don't get their "something else" until I am done with my breakfast.

Every day, Megan watches me like a hawk. If I even THINK about getting up and going to to the kitchen, she knows about it and starts getting all excited. But as soon as my rear gets off the couch, she is in full blown, hysterical excitement. She claps her hands and starts yelling "YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!" When the boys hear her do this, they join her. As I walk to the kitchen to three rounds of "YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY" and a big round of applause, my heart swells a little bit. I feel appreciated and even a little bit rewarded. For that moment each day, my job seems completely worthwhile.

There isn't really a point to this story. Except maybe that if you notice my kids getting really fat, then you'll just know that I've needed some extra validation, and that they have gotten a few extra "something else's".