Choooocolaaate

I was awakened at 7 am, by a thouroughly exasperated husband brandishing a half empty container of chocolate chips. Rattling the tupperware for effect he proceeded to describe how he had found Anisa in the shadowy nook under the computer table contentedly noshing away - after having scaled the pantry shelves (a desperate and dangerous act in and of itself)to reach my "secret" stash.

With husband appeased, Anisa's hands and face hosed down and the chocolate restored to a new hiding place, we began the day.

By mid morning there were new developments on the chocolate front. The distant sound of crackling wrappers lead me, once again, to the computer room where I found Anisa working her way (fortunately my speedy intervention meant that she only managed to injest one square) through a large block of compounded cooking chocolate. When questioned about her actions she innocently replied: "It's Ok Mommy. God gave them to me." Humph.... Indeed.

Unwavering in her determination Anisa later reminded me that I had promised to bake chocolate brownies to take to the teacher appreciation ceremony at Ruhi's school tonight. It wasn't until I was half way through making dinner that I noticed one tin of brownies was missing. Fortunately I made a double batch. I had placed both pans on the counter to cool and one was definately no longer in sight. After searching her favorite haunts beginning with - you guessed it - the computer room, I discovered a tin of partially eaten brownie remains nestled on the bookcase in the girls' room. I wonder who...?

This was to be nothing when compared to the sweet array of delicasies she heaped on her plate after the award ceremony, but perhaps the biggest surprise of all was that our four-year-old chocoholic wasn't in a diabetic coma by the end of the evening.