As a treat for Lydia, who got up mostly cheerfully for her dad this morning and let me sleep in until 10:30, I made maple bars this afternoon. Midway into the first bite I was thinking, “Dang, why didn’t I make a double batch?” You never remember just how scrumdiddlyumptious maple bars are until it’s too late.

As soon as he spotted the newly-glazed doughnuts on the counter, Tage was clamoring for one. I first offered him the smallest one, as he’s the smallest person, but he was having none of that. When I asked him which one he wanted, he pointed, of course, to the biggest one. I tried to cut off just a small piece, but that wasn’t good enough either. Only the entire maple bar would do and I reluctantly handed it over.

He had it in his hands only long enough to nibble a bit around the edges and lick off the frosting before handing it unceremoniously to Lucy. Never being one to undervalue a maple bar, I snatched it promptly from her jaws, refrosted it, and ate it myself. If I’d made a double batch I may have written it off, but with a limited supply, there was no way I was sacrificing one to the dog. Especially not the biggest one.

After Lydia had gotten home and polished off two maple bars, the four of us made a quick trip in to Skellefteå to buy a set of vampire teeth. I’d thought we could put it off for a couple of weeks until Halloween, but it turns out that Lydia’s school is having a dress-up day tomorrow and it is simply out of the question that she go fang-less. Of course, the cheap $1.50 pair wouldn’t do and she had to have the $5 pair. Never the easy way out with that one.

Lest I give the impression that my kids are totally spoiled, however, I will say that I did make her pay for the expensive teeth herself. And I’m not giving Tage any more maple bars, no matter how vehemently he insists. There are limits, after all.