The other morning I had a fabulous green smoothie and exhausted myself by lunchtime. When I mentioned during lunch that I may just wait to make pie until the next day, Bug almost had a conniption. How can we have Fourth of July Pie on another day? It's our FOURTH OF JULY PIE. The child, she guilted me into making it.
So I made it, and it was a lovely site to behold (for those who are interested, the recipe is at www.marthastewart.com - Mile High Apple Pie - just bake the apples with lemon juice for 30 minutes at 300°; thanks to Martha reader for that tip).

I love this pie, but it is soooo time-consuming to make. Being exhausted, it was a lot to accomplish when all I really wanted to do during naptime was nap myself.
But guess what! After all the trouble I went through, after all the bragging from Bug about how delicious our pie was going to be (she helped roll the dough and cut out the lovely shapes adorning it), she. didn't. want. any. After receiving her still-warm pie with side of vanilla bean ice cream (she never mixes), she focused on the ice cream and wouldn't touch the pie. When mister mrtl told her later that when he was a kid and asked for something, he'd be sitting at the table all night till he ate it, I wished for a moment that I was that kind of parent. I'd be sure to be talking big about how I worked and slaved over a hot oven to make that pie. It's a good thing Jem inhaled hers and put a dent in Bug's as well. It made it worthwhile to see her enjoy it so much.
A side note to all of you who haven't had kids yet or with babies: Relish that pie for breakfast. Once the kids reach a certain age, you just can't do that anymore. :(