Cooking lessons?

Does anyone need a cooking lesson on how to operate the microwave? If so, don't ask Nathan! I mentioned in an earlier post that his gums are inflamed. Therefore he did not eat much this past weekend which leads into the story.

Saturday for lunch we just had hamburgers, hot dogs and mac-n-cheese. Nathan does not like mac-n-cheese, so he just had a hot dog. He poured what seemed like half a bottle of ketchup on his hot dog and bun and takes one bite. He then claims that his mouth hurts and does not eat the rest of his hot dog. Bruce and I are tired of both boys only taking a bite or two of food and then deciding that they no longer want it, so we put his plate in the microwave for him to eat later when he got hungry.

Sure enough, about 3:00 Nathan says he is hungry and wants a popsicle. We tell him that he has to eat his hot dog before he can get a popsicle. He goes into the kitchen and feels his hot dog and says that he wants to warm it up. He asks me how long he should put it in the microwave. (I should mention that I am feeding Justin at this time, and Nathan has used the microwave a couple of times with no problem.) I tell him to put the plastic lid over his hot dog because I don't want ketchup splattering all over the microwave and that he should put it in for 15 seconds to start. A few minutes pass, and I can smell hot dog in the living room. I assume that he is sitting in the kitchen eating his hot dog. Then Nathan sticks his head in the living room and asks if I can come into the kitchen for a minute.

I can smell it before I can see it. (Bruce followed me into the kitchen, but I am not sure if he sensed something was wrong, if he was looking for a snack or if he could smell what happened.) Nathan tells me to look in the microwave and his hot dog and bun are black and charbroiled. The square plastic plate has a "golden" look to it and the microwave cover is also golden. We take the plate and cover outside so that it doesn't stink up the house even more. I asked Nathan how long he put his hot dog in the microwave for. He said one-one-one. I told him that he was lying and asked him again how long he put it in the microwave. This time he said one-one-one-five. When he must have realized that something was wrong he opened the microwave and the time on the screen then read 6:08. He had his hot dog in there for over five minutes!

I kept my calm and tried not to breath to deeply as it really stunk! I clean up the mess the best I can and put a bowl of baking soda in the microwave to try and absorb the smell. Nathan never did get anything to eat that afternoon.....