The original popcorn night began one evening in Argentina when we were bored out of our minds and hungry for a cheap thrill. Ok, actually we were moving soon and we were working our tails off packing items from the kitchen cupboards. In the process, we came across about two pounds of popcorn kernels. That's not an exaggeration. We always had a lot of kids over, and movies and popcorn were expected; so we bought it in bulk.
Mmm... popcorn... We were a little hungry. "Poop", Michael exclaimed, using the word he favors when he is deeply disturbed. "We packed the lid to the pot." (Note, Don't make popcorn in a pot without a lid - just TRUST ME on this one.) And I'm not sure what kind of conversation lead up to what we eventually did with the popcorn, but somehow we ended up with a bonfire and a bucket of kernels soaking in a quart of canola oil. (Note again, ALWAYS use sufficient oil when making popcorn. I learned this the hard way. Really, ask Matt or Shaena Poehner, or their dutch oven, or their stovetop, or their counter top, upholstery, smoke detector... ( Look for my upcoming bestsellers, "Military Kernels" and "Microwave Kisses".)
So anyway, we dumped two pounds of kernels onto the fire. The neighbors later confessed they were concerned we had machine guns. It was just that glorious. Popcorn flew out of the pit in every direction. At first we tried to catch some of it in our mouths. However, upon succeeding to capture it with our tongues mid-air, we discovered things flying directly out of the fire pit were uncomfortably warm in our mouths, and then we just ate it off the ground. (Yeah, yeah, eeww,... whatever.)
And back to the term "popcorn nights". See, I knew it would eat up my whole post. Popcorn nights are when the kids conspire against us, using their telecommunication skills to come up with excuses to "pop" out of bed. And they are just like the heaven bound pieces of popcorn. As soon as one goes back down, another jumps up in its place. Last night was one of those nights. "Can you scratch my back?", "Mommy, can we pray?", "I just had such a powerful bowel movement my sheets need to be changed." - That last one was Noah, just for the record. I got to bed around five. Lucy has to be on the bus at 8:20. You do the math.
You still really want to know about the noogie huh? In a nutshell (where does that phrase come from ?), In Mark 10:16, special mention is made to Jesus touching the kids' heads and blessing them. Personally, I think he was givin' 'em noogies, but I'll let you come to your own conclusion.
My sincere apologies for the meaningless detour,
Christina
