Pride, the paper and popped peas

Reason No. 3,247 why having kids is maddening and humbling all at the same time:

One minute, you catch your 2-year-old boys doing this -- taking a Legos break to "read" the NYT magazine, curled up on the sofa like they actually have a clue about what they're doing.

Dean: "You know, even if Mitt Romney didn't approve off-shoring jobs in companies controlled by Bain Capital, you know that $&*@$ would have." Cary: "Word."

The scene is so endearing and pride-inducing, you're like, "Yes, I rock this parenting thing. Holla!"

Ten minutes later, at the dinner table, they're refusing to eat and, instead, are squeezing the peas in their mixed vegetable medley, saying, "I popped it!"
And giggling uncontrollably.
Oh, and then hurling the popped peas across the dining room table.

Awesome.

And the NYT? Here's what's come of it:

Lesson here: Don't get too smug, folks. Lest you get smacked in the head with a "popped" pea.