Lunch bunch

One of the Preschooler’s favorite things to do on her at-home days is to go out to lunch. There’s a pizza place just down the road from us that she especially likes, so sometimes we’ll go there for a late lunch. Last week on a particularly dreary day, she insisted on bringing “friends” along in the form of Minnie Mouse and her baby doll. {The doll, formerly known as “Bob,” now goes by the name “Celia”}

I don’t typically take stuffed friends to lunch, so the first issue we ran into was the Preschooler’s near meltdown when I wouldn’t order Minnie her own pizza or sandwich. I’m happy to buy lunch for a friend, but as a rule, you have to have a digestive system to merit getting your own pizza. Our next issue arose when Celia cried all the way through the line while we tried to order our food. Apparently she had skipped her morning nap, as babies in our family have always had a tendency to do. 

Once we sat down, everyone at the table was thoroughly sanitized, hands and feet. The Spouse would be so proud of the Preschooler’s commitment to proper sanitation. 

Before the pizza ever came, Minnie Mouse found herself in timeout in the window. Apparently she hit Celia. Since our family policy is one minute of timeout for every year of age, I feared Minnie {who is 87} might be there for quite some time. 

Fortunately for her, grace was shown and she was able to enjoy one piece of pizza with the agreement that Celia could sit on her lap and share. 

Eventually Minnie was welcomed back into the booth and finished what was left of her meal. 

I’m tempted to think going out to lunch with this crew is more trouble than it’s worth. But, a few weeks ago when it snowed and we were stuck inside for a few days, I found a stash of pictures from several years ago that I had printed out but never framed. I could not believe how many memories were captured in those photographs that I had completely forgotten about. I think maybe having the girls close together is to blame, because truly we lived in a sleepless fog for about four years. But, seeing those pictures instantly takes me back to some sweet times {and some crazy long days!}. And, when I see certain pictures that remind what our lunches looked like just a few years ago I realize we’ve come a long, long way. 

The 3rd Grader, who never had any interest in taking naps in her bed, routinely fell asleep at lunch. 

The 1st Grader, who has always been very interested in texture, couldn’t eat her lunch without also wearing it. 

And, just over two years ago, the Preschooler went through a fun phase where she would put pieces of her lunch on her head, use her hands as a utensil, and spontaneously spit her food back out during meals.