The Last Supper

A somber, al fresco dinner last night. The idea of al fresco dining conjures up images of a bistro on a street in Paris with the lights of the Eiffel Tower twinkling in the background. Our al fresco dining consists of 3 kids, 2 parents, 2 dogs circling the table looking for an arrant glob of mashed potatoes, a stream of ants making their way toward the aforementioned glob, a drying rack with the days laundry and, the neighbor's lawn mower serenading us in the background. We tried to have a relaxing dinner before the first day of school on Wednesday. Even at a balmy 78 degrees, complaints could be heard from The Middle One and No Thank You Boy about the bugs flying up their noses. As most school kids have been back at school for weeks, the East Coast kids have been frantically reading their summer reading books - not - before school starts tomorrow. Dinner last night was a repeat from earlier in the year - Grilled Strip Steaks with Caramelized Onions, Creamed Spinach, Mashed Potatoes and Fruit Salad. Nothing too exciting but sometimes I get tired of thinking of new menus. And the non-stop question of "What am I going to eat?" when a kid is presented with Grilled Eggplant stuffed with Ricotta Cheese. I usually try to get everyone to try all the dishes at dinner time so I can see what is a hit and what is a miss. Last night, I threw in the towel when The Creamed Spinach, a favorite of 3 family members, was compared to something you wouldn't touch if it was an offering in the school cafegymatorium. Who cares if one of your kids only eats steak and another is making a Close Encounters-size mountain of mashed potatoes on her plate.

With lots of talk around the dinner table about the impending FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, we turned to discussing what to pack for lunch. School lunches for my youngest two kids consist of pb&js, a bag of grapes which comes back home, a water bottle and a chocolate chip cookie. They aren't that adventurous and are going for the world record of Repeat Lunches Eaten in a School Year. My Oldest One, on the other hand, will take last night's Creamed Spinach on top of Mashed Potatoes in her thermos and tell me after school how great it was the second time around even though her lunch posse complained about the smell.

My kids have been sleeping in all summer. With school starting tomorrow, The Husband and I broke the news to the kids that we would be waking everyone up early today, just like it was school. That would be 5:45 am for one and 7:45 am for the other two. Doesn't really seem fair that one has to catch the bus at 6:45 am but, who said life is fair. Well, here I sit typing away, the Husband is off to work with his Tupperware of quiche and a salad from the frig and, the kids are still asleep. Guess tomorrow will be a fun morning around our house.