8/20/08 Two Lunches

It's official! Tonight was the first time of future thousands that I made two lunches. All set for tomorrow, in their lunch sacks with their names stitched on them: half a PB&J, yogurt, berries, carrots, and milk.

Someday, it will be three, and then I'll be grateful when it goes back down to two.

I've actually been pretty spoiled making just Julian's lunch the past few weeks. He's a really flexible eater, and I can come up with a much wider variety of things to give him, including most dinner leftovers. Actually, he does better with variety, he's less likely to eat something if he got it the day before. But Gabriel...standard kid-stuff, same-old, same-old.

A note on food pickiness....I don't know if Katrina is genuinely picky, or just very opinionated. Well, opinionated we do know. She was outraged when I offered her tortellini for dinner tonight, screaming and crying and throwing her arms around. The nerve of me! No, she'd spotted the bananas, and that was it. So dinner was a banana, peas and yogurt. I tried about 5 things inbetween, but she refused, immediately, vociferously, and very very loudly. It's not worth fighting with her about food, she's too young. Besides, she'd always win.

Gabriel often won't try things because...well, he's a kid. Kids do that. Julian will then claim not to like something just to follow along. Tonight, I made a (really good if I do say so myself) florentine lasagna, and Gabriel instantly rejected it, which Julian did immediately too. I considered bailing and giving them something else, but some combination of philosophy and inertia and miffedness kept me in my seat. So we talked about it instead. There's a lot to say about lasagna: how to say "Florence" in Italian, that spinach is superfood, what a silly word ricotta is, that the noodles are like pages in a book. In time, Julian was curious enough to try it, and not only did he like it, but he even asked that I pack it for lunch for him.

Gabriel...well, he tried the required 3 bites, then he got Katrina's leftover peas, baby slobber and all. Too bad. It's more important that he not get used to me waiting on him than it is for him to have a perfectly balanced 3-course meal. Even if it is the night before first grade starts. Letting go...one of the toughest skills for a mom.

After swimming tonight, I stopped by Gabriel's school to see the posted class lists. It's really been weighing on me: is he -- that is, are we -- going to get the one teacher that gives homework every day? Nightmare!!

I can't remember the teacher's name, but I'm fairly certain it's the only one that starts with 'O'. Scan the lists...six classes, 10 girls and 10 boys per class....there it is, Doudna, Gabriel...Mrs. Olsen. DANG!!!

Well, if any first-grader is suited to daily homework, Gabriel is....heeyyyyy, I wonder if that has anything to do with it.....??

Katrina found another hand-me-down hat that passed her complex and top-secret criteria for approval.

I'm not really into dressing little girls, but this short little dress-and-bubble-bottom combo is so cute!

As if it really needs to be said again, first day of first grade tomorrow! Among the many other things that means, it also marks one year from tomorrow that the boys will be in the same school!

8/20/08