“Fancy Dinner”

I invented Fancy Dinner when I realized that most of our meals are so rushed and chaotic that we don’t take the time to teach the kids manners!My 7 year old came home from a friend’s the other day, and informed me that it is rude to announce, “Pass the potatoes, please.” Apparently, one must say, “Sarah, please pass the potatoes.”

Well, apparently I’m not Emily Post. Nor do I care to be. But apparently there are some things that the girls aren’t learning by osmosis at our dinner table. So we set up “fancy Dinner” one night a week. We put a tablecloth on the table (surely a rarity in young children’s homes!), cloth napkins, butter (with a butter knife), and wine glasses. oh – and you can’t forget the candles! We have to have three – since each girl needs one of their own to blow out after dinner. Since I’m not a big dessert maker, this is our occasion to have dessert. What I’m actually serving doesn’t seem to make a difference – as long as they get to use wine glasses, napkins, and get dessert. And Daddy and I like the opportunity to teach the girls manners. Of course, dinner still lasts a maximum of10 minutes, but hey, I’m raising children!