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Dinner Time

There are a lot of moments in parenting that I truly enjoy, but dinner time is definitely one of my favorites.  The research is true...

"The statistics are clear: Kids who dine with the folks are healthier, happier and better students..."
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1200760,00.html#ixzz1LRLHS3Au

And I think they forgot to mention how much FUN family dinners are, especially with the Boyen Bunch involved.  We have nearly ever dinner as a family dinner, with the occasional night missing John due to a project or me due to an outing, but those are few and far between.  This weeks dinner's have been memorable. 

Monday:  Mini meatloaf, over roasted potatoes and corn.  John didn't join us till near the end of the meal due to a home improvement project, which required a quick trip to Home Depot.  The interactions between Bailey and Lorelei had me laughing so incredibly hard that I actually cried, which then really confused Lorelei!  Bailey's sense of comedic timing can be impeccable!  But honestly, you would have had to been there to "get it".  I think even John thought I was "losing" it when he got home...something about mommy having a break down!!  It all started when the family of deer who live in our yard were eating out of the deer feeder, at the same time as we were.  Lorelei didn't want to scare them away, so she was whispering to everyone to "Use a quiet boice".  No it's not a typo...she says boice!  Bailey chimed it with his silliness...every time Lorelei said "shhhhh",  he and his tween humor would say "it".  And man would it make Lorelei mad!!!  Inappropriate...sure, but funny just the same!!

Tuesday:  Dinner out at local burger joint called Babes, Old Fashioned Food.  Lorelei's 4th birthday dinner,  to boot...KIDS EAT FREE!!!  Started outside...got too cool, so we headed back in, which made Jonas mad.  He gave me evil eyes and was planning to just be difficult.  Food arrives and now he's mad cause Bailey is sitting on one side of me and the birthday girl on the other. Plus, Bailey stole a french fry and FYI, you DO NOT take food from Jonas.  It's his passion, his love...this boy eats with sheer delight and  no one better mess with his food.   I feel a couple eyes staring at us from a nearby table, a slightly older couple...feeling a bit judged about how I'm handling Jonas and his anger fit.  So, as the food arrives and John gets it situated, I take Jonas outside and have a "talk".  He pulls it together, we head back in and dinner proceeds.  The couple with the staring eyes get up to leave and actually comment to us about having 4 kids!  "Wow your brave, 4 kids!" says the husband to John. I answer "some days are hard, some days are easy!"  We finish with conversation about Bailey's camp at the middle school and other happenings of the day and head home to cupcakes and "Happy birthday to Lorelei!".

Wednesday:  Roasted whole chicken, mash potatoes and corn on the cob (OK, similar to Monday's, but the kids love corn and potatoes!).  The nicest part was that John made the whole dinner with Savannah's help!  She set the table and put tiny red flowers in with the silverware, that was nicely wrapped in the napkin.  While this was going on, I did something I NEVER do...took a short nap!! How nice! The conversation was again about the happenings at school, and how Solar cars (an after school enrichment program I help run, that Bailey is in and Savannah helps with) is coming along and just general chit chat about our day.  Lorelei chimes in that she HATES the green stuff in her potatoes (chives) and Bailey tells her she hates everything and should stop hating things.  She slyly and quietly says under her breath "You hole".  Yes, she called her brother a "hole".  She then asks me "Is hole a bad word mommy?", "Not exactly Lorelei, but it certainly was not a nice thing to call your brother."  John says, "Hey, that's pretty good...think I 'll start calling people holes!"  GREAT! 

It's only Wednesday, wonder what the rest of the dinners this week will bring!!??  Never a dull moment, huh!?

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