Ladies Who Lunch

I haven't written as much lately, mostly because I am utterly exhausted all the time (a little side effect of the first trimester I had conveniently forgotten about); but also because C is in full out toddler mode, which is exhausting and exhilarating all on its own.

In other words, I nap when she naps now.

But since I left a pile of dishes in the sink, pushed the pile of unfolded laundry on our bed onto the floor, and went to sleep at the same time as a two year old last night, I'm actually awake after our toddler-tastic play date with friends.

We were planning to meet my friend Jessica and her two kids at the park when it started pouring, so we revamped and went to Barnes and Noble to drink coffee and watch our kids play with the train table instead - a decision I'm sure the employees appreciated. 

After letting them play and dance on the stage and fight over stuffed animals neither of us were planning to buy, we declared it lunch time and walked over to Panera.

Then chaos ensued. C wanted a sandwich, Ben wanted mac and cheese; but when the food was ready, it turns out that neither of them wanted the food on their plate. Abby (14 months old) was along for the ride, eating whatever we put on her plate while dropping things on the floor all around her. All of the sudden, C stood up in the booth next to me and started crying out undecipherable words, getting louder in her frustration, pairing it with stomping feet for emphasis. I could not understand what she wanted. 

So, I lifted her out of the booth and watched as she climbed in next to Jessica and started eating Ben's mac and cheese. Seriously. That's all she wanted.

I gave Ben C's turkey sandwich and they both sat, quietly eating, for the next three and a half minutes.

Remember when lunching with friends was relaxing?

On our way home, Jessica sent me this pie chart. That about sums it up.

Still, I'm so glad to have a friend living in the same crazy stage of life as me. Plus, she proves that it can even be done with two! 

In all honesty, I probably won't know what to do with myself when I can eat an entire meal, in one sitting, with both hands, without begging someone to sit down and just eat one bite (not that it is happening anytime in the next 3-7 years). I may have just cracked the code to avoiding too much unnecessary weight gain during this pregnancy - dining with a toddler!