Happy Birthday Caleb!

Caleb hit the big 7 today. Man is he getting old! He woke up this morning convinced that he grew an inch overnight and declared that he is ready for second grade now. Every year on his birthday he gets to have anything that he wants for his birthday dinner. Usually this involves some type of fish or shrimp since that's a rarity in our house. This year, he decided to go a different direction.

Here's a little bit of the background: The school Caleb attends does not have a cafeteria so the kids bring their lunch everyday. He usually gets a sandwich, cheese stick, fruit and crackers. Several of his friends take Lunchables. Caleb has wanted to take a Lunchable to school for the entire year. To help him understand why he can't, I explained that Lunchables are too expensive and the food in them is not very healthy for a growing boy. I did tell him that if he still wanted one, he could have one on his birthday. Guess what? He remembered. He decided he didn't want to take it to school, because apparently all the kids try to snitch the 'treat' that comes in the box. He decided that he wanted his Lunchable for dinner. I offered shrimp, I offered fish, I even offered steak. Nope. He wanted a pizza Lunchable.

Have you ever bought a Lunchable for an overly excited child at 6pm at the grocery store? It makes you feel like a bad mother. We get to the cash register and Caleb is dancing around singing a song about his lunchable. The cashier gives me a knowing look and says, "Too rough of a day to cook tonight?" How do you explain that you're not too lazy to cook, only that your son has been looking forward to this moment all year? You don't - you just smile a half smile, pat your child on the head and let him carry his precious cargo out of the store.

I did have to laugh at Caleb while he was eating his pizza. He declared that he didn't really like the sauce because "it doesn't taste like our normal sauce - it's probably non-organic". Seven year olds can be soooo picky.