Memories of the Lunch Ladies

In my on-going efforts to save a buck, I have agreed to let Gabby eat free breakfasts and lunches at school, all courtesy of the Salt Lake City School District. Turns out they are funded to provide free meals during the summer to daycares and preschools when K-12 schools are not in session. WooHoo.

Admittedly, it is a relief to not have to scramble together a healthy lunch for Miss Gabs as we run out the door - far be it from me to be organized enough to prepare for departure the evening before! And, I have been getting to work much earlier since I am not sitting with her at school waiting for her to gobble up a breakfast bar. She usually nurses a bit early in the morning and is therefore not ravenous for breakfast - and getting her to eat in the morning at home is close to impossible thanks to the thrill she gets from hurling her food at the dogs.

So Gabby and I had become part of the Breakfast Club at her school. I would hold her in my lap and let her nibble on a breakfast bar, cheerios, yogurt or whatever else we brought. It was still our together time and helped ease my guilt of leaving her there each day. After all, I was taking the time to eat breakfast with her!

Then came word of free food and the breakfast club as we know it has changed forever, or at least until the first day of school next fall when the free food is no more.

It just so happens that we arrived at the exact same time as the free breakfast last Monday. Miss Gabs clung to me for dear life upon seeing the lunch lady. I don't know about you, but all the lunch ladies I have encountered in my life were mean and scary looking with hairy moles on their faces and hairdos held in place with enough aquanet that their hair nets were permanently attached to their heads. They also had voices as deep as Barry White - downright frightening I tell you.

My happy little Gabs was not letting go, so I decided to continue breakfast club tradition and sit with her while she ate. Luckily, the lunch lady simply drops the meals off to the school and then leaves, sparing Gabby from the scrutiny of those glaringly mean eyes watching her every bite and making sure dessert is not eaten before veggies. So I pull up a chair and prepare to once again be late to work.

Now it is not uncommon for me to find yogurt in my hair or greasy fingerprints on my skirt after breakfast club. But, they all come from Gabby and are a small price to pay for our breakfast club time together. However, our breakfast club was much more crowded on this day. Turns out pretty much every kid in the joint was also signed up for free food. And they all sit around the tables together. Just like school lunch. I was surrounded by 15 hungry, messy, possessed children - all under the age of 3. The mess they made was unbelievable. Even as an innocent bystander I was still hit by splashes of spilled milk, sticky pieces of sugar-coated cereal and the occasional flying hashbrown bit bathed in ketchup of course. So glad I wore my white blouse that day.

Sometime between the flying slop and the echo of the constantly bickering children beside me repeatedly screeching "my milk" "no MY MILK" it hit me: Gabs must forever more arrive to school before the lunch lady if there is any hope of me getting out of there before the slop hits fan so to speak.

On a related note, I now not only face the guilt of disbanning breakfast club until next fall, but also feel immense guilt at letting her eat this slop in the first place. Her daily report Monday was not all that alarming: hashbrowns, cereal and milk for breakfast; ravioli, carrots, applesauce, cookie and milk for lunch. But yesterday's report was enough to make my conscience dive directly into the guilty pool: donut and milk for breakfast; hotdog, apples and pudding for lunch. WTF???

No wonder our youth are so unhealthy. They might as well be ingesting vats of lard laced with assorted animal parts rather than school lunch. What nutritional value do donuts and hotdogs have anyway?

Interestingly enough, both daily reports also indicated that Gabs ate above average each day. Imagine that.

Perhaps Peanuts Aren't so Evil Afterall?

So after a visit to the allergist, it was discovered that Gabby IS NOT allergic to peanuts afterall!

They even tested her twice - along with testing for eggs - and everything came back negative. So the VERY good news is that she isn't allergic to peanuts or eggs. The bad news is we will probably never know what caused her allergic reaction a few weeks back.

oh the joy of uncertainty.

To My Dearest Gabriella

Last Friday you turned 15 months old. I am in awe at how fast this has happened. You used to be so tiny and now here you are, 20 pounds and 29 inches tall bouncing all over the place. You have 9 teeth and cut your first molar a few weeks ago - and I think you may have 1-2 more on the way, poor Little Bit!

You have been trying your hand at running lately - well kind of running, perhaps more like brisk walking. You still tumble some, but your balance gets better each and every day. You enjoy practicing going up and down stairs too. And, we have discovered that you are a climber! You will try to climb up pretty much anything. When it comes down to it, you are a very active girl - always on the go and very, very busy. It is no wonder that you get so exhausted in the evening.

You have now enjoyed 2 weeks worth of swimming lessons and I must say that you take after me in that regard - we are both Pisces and very much little fishies in the water! You love splashing around and are very good at holding your breath when we do our 'ice cream scoop' moves! Last Saturday, you also tried to blow bubbles under water - and you did pretty good up until you tried to think about it too hard!

Your first visit to a swimming pool was the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. Me, you, your Papa, Grandpa, Nick, Jody, Carter & Evan all went to the pool together. You and your sweet little cousins played and played and played.

At first, you were a bit timid in the water, but you soon warmed up to it. Then you had no fear - and that was when I was suddenly feeling fear myself! You literally started falling into the water, jumping around, sliding under the surface over and over again. Aunt Jody and I were shocked - and never more than a quick grasp away from you! It was fun for all of us to go swimming all together, and I know that Grandpa had a good time too!

You are also plugging along in the Creepy Crawler class at school. A few of your former classmates from the Bumblebee class have moved up to the Creepy Crawler class now. Actually, since you have already been there a few months, you might be considered one of the bigger babies - even though you are probably still the smallest in your class! Now you have Conrad, Lola, Zander, Autumn, Ryan, Hailey, and Molly in your class. Your best buddy seems to be Autumn. When I came to pick you up for your well-baby check-up last week, I arrived to find you and Autumn giving each other hugs and kisses. It was very cute!

Now that the weather is better, you have become my little helper in the garden. You even have your own shovel to play around with! You help me plant, weed and water. You also stop to smell the flowers and steal my heart yet again each and every time you do that.

You are singing up a storm. Your favorite song is "The Ants Go Marching One By One" and you repeat "ooruh, ooruh" over and over again. In fact, when your Dr. announced that you were healthy at your visit last week, you shouted "ooruh, ooruh." After I translated that to Hoorah, Hoorah she was quite impressed. You also like "If Your Happy & You Know It" and "Ring Around the Rosie."

As usual, you still love bubbles and request them frequently. You also say Mom, No, All Done, Hi, Hello, Baby, Milk, More and last night you tried to say "octopus" when I was reading your book to you. It came out ottopuh, but I knew what you were saying. Your weakness lately seems to be Ruffles Potato Chips. We have to avoid the chip aisle at the store because you reckognize the packaging and insist upon having your own, opened bag before any additional shopping can commence.

I could go and on with all of your achievements. You are a very smart girl and seem to learn new tricks daily. You have the best comedic timing as well - I swear that you understand all of our conversations and add your 2 cents regularly! You love playing with Allie and Bella, and especially enjoy teasing poor Bella at every opportunity. But, I think Bella likes it when you tease her because she certainly plays along!

You are still nursing at night and on the weekends, especially when you need to be comforted. I have decided that so long as you and I are comfortable with this who cares what anybody else thinks. I would like to take the cue from you to know when you are ready to stop. So far, ear infections and molars have not left much opportunity to begin weaning. But, that is ok. In all honesty, I enjoy bonding with you and snuggling you while you nurse. It is our special time together and will continue to be as long as you need it to be.

Each and every day I am reminded how very lucky I am to be your Mommy. There is nothing more important in my life than our little family. Even though times can still be tough, money is sometimes scarce and life can be hectic at times, I remind myself that I am very blessed because I have all the riches in life with you and your father.

You Miss Gabs are my shining star filled with love, life and laughter. I am so very humbled and proud to be your mother. I love you pumpkin.

Your Mama