Tea Party

We're starting a new tradition at our house of weekly toddler teas. The plan is to invite three kids over each week to enjoy eating together, practicing manners, and trying out some new foods. This week we were honored by the company of Clara's friends Kaia, Cal and Lucas, Cal's baby sister Ruby, and three helpful moms!

This week's menu:
Apple-Date Bars (from Lunch Lessons: Changing the Way We Feed Our Children)
Eggwiches (from Martha Stewart's Good Things for Kids, Summer 2006)
Mango Passionfruit Tea with honey
Mixed Fruit

I underestimated how enjoyable the tea preparation would be. I made placemats using scrap paper and had them laminated--Clara LOVED setting the table and it was easy for her to do with the mats to guide her. When she came downstairs this morning the mats were out and I'd put flowers in the center of the table. She ran right over. "It's BEAUTIFUL," she said. So sweet. She was very excited about putting out the plates, silverware, cups and napkins. We set old dictionaries on the seats so the kids could sit up to the table.




Then it was time to make some food! I'd done the apple-date bars and prepped the fruit in advance, but Clara cut the circles for the eggwiches, "painted" them with butter before they went into the oven to toast, and whisked the egg. We had such a fun and leisurely time preparing...it was a great cooking experience for both of us.





Things may have been going a little too well, actually. I totally forgot about taking her to go potty when, 2 1/2 hours after she'd last gone, she told me she had to go! I was so proud of her and we went right in to pee in the potty. Great! Then a little while later it happened again! I was doubly proud! She went in to play with her dollhouse while I added some Gouda and bacon pieces to the egg. I was just about to put it in the oven so it would be finished before the guests arrived when Clara approached me, small brown object in her extended hand. "Here you go!" she said. "IS THAT POOP?!!!?" is what I said. We rushed in to wash her hands when I noticed poop on her dress, too. I stripped her down, just in time for Amy, Ruby and Calvin to arrive. Clara ran right out and greeted her first tea guests stark naked! Cal looked a little surprised but hey, you can't say she's not a fun girl. :) I snatched the least wrinkled dress from the "to-iron" pile next to the bathroom, threw a clean pair of undies on her and we were doing a second hand wash when the rest of our company arrived. Whew!

The kids wash their hands

Kaia shows off her forking skills

Lucas hams it up

Calvin digs in

Clara ponders the eggwich and does not like what she sees

So needless to say, not everything was completely ready when everyone arrived, which made the tea a little more hectic than I would have liked. I heard a few unsolicited pleases and thankyous out of Clara and convinced her to relinquish her favorite placemat for someone else to use, but she also refused to give up her favorite chair, put her feet on the table (!) and screeched loudly in excitement, not to mention refusing to try the tea, fruit, or eggwich. At least she drank nicely from her water glass and didn't dump any on the floor. :) The other guests were lovely and active, apple-date bars were a hit, Calvin liked the eggwiches, and it was just what you'd expect from a toddler tea! We had a great time. Can't wait for next week!