My husband said the prayer for dinner. (He was prepped before hand). In a serious voice he said, “Rub a dub dub- thanks for the grub. Amen.” I wish I had a picture of my kid’s eyes as soon as the prayer was finished. It was a mix of confusion, shock, bewilderment and humor. It was completely silent for a moment as they tried to figure out what the honk was happening. A few giggles emerged and then when we (the parents) lost it, they knew it was a joke. I told them tonight we would talk about saying prayer over meals.

I set the table using cloth napkins. The kids noticed the fancier touch right away. (Did you know there are 3 different places you may set a napkin?) I told them we would be learning about how to use our napkins:

As I set the table for dinner, I added some props to the table. I put a laptop by my husband’s plate, a cell phone on mine, a toy on the high chair tray, a hat on my daughter and again my son unintentionally contributed and came to the table without a shirt. I wish I had turned the TV on in the background and been chewing gum for a little extra challenge. Then we played the game, “What’s wrong with this picture?”

I set the table in disarray. I had two cups at one place, no plate at another; some people were missing forks and others had way too many knives. You get the idea. When we sat down to eat, everyone looked dazed and confused. It was craziness for a moment as we tried to locate all the parts to our place setting. Then my son, as if on cue from above, said, “This is so confusing.” Thanks Crew for the perfect segue (had to look up that spelling) into why we set the table a certain way:

I was inspired by three sources to learn more about manners at mealtime. First, by prissy daughter; Second, my sloppy son, and third, my childhood dinner table: