What Would Martha Think?

When I moved into our humble little home in 2001, I didn't really mind that there was no dishwasher in the kitchen. Then in 2003, I had my first baby, & found myself washing a lot of bottles. Then in 2005, I had twins... more bottles. Then surprise in 2007 when I found out I was pregnant again.... well, my mom insisted she'd help pay for a dishwasher if we promised to find a way to get it into our kitchen. The point is over the years, my #1 luxury item has become paper plates. I'm an extremely casual mom, and even a casual hostess. I usually just buy the extra nice paper plates for company. But here's how I know that perhaps I've taken the whole California casual thing a bit too far.

Monday night, Lorelei was asked to go to her friend Ella's birthday dinner. She's been to a lot of birthday parties, but this was just a family dinner with one special friend. Needless to say, she was totally excited about it. When she got home, she said this to me, "Mom, at Ella's house, they had these things like our towels (pointing to a dishtowel) but they were smaller and they had these circle rings around them by our plates."

Somehow this made me feel defensive, "I have some of those too you know, they're called napkin rings. I got some as a wedding gift in '97, and I'm still planning on using them..... just haven't had a chance yet."

Kids. They're so easily impressed, I tell you. Maybe this week, I'll show them that glass gravy boat I've been meaning to use. That'll really score points.