We Eat Dinner in the Bathtub

We had gotten away from doing Friday Night Mystery nights this winter, but we recently started them back up again. This is Friday Night Mystery night: Ryan and I plan an activity for our family. It doesn't have to be big; the kids are truly excited no matter what it is because of the "mystery" element. (Two recent mystery nights: a movie and a Parents' Night Out for the kids at a local play area.)

I give them a few hints earlier in the day, and they try to guess but don't find out until that evening. These were the hints for this particular evening: 1) It's something small. 2) We're not going anywhere. 3) It involves food. 4) It's not a "craft." (I said that because one of them guessed that's what we were doing. I usually answer a question or two if it doesn't give it away.)

The Book

Easy Read (This is a Level 2 Hello Reader.) books aren't generally riveting, but we love this book! It is so clever and humorous, and it's always great when Mom enjoys reading the book as much as the kids enjoy listening. It's the story of a boy who invites his friend over for dinner. It comes out that his family eats dinner in the bathtub. And that's because they sleep in the dining room...and that's because they cook in the bedroom, and so on.

These are the last few pages of the book, when Josh tells Harris (whose family eats in the bathtub) his family eats in the dining room:

I love, love the ironic ending - the boy who eats in the bathtub telling his friend that he's different. Great little lesson there, eh?

Friday Night Mystery Night

I made homemade pizza for the kids, but before we ate, we sat on the couch to read the book together. One of them guessed, "We're eating dinner in the bathtub?!" Which resulted in squeals and giggles all around.

I even cleaned the bathroom for the occasion! They enjoyed their pizza and smoothies (and even had me bring up dessert so that could be eaten in the bathtub, too. (Mom sat on the closed toilet seat while she ate her dinner.) Clean-up was a breeze! I just swiped out some crumbs with a piece of toilet paper, then gave the tub a little spray of water - done!

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