the hungry toddler: an early dinner with suits

What do you make for dinner on your third night of solo parenting following two nights of microwaved leftovers? Eat out, of course! (Can you tell mama does not like to cook?) I picked up the little one a little early today so we could run a couple of errands near the lake and enjoy a brief break from the rain. Since we were in the area I decided we'd have dinner at Specialty's, a favorite for lunch (that we try to avoid lately thanks to both dietary and budgetary changes post New Year) but rarely enjoyed for dinner and I don't think the hungry toddler in question has ever dined there.

I had my usual - turkey & cranberry, substitute whole wheat bread, no mayo, no sprouts - while my companion enjoyed the "peanut butter & stuff" - a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with sliced banana and green apple accompaniments. He seemed rather pleasantly surprised by the presence of fruit on his sandwich. 

Whoa, that is one big sandwich for one little dude!  He did a pretty good job on it and saved a little room for part of a snickerdoodle cookie when we got home.

Although it is right across the street (and lake) from Fairyland, I wouldn't necessarily think to take my toddler there to eat (I should specify, to eat there), but, aside from a bathroom that's in the lobby of the adjoining office building, it's not a bad place to have a bite to eat and run off a little rain-induced stir-crazy energy.  The Oakland Specialty's (which opened right after we returned to the area a couple of summers ago; previously enjoyed years ago in SF) is in the 150 Grand Avenue office building, right next to One Kaiser Plaza (where I worked during college...talk about strange, returning with my offspring so many years later) and the newish cathedral.

Y'know, the one that looks like a...Georgia O'Keefe painting?

Anyway, we enjoyed running around the empty plaza, exploring the fountain, the immaculately manicured church grounds, and the cherry blossoms.

Surely I burned enough calories chasing after my toddler to deserve that semi-sweet chocolate chip cookie I saved for post-toddler-bedtime. Right?