What's for dinner?

This afternoon, Caroline had an extensive conversation (mostly with herself!) about what to have for dinner.

Mom: "It looks like pancakes are on the menu, can we talk that through a little?"
Caroline: "What do you mean?"
Mom: "Well, not everyone will be here, so how big a batch should you make? And we have bacon, but sausage is a lot more substantial, have you thought about serving that? And are we having anything else? Maybe fruit?"
Caroline: "Oh, okay. I don't know. Do I want to make pancakes? I'm not sure I want to. And I definitely don't want to make chicken salad, that's too much work. What are we going to have?"
Mom: "I don't know. You are in charge."
Caroline: "Oh, dear, what should we have? I don't know."

pause

Caroline: "We can have nachos! That's what I'll make!"
Mom: "Sounds good."

pause

Caroline (crestfallen): "But we don't have any ground beef."
Mom: "You didn't buy the ground beef this morning?"
Caroline: "Mom, we were running late, and I had to be somewhere at 9:30!" (They walked in the door at 9:10, the store is on the way home, and the babysitting job is around the corner, but I digress.)
Mom: "We can go get ground beef."
Caroline: "No. Yes. No. I don't know."

pause

Caroline (beaming): "I will use the chicken for the chicken salad and we will have chicken nachos!"
Mom: "Sounds like a great solution."
Caroline: "Uh, how do I cook the chicken?"

Later . . .

Mom: "So, now are you just switching up the meals? Pancakes another night? You can buy more chicken."
Caroline: "Nope. I'm going to be like Tim.
Mom: "As in?"
Caroline: "You say, 'Hey, Tim, what's for dinner? And he says, 'No idea.' and you say, 'Tim! It's 5:00!!'"

Great.