In the mood for food

I think I must still be hungry. Trying to sit here and write and all that keeps coming to mind is food. I ate breakfast before I walked the kids to school, but food keeps popping up in my head (I feel like Homer Simpson… “Do-nuts…”)

I guess that’s understandable though. So much of a mommy’s life revolves around food. We prepare countless meals and snacks for our kids over the course of a single week. Heard this yet today? “Mommy, I’m huuuuuuuungry!” And this will be the first thing out of the kids’ mouths this afternoon when they get home from school: “Can I have a snack? Can I have another snack?” and at around 5:30: “Eeeewwww… THAT’S what’s for dinner?!”

Seems like I have quite a few conversations with my kids that are strictly about food. What they love (more often what they hate!), whether a food is a ‘Go’ food, a ‘Slow’ food, or a ‘WHOA’ food (thanks to the school P.E. teachers for those little gems).

And nobody likes the same thing in our family. One only wants cooked broccoli, while the other wants raw broccoli, and the third wants to eat the top part, but only if its dipped in ranch dressing. Same story for carrots, except in the reverse order. The girls will eat brussel sprouts without so much as a flinch. Davis, on the other hand, acts like they are mini hand grenades that will explode with a single touch. Josie hates chili. Davis loves chili. Libby just eats the beans out of the chili. Spaghetti? One wants extra sauce. One wants just a tiny bit of sauce. One wants just butter and cheese.

I’ve rarely ever made a dinner that got an across the board ‘thumbs-up’ from my kids. There is almost always one that won’t like some small portion of whatever it is. (“I don’t like sesame seeds on my bun!”)

So, it is up to me as the mother to make sure that everyone has their favorites. For this reason, I don’t mind preparing several different options at each meal, so that I ensure everyone has a balanced diet.

Hahahaha! Okay, I couldn’t get through that with a straight face. Sorry! (giggle) Pleeeeease!! Have you met me?!!!

Our food philosophy in this house? Well, it goes a little something like this: “You get what you get… and you don’t throw a fit.” Phil and I have also been known to say… “You don’t want to eat your dinner? Fine… then you’ll just be extra hungry at breakfast.”

I refuse to be manipulated by these little terrorists to whom I gave birth. I’m more than happy to load the table with ranch dressing, bbq sauce and ketchup so that they can ‘doctor’ their dinner to make it more palatable to their picky little tastes, but I absolutely will not be making special meals for anyone, anytime soon.

Just brush off those sesame seeds, my friend, and finish your dinner.