Picky Eaters Suck

I love my family, really I do.  But my children are such picky eaters... well one in particular (oh little one you try my patience) is really bad.  The big one will take a bite and try things but then he politely says "I don't care for the noodles (or whatever he is eating)."  The little one will just whine like a big baby and/or vomit at the dinner table.  Drives me crazy.  I think there are only about 2 home-cooked meals I can prepare that the family actually ENJOYS.  Tacos (little one will only eat meat and the hard taco shell - but will do so without complaining).  And spaghetti (little one will only eat garlic bread dipped in the sauce - no noodles - 90% of the time without complaining).

Everything else is a big no-no.  That list is so long I get sad.  Some of the things I would like to make are soup, macaroni and cheese (homemade or in a box), any noodle-bake dish, any rice-bake dish, any noodles or rice period, pasta dishes, mashed potatoes... i could go on, but I'm getting depressed with this list.

Things they will eat but only in their whole form - never mixed with any of the above... broccoli, most fruits (not bananas though), asparagus, cauliflower, carrots (not cooked), chicken bites (even plain non-nugget style), plain BBQ meat.  This sounds like the list of meals would be wide open right?  Nope, because I can only get them to eat these things if they are REALLY hungry.  If they are even a little filled up, they won't eat a "good" dinner and then they complain about being hungry later.

Now I know that there is a MOUNTAIN of research out there that I could read that talks about how to fix these problems.  I have tried including them in the cooking process - doesn't work for the little one.  He wants to cook, but still won't eat the food.  I've tried making them eat it later or even the next day for breakfast - doesn't work.  I've tried letting them choose the meals - sorta works but boring for me because I never get to try new recipes.  I've tried having them eat the food repeatedly (the exposure method over and over) - doesn't work - they still won't eat rice or pasta.  I'm at a loss.....

I hear about families with boys where they complain that the boys eat them out of house and home... won't be me.  Won't be my kids.  EVER.  Unless I let them eat only chicken nuggets, pizza, hotdogs/hamburgers (for the big one), waffles/pancakes (for the little one), and maybe bacon.

What spurred this rant?  Dinner tonight.  I made this yummy Sour Cream Noodle Bake from Pioneer Woman's blog.  Oh my gosh, I thought it was delicious.  But alas the dinner did not win the hearts of my children and got only a mild "it was good" from the husband.  I enjoy cooking but the family does not get excited about food and could care less when I try new things...

What did my family get excited about most recently????  This recipe for Monkey Bread also from Pioneer Woman's blog.  Why did they like it?  Was it homemade and super delicious?  Homemade?  Not by my standards - it involved 3 "cans" of biscuits.  Super delicious?  YES!  The little one liked it because it has LOADS of sugar.  The big one liked it because it was his idea - he had it at a friend's house one time.  The husband liked it so much that he ate too much and the declared that he felt sick - oh how I love to hear my food made him sick.

I have no idea what to do.  I want to try new recipes, but alas it just isn't worth listening to the complaining and whining at the dinner table - it stresses me out and makes me not enjoy my meal.  And on the occasion when the little one vomits... well that is obvious how that makes the night go.

So what's for dinner tomorrow night?  I HAVE NO FREAKIN' CLUE!  I may have to just leave the house and let my husband feed them whatever...  I'm so exhausted from trying...

I Don't Hate Mondays

I've noticed one amazing thing since I quit my job at the end of last school year.

I don't hate Mondays anymore.

I used to think Mondays were the day from hell.  I used to DRAG my body out of bed and feel icky and miserable.  I used to barely make it through the day and then come home and have to take a nap on the couch because I was so tired.  I used to feel so worn out and that I was doing a huge disservice to my children, my husband, and my job.

Now, I wake on Mondays and don't feel automatically pissed at the world.

I wake up excited about going to volunteer in my child's classroom.  I wake up and happily make my child's lunch.  I enjoy coming home with my little guy and making his lunch and doing homework with him.  We read books and play games.  Sometimes we go to the park when it is a beautiful day like today.  I look forward to my older child coming home from school on the bus and greet him excitedly.  I get snacks, help with more homework and make dinner.  Then the kids go to bed and I don't feel like I'm about to DIE.  I still have energy!

I love this new "job" of being a stay-at-home mom.  Thank you so much to The Bread Winner.  I am happy to support you and so thankful to have this opportunity to enjoy my family.

Australia!

Holy Crap!  I'm going to Australia.  I can hardly believe it.  The Bread Winner has to go there for travel (don't ask, I have NO idea what they heck he'll be doing.  don't know, don't care).  I do know that it means we have decided that the whole family will be going!  HOLY CRAP!

Now about 2 months ago when this first came up, I thought The Bread Winner was completely insane.  "Do you know how much that will cost?" I asked him.  "Once in a lifetime" is what he responded with.  And I have finally come around to agreeing with him on that one.  That does not mean that I'm not constantly thinking about how we will be paying for this trip for about 2 years.  But I remind myself that it is "once in a lifetime."

Which brings me to thinking about the stress of traveling with 2 kids (6 and almost 8 - his birthday will happen while we are in Australia! Unfortunately an 8 year old does not see that as a birthday present and will still ask for lame toys - priorities, priorities!). I have come to the conclusion that there will be meltdowns (for both kids and myself) at some point.  I wonder what the options are for medicating your children with Xanax like products? Okay, not really.

My kids travel REALLY well.  No throwing up.  No whining in the car.  No fighting.  No complaining that they are bored.  They can watch movies and play games for a good solid 5 hours with no issues.  But the flight to Australia is like 25 HOURS.  That's my typical car trip TIMES 5!  I'm not sure about this.  Of course we are going to do it.  No going back now.  But I still have some concerns.

One of them is that The Bread Winner will be flying over first.  So I won't have my partner in crime for occupying their time.  "Traveling by yourself on a 25 hour international flight with two kids?" you ask in shock and amazement!  No, I won't be alone.  My dad is going on this once in a lifetime event/vacation also.  And my brother is suppose to go too (if he can get his passport issues and other weird issues dealt with - don't ask, I can't talk about it right now without being frustrated).  I will have at least one extra body to help on the plane and in the airport and when I need someone to distract my child so I can smack them on the back of the head to knock them out for a couple hours.  I'm not that parent that thinks her kids are perfect.  I totally know they completely suck sometimes.  I totally expect for there to be at least a couple of those moments on this trip.  But I'm willing to roll with it all because "once in a lifetime" means exactly that.  I plan to enjoy this trip and make the most of it.  I'm sure I'll have pictures of wonderful happy family times.  I also promise to take pictures of the meltdowns just for posterity!

G'day mate!