The Kitchen Table is not a shelf
Having a children with two entirely different tastes in food, make supper time and really any meal/snack/food discussion difficult. 12 year old refuses to eat any veggies or fruit, and only some meats that don't have any spice/sauce/flavor. 2 year old loves fruit, veggies, but refuses any meat. Then add husband who thinks veggies are devil spawn and a mom(me) who just wants everyone to be healthy and have a balanced diet.... so food is one of the most stressful and difficult decisions in my house. Multiply that by said husband being in school all but 2 days a week, 12 year old at friends house or park directly after school until dark, and 2 year old that is never hungry at the 'right' time....all that usually results in no one eating at the same time or the same thing.
When I was a young single parent, I lived with my mother so we had meals prepare and at the table mostly every night. When I moved out on my own, in my early 20's, I cooked and eldest and I still ate at the table. When I moved to Cedar Rapids and got married, I learned how to cook more and we ate at the table pretty much every night. Once I got pregnant with youngest, the cooking took a downturn because I was tired and a lot of different smells made me sick, but we still ate at the table fairly often. After youngest was born, I had a difficult time adjusting the solid meal time with liquid meal time. So a lot of the time I ate a sandwich and fruit on the couch while eldest and husband ate whatever they could find. I've tried asking family what they want to eat, planning meals, fixing whatever I feel like, and having 'whatever you can find' nights. In the past 2 years our family meal time has declined drastically, and when we do get a chance to dine all together it's short-lived because 12 year old eats 4 bites and goes back in to her room or 2 year old is screaming/rambling/banging/crying/yelling about something(mostly about being done, deciding that she's not hungry after all and wanting out of her chair), needless to say conversation about days/school/issues is not an option. Although there are the wonderful moments when we do get to sit at the table while 2 year old eats properly and quietly, 12 year old asks for seconds and reports on her day or on her favorite show, and husband and I get to have a conversation that is extremely overdue.
When husband and I do get a weekend to ourselves, we enjoy going out, which presents a whole another issue. We can never decide where, what, when we want to eat. So we're spending hours discussing and deciding, then end up frustrated and picking something we've had a million times.... and we end up not enjoying the meal or our company.
Food is a necessity....so why is it so stressful?!
When I was a young single parent, I lived with my mother so we had meals prepare and at the table mostly every night. When I moved out on my own, in my early 20's, I cooked and eldest and I still ate at the table. When I moved to Cedar Rapids and got married, I learned how to cook more and we ate at the table pretty much every night. Once I got pregnant with youngest, the cooking took a downturn because I was tired and a lot of different smells made me sick, but we still ate at the table fairly often. After youngest was born, I had a difficult time adjusting the solid meal time with liquid meal time. So a lot of the time I ate a sandwich and fruit on the couch while eldest and husband ate whatever they could find. I've tried asking family what they want to eat, planning meals, fixing whatever I feel like, and having 'whatever you can find' nights. In the past 2 years our family meal time has declined drastically, and when we do get a chance to dine all together it's short-lived because 12 year old eats 4 bites and goes back in to her room or 2 year old is screaming/rambling/banging/crying/yelling about something(mostly about being done, deciding that she's not hungry after all and wanting out of her chair), needless to say conversation about days/school/issues is not an option. Although there are the wonderful moments when we do get to sit at the table while 2 year old eats properly and quietly, 12 year old asks for seconds and reports on her day or on her favorite show, and husband and I get to have a conversation that is extremely overdue.
When husband and I do get a weekend to ourselves, we enjoy going out, which presents a whole another issue. We can never decide where, what, when we want to eat. So we're spending hours discussing and deciding, then end up frustrated and picking something we've had a million times.... and we end up not enjoying the meal or our company.
Food is a necessity....so why is it so stressful?!
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