On Turkeys and Picky Eaters

I've spent a lot of time thinking this week about the last year. One year ago, I was a brand new RS president who was planning a funeral for a 14 year old boy. I was trying to juggle how to serve, be a good mom and still have some energy left over at the end of the day to be a good wife, too. I was exhausted, both physically and emotionally. Every time I thought about cooking thanksgiving dinner, I just wanted to cry. It was too much.

For Thanksgiving Day, I talked Eric into taking the family to Mimi's Cafe for dinner. They are one of the few restaurants in the business that is open for Thanksgiving. And they serve up a mean Turkey dinner too. I didn't have the energy to cook for a family of picky eaters. At Mimi's, I got my traditional turkey dinner, and the boys had chicken nuggets or pizza. Eric and Megan both ordered breakfast for dinner. We also went to the movies and saw Bolt. All in all, it was a stress-free day and I loved it. So much so, that I bragged to anyone that I could, that I got out of cooking Thanksgiving dinner and had the best day. Our digression from the traditional became legend in our small circle of friends.

This year, I had already mentally decided I wanted to cook a turkey. I was also texting one of Eric's brothers over some baby photos he sent of my newest nephew, who just a couple months old, and spontaneously invited them to come for Thanksgiving. After a couple weeks of waffling, they decided to do it, and they will be driving down from Utah on Wednesday afternoon. Two of Eric's brothers and their families will be cramming into one car to make the trek to the desert. We are thrilled!

Many of my friends have asked me this year, if we are continuing the tradition of going out to eat for Thanksgiving. I excitedly tell them that two of Eric's brothers are bringing their families down and we are doing the full dinner. They look at me in shock and say something like... "I didn't think you liked cooking Thanksgiving dinner!"

I guess, I gloated too much last year. I really do love cooking Thanksgiving dinner. What I don't love about it, is that my kids won't eat it. They will eat turkey, but moan and groan through the whole thing. They won't eat mashed potatoes... they won't eat stuffing... they won't eat green bean casserole. It's not fun to cook a ginormous meal for 4 kids who will eat no more than 5 bites of all of it.

This year there will be four other adults to share in the over consumption of great food, and so I won't care if my kids go hungry. That's their tough! I am really looking forward to a big meal, with lots of family to share it with. It's going to be a great weekend...can't wait!

Now "Lettuce" Rejoice!

I have the pickiest kids on earth... this is no exaggeration. They come from picky parents, so it's really no surprise. I think of all the people in our family, I am the least picky. Lest you think I'm crazy, here are some things that each person in my family dislikes... I'll start with myself, just to be fair!

Christy hates: tomatoes, mushrooms, nuts, all seafood

Eric hates: all fruit (except oranges), broccoli, cauliflower, all seafood

Taylor hates: bread (this includes bagels, rolls, bread, french toast, hamburger and hot dog buns), steak, beans, all fruit, all veggies (except raw carrots and corn), cheese, lunch meat, potatoes (except french fries), burgers, eggs

Megan hates: all pasta, cheese, pork, potatoes (including french fries), most veggies (except corn and raw carrots), eggs

Ian hates: most meat (excepting chicken nuggets), most veggies (except corn and raw carrots), potatoes, eggs... Ian likes to pretend he hates everything (even when he doesn't)...

Brayden is my least picky child... but he does so far hate bread. That's one of the few things I've never been able to get him to eat. He does like most meat, eggs, and fruit.

Needless to say, I don't enjoy cooking that much. I think the very reason is that there is always at least one person (usually 2 or 3) who doesn't like the food. Always... it's very discouraging to hear moaning and whining every night at dinner time. Tacos and pizza are the two meals that everyone likes and no one complains about, so we eat those a lot!

In my 13 years of being a parent, never has a child in our household eaten green salad. (Three out of four won't even eat ranch dressing... weird, huh?) Then on Monday night, Megan confesses that she thinks lettuce is pretty good (we were having tacos). After questioning her about it, she told us she ate some salad at an activity days event and kinda liked it. (I think it was that strawberry spinach salad with the sweet dressing.) So she then proceeded to load up her "meat only" taco with meat and lettuce. Nothing else, but still, she actually liked it and went back for more! It took everything I had NOT to fall over in shock... maybe there is a light at the end of the "picky eater" tunnel? And Cheri Harrison (Meg's AD leader who served her salad) is a SAINT in my category... maybe I need to send all my kids over for dinner at her house more often!