Long Story: I really try for us to eat dinner at a table every night (Preferably our dinner table). Never in my life did I actually think such a simple thing as dinner could be so many things to so many people.
I love to cook and my kids love to eat sounds like a perfect
match…but they don’t always want to eat what I am cooking. I actually think it is not possible for me to cook one meal in which everyone will eat or try piece of everything. I actually pondered it for a while this morning and can not come up with anything….got a bunch where it is close 4 out 5 children, but never 5 of 5.The closest meal I could come up with that all five of the kids might eat would include the following: pizza, French fries, rolls, ketchup and ultra butter crème chocolate pie. Glaring at you is the lack of real vegetables (though I think ketchup should be included as one for as much as we eat them)
For dinner last evening, we had meatloaf, tater tots, ginger carrots, a five grain bread loaf and milk or water to drink. Oh and I forgot the most important ingredient…. ketchup….. It makes a meal go better, the kids eat more and I hate the smell and cleaning it off the table! I really do believe that Eliza would eat anything if I put ketchup on it!
I also have learned it is a waste of time to ask Melea what she wants to eat. It is always the same answer! P-I-Z-Z-A!!!!! I think besides really liking pizza, this is a word she just loves the sound of and she says it as often as she can.
But back to the story….cooking dinner last night was not really that difficult (I wait till ground beef on sale, buy 10-15 pounds and make about 10 -12 meat loafs at a time. I freeze them and then on really busy (out of house activity days) I pop it in the oven and either set the timer or tell Eric when to start it. It only takes about 45 seconds (if I am not having any help from one of the magic 12 little hands in my life) to get the tater tot bag, open it, line the pan with foil and spray it, and put it into the oven, then 20 minutes to heat them. The carrots are just stir fried in the wok with a ginger sesame dressing from Audi’s. I am told they are amazing, but I STILL HATE CARROTTS (unless I am pregnant) so here is one person not wanting to eat something. Meat loaf is Colin and Daddy’s favorite “regular” food
Usually while I am preparing dinner, some of the children are watching “Signing Times” or a “Wiggles” DVD, Miranda sit in the chair at the table or is bear crawling around the kitchen, Eliza is trying to help me by setting and resetting the table (I get s few plates out and she runs around the island and then puts them on the table, runs around some more then grabs the plates and starts all over again. Jordan is either in the swing or the high chair….but I have to be in sight…..cause if I am out of his visual field he starts to scream!
Some days I am lucky (or unlucky) if they want to help me….Melea really loves stirring and the mixer and Colin loves spraying things (cleaner, spray oil, water…). Either on e or bit of them will want to help me cook…usually it can be a lot of fun but I have learned that the more they see me do the more they are willing to try on their own….this is really scary sometimes.
After the dinner is cooked, the table is sort of set, it is time to round up the children for dinner. I usually end up with Miranda sitting at the table (if she didn’t get put there on her on…likely Colin did it)…but she is always ready for food no matter what. So I am then trying to get four of my five “table” kids into the kitchen. This can be a long or short process. I think it closely reminds me of one of those old hand games with “mercury” in them. I get a bunch then the circle “breaks” and a few run off in another direction. And all the time Miranda is sitting “somewhat patiently” making little noises or banging her cup going “Hurry up I want MY FOOD”.
Last night all but Adrian made it to the table quickly, (I think it was because Eric was here to start with). Adrian needed a personal invite (OK several of them)…finally she shoes up after I have passed out the meatloaf and the carrots. (I always pass out or time the tatter tots/French fries to get done about 10 minutes after they start eating the other stuff or we might forget the other stuff!
Miranda always eats her food…all of it….she has a tendency to still eat everything like it was first birthday cake….all at once. Now she can use her fork and spoon (if she chooses) but I think she feels like why should I…. I can do it faster with my fingers.
Eliza wants to eat….but…I think she is still having a battle of wills with eating with silverware or her hands ….and this girl is so fast she could beat superman. If she gets mad a plate can get thrown so quick that you haven’t even had time to blink. (This little idiosyncrasy of hers did disappear for a while…but it is back if she is angry!...so please oh please do not move her cup or have another little one touch her stuff cause next thing you know that plate will go flying) Actutally last night she wanted mommy to feed her, which is what I figured out that she wanted….
Melea starts on way into the kitchen but for some reason stops and drops to the ground wailing….and for the life of me I can not figure out what she wants….except PIZZA. And I go through the litany of things that we think my have made her mad. I try to get her to help me feed Jordan…no luck….I try to get her to drink…even her second favorite food…BREAD…doesn’t work. SO I just let her sit and wail.
Colin is so excited when he heard meatloaf that he came running so fast he slipped on the tile and feel to the floor. This however was not enough to even make a dent in his persistence to get to his plate as he jumps up and then slides into the table and his chair like a baseball player. If he could talk he would be screaming MEAT LOAF, MEAT LOAF, MEAT LOAF!!!! He is so excited.
Well I feed Jordan, Melea is screaming, Eric dishes out tater tots, Adrian is counting them out load as she puts ketchup on each one…it can’t go on her plate only on each tot. Miranda keeps trying to get to Melea’s plate, Eliza is “honking” for more ketchup ….FOR HER CARROTS…and Colin looks like he is in heaven with his meatloaf and then he sees the tater tots! His face beams he jumps up, holds his plate out and then gets a puzzled look on his face.
I interpret this to be “I want some” but he is trying to figure out how to ask since “more” is not the right word…so he just settles for poking daddy with plate over and over.
In all this Melea is still wailing and I finally figure out what is wrong…she wanted a sippy cup lid! Before Eliza came to be with us…we were done with lids and etc but since Eliza can whiz a plate when she is mad so fast and without any warning we all went back to lids! (To save on the clean up). I had planned on Melea sitting at the big table, so I hadn’t put a lid on it. Even funnier yesterday she screamed at breakfast because the cup had a lid. (I think I am in training for her teenage years)
When Melea finally calms down, Adrian in all sincerity pipes up with “mom, mom….hey mom….you know what?” I really just want to finish the meal without anything hitting the floor or another screaming fit, and I am worried at what is coming next. “You know why you made meat loaf tonight?” I am not really sure where this is going….”Ok, Adrian why did I make meatloaf tonight?” much more sardonic than I meant to. “You made us meat loaf because you know Colin loves it and he loves you and me and Melea, and Liza, and Baby (Miranda) and Jellybean (Jordan)…we are a family….and you love us!”
I sort of sit there stunned…I wonder if she realizes what she is saying…she then says “You are our mom and we are you kids no matter what” And she implies by her tone that we are a family so you better get used to this!. I am awed by her sincerity and the clarity which she is seeing this whole chaotic meal take place. I am awed that after this moment there is no more screaming and crying and fussing, just happy giggling and eating, and I am awed at how a profound statement completely out of the blue makes me realize that this is what most family dinners are probably like.
Norman Rockwell we are not, and most of the time there is more food on the floor than I think went in there mouths (accept Miranda… she is like Mikey from the life commercial).
But I sit back and smile and drink my tea, watch Colin trying to trade his carrots to Eliza and I am awed at how much Colin will do to get more meat loaf.
No comments:
Post a Comment