Back Again

I have returned after going with out since late last Spring.  I didn't get to the library like I wanted to but life still went on.  I don't feel like much has changed over the past several months.  The big thing is my kids are excited about food again.  I made menus and they now look forward to different meals.  I find that we get stuck in the sandwiches for lunch all the time and that is a big part of rough mornings.  They don't want that but that's all I have around.  Well today was a sandwich day for school and guess what?  No fighting about having to bring it.  They looked at the menu and saw it was the only one of two sandwich day this week so they were fine with that.  They also have homemade lunchables, homemade pizza dippers, and hot lunch at school to finish off the week.  They like variety, as any adult does.  I'm really happy to see that.  I always know different things they can bring but if we don't mark down what's when then they get in that rut.  I did the same for breakfast so it's not all cold cereal or toast.  Suppers have always been a decent variety, unless we don't know what to cook, then pasta is a fallback.  I made full menus and they were kid approved, well  maybe not totally but heck Pea Soup is always a good meal after having ham.

Another thing I changed is now we have a bowl of fruit out.  I try to keep a variety in it and watch what the kids are really going through.  This way if they are hungry they know they can have a piece.  It's hard with snacks after school because usually within 90 minutes of a snack we are getting ready to eat dinner so it has time to sit and the kids can do something after dinner before bed.  Fruit works and if it curves their dinner appetite, well at least it was healthy.

The menu has also made the kids want to help more.  They were apprehensive sometimes to offer to help make meals because they didn't know what was coming.  Kids talk while they prepare food, sometimes alot.  I have to say there is more about some topics than I really wish to know or even care about but it makes them happy to tell me everything.  Conversation is a good thing, even when one sided.