Pancakes

What to make for dinner? That seems to always be the question on my mind. It takes a lot to feed 6 mouths, especially the 6 in my family. I have recently learned that 2 of my 4 children are the pickiest eaters on the face of the earth! Don't believe me? Sabrina and Colby won't eat anything! Seriously, they eat virtually nothing!

All the meals I've been preparing since they were born, no longer seem to appease their taste buds. For instance, pizza, spaghetti, sloppy joe, chili, beef stew, (the staples) and the list goes on, are just to name a few. Sabrina won't even eat Peanut-Butter and Jelly. In fact, if I want Sabrina to eat Brats, she will only consume the Johnsonville brand. No Wal-Mart or Aldi Brats will do.

I started making a list with Colby of all the foods he likes, so that I could be sure to refer to it when I began cooking. The funny thing is, he'll ask me if a specific food is on his list just before he takes a bite of it. One time I lied (shameful, I know) and told him that a particular food was in fact on his list when is wasn't, just so he'd eat it. And wouldn't you know it, he did and he liked it! (The things mom's will do to get a child to eat)

How did this happen? For the life of me, I can't figure it out!!

It has become a very frustrating experience sitting down for dinner with hungry children only to find out that they won't eat what is being served. Then the crying begins. I am literally at my wits end with trying to prepare a meal that everyone will enjoy. At first, I stick to my guns and insist that they eat what everybody else is eating. I refuse to make something different. Then there's more crying. How can I force my child to eat something they don't like? I never thought it was right to make my child sit there (all night, if needed) until they eat.

(From my own childhood, I am reminded of the time when my big brother, Eric, was forced to eat lima beans. Oh the agony! He really didn't want to eat them. Finally he took a bite and promptly vomited. That's when my mom decided that she wasn't going to do THAT again.)

So, I usually end up making a grilled-cheese sandwich or ramen noodles for the picky ones. By the end of dinner, I am most often in a bad mood after slaving in the kitchen and getting the food to the table, only to get back up and prepare something else in addition to what I've already made. Arg!

Last night was the same. I went to the kitchen to start dinner with a hungry and crying 9 year-old at my feet. What to make!!! What to make!!! Pancakes? She'll eat THAT! Even Colby will eat that. Pancakes it is. She's still crying as I begin to gather the ingredients. So, in the sweetest voice I could muster (it usually sounds a bit high pitched) I asked Sabrina if she would like to help me. (Actually, it was to get her occupied and happy...I couldn't listen to the whimpering any longer.)

She dried her red, blotchy eyes as I handed her the recipe for Homemade Pancakes. It worked! This took a lot of courage on my part, because I REALLY dislike kids in the kitchen. It causes me anxiety. Besides it's just much faster if I do all the cooking myself. But, then I am reminded of the importance of teaching my children how to prepare food, not to mention the hands on experiences that comes with it. AND, the lovely memories they will have cooking with their mom. So, last night, I swallowed real hard and let the spills, splatters and eggshells-in-the-batter happen with a smile on my face. (Actually, it WAS fun.)

Everyone ate. No one cried. All bellies were full. Success!