Triumph!

Tonight was a good night. A good, good night. Whoo-hoo! (Wrigley has been singing the Black-Eyed Peas song relentlessly lately. His version, though, is "I got a feel-a. Whoo-hoo". Too cute!)

It was a good night because my wish came true for one moment in time at the dinner table. I cooked one meal, placed it on the table and everyone ate. No arguing. No negotiating over bites. I needed tonight after the numerous fights I have had with Jackson over eating lately. You may, or may not have, noticed that I haven't been posting too frequently. I will admit that Jackson's stubbornness got the best of me for a while. I resorted to my old ways of fixing the blue and orange box or throwing hot dogs in the microwave. Partly we have been busy and my husband has had late work nights. So, it is very difficult for me to muster enough gumption to cook a nice meal knowing no one will be eating it but me. But, also, I was just exhausted from the efforts of getting Jack to eat. The tip of my iceberg was Thanksgiving. For the 3rd year in a row, I have hosted. I love hosting! I love the idea of cooking a really good meal made up of dishes that my mom has served for as long as I can remember. I don't remember a Thanksgiving without 7 layer salad or corn soufflé or the very popular Monkey Bread. Now that I can master those dishes and serve them to my family fills me with joy, even if it takes a whole lotta work! Of course, when your 5 year old eats nothing but a roll and then 10 minutes after all the endless dishes are cleared and cleaned announces that he is hungry, that joy dissipates. I really thought I was done. That was it! This is over-he has won. I was ready to wave my white flag and stock pile Kraft boxes.

Then something miraculous happened! We decorated the house for Christmas on Friday and my husband took over as food monitor. Something must have snapped for him, too, because soon after breakfast the kids wanted a snack. Adam said very firmly, "No snacks today! You can eat lunch and then dinner. Nothing else." Who am I to argue with logic? So, we stuck to this plan and the kids filled their bellies with hot dogs for lunch and pizza for dinner. Now, I realize this is not yet too miraculous since the kids like hot dogs and pizza. But, cut to today and again no snacks allowed. Dinner was Spaghetti with meat sauce. Notoriously, Jackson refuses the sauce and requests plain pasta. Not tonight! I fixed dinner, served, and everyone ate! He actually ate meat sauce! Truth be told, he did ask for plain pasta after his serving was consumed, but still! So, this is the new rule in our house. Snacks are no longer available! This, as you may remember, has been the only "expert tip" that had worked so far in this challenge. They won't starve no matter how many times they tell me they are! We, as parents, just have to stick to the plan and soon Jackson will be eating liver and onions! :) Stay tuned....

Shea