Fancy Dinner

It was just no ordinary Tuesday night at our house last night.  After Dad left to take Caleb to soccer practice, Noah decided he wanted to do something special for them while they were gone.  We decided to make a fancy  dinner setting to go along with our meal.  You'd have thought we encrusted our plates with gold and our silverware with diamonds!  The kids, and Dad were so excited.  The boys love everything about a fancy meal.  Picking out place-mats, drinking water from wine glasses, setting the table, lighting the candles, even passing the food around the table.  Normally we just fill our plates then sit at the table, so to us, serving yourself at the table is fancy!  Such an easy, fun way to make an ordinary night, extraordinary!

Almost forgot....the fancy dinner menu.

Salmon

Cheese pizza

Steamed carrots

Corn on the cob

Homemade, oven-baked fries

Brown rice

Avocado slices (for Baby Jo only)

Strawberries

5 Regulars on our Kid's Dinner Menu Rotation

1.  Chicken and fries
2.  Frozen Pizza
3.  Hot dog roll-ups
4.  Quesadillas
5.  Butter noodles

Kid Food

Okay, so here is my latest rant. Everywhere I turn, people are preaching/bragging about healthy foods for kids. No kidding. Every magazine article in the doctor's office. Every mommy blog I stalk. Everyone seems to be stuck on the same theme of how healthy their kids food is....or what my kiddos should be eating (if I were a good mom). What's the latest 18 grain, granola, whole wheat organic, unbleached, natural spring, fruit of the vine, vegetable salad that their kids scarf down when they present it like a monkey face. Really? Then I suck.

Lets face it. I grew up on hostess ding-dongs and Twinkies. Oh, and don't forget star crunch. Mmmm. Sugary over processed cereals, little milk jugs of "juice" (aka sugar water), raw cookie dough, and white bread. Don't get me wrong, my mom always cooked. And when she did, she used real butter, heavy cream, full fat sour cream and cheeses, and real bacon (later re-using that grease). And I survived.

So, I'd like to give a shout out to all the mom's who buy Ramen in bulk and feed it to their children multiple meals per week. To all the mom's who cook Kraft mac 'n cheese and turn it into a gourmet meal by cutting up hot dogs in it. To all the mom's who allow their kids to eat regular Eggo waffles, toaster strudels, and pop tarts for breakfast.....sometimes even all three on the same day. And, to all the mom's who warm up processed chicken nuggets in the microwave and serve it to their children in their bedroom while they play magic gorilla....Cheer's to you!