Battling the boys

I sometimes get so frustrated with the things my kids choose and refuse to eat. I don't get why Owen won't eat sandwiches, but he'll gobble up diced ham and steamed broccoli or carbonara for lunch. Ok, I admit I should not be complaining about that, but when I don't have leftovers to pack in his lunch for preschool, lunch packing becomes a challenge. His teachers must think we're lazy always packing salami & crackers. I sometimes think, "It's been weeks since he's had a sandwich. Maybe today he'll eat one." I proceed to make a jelly sandwich. He takes one bite and says he's done. Frustration ensues and I eat a jelly sandwich for lunch.

I worry that Owen will do the same thing as his brothers: stop eating almost everything. Brandon bounced back, so he gives me hope. But that stubborn, pig-headed Deets is killing us. He eats so few things, he's practically weightless when you pick him up. He's like a bird with hollow bones. I worry the main reason is because he doesn't get enough calcium in his diet. He doesn't drink milk or even allow us to put it in his cereal. If we insist, he flat refuses to eat. You probably think, "Let him go hungry then." We've gone down that path. Dylan will spend hours vomiting because his blood sugar has dropped and his body can no longer function. We tell him that will happen again if he doesn't eat. Makes no difference. If he doesn't want it, he's not eating it no matter what. End of story. Don't waste your time. Our biggest problem is dinner time. He comes into the kitchen every night saying, "Don't give me something I don't like," gearing up for the nightly fight. Russ, thankfully, has figured out why he has such a problem with dinner time: it's the only meal where he isn't choosing what he eats. I make dinner and put it on the table. It could be something I know he'll eat, but because he didn't choose it, he won't eat it. We have since asked him to help us plan dinners. We'll see how that goes. I just want the anxiety to go away first. The look in his eyes when he comes to the table breaks my heart. The food at this point is secondary. We have given in for now, and let him pick what he'll eat for dinner.

Mmmm! Carbonara!

One of my favorite winter meals is carbonara. It's so warm and creamy with a hearty flavor. There is something about this dish that makes me groan involuntarily. Whenever I'd have this craving, I'd talk Russ into going to Spataro for dinner. I'd satisfy my craving and also get to spend the evening chatting with my husband in a setting far removed from home. Seeing as our dining out has come to a screeching halt due to one less job in the family, I no longer have this to fall back on.

Tonight was the night I had my craving, so I thought tonight is the night I would brave the kitchen. I've been told that it's a fairly basic dish, but having the knowledge that the sauce is raw egg, cream and cheese makes me hesitant in the cooking department. None the less, I felt confident that I would succeed. It kind of helped that during my blog reading, Sobrina posted the following: http://www.quietlikehorses.com/2010/01/roys-carbonara.html giving me even more confidence that I could do this.

It turned out pretty good, and my craving has been satisfied.