dinner with the Turners - worse than being at Chuck E. Cheese on a sat night

In general, Michael and I loathe weekday dinners. Over the past 5 years, we've turned into the parents we didn't think we'd be--making different meals for our kids.

Audrey has a gag reflex from hell and Nina's just a pill. To be fair, though, I should mention that they do have individual tastes and we know this because they have actually ventured outside of the nugget bubble.

For example, Audrey likes carrots and turkey sandwiches with mayo. Thin, deli-sliced turkey. Too thick and she'll gag and wrinkle her nose. Or if it's good turkey - like the kind I'm craving as Thanksgiving gets closer -- she starts to have a conniption fit at the thought of eating it.

Nina, unlike Audrey, enjoys rice. White rice, brown rice, gross rice, whatever. And they both eat tons of fruit, so there's hope.

But last week it occurred to me that we're just two weeks out from Thanksgiving at my in-laws. I'm almost certain they think I'm an angel and #1 Mom, but to be sure, I wanted to get the kiddos eating an actual grownup meal with us on this special day.

So, as of last week, the girls eat what we eat - every meal. Now, we don't eat caviar, liver, salmon, or anything even remotely exotic, so it isn't like we're torturing the kids. But tonight, you would have thought I was feeding Audrey a two-day old, smelly egg salad sandwich when I put a GRILLED CHEESE sandwich in front of her.

Gagging, plugging of the nose...cries of "I'm gonna throw up! I'm serious!"

Nina, on the other hand, was Eddie Haskel and kept saying, "Audrey, I'm eating it. See....it's good for you, Audrey. Stop being a baby...I'm gonna get a treat....I'm not gonna throw up..." and so on, and so forth.

I was sitting with a napkin over my face because I was so frustrated I wanted to scream and Michael, bless his heart, just kept at it with Audrey...encouraging her every step of the way.

She finally did eat the bloody sandwich, but not without Nina serenading us with, "Mary had a little man, little man, little man..." At least it gave us something to chuckle about.



Anyone wanna join us for dinner this weekend?