All I can say is, "Mmmmmmmm." But William, Jonny, and Andrew did not want to eat what I made them so I invoked the "Peanut Butter Sandwich rule". Yup-- just peanut butter. No jam, no jelly, no honey. Pretty boring. (A fellow blogger mentioned this as an alternative to forcing kids to eat something they say they do not like. Hopefully it will get old quickly or I will have to buy stock in Skippy.)
And oh yeah-- no dessert. And boy did they choose a bad night to not have a dessert because it was so delicious. Rum cake-- minus half of the rum so more like mild rum cake. It had the most wonderful crunchy topping of pecans, butter, and rum. Some of the kids begged for two pieces-- so I was generous just so I wouldn't stand out being the only one to have two. :)
Being home 24/7 makes it easy to become a slave to the tv so I have to designate a few hours and sometimes a whole day where the tv has to be turned off. When I do this, I try to have something planned for the kids to do so they don't end up driving each other or me nuts.
Sveta impressed me when she did two puzzles in a row.
Paul and Anastasia can write both their first and last names. They now know about 10 words of English and are learning the alphabet. I called the school and decided to put them in fourth and sixth grade.
Dennis speaks in complete sentences now although only our family can understand completely what he is saying. Speech preschool should help with that. He is growing up way too fast.
Anastasia has taken an interest in music. In about six months when she knows enough English to understand instructions we will probably put her in music. She says she wants to learn the guitar but we may begin with piano since all of our other kids did.
The kids played with colored water and a water dropper. It entertained them for quite a while.
I entertained myself with my Ukrainian broom. :)
The other day we had our friends over again. Who knew a little baby could keep the kids so amused? :)
Last night I gave Anna, Sveta, and Anastasia haircuts. Anastasia wanted me to cut drastic layers like I do with Rachel but her hair is just too straight and long to go and chop it up. So I did little layers and framed her face-- a compromise we were both pleased with. :)
16 inspiring thoughts:
Rachel is so adorable with the baby! She's going to be a great mommy some day.
An easy project for the little ones--add food color to bubbles. Blow the bubbles so they pop against white paper. Instant splatter pictures. You can pour it in bowls and have many colors to choose from. You can make some great masterpieces.
I so remember those Ukrainian Brooms.
That is why you see little old lady street sweepers permanently bent over!
I will never understand the Ukrainian Broom! LOL
Mmmm - those pork chops look delicious - and the cake - yikes, what a day for those boys to miss out! We used to do the pb sandwich deal, but I've gotten to the point now that I am able to calmly say, "It's okay if you don't want dinner/lunch/breakfast, we'll be serving the next meal at the usual time and you're welcome to wait until then. Most of the time that does the trick and they change their minds. Some of my more stubborn kids can hold out a bit longer (like to the next meal if they're skipping b'fast or lunch), but it seems to be much more effective than the pb alternative since that can easily become a habit. The key is to just mention it nonchalantly - no emotion in your voice. Make them think it's totally a-ok with you either way and you are giving them the choice.
That baby sure has a ton of hair!! My nephew was like that, he was born with a head of thick hair and he never lost it - just kept adding to it.
P.S. Due to being forced to eat the same foods I couldn't stand over and over I have always let the kids make a sandwich in place of a main course and substitute a vegetable in place of one they truly don't like. No penalty. No missed desserts. But I don't make the sandwich or the other veggie--they do.
What lovely times and good yummy food! Sweet :)
That baby is adorable! SO MUCH HAIR! ANd you are cracking me up with that broom. I tell mine the same NO BOOB TUBE 24/7. Or you will turn into a BOOB!
Mine ate what I made for supper or they made themselves a sandwich~ not only peanut butter, though, because I have one that has never liked peanut butter. She is now 22, so I'm assuming that the dislike is here to stay. The only time they were allowed to decline the main dish was if it was something I knew they had a history of not liking. (One hated sloppy joes and one hated red beans and rice.)
Rachel looks very happy with that baby. She is growing more beautiful all the time and getting to the age where boys are going to notice. John better get ready! lol
DInner looks yummy!!! But you have to give out the rum cake recipe!!!
If they didn't eat the peanut butter, do you require them to eat a certain amount of the "main food"? Can they just take a little bit to try? Or, say, (as mine would want to do) eat just the rice and carrots and meat without the cooked veg?
I like the peanut butter idea; a friend did the same thing with unsweetened cereal.
So, I'm curious - how many rum cakes did you make to serve that many? That is one of my absolute favorite deserts! Full rum, however.
Funny - the first time I ever tasted it, I was having dinner with a household of nuns on Good Friday. Now, I would have felt that on Good Friday I would need to fast, absolutely, or eat just a crust of bread, maybe.... And NEVER would I eat a desert! Especially a rum cake! But, as a guest, too bad - I just had to.
Everything you make always looks so awesome!
My sister makes her kids try two bites of whatever it is that they don't want to eat. She tells them that they won't know if they like it if they don't try it and that as they get older they'll like more foods so they have to see if they're "old enough" to like it. Kids always want to show that they're getting older so works great with my nephews, they'll eat just about anything now.
Your dinner description and pictures are making me so hungry! Yum! The rum cake reminds me of our cruise!
The topping on the Rum Cake made my mouth water :)
When my kids were little, I bought some Vitamin B tonic for them to help them recover from an illness. It tasted terrible and I didn't have the heart to force them to drink it then. But. . . whenever they felt they didn't want dinner, I would tell them that they must need some vitamins to improve their appetite. Almost anything was better than a dose of that mixture. I don't think I ever had to give them any ever again.
soo cute, nastia and paul were entertaining the baby!
Puzzles are a big deal around here. Yesterday, my smaller kids made three floor puzzles in a setting, while some middles solved four 60 piecers. Then, of course, I got to take pictures of their accomplishments. :)
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