All I want for Christmas....

The other night as we were standing in line to see Santa I asked Marinn what she was going to tell him she wanted for Christmas.  She told me she couldn't say.  I reminded her that it was me and Daddy that bought the gifts so if she wanted something specific she should let us know.  Her reply was precious.
She said, "Mom, you and Dad can get me whatever you would like to get me, I will like it."
She was totally sincere and it just melted my heart.  She still wouldn't tell me what she was going to tell Santa.  After a good 45 min of waiting in line it was our turn.  Marinn and Taurin sat on his lap and he started to ask them if their room was clean and if they cleaned it themselves. He was a great Santa!  Then he asked Taurin what she wanted and she told him a baby doll.
Then he asked Marinn, she replied, "Some gloves, my hands are pretty cold."
We couldn't help but giggle when we heard her request, we had been standing outside in the cool weather for quite a long time and I guess gloves sounded like just the right thing for the moment.

Later the next day I mentioned getting rid of some of the old toys to make room for the new ones they would be getting for Christmas.  The next thing you know Marinn and Taurin have loaded up all of their toys but about 3 stuffed animals and anything that wouldn't fit in a Wal-Mart bag.  I was happy to see that they weren't so concerned about having it all and they would freely give it all up in a moment.  We went back through their toys and put some back so they would have something to enjoy until Christmas came.  I'm excited to see their faces light up on Christmas morning,  even more so feeling like they know the true meaning of Christmas and the joy of giving.

Health Food and Fasting

As parents we try to feed our kids healthy foods, but what do we do when they don't enjoy our selections?  Do we give in to their pleas of disgust and give them the bad stuff they enjoy? 

In general my children have done pretty well eating what I serve them,  I always try to make things taste good and allow them small servings at a time so they aren't overwhelmed by new flavors.  Recently there have been many meals where my kids just don't want to eat what I'm serving and the other night at dinner I was frustrated that no one was eating and asked Andrew what I should do to solve this problem.  He had an idea that we have seen used by friends that has been effective and decided it was time to get serious.  

THE RULE: When dinner is served you have 30 minutes to eat what you are served, if you do not complete your meal dinner is over and you can continue eating what was served for dinner at breakfast the next morning.  This rule continues to all remaining meals until it is finished.  

So... I let the kids know the rule even gave them some incentive of a piece of chocolate cake for finishing their dinner.  Here were the results.

Marinn: Quickly finished her food and happily enjoyed a piece of chocolate cake. 

Shaw: Ate a few bites and was dissatisfied with the flavor.  He was served the same meal for the following breakfast and ate a few more bites,  but still didn't complete the meal.  Lunch time came and his hunger got the best of him, he quickly finished the dinner and then gladly enjoyed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  

Taurin: Ate a few bites of the dinner.  Ate a few bites the next day at breakfast and lunch.  All day she was hilarious... she kept saying she was sleepy, that she wasn't hungry, giving us puppy dog eyes and asking for hot dogs.  The funniest part was I kept finding her laying like this....

Face down in the carpet, pitiful and patiently waiting our surrender.  Dinner came and she had about 5 bites of food remaining from the dinner before.  She finally finished and was rewarded with lots of mac and cheese, a hot dog, and a cheese stick.  

Since that day, meals have been pleasant.  Everyone is gladly finishing their food and actually complimenting the chef.