I Am Blessed

Here's how my dinnertime went. The kids told me they wanted spaghetti, so for dinner I made spaghetti. I like kidney beans in my spaghetti sauce (and Jr. likes beans), so I put kidney beans in the spaghetti sauce. The kids were hungry enough and as I was making the sauce I was also doing laundry, so I didn't really have time to make a side dish. I figured, okay- spaghetti, sauce, and parmesan cheese on the top would have to do. I sat the kids down at the table. I was afraid that Jr. would get sauce on his shirt so I wanted to put a bib on him. He did not like that idea, and Nichole did not like the idea of having sauce with her spaghetti. Nichole is a very picky eater. She refuses to eat vegetables and says she doesn't like beans (though later she said to me, "I like purple brown beans," and later changed her mind again). She was so upset about the plate I put in front of her that she shoved it away. Some of the sauce slid off the plate and onto the table. To spill something out of anger is bad manners, so it was time to send her to her room. In there she was screaming and hollering and carrying on. I went back to the table and tried to put Jr.'s bib on him again. He pulled it off and threw it on the floor- several times. Finally he was being upset enough that it was time to send him to his room. Same thing. So I had two screaming and hollering children and I felt grateful to have the calm and patience I needed to get through the situation even though I felt like crying myself at times. I didn't know how to get my daughter to really understand that the vegetables will help her be healthy. Telling her just doesn't do it. Jr. threw a tantrum while running around the apartment. Nichole calmed down enough to sit with Mommy for a little bit. I realized that it was too quiet in the other room. I told Nichole I needed to go see what Jr. was up to. He was sitting on a chair just being calm and quiet. I gathered both the kids on the couch and read them some books, then they decided they wanted some spaghetti. Jr. gave in and decided he would wear a bib when Nichole said she wanted to wear one. Nichole gave in and decided to eat her food when she realized I wasn't going to take the sauce off the plate. She managed to eat around the sauce, but at least she ate something. Jr. ate some of his food.
As I was sitting there with the calm children I realized that I am blessed to have an only picky eater. Although she doesn't like certain foods, she's not allergic to any. She doesn't have to have a strict diet of certain foods she can or cannot eat. Both children are healthy. I don't have to give them medications for any medical conditions. I am blessed that I only have to deal with picky tendancies that they'll probably grow out of.