Mommy Musing Monday: Mom and the Great Veggie War

The only veggie I remember disliking as a child were peas, I am sure there were more but that is what has stuck with me. I didn't like them but I ate them anyway because my parents told me I had too. They never gave me too much, and never made me have seconds so it was good.

 I am not sure what it is about kids and veggies, when they are tasteless pureed disgusting mush they scarf them down, but when it is seasoned and tasty they turn their noses up at them. This problem has led to mom's creating cookbooks where you hide the veggies from the kids to make sure they eat them. I am not sure that I am on board with that plan, I want my kids to become good eaters and eat their veggies. I follow the same rules my parents did, if you don't like the veggie you don't get a lot of it, and there is no need for seconds.

I think these are fair rules, my children however do not. Our home is in the current grip of the Veggie War. With mom, dad, and the veggies waging battle against the kids. There our days our campaign is successful, there are other days where we want to throw up our hands and let the kids eat only processed sugars for the rest of their lives. It is a tough war, one where I can't really see an end, for as soon as we have one child happily eating their veggies, two more will rise up in anarchy. See my problem?

Today was only one battle in this never ending war, and today it was James versus the Zucchini.  Here's what I don't get, James likes zucchini, not as much as broccoli or beans but he likes it. Today though when I looked over from the dishes to James still sitting at the table looking sad at his plate I noticed this was the only thing left. By this time he had been eating for fifty minutes and all he had were four pieces of zucchini sitting there and thus it started. Much like other battles, it was a minor incident at first, me asking, James refusing. Then it grew.

"James, you have five minutes to eat your vegetables on your own, if you don't I will feed them to you and you will go to bed at the same time as Matty."

Corporal James gets a glint in his eye, "With Matty?"

General Mom senses a strategical error and tries to correct, "No not with Matty, you will be in a separate room, oh and you won't get dessert."

Corporal James takes a moment to think about it while General Mom continues with the the dishes, "James, you are down to four and a half minutes."

The corporal looks at his food and mumbles something, intelligible only to those under the age of two who he is clearly trying to recruit to his side. 

"Jamesy not like his food," Private Matty translates.

"James, two minutes." 

The corporal stares at his food, as if looking menacingly at it will make it turn tail and run. Major Zucchini holds its ground. 

Time on the offer expires and the General moves towards the Corporal. "Last chance."

Silence.

As the Veggie forces advanced the Corporal held to his beliefs, and at least he had that comfort while  chewing the zucchini and going to bed early. 

Yeah, the battle was over and will be waged again, probably tomorrow. It is a win for veggies but as the war continues I find myself staring longingly at the veggie hiding cookbooks and wondering when it is I will give in.

Mommy Musings Monday: Chores

"I'm the only one of my friends that have summer chores."  It was just stated, no anger behind it, simply a statement of fact.

I wasn't quite sure how to respond, how does one respond to that question, "You'll thank me one day",  "Well aren't you glad your not their daughter," or "Well maybe the other mother's don't care if their daughters  and sons are productive citizens in the future." 

I give my kids chores, I know some people think that a six year old can't wipe up a bathroom or vacuum, but to them I say poo-poo.

In our house doing a chore is how you contribute to the household, it is how mom and dad prepare you to be a productive member of society. What the kids don't understand is it is not so mom doesn't have to do the chores. I have redone chores before, when the kids aren't looking of course, I know that I am able to get the chores done quicker and better than the kids can, but that isn't the point. The point is that they learn.

We have job charts and some jobs stay the same each week (cleaning your room, making your bed) others change. One week you might vacuum and do the dishes, the next you might clean the bathrooms and clear the table. The point is that the kids learn and they learn what it takes to really make a family work, it isn't about mom and dad doing everything, it is about everyone pitching in and helping one another.

So we will keep doing chores, even if I am the only mom that assigns them.

What chores do you expect your kids to do? How early did you start them?

Try it Tuesday: Duct tape checker boards

Don't you love it when a blog post posts three days before you even wrote it. I guess I hit the wrong button the other day.

Okay welcome to Try it Tuesday. It is summer time and with four kids running around this house I figured I needed something they could do to keep themselves busy. So I usually turn to the stack of magazine pages I have pulled (about ten monthly) and find the simple craft ideas that they have there. While we were up on our cabin trip the kids made Duct tape checker boards, an idea I found in the Family Fun magazine last November. 

This craft was simple and fun to make, the kids did most the work themselves and even though my really nice sewing scissors are now gummed with duct tape this was a great activity.

Here is what you will need:

Roll of duct tape

3 sheets of duct tape (all three different colors)

Gallon Ziploc bag.

24 one inch wooden discs. 

Start by taping the Ziploc bag with the roll of duct tape. You need to be careful to not tape the bag close. You tape both sides of the bag and again need to do your best not to leave gaps in between each row of tape.

After the bag is taped take one of the sheets of duct tape and cut out 16 squares, about 1 1/4 inches by 1 1/4 inches.

Place these in a 4x4 grid  but do not remove the backing until it is situated how you would like. Then remove the backing and place them on the board.

To make the checker pieces turn one of your remaining duct pieces over so the grid sheet is facing you. Trace twelve of your wooden circles then cut those out. Do the same on the remaining duct tape piece and remaining wooden circles.

After they are cut out peel off the backings and place on the wooden discs.

That's it. You are finished. It is fabulous and fun and the kids love it.