Saturdays in February

I love to go out and eat at restaurants. So, I'm spoiled and we usually get to go out to eat dinner together once a week. Occasionally more...hee hee...but at least once a week.

But, that gets expensive and really Mike and I were getting slightly annoyed at paying $5+ for an 95 cent box of mac & cheese for each kid. Also, we all like to cook and I was trying to think of a way that the kids could be more involved in the dinner process. So, in February we are trying something new.

Each of us has been assigned one Saturday to prepare dinner. We can make anything we like - to some limits. It has to be real food that could be considered dinner or at least a close imitation by most families. Hence, the idea of popcorn and M&Ms is out the window. Last Saturday was my day.

Being the mom I felt it was my duty to include vegetables - Jake's arch enemy. The adults made regular fajitas, but Maddie and Jake had more creative allowances with only a couple rules. They had to use ONE of every vegetable (red/green pepper, mushrooms, onions) and they had to eat all the dinner in order to get dessert. BUT - they could make more of a cheese quesadilla with whatever design using the vegetables that they wanted. That's right...they could play with their food.

Jake made a face. He may have resembled this grimace...

Madison made a Christmas tree. She loves mushrooms...

Jake nearly didn't make it to dessert, but did finally finish. Dessert was chocolate shakes, thanks to Mike and our worthless blender. But, we weren't done with the festivities. Everyone had to pick a slip of paper out of cup that revealed someone's name at the table. Then we had to say something we liked or appreciated about that person and we all toasted that person. I think it went fairly well. My dad got my mom's name and gave her a compliment to which she got teary. I think the kids enjoyed clinking glasses.

I do think they need a little more work in toasting though. Mike toasted Maddie in that he loved that she liked to be tickled. Jake's turn was next and he toasted Mike and said that he loved when Mike tickled him. Maddie ended the round by toasting Jake and saying that she loved when she could tickle and scare Jake and he liked it!

And I'll still get to go out this month. Mike and I can go to lunch. We split food without fighting and no kids makes the meal a whole lot cheaper.