confession

I hate cooking!
I'm sorry to say it, but it is so true.  Baking I enjoy but cooking, well, let's just say I would rather be used for experimental medical procedures.  Fortunately for me I had a great excuse not to cook what with being very pregnant and then having a newborn to take care of.  I really enjoyed the luxurious seven months off I gave myself.  But along with the new year I have turned over a new leaf.  One of my New Year's resolutions was to cook dinner for my family every night-- ambitious is putting it mildly.

Anyhow, John sat down with me and we drew up a dinner calendar for the month which has been immensly helpful.  Just having the chore of deciding what to make already done for me makes preparing the dinner not so awful. 

Of course I still have the problems with cooking that existed before I took my pregnancy hiatus
1)  I am married to the world's pickiest eater 
2)  My children resemble their father in almost every way-including his pickiness 
3)  I still really just don't like to do it.

So what John and I have done is plan meals that have at least one thing that everyone will eat and then we have instated a rule that we all (John icluded) have to eat at least have one small portion of everything that is served for dinner.  I also make a dessert every night.  Other than the first week when I thought I was going to strangle my kids because they whined so much, it has worked out surprisingly well.  The dessert has been especially helpful as an incentive to get the kids to finish their food.

So the results from my cooking resolution so far:
My kids (and husband) are eating better than they have in a long time.  Since we are having a real dinner, ready at a regular time, we are all snacking less and eating more healthily.  As much as a struggle as it is for me to do this every day (yesterday I was rolling meatballs while bouncing Matthew in the baby bjorn), it is obviously what my big boys need and that makes me feel like a better mom!  It is totally worth it.