I've often mentioned how I take my daughter out to eat for lunch every Friday. Sometimes we'll eat at Taco Bell, others we pig out at a China Buffet. Like most parenting decisions, you have to adapt them to your kid, your circumstances (and by that I mean money), and your own personal needs (and by that I sometimes mean money and/or tacos).
When we first started out, I would sit Evelyn in her car-seat on a table and she'd nap, suck down a bottle, or just stare blankly at me while I ate some food and tried my best to carry on a conversation with her. She wasn't much for talking back than, but I tried anyway. Someone convinced me it is a great idea to have your kids hear your voice, and I practiced at it even though her glares sometimes felt more like looks of "Please stop talking, I'm trying to poop here."
As her tastes improved from milk-filled bottles to little jars of food, I would sometimes go through a drive through and come home, feed her and eat my own food at the same time. Either way, keeping up the tradition of every Friday taking time out of our day to leave the house and grab a bite to eat.
Then she started eating solid foods and we were able to eat together. We've had some adventures, too! Like the time I blogged about where she tried Mountain Dew for the first time and I thought I broke her. Literally, broke her. Made something go cuckoo. If you don't remember it, go back and read all my previous blogs. But believe me, I was scared. We've also had some great experiences where other people's kids try to get a little too cozy with my kid and I tell them that she does not want to try their food, she has her own. They mean well. Then, as you'll have any time you leave the comfort of home, you'll have rude people who tell you you're doing it wrong or stare at you for having the audacity to bring a two year old into their normal place to eat lunch. These people can stuff it. Life happens and if they haven't learned that by the time they're in their sixties, then they don't deserve the senior discount they're getting to glare at me and my crying daughter. I mean come on, you're probably peeing in your pants, too, lady. Get over it!
Sorry. Kind of got off track. Where was I?
Right.
Recently, we've discovered a new Chinese restaurant and I'm loving it. Probably too much, because I think my weight loss plans are starting to work in reverse, but that's a blog for another day. The fact is, this particular restaurant makes the one non-happy meal related item my daughter loves: peppered chicken.
I don't know where that came from. She's not even a big fan of meat. I don't know what it is. She won't touch a turkey sandwich, avoids pieces of pizza with pepperoni on them, and will literally eat every part of a hamburger that isn't the burger. But this peppery chicken is her favorite thing in the world.
One thing to keep in mind is, I don't do Chinese like your average fat guy. No. I use chopsticks. Its a skill I'm actually very proud of. I learned it from a Hawaiian guy at college and I never stopped using them. I'm not saying I eat every meal with chopsticks, that would be ridiculous! But, when the opportunity presents itself, I use them to eat Chinese food.
My daughter finds this fascinating. You'd think I'm turning copper into gold before her very eyes when I eat. So, she started saying, "A bite?" which is code for, "Give me some of that food you're chowing on!" She does not say this often.
Actually, I've only ever heard her say it while I'm eating peppery chicken or candy. So that must give you a pretty good idea of what her views of this food are.
Like Twizzlers on Pixi Sticks!
I've started actually putting the peppery chicken on her plate when we eat. Next to her seldom eaten chicken nuggets (I'll put four on her plate, but I'm lucky if she eats one), french fries, onion rings and garlic bread - at a Chinese restaurant, this is what my daughter will eat.
And she loves it.
As her tastes continue to grow, I look forward to each and every Friday lunch. In a few years, we may have to change them to Saturday lunches because she'll be starting school, but for now I truly cherish each one. Yes, sometimes its frustrating when people are rude or my kid gets fussy, but that's part of it.
Sometimes, when the dust settles, its the best part.
