Sassy Mama: Glories of family life....AGAIN

It must be a federally mandated law that while the making of dinner at least one child needs to approach my tiny kitchen workstation and tell me, "Ewwww....I don't like that." I don't understand this because the following conversation always takes place:
One of Them: EWWWW....I don't like that. -OR- EWWWW....I don't like it cooked that way.
Me: So?

I know that kids need repetition and consistent enforcement of rules and routines, so I guess this evening ritual must fall under that umbrella too.

In a family of six, there are no short-orders. I always laugh and laugh when I see that mom description...you know the one....where it talks about how much moms should be paid because they are nurses, counselors, taxi drivers, yada, yada? When I get to "short order cook" I laugh my ever-expanding ass to a teeny-tiny daisy duke behind because that just never happens here. No way. I've got four kids who are like night and day. Well there's four of them so they are like dawn, day, sunset and night. So following that analogy, one is jone-sing for a strong cup of coffee, another is starving for an IHOP-style breakfast, another has a blood sugar drop that warrants a big meat and potatoes meal and yet another wants a nice nightcap. I can't even compete with that. So I make whatever floats my boat. Generally I try to keep the meals to a 50% approval rating, which in my world means at least two kids will eat it. Other than that, I don't care. My job is to prepare tasty meals for you. If for some anal retentive reason you don't like hamburgers or stove top stuffing or carrots that are cooked, that is YOUR problem. And by not eating the tasty fare placed before you, you are not doing your job and that makes mommy very angry (or at the very least annoyed if I'm already exhausted).

Let me point out I have no guilt in this. Perhaps if I had less children I'd feel more apt to perform an outstanding job of catering to my kids' culinary diversities. Perhaps I'd decorate their plates with garnish. Perhaps I'd even sport a cute little apron ala Mrs. Cleaver. Perhaps......I'd end up raising self-centered little humans.

I'm not knocking families with less than four children...I may actually be envying you...but that's another post for another day. I'm just realizing my tendency would be to over-indulge if I had less children to rear. And that would be no good.

On my more ambitious days I like to think my Roseanne-esque attitude of "take it or leave it" actually benefits the little angels. It's important to know that you can't always get your way and be able to adjust to things as they are presented.

Since I love my children I like to prepare them to real life. As I told AstroBoy tonight, "You better get yourself a good job." (I mean when he's an adult.) "Why mom?" he asked with innocent eyes peering across at me. "Because you only like expensive things: crab, steak, chicken and salmon." "Okay" he said.

To which I know he thought , but had the foresight to not say, "Oh so we have to eat shitty hamburger because you and dad have crappy jobs?"