5 Things & Food

Tonight was a fabulous night! My parents kept James for the evening so Brad and I could go to church together...well, to the service. We always are at church together but we don't usually get to sit in the service with each other. Anyhow, it was a wonderful message about salvation. Tommy finished up a 5 part series of 5 Thing To Do Before You Die. If you want to hear it...check it out here. And although I've heard the salvation message more times than I can count, it is always good to hear again and to be reminded of our Savior's sacrifice for us and that even though I don't deserve His forgiveness and grace, I've got it. And let me tell you...I need a Savior. Everyday. Because of God's overwhelming kindness to me, I get to enjoy His peace, love, forgiveness and eternal life. Ephesians 2:8 You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve. This is God's gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own.

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Yesterday James decided it was time for him to reorganize the cookbooks for me. He did a lovely job.He takes his work very seriously. But onto more serious matters. It has become painfully obvious to me that some changes need to take place around here. Someone has been indulged a bit too much lately...and I'm not talking about me. A certain little someone has gotten into the nasty little habit of dictating when and what he eats. Sometimes that means trying several different things until I get it right. It also means that he has been eating less than square meals.

James is a super-finicky eater. He gets this from his father and his father's side of the family. I will eat anything, anytime, anywhere. But Brad is phenomenally picky. This little trait has been passed down to his son which makes meal time very difficult. So Brad and I decided yesterday that we were done fixing James whatever he wanted and giving in when he whined enough. Let me just tell you...it has been a difficult two days. We decided to do absolutely NO snacks between meals so that he would be hungry.

We had a small success last night though. Brad can usually get James to eat when I can't. And he has gotten him to eat chicken tenders every once in awhile when I have not be able to. So last night we got James some chicken and sat back and held our breath.

He wasn't thrilled at first...He wanted his yogurt...And he wanted some cookies...But he finally succumbed to the delicious aroma of the chicken tenders...And he ate...But today was an entirely different story. We tried eggs this morning. Nope. He wasn't having it. After no snacks we were sure he would gobble up his lunch of chicken and cheese. Wrong again. So after no breakfast, no lunch and no snacks we were most certainly confident that he would eat a good dinner tonight with Nana and Papa. And that would be a big negative. THE KID WON'T EAT!!!!!!

So what advice do you have for me? Does anyone have a finicky eater? How do you get yours to eat? But maybe more importantly...can a child survive on yogurt and apple sauce until he can be bribed with a happy meal or a new toy or money???

And let me tell you a little something about the hellacious fit he threw this morning when he didn't get what he wanted. Whew! It lasted a good hour before he finally gave up. But at least I can say that our will is stronger than his. We outlasted him. We can't let him win. We will break him of this tantrum business.

I think.

I hope.

I'm getting pretty weak.

He might win.

Tonight when we got him home I gave him a great big gigantic bottle loaded up with vitamins and instant breakfast powder. At least I know he didn't go to bed hungry. Maybe I sort of kind of broke the rules, but my heart couldn't take it anymore. Sometimes a Mommy just needs to know that her baby is happy and full. Albeit a little bit indulged.