This weekend, I asked my kids to make lists of things that they wanted to do during their lifetimes. Included in the top 10 of everyone's wish list were the words "kid cuisine."
"You're sure?" I asked them. Yesterday afternoon I spent more time than I care to admit standing in the frozen food aisle of Super Wal-Mart. "Eating one of those frozen dinners will bring you eternal joy and bliss?"
Everyone nodded their heads and began salivating. With the wave of my hand, I gave them permission to meet their destiny. Cortlen selected a corn dog, which came with a side of corn kernels and a cup of chocolate pudding. Kellen picked chicken nuggets. Camber had a difficult time deciding on her entree. Every few minutes she would change her mind and swap out her selection for something else. She finally settled with a chicken leg accompanied by several unidentifiable objects.
Everyone wanted to eat their dinners the minute that we got home from the store. I needed some laundry folded and a bathtub scrubbed, so we made a deal.
The food looked just as delicious in person as it did on the packages. I kept my distance. We made it through the meal with only one unexpected tragedy (pudding jumped the fence and invaded one side of corn dog) and one unseemly outburst (related to pudding-meets-corn dog event). All and all, the frozen dinner meal was a success.
"This is the best dinner you've ever made!" Cortlen told me as he dumped his plastic plate into the trash.
I accepted the compliment.
I love the list idea for your kids. I'm totally going to copy you!
ReplyDeleteAnd we think that we are contributing to their happiness when we slave away and serve a great home-cooked meal served on a non-compartmentalized plate.
ReplyDeleteMy kids are also 'dying' for kid cuisine. Maybe I should give it a go.
ReplyDeleteThe best and the easiest! Like the clean-up.
ReplyDeleteThis cracks me up-totally sounds like something my kids would beg for as well! Sometimes we splurge and get them a cheap banquet tv dinner to appease them. Since there are 5 tv dinner eating loving kids here, we have had our share of "brownie meet chicken nuggets" catastrophes as well. Good times.
ReplyDeleteMy kids would be in heaven if I did this. Whenever I get the cookbook out Baby bursts out screaming "That's not my favorite!"
ReplyDeletei like list ideas
ReplyDeleteI begged and begged and begged my mom for lunchables.
ReplyDeleteShe wasn't as smart or as kind as you Jana. I think you're going soft!
my kids LOVE kids cuisine! whenever Mark and I want grown up take out... guess what they get. there is no arguing and it's easy. certainly it won't kill them, it can only make them stronger. keep a few in the freezer for just in caes moments, especially when you need to feel like a super hero again!
ReplyDeleteMy kids love those. The beg everytime we go to the grocery. I try to explain that we already have all that stuff in the pantry and it would be better if it were prepared at home. They don't care. They like that blue box. The can not resist. I only give in every now and then. Mainly when I'm tired.
ReplyDeleteI let my kids have those a few weeks ago and they thought I was the best mom ever. They are so weird sometimes.
ReplyDeletehahaha awesome
ReplyDeleteMy daughter begged for "no tears" shampoo that she had seen advertised on TV. I refused on budgetary and ethical grounds, but grandma bought it for her. She got right in the tub, lathered up handfuls and smacked the suds right in her eyes. The look of joy on her little face made me cry! First because I felt like such a jerk for refusing to buy her a simple bottle of shampoo, and second because I was so mad at the advertising industry for telling my little girl that shampoo would bring her happiness. This was 15 years ago and I still remember those emotions.
ReplyDeleteMy kids always ask for them. I always say no. They're disgusting and half the time don't get finished. Plus, they are beyond unhealthy.
ReplyDeleteIf I"m feeling weak though I get them Lunchables. At least that stuff resembles food.
ReplyDeleteIn sheer desperation (i was at my wits end that day) I asked my 3 year old what he wanted to do, something fun or exciting or challenging, something we could do as a family, he told me he wanted to go to Publix and get a cookie from the cookie lady (the bakery gives free cookies to kids) I said "that's exciting to you?" He said "it's a cookie, yea"
ReplyDeleteCome follow my blog about my duo of boys...share some of your wonderful ideas!!
You should have saved the containers... for mom cuisine.
ReplyDeletemy youngest daughter (now 20) always chose frozen dinners (for all of us) as her birthday dinner choice! may not be nourishing but sure was the easiest birthday dinner i ever had to make
ReplyDeleteisnt it funny how little kids always love those kind of things so much? they are so nasty! my mom bought those once when i was little cuz thats what my brother and i wanted and at the time they were the best ever!
ReplyDeleteHaha! The best meal you've ever made! Oh, I love kids. My daughter begged and begged for Eggland's Best eggs. I tried to tell her they wouldn't taste or look any different, but she kept at it and I finally just bought the darn eggs. Guess what? They don't taste or look any different -- but her curiosity was satisfied.
ReplyDeleteI love your blog! It feels like I'm reading about my own life, only better. Awesome post.
ReplyDeleteI don't EVER take my kids shopping!
ReplyDeleteSaves me a lot of hassle.
I bought my daugher a Kid Cuisine just last week and when I took it out of the microwave, the pudding was all over the corn and she was not having that! So, my $ was wasted to say the least...no matter how much I tried to separate the corn and pudding, my little "princess" wasn't gonna eat it!
ReplyDeleteYour comments reminded me of my youth. It was special night when Mom and Dad went out on a date. We got TV dinners! I still remember the excitement like it was yesterday. Ahh--Swanson's "Turkey" dinner complete with stuffing, cranberry sauce, and little dessert (my favorite). Oh! the bliss of childhood! Thanks for the trip down memory lane.--Melanie
ReplyDeleteMy sister loves Kid Cuisine as well. She downs it. I don't get it!
ReplyDeletewhat else can I say but kids rock!
ReplyDeletethey absolutely crack me up with what ever schemes they concoct in their little brains.
I remember very clearly being so excited when my mom let us have a frozen dinner, as a "treat", like only when the babysitter came. WTF? I know now how lucky I was to have a SAHM who home-cooked every meal. Why in the world do children think that is a treat? Yuck!
ReplyDeleteI have a great new family game to try, Boccini...Mini Indoor Outdoor Bocce. We play it for hours and any age can compete equally!
ReplyDeleteCheck it out: http://playboccini.com
... not to be nit-picky, but shouldn't the "plastic plate" have been put into the recycling bin?
ReplyDeleteGROSS. I BEGGED my dad to buy me one of these when I was a kid...harassed him every time we went to the store. Finally, in a fit of rage, he bought me one, warning sternly that not only was it going to taste disgusting, but that I had to eat it ALL and that when I discovered how bad it tasted, I would have no option to eat something else. Lesson learned. Never did another Kid Cuisine cross the threshold of our home.
ReplyDelete