Wendy31
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2005
Thanks so much for all the replies!!
I am feeling a bit better. DH told me that how I was handling meals was fine, but I guess I needed some affirmation from other moms!
I really do get being picky & understand that everyone has different likes and dislikes.
My goodness - I *hate* mayo, so, if someone offered me a sandwich w/ mayo already on it, I'd have to politely decline. And our 3 kids have likes & dislikes. DD & younger DS like ranch dressing while older DS doesn't, for example. My nephew is allergic to eggs & peanut butter, so, whenever he is over, I always make sure I have things for him to eat.
One reason I do the "sandwich bar" is so everyone can make his/her sandwich to his/her own liking, get whatever chips they want, how many carrots & cucumbers they want, etc. Younger DS likes his sandwich "deconstructed" - so I put a couple of rolled up pieces of ham, a slice of cheese, & a piece of bread on his plate.
But I think DD's friend would prefer that I make her sandwich & have her plate ready for her. And I guess there's a part of me that wonders, since her mom is paying me, should I be fixing her sandwich?
After the 1st day she stayed w/ us, I did ask her mom what kinds of things she likes to eat, & she was about as helpful as her DD. I asked, "What does she like to eat for lunch? I want to make sure we have some of what she likes to eat." And she looked at her DD & said, "I don't know... [daughter's name], what do you like to eat for lunch?" Her DD just kind of shrugged. So her mom continued, "She likes things like sandwiches and pizza... I'm sure what you have is fine."
I do want guests (including my kids' friends) to be comfortable in our house, & I want everyone to be fed & happy. But I also want to be sensible.
I am getting paid $25/day, so $50 for the week. No, I'm not buying an extra $50 worth of groceries, but I am probably buying around $25 extra.
And, yes, the thrown away hot dog because it touched her mac & cheese kinda irritated me. (And it was a Hebrew National! LOL!) But I didn't say anything. I know some people really have a problem w/ their food touching. But still...
One day, after she left, I went into my DD's room & found an empty box of Krispy Kreme donut holes. DD told me that her friend's mother had given the donut holes to her DD to share w/ all of us. Well, my DD & her friend kept the donut holes in her bedroom & ate the whole box themselves!
Regarding snacks, we are buying extra snack-y food - like packaged cookies and Wheat Thins and things like that. And I'm buying probably 2 1/2-gallon ice cream containers/week.
Since someone asked, we usually keep Quaker chewy chocolate chip granola bars in our pantry. I also usually have some animal crackers. For yogurt, we keep Yoplait's "Simply Yogurt" Go-Gurts in the fridge - there's no dye or HFCS. I keep fruit juice popsicles in the freezer. For fruit, we normally have at least 3 different kinds - right now, we have bananas, apples, oranges, & strawberries. She doesn't like apples or oranges. Sometimes, we have grapes, but, I have to admit, I don't have them every week, because they're more expensive than some of the other fruits. Oh, & I forgot - we also usually have some kind of snack cheese. So I'm not starving my kids. Right now, there's also a box of graham crackers in the pantry.
I pop popcorn for afternoon snacks as well. (We don't have microwave popcorn). Once she asked if I could add chocolate chips to the popcorn.
I've also let the girls bake cookies or brownies.
Oh, & we normally don't keep soft drinks in the house. I have some Sprite and Gingerale for whenever someone gets sick, & I have some Cokes for when I have a migraine. Otherwise, we drink water or tea - younger DS drinks OJ. I've let them drink Sprite for lunch a few times, & I've also made lemonade. Well, I forgot to make lemonade last Friday, & we were out of Sprite. I heard her tell my DD, "But I don't like water."
I'll try the stuffed baked potatoes for lunch one day. That's a good idea I hadn't thought of.
And, while the kids are eating all this, I'm drinking a protein shake for breakfast & salad or some other low-carb something for lunch.
I guess I also just wanted to be sure that sandwiches were okay for lunch. In my world, sandwiches are a lunch staple. Maybe it's the wheat bread?
I've asked DD to ask her friend what she likes (thinking maybe she'll tell my DD), but DD hasn't gotten any kind of helpful response either.
I've asked DD what she eats when she goes to her house. For dinner, one night, they had baked enchiladas. Another time, they had beef stroganoff. But I'm just not into making stuff like that for lunch.
Anyway, sorry to be so long again! And thank you for all the responses!
EDITED TO ADD - She gets here at 7:30 am. She leaves anywhere between 3:30 & 5:30 pm.
I am feeling a bit better. DH told me that how I was handling meals was fine, but I guess I needed some affirmation from other moms!
I really do get being picky & understand that everyone has different likes and dislikes.
My goodness - I *hate* mayo, so, if someone offered me a sandwich w/ mayo already on it, I'd have to politely decline. And our 3 kids have likes & dislikes. DD & younger DS like ranch dressing while older DS doesn't, for example. My nephew is allergic to eggs & peanut butter, so, whenever he is over, I always make sure I have things for him to eat.
One reason I do the "sandwich bar" is so everyone can make his/her sandwich to his/her own liking, get whatever chips they want, how many carrots & cucumbers they want, etc. Younger DS likes his sandwich "deconstructed" - so I put a couple of rolled up pieces of ham, a slice of cheese, & a piece of bread on his plate.
But I think DD's friend would prefer that I make her sandwich & have her plate ready for her. And I guess there's a part of me that wonders, since her mom is paying me, should I be fixing her sandwich?
After the 1st day she stayed w/ us, I did ask her mom what kinds of things she likes to eat, & she was about as helpful as her DD. I asked, "What does she like to eat for lunch? I want to make sure we have some of what she likes to eat." And she looked at her DD & said, "I don't know... [daughter's name], what do you like to eat for lunch?" Her DD just kind of shrugged. So her mom continued, "She likes things like sandwiches and pizza... I'm sure what you have is fine."
I do want guests (including my kids' friends) to be comfortable in our house, & I want everyone to be fed & happy. But I also want to be sensible.
I am getting paid $25/day, so $50 for the week. No, I'm not buying an extra $50 worth of groceries, but I am probably buying around $25 extra.
And, yes, the thrown away hot dog because it touched her mac & cheese kinda irritated me. (And it was a Hebrew National! LOL!) But I didn't say anything. I know some people really have a problem w/ their food touching. But still...
One day, after she left, I went into my DD's room & found an empty box of Krispy Kreme donut holes. DD told me that her friend's mother had given the donut holes to her DD to share w/ all of us. Well, my DD & her friend kept the donut holes in her bedroom & ate the whole box themselves!
Regarding snacks, we are buying extra snack-y food - like packaged cookies and Wheat Thins and things like that. And I'm buying probably 2 1/2-gallon ice cream containers/week.
Since someone asked, we usually keep Quaker chewy chocolate chip granola bars in our pantry. I also usually have some animal crackers. For yogurt, we keep Yoplait's "Simply Yogurt" Go-Gurts in the fridge - there's no dye or HFCS. I keep fruit juice popsicles in the freezer. For fruit, we normally have at least 3 different kinds - right now, we have bananas, apples, oranges, & strawberries. She doesn't like apples or oranges. Sometimes, we have grapes, but, I have to admit, I don't have them every week, because they're more expensive than some of the other fruits. Oh, & I forgot - we also usually have some kind of snack cheese. So I'm not starving my kids. Right now, there's also a box of graham crackers in the pantry.
I pop popcorn for afternoon snacks as well. (We don't have microwave popcorn). Once she asked if I could add chocolate chips to the popcorn.
I've also let the girls bake cookies or brownies.
Oh, & we normally don't keep soft drinks in the house. I have some Sprite and Gingerale for whenever someone gets sick, & I have some Cokes for when I have a migraine. Otherwise, we drink water or tea - younger DS drinks OJ. I've let them drink Sprite for lunch a few times, & I've also made lemonade. Well, I forgot to make lemonade last Friday, & we were out of Sprite. I heard her tell my DD, "But I don't like water."
I'll try the stuffed baked potatoes for lunch one day. That's a good idea I hadn't thought of.
And, while the kids are eating all this, I'm drinking a protein shake for breakfast & salad or some other low-carb something for lunch.
I guess I also just wanted to be sure that sandwiches were okay for lunch. In my world, sandwiches are a lunch staple. Maybe it's the wheat bread?
I've asked DD to ask her friend what she likes (thinking maybe she'll tell my DD), but DD hasn't gotten any kind of helpful response either.
I've asked DD what she eats when she goes to her house. For dinner, one night, they had baked enchiladas. Another time, they had beef stroganoff. But I'm just not into making stuff like that for lunch.
Anyway, sorry to be so long again! And thank you for all the responses!
EDITED TO ADD - She gets here at 7:30 am. She leaves anywhere between 3:30 & 5:30 pm.