My Philadelphia children ate a pretty boring diet, which – at their insistence – pretty much consisted of cheerios / yogurt / waffle, peanut butter, graham crackers, normal dinner, some fruit and Vanilla Joe-Joe’s. Oh, they also consumed their weight in orange snack crackers on a daily basis (Cheez Its, Goldfish, Cheddar Bunnies…). Kenny and I were usually pretty happy as long as they got some milk, protein and produce in twice a day.

They really tried their best to resist eating the food given to them at school. For the first few weeks, Gavin would come home “starving” and complaining that all they gave him to drink was water or that they don’t even serve regular peanut butter, only sun butter. (Don’t panic. We made sure he was actually eating. He’s big on the drama.)

It was a valiant effort – they’d come home and proudly state what they DIDN’T eat at lunch that day. Alas, over time, they were worn down. The hunger pangs must have been too much to bear and they lost the battle. They have finally come to realize that if they don’t eat lunch at school when it’s served, they might actually starve.

While this makes me happy, it also makes nervous. Because now they eat a whole heck of a lotta stuff Kenny and I don’t. Haha.

For example, when Gavin came bounding through the door a little while back and proudly declared: “Mom! I like SALMON now!”, I fainted. (Ok, I didn’t actually faint, but I mentally fainted.) I don’t even like salmon. I don’t even know how to prepare salmon. I’m pretty sure Kenny’s never even tried any sort of seafood in his adult life. And yes, last Sunday in Trader Joe’s, Gavin asked if he could get salmon burgers. That sounded waaaaaaay over the top to me, so we let him get a piece of smoked salmon. It’s still in the fridge. I am scared of it.

Short list of things they eat now that would have made them cry if I put it on the table back at home:

• Roasted meat – turkey, pork, chicken. Cheers, as in, “Yes!!! Grace, we’re having “roast”!”
• Chicken – pretty much any way I make it now, they eat it (except when it’s pink in the middle. That never wins anyone over for some reason.)
• Turkey burgers
• Hot dogs IN THE BUN
• Meat sauce
• Chicken noodle soup
• MUSHROOM BARLEY soup
• Salmon
• Ketchup
• Black pepper (like mini-Kath Flannery style – you can barely determine what’s under the pepper sometimes)
• Mustard (Grace only)
• Soy sauce (followed by, “Mom, don’t use too much because it’s salt. Ms. Chelsea said so.” Great. Thanks for the tip.)

(I know, I know. Some of these aren’t food. But they are condiments, and my kids pretty much gagged whenever we offered them anything to help flavor my pathetic delicious cooking.)

On the upside, there are now nights where my dinners get actual jump-up-and-down cheers. This makes me happy. Maybe it shouldn’t. Maybe it’s just the heaping pile of black pepper. Haha.