Day 268 - Dinner Everyone Liked

I'm trying to get my family to eat more beans and less meat. Typically, a bean dish is sneered at. Negotiations begin and it's a battle to get my kids to eat. Even my husband (who is in health care) will turn his nose up. But tonight? Everyone loved my bean and rice dish! OK. Loved might be too strong a word but they definitely liked it. No negotiating how much to eat before they could leave the table. No "I'm not hungry" and making other plans (my teenager and husband). Everyone ate it. And everyone liked it. Success! And joy!

Day 18 - Family Dinners

We try (very, very hard) to have family dinners most nights of the week. But some nights it just isn't possible. My husband works late two nights a week. And with sports practices sometimes we're missing someone. To keep costs down we eat out a lot less, too. So when we do - it's a big event. My middle son hit a milestone at school and asked if we could go out to dinner to celebrate. It was so much fun. We laughed. We talked. We shared. His big sister brought him a little gift. He sat at the head of the table so proud. So excited that it was his night. A special dinner out. Or a cozy dinner home. I find joy in our family dinners - staying in or going out.