never thought

I have the kid I thought and even swore I'd never have. I looked at those other kids, the kids that weren't mine, the kids that were picky eaters. I'm related to a few of these kids. I have some nieces that are beautiful and amazing girls, but they are the kids that go to the awesome Thai restaurant and order plain noodles. My kids were never going to be like that.

And Big Brother is not like that. He eats almost anything we put in front of him. He will even try things he's not liked before, and he actually likes certain items in certain preparations but not in others. He loves a salad and he loves McDonalds and tends to order from the regular menu at restaurant because it always sounds better than the kid's menu.

The Boy however is that kid. He's still an odd eater more than he is a picky eater, but he's just as much a picky eater as he is an odd eater.

He mostly subsists on peanut butter contained either on wheat bread with jelly or on a graham cracker. Big Brother eats the crust, but The Boy doesn't. He wouldn't even eat the crust if you offered him candy afterward, and believe me, we've tried. The crust is good for you, and to not eat it seems wasteful, but he doesn't care and can't even be bribed.

He likes macaroni and cheese, but the time I made it with a lovely bread crumb crust on top he wouldn't eat it till the crust was completely removed. That wasn't really that bad a deal as I ate the crust for him.

He eats sushi, loves sushi, will devour any sashimi that passes slowly enough for him to get his hands on it. His favorite food however might actually be fried chicken tenders, though if offered sashimi and chicken tenders, he would eat both, most likely trying each in any available dipping sauce. The thought of perfectly cut fatty tuna dipped in honey mustard might destroy some weaker minds and palates, but The Boy would not only try it, but he would love it.

And it's trying, wanting him to be healthy, knowing the variety that he needs, and not wanting to fight with him over food. He's proven that he's willing to make himself sick over food and getting what he wants. He's getting to a point where he can be helped to make connections between diet and waking up vomiting. Yet still he persists.

The oddest things often remind us of how great our kids are. Supper tonight was spaghetti, and I'll admit right off that I rushed and didn't make it nearly as good as the last batch, and the last batch was the closest yet I've come to getting it right. It's still good, but I didn't bother serving him any because he wouldn't have eaten it. Big Brother and I got nice big bowls of spaghetti, while The boy got a plate of plain noodles, a couple of small slices of polska kielbasa and a slice of cheese. It's the noodles that got to me.

He eats his noodles by picking them up, one end in each hand. He stretches the noodle out and bites out the middle then quickly stuffs the ends into his mouth. I've seen him do this often enough, but every once in a while I actually notice the process, and it makes me laugh all over again.