Di-'sep-shun

Oh, the trick I played on the boys last night. Such cunning shenanigans! Were it not for this book, I never would have thought of it:

I desperately hate to cook dinner for the boys anymore. They don't eat, they whine, it's a huge headache. But they do eat spaghetti, and this is where the plot thickens. According to the author of the book above, Jessica Seinfeld, I can mash, puree, and then hide vegetables & fruits in anything imaginable. The trick is to buy the produce and spend a little time doing the prep work early in the week. Lately I haven't been a good meal planner, and I'm just too lazy to pull out my never-used wedding gift rice cooker (it's 9 yrs old) and brand new food processor that Mom got for me -- I'll use it soon, I promise. But I found these recently:

I found them at Wal-Mart, and they're better than the canned variety since it's in a smaller container. I admit, I'm a Wal-mart snob. Please forgive me, but that store is annoying from the carts to the layout. During these tough economic times I am trying my hardest to shop for groceries in a smarter way and I have discovered that Wal-mart saves me money. I have heard that they'll even honor other store coupons or ads, you just have to ask. I have tried using coupons, but then it's a pain comparing prices to the generic store items, which are usually cheaper anyway, and the added pain in the rumpus of trying to entertain these kiddos while I'm shopping, keeping Gabriel in his cart, constantly pulling him down before he jumps out, it's just too much. Please Wal-mart, get those fancy carts with the cars attached to them so people who shop at your store with more than two tots can shop with toddlers in peace. Your company made gazillions of dollars last quarter, surely you can purchase some of those carts!

But I digress, as usual. I found these microwaveable veggies (remember, do not microwave anything in plastic containers) and I had a brainstorm, thanks to my cookbook. I smashed the peas in the mini food chopper and threw them into the spaghetti sauce, and the boys ate it up. Gabie had two bowls. And Mike, my extra persnickety husband, ate a bowl himself and was none the wiser.

Another way in which I have used trickery to my advantage is the way Christian is finally sleeping in his own bed. Since last June, it has been a struggle to get him to sleep alone. We got him that sweet bird for his birthday hoping that Christian would sleep in his room with his friend, but that didn't entice him. I would let him sleep in our room on the floor, but inevitably he'd sneak into the bed in the middle of the night. It was too much, and I finally out of desperation I got him to sleep on the floor in his room. For three nights, he came crying into my room, but I stuck to my guns and took him back into his room. On the third night he asked if he could sleep in our bed, and I said if he slept through the night in his own room - in his bed - then he could. Since then, he's been sleeping in his bed. Why didn't I think of bribing him with what he had already been doing? Live and learn.

Here he is snoozing last night after that big bowl of pea-infused spaghetti.