What does Mom know?

Tonight for dinner we had angel hair pasta with sun dried tomato pesto sauce and steamed broccoli (someone call Martha Stewart). The kids, of course, loved the angel hair pasta. I told Sofia she had to eat three pieces of broccoli, since she's three years old, or else she had to eat the green beans (no, you heard me right. We weren't actually having green beans for dinner, but when given the choice between anything and green beans, she'll eat whatever else that isn't green beans. Works like a dream so far). I then glanced at the boys, and decided I didn't want to mess with the mashed up, ripped apart, squished around broccoli that would inevitably find its way onto the floor, chairs, and hair--everywhere but in the mouth. Kids don't like broccoli. But Filipe insisted, and so I gave a small piece to Sam & Ben.

I went over to the counter to load up my plate, and when I came back to the table, sure enough, Ben's tray had magically turned green. I looked at Sam, and I didn't see the green mush I expected. I looked under him, beside him, under his chair, everywhere, but I couldn't find where he stashed his broccoli! I thought he's way more advanced in the art of hiding food than he ought to be at 20 months. Filipe said he must have eaten it. Yeah, right. But I gave him another piece, because, gosh-darn-it, he needs his greens. As I'm standing there, looking straight at him, he takes that piece of broccoli, and without any hesitation or cajoling, puts it right into his mouth and eats it. And then asked for more!

So I have learned today that I need to refrain from putting my preconcieved notions on my children. I think that children don't like broccoli, but I think sometimes it's because mommy or daddy don't like broccoli, and so they think it must be bad. Or, even worse, mommy just figures they wouldn't like it, and they never get the chance to try it! So new resolution: offer the kids everything, even if I'm sure they won't like it. After all, maybe next time I'll find Ben with a mouth full of brussel sprouts. You never know.