Our Nursery Rhyme Life

Some people dream of a happy ending. Others live a fairy tale life. But our family has them all beat. We live a nursery rhyme life. Now, I know you are mentally running through all the Mother Goose you know trying to figure out which one is our family. Maybe Old Mother Hubbard since our cupboards are bare? Nope. How about Jack and Jill since we are accident prone? Nope. Definitely not the Old Woman who Lived in the Shoe, either. No, at our household, we are living Jack Sprat. Are you familiar with that one?

Jack Sprat could eat no fat,
His wife could eat no lean,
And so betwixt the two of them
They licked the platter clean.

You see, I have two children who could not be any more opposite in their eating habits. Brother is a typical child. He HATES anything vegetable. Now, we don't use the word hate in our household very much, but it truly is the only word that adequately describes his feelings toward anything that grows up from the ground. It's not just green vegetables, but the child doesn't like orange vegetables (carrots and sweet potatoes), yellow vegetables (corn and squash), purple vegetables (eggplant), or red vegetables (tomatoes and bell peppers). He doesn't even like potatoes! Every meal is a battle with him to eat a few bites of veggies -- because that is the rule in our house. He proudly tells anyone that he is a "meat-etarian." The boy could eat his weight in steak - which is a trait he gets from his mother.
On the other hand, sweet little girl hates anything meat. If given the choice, she would gladly choose to only eat fruits and vegetables. I am quite certain that she is the only child in her MDO class who brings cherry tomatoes in her lunch box. And I know from her teachers that she will choose to eat those said tomatoes before she eats anything else in her lunch. If I ask Sister where she would like to go out to eat, her answer will most likely be Souper Salad -- an all you-can-eat salad bar place. And when we go to Souper Salad, she will beg for me to load her plate with things that I don't even like to eat! Unfortunately, every meal is a battle with her to eat a few bites of meat -- because that is the rule in our house.
So, imagine my frustration the other night when I had both children crying at the table because they couldn't have dessert until they ate their designated bites. I should just give up and fix one plate for them to share. It would be less battles and less dishes to wash.