Family dinner time

I grew up with family dinners. We all came to the table at dinner time and my mom served a meal for us. It was a given. So, imagine my surprise when we moved into a home, as a family and I was the "mom" who was supposed to put the meals together for us to all enjoy together at the dinner table together to talk about our day. I never considered the amount of pressure that act which is known to be imperative for a healthy family unit could put on my shoulders. I mentioned in my last post, what I think about our family dining set, and the absolute joy I had to see it go! And when we bought this house, the eat in kitchen that once was, has been replaced with a large island with two bar stools. Two bars stools for a family of 4 and a dining room that is not cohesive to daily life spells disaster for "family dinner time" add to that the fact that my husband is self employed and is gone most nights when dinner is served, and momma has to get creative! Last year, we were doing family dinners once a week. It was something that I worked hard to achieve each week on Sunday. Sort of the "Fresh start" to a new week send off. I will be blunt and honest here when I say, it SUCKS to cook for my kids! I never thought I would have picky kids. Afterall, I knew all the "tricks" for getting kids to eat. They were great eaters as babies, and for the most part still are, but when I say that my kids are opposites in the taste bud department, it's an understatement! Acilia LOVES veggies, infact when she was about 3, her dinners consisted of heaping bowls of veggies! Miles on the other hand is quite choosey about the veggies he will eat, yet he LOVES fruit. Acilia doesn't like her food to touch, so I could take all of the ingredients she loves and put them together to try to get creative, and she won't eat the meal, however, if they were all served separate she would gobble them up! Miles isn't too crazy about meat, but BOTH kids love pasta. Hubby and I like just about anything, but it's pointless in my mind to make a big dinner, when hubby isn't home and my kid's won't eat it.

One more reason why I am yearning to move. This past weekend we went on a short little vacay and in the villa that we stayed in, was a beautiful eat in kitchen! It was my mission for all of us to sit together at the table for each of our meals and just enjoy each other's company. The pressure of cooking was off because we were eating our meals from restaurants, and we were all able to just sit and talk and it was G R E A T! It got me super excited about the eat in kitchen I am coveting in our new house and even though my husband's schedule won't change, our dinner time habit of eating anywhere in the house will most definitely change! We are all in for a rude but necessary awakening and I can't wait!
Since I am in the dreamy mode, I will share a few pics of eat in kitchens that I am drooling over!