Sometimes a Parent will do anything...

Tonight I am reminded of how much our mealtime has "changed" since returning from China. I will admit I was quite a bit in LaLa Land about how our adoption would go. I wanted instant bonding and instant family. It was a challenge to keep up with my own standards. Now in hind-sight 9 months later so much is more clear. I remember thinking since Lj was 13 months old, we could easily have a dinner routine. NOT! I remember thinking that we would NOT have one of THOSE children that act out in public restaurants and that we would just "raise her right". (LOL as I choke!! That only lasted so long!!!)

As I posted photos this week to Shutterfly and to my backup external hard drive to make sure we never lose one precious photo of Lj, I came across some of the photos we took in VA after our visit with Santa. Guess what Lj is eating???




The parent in me that is in denial would say bread and butter but the honest one will admit she is eating butter... pure butter minus the bread. It churns my stomach to just think about that but she liked it and was being calm at the time as opposed to the child that wanted to run all over the Cheesecake Factory.

I think of this tonight as we just finished dinner and Lexi had a nice dinner of roasted chicken, broccoli with cheese and mac and cheese ALONG with some ranch for dipping the chicken. Now that dinner is over we can pretty much say she had RANCH DRESSING not only for dinner but as a face and hand lotion. How this child continues to grow is beyond my comprehension! I guess a diet of butter and Ranch dressing could bring on some weight for most of us though!

As for my high expectations for mealtime and clean floors and all the other stuff... I'm now a seasoned parent and totally agree with the 3 second rule. A little dirt is good for them ... right????