For Queen B

Since Queen B has demanded...I mean requested...a BUMMER FREE post, I guess I had better get to work. It reminds me of one day when one of our therapeutic support ladies was out to the house visiting. She was preparing a new treatment plan for one of my daughters, and as she moved down the form, she asked me to describe some of my daughter's strengths. I paused for a moment, and replied, "She has an excellent appetite." She smiled, twirling her pen. "No seriously," said I, "She always cleans her plate." She seemed to want more, so I thought for a moment, and added, "She has very thick hair. No one can say that girl doesn't have a healthy head of hair." At this point she was laughing so hard she was nearly falling off my dining room chair. But she got the point, and so do I. When Queen B can tell me how her three year old gets poo-doo all over the bathroom, or how the school bus driver flips her the bird, and she sees both in their positive light, then you can be sure of one thing. We are "triangle families", as my friend-who-lives-in-my-computer Brenda the Adoption Counselor likes to say. And most days I am OK with that.

So here we go Queen B, and I apologize for recycling a previously used idea. Today I am going to express my sincere gratefulness for the fact that my adopted daughters are all good eaters. This may seem like a small thing, but since food comes up at least three times a day in our house, and I always seem to be planning, preparing, serving, or cleaning up after a meal, it really is not such a small thing. I often read on adoption blogs about how food becomes another way for our children to express their dysfunction. True, my daughters have tried a few squirrelly behaviors involving food in the past, but as a general rule, they eat what I put in front of them without complaint. Indeed, they eat it with gusto, and loud declarations of joy, which is a great deal more than I can say for the home grown kiddos. They even eat leftovers with enthusiasm, which is a good thing since a large proportion of our meals come off the leftover cart at the camp kitchen.

In addition, three of my daughters and one son, have embarked on a year long mission to eat healthier. Lest you think I am a healthfood nut, this mostly involves cutting back on junk, and controlling portions. At first, this plan was met with much wailing and gnashing of teeth, but as the months have rolled by, all four concede that they are fitter and slimmer, and have been freakishly healthy all year. Now they thank me for limiting their portion sizes, and even make the attempt to do so themselves. In addition, we have eliminated a LOT of sugar and stimulant induced crankiness in two of my daughters, which in turn, makes life easier and more pleasant for all of us.

Here is a list of the few simple changes we made:

• No snacking between meals.
• Eat reasonable size portions at meals.
• Drink a lot of water.
• Only eat dessert at the lunch meal.
• Eat popcorn (made in the WhirlyPop) for evening snacking.
• Cut out sugary breakfasts such as pancakes and waffles.
• Eat whole grains when possible.