Family-style meals

I have been meaning to start doing this for awhile, but it has taken awhile since it actually requires more organization (& actually creates more dishes!). Kellen has always been a fairly picky eater, & sometimes we wonder how he actually lives on the amount of food that he eats. Even Annika eats a lot less than she used to, & Kaarin is following a bit in Kellen's footsteps. So for about the last week we have been doing family-style meals at the table. In the past, I have dished up a little bit of each food onto the kids' plates, & Erik & I have dished up our plates off the stove in the kitchen. The kids were never required to eat what was on their plate, but that food was their only option. By doing our meals family-style, all the food is on the table in serving bowls & we pass it around & the kids dish up their own plates. They still have the option to let the food pass them by, by saying 'no, thank you' & passing it to the next person. It might be partly the novelty of it, though I think it has more to do with autonomy & being able to look at the food as a whole before it's cut, but the kids have shown way more interest in meal times & tend to actually eat more! Even Annika can dish up her own plate. Yes, we have a few more spills here & there, & yes, I have more dishes to clean up...but it is a healthier way to encourage eating, so I will deal with the mess.:) I am trying to keep on top of the cleaning so that it doesn't get overwhelming, so as long as I do that, it is manageable.

Speaking of cleaning...since our construction is all done (with the exception of our master bathroom shower that is being redone) & since we had some $$ free up after Erik's company started paying the whole family's medical premiums, we decided to give a cleaning lady a try. I have been having a hard time keeping up with the cleaning with 3 kids at such a young age, & often feel like it is all I do...but it isn't noticeable. I interviewed about 5 different ones back in January, but was having a hard time making a decision. I picked this gal based on her referral, but also because she charges by the job, not the hour. I decided I may come out ahead on that one, since the master bathrooms alone take at least an hour to clean! The house was SO dirty after all the work, & I couldn't wait to get it cleaned!:) She came out this week to clean, with 2 helpers...I DEFINITELY came out ahead!!! I paid her $180 for the initial cleaning (it will be less on a bi-weekly basis) & got 26 hrs. of cleaning done. I don't even think that's minimum wage...yep, the house was dirty! The amazing thing is, though, that she cleaned things I never even think of cleaning.:) And she cleaned my ovens. And vacuumed my couches. Ah, I could get used to this!! Now I am just trying to stay on top of things so that they stay in a semi-0rganized state!