What it looks like -

[kyburg]

President Barack Obama in the Oval Office with former White House Communications Director Ellen Moran and her family, June 24, 2009.

About the only thing you'll find in clear is that Ellen Moran is virulently, unabashedly pro-choice. I'm also able to confirm she's married.

Did she adopt? Not so sure. And you know, that's completely okay - if so, it's the kid's right to have their story remain theirs. Yanno, privacy and all that. If not, who would care?

Uh. Think I've left a voicemail for her? You'd be dead in the black if you said yes.

---

The reason I bring this up (and I saw the picture on the feed, squee'd and decided it needed to be shared, c'mon) was that I looked and knew exactly what the response to nectarines would be by my kid - anything orange is EVIL. Remember this. ORANGE=INSTANT DEATH NO WAY AAAAAAA

So.

I don't know if this is ever going to wear off, but for today - brightly colored anything is not a friend. The billboards proclaiming that you should be providing peas and carrots as a Good Parent just makes me smurfle - my kid would think I was trying to poison him. (I may try peas frozen soon. My Mom's old trick.)

But that posture behind the little girl...yup, that's what it looks like. C'mon, it's okay....

I can't even get the kid to take fruit-flavored vitamins.

That said, the amusing moment last night was after a trip to Marukai where we got 'Baba's soda, Mama's soda, MYYYY soda...' and his choice was the 'ZOOOCE' (Zoo Juice) because it had dinosaurs (and other animals) on the label. It's clear like Sprite.

Fruit-flavored. "I don't know if you're going to like this...." Said, as pouring a serving at dinner last night.

"MY SODA!" *slurps happily*

*registers* *Ew face* "YUCKY!" Thuds glass. Then looks at bottle.

Reiterates DINOSAUR! on bottle by himself. Doggie! Kitty! Penquin!

*slurps again*

"YUCKY!" Thuds glass. The demands a refill.

And so it went.

Can't die at dinner table. No dying at dinner table.

Comments

[sekl.livejournal.com]

Ah the refreshing flavor of dinosaur, kitty, doggy, and penguin. Much better than this fruit-flavoring business.

[dame-of-dames.livejournal.com]

All these stories that you can embarrass him with when he's a sullen emo teenager. ;-)

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

Look! A president I could take food from without feeling like I'd have to run it through the x-ray machine first!

(Sorry. It's been one of those decades.)

[nagasvoice.livejournal.com]

Second this motion. Can't tell you how *relieved* I am when I see pix like this. It was like having Sith Lords infesting the place, for the last decade.

[nanakaoru.livejournal.com]

maybe you could try something from "the sneaky chef"? It's supposed to allow you to trick the kid into eating veggies by hiding them in pasta dishes and baked goods and other kid-friendly junk.

http://www.thesneakychef.com/

I've already got it bookmarked in case Regina turns out to be a picky eater. Never can be too safe...

Uhhhh...

[turandot.livejournal.com]

As a former picky eater kid and a foodie now, those books burn me up. What do you think happens when a kid realizes what mom has been doing with the veggies? Suddenly they don't trust anything you ever cook them.

When I was little, I refused lots of stuff. Most adults would tell my mom that she should force me to eat leafy greens, eggplant, zucchini, and the like, no matter how it happened. And she tried forcing it. It was a losing battle, and after a few years, she just shrugged and decided that negotiating was the only way to go. As in "okay, I know you don't like leafy greens but look! I made you spinach, and I put lots of tomato sauce on it, you won't even be able to taste it. Just give it one or two bites, and if you still don't like it, you can quit".

As it turns out, a lot of the issues I had with food as a kid is that my parents never went easy on the salt, and I hate salt. I also prefer veggies to be sauteed but still be on the crunchy side. These are all things that I figured out once I was cooking for myself and others (it also helps that my husband does eat everything and expects to). My mom marvels at the fact that I would never eat seafood as a kid, but I will have sushi now (as it turns out, I hate the smell of fried fish, but I'm ok with raw if it's fresh enough).

My suggestion with a picky eater kid is to figure out what you can get away with. For example, do you think that Xander might be ok with only slightly sweetened lemonade? I like sweets, but when it comes to fresh fruit and fruit juice, the tarter it is, the better I like it (I like stuff like chinotto, for example).