Wendy31
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2005
Background: Our DD's best friend stays with us two days/week. (Her mother works 2 days/week, & her dad works full-time.) She is 13, like our DD, but, according to her mother, she doesn't like to stay by herself all day. She has 1 much older sibling who is married. So, I volunteered to let her come over to our house for those 2 days. She is homeschooled (like we homeschool), so she brings her school work w/ her.
Anyway, because she's 13, I don't really feel like I'm "watching her" or anything. When they get bored, I sometimes suggest activities, but that's about it. When we're not doing school, she & DD are normally in DD's room. When we're doing school, she works on her own school work.
Confession - I'm a slacker mom. My kids get their own breakfasts & lunches - Stuff like cereal, waffles, or Toaster Strudels for breakfast and soup, sandwiches, or leftovers for lunch. Occasionally, we'll fix something special for breakfast or lunch, but usually we all just kind of get whatever, if that makes sense. Also, my kids put whatever they've gotten out back away & put their dirty dishes in the dishwasher.
Well, from what I've determined, I think DD's friend is used to being served meals. She's also maybe a little picky. I've asked her what she likes to eat, & she'll just say, "Oh, whatever..." or "A variety of things." I asked her what she normally eats for lunch, & she told me, "I don't know? Macaroni and cheese?"
Since her mother is paying me, I feel like I need to feed her child. However, I also don't feel like I should treat her that much differently than I do our own children.
So, this is what I've been doing - One day, I'll fix a hot breakfast & then let them fix sandwiches for lunch. The next day, I'll let them get cereal or waffles for breakfast, & I'll fix something for lunch.
She doesn't like eggs but loves bacon, so our breakfast rotation has been eggs (for my kids), bacon, & biscuits & then the next week some kind of "sweet" (muffins, cinnamon rolls, pancakes, etc) & bacon. I fixed orange cinnamon rolls, &, according to her, they were "okay." DH made HOMEMADE apple fritters, & they were also only "okay." She likes donuts, but I'm not buying donuts every week. I try to serve fruit w/ breakfast - orange slices, bananas, grapes, etc.
For lunch, I've been rotating hot dogs w/ macaroni & cheese & homemade pizza & spaghetti. She doesn't like fish. She likes grilled cheese, so I plan to do some soup & grilled cheese sandwiches. When we have sandwiches, I'll put everything on the table to make it easy & everyone can make their own sandwiches - bread, ham, turkey, cheese, mayo, mustard, peanut butter, jelly, & Nutella. For sides, I'll put out plain chips and BBQ chips. I've also done pretzels & tortilla chips. And I always prepare some fresh veggies (carrots & cucumbers) w/ a couple of different dressings (like Ranch) for dipping.
Last week - the first day, they had cereal for breakfast & DH grilled chicken & made pasta w/ spaghetti sauce for lunch. The 2nd day, I fixed bacon & biscuits & fruit for breakfast & sandwiches w/ chips & veggies for lunch. When she saw the sandwich stuff on the table, she said, "But I don't want a sandwich." Honestly, I was a little shocked. I told her, "Well, I think there's a can of soup in the pantry..." And she sort of sighed, "No, this is fine."
This week, I'm planning Belgian waffles, bacon, & fruit for breakfast one day & cereal the next. For lunch, I'm planning homemade pizza & then sandwiches again. I use whole wheat bread.
She likes to snack, so I try to have some snack crackers & cookies available. She also likes ice cream, so I normally buy a couple of half gallons for them to share. We also always have fruit. I'm buying a lot of extra food for the days she's here - we normally don't have a lot of snack-y type food. My kids are used to fruit, granola bars, & yogurt, & they don't snack on chips between meals.
I also found out the other day that she doesn't like her food to touch. I fixed hot dogs, & I put 2 hot dogs on her plate (she normally eats 2 hot dogs) w/ macaroni & cheese (she loves macaroni & cheese). Well, the macaroni touched one of the hot dogs, & she couldn't eat it. So she threw the hot dog away. And then got a bowl & ate some more macaroni. She told me that she normally eats her food in separate bowls.
Anyway, I know this was long!!! I'm sorry!
Is what I'm doing sound reasonable? For lunch, I just don't expect a full meal - our full meals are normally dinner, so we usually have lighter fare for lunch. Are sandwiches okay for one lunch/week?
Thanks for any advice and/or suggestions!!
Anyway, because she's 13, I don't really feel like I'm "watching her" or anything. When they get bored, I sometimes suggest activities, but that's about it. When we're not doing school, she & DD are normally in DD's room. When we're doing school, she works on her own school work.
Confession - I'm a slacker mom. My kids get their own breakfasts & lunches - Stuff like cereal, waffles, or Toaster Strudels for breakfast and soup, sandwiches, or leftovers for lunch. Occasionally, we'll fix something special for breakfast or lunch, but usually we all just kind of get whatever, if that makes sense. Also, my kids put whatever they've gotten out back away & put their dirty dishes in the dishwasher.
Well, from what I've determined, I think DD's friend is used to being served meals. She's also maybe a little picky. I've asked her what she likes to eat, & she'll just say, "Oh, whatever..." or "A variety of things." I asked her what she normally eats for lunch, & she told me, "I don't know? Macaroni and cheese?"
Since her mother is paying me, I feel like I need to feed her child. However, I also don't feel like I should treat her that much differently than I do our own children.
So, this is what I've been doing - One day, I'll fix a hot breakfast & then let them fix sandwiches for lunch. The next day, I'll let them get cereal or waffles for breakfast, & I'll fix something for lunch.
She doesn't like eggs but loves bacon, so our breakfast rotation has been eggs (for my kids), bacon, & biscuits & then the next week some kind of "sweet" (muffins, cinnamon rolls, pancakes, etc) & bacon. I fixed orange cinnamon rolls, &, according to her, they were "okay." DH made HOMEMADE apple fritters, & they were also only "okay." She likes donuts, but I'm not buying donuts every week. I try to serve fruit w/ breakfast - orange slices, bananas, grapes, etc.
For lunch, I've been rotating hot dogs w/ macaroni & cheese & homemade pizza & spaghetti. She doesn't like fish. She likes grilled cheese, so I plan to do some soup & grilled cheese sandwiches. When we have sandwiches, I'll put everything on the table to make it easy & everyone can make their own sandwiches - bread, ham, turkey, cheese, mayo, mustard, peanut butter, jelly, & Nutella. For sides, I'll put out plain chips and BBQ chips. I've also done pretzels & tortilla chips. And I always prepare some fresh veggies (carrots & cucumbers) w/ a couple of different dressings (like Ranch) for dipping.
Last week - the first day, they had cereal for breakfast & DH grilled chicken & made pasta w/ spaghetti sauce for lunch. The 2nd day, I fixed bacon & biscuits & fruit for breakfast & sandwiches w/ chips & veggies for lunch. When she saw the sandwich stuff on the table, she said, "But I don't want a sandwich." Honestly, I was a little shocked. I told her, "Well, I think there's a can of soup in the pantry..." And she sort of sighed, "No, this is fine."
This week, I'm planning Belgian waffles, bacon, & fruit for breakfast one day & cereal the next. For lunch, I'm planning homemade pizza & then sandwiches again. I use whole wheat bread.
She likes to snack, so I try to have some snack crackers & cookies available. She also likes ice cream, so I normally buy a couple of half gallons for them to share. We also always have fruit. I'm buying a lot of extra food for the days she's here - we normally don't have a lot of snack-y type food. My kids are used to fruit, granola bars, & yogurt, & they don't snack on chips between meals.
I also found out the other day that she doesn't like her food to touch. I fixed hot dogs, & I put 2 hot dogs on her plate (she normally eats 2 hot dogs) w/ macaroni & cheese (she loves macaroni & cheese). Well, the macaroni touched one of the hot dogs, & she couldn't eat it. So she threw the hot dog away. And then got a bowl & ate some more macaroni. She told me that she normally eats her food in separate bowls.
Anyway, I know this was long!!! I'm sorry!
Is what I'm doing sound reasonable? For lunch, I just don't expect a full meal - our full meals are normally dinner, so we usually have lighter fare for lunch. Are sandwiches okay for one lunch/week?
Thanks for any advice and/or suggestions!!