Family Dinner

I know that a traditional family dinner doesn’t work for everyone but it is something that we have always done and I look forward to it every day (well most days)!!!

I don’t set a formal table

but I do set the table (or the boys set it for us!!) every night.

Not fancy but it works – we use cloth napkins because I grew up using them and I like them at dinner.

Most nights I put the meal on the table and we self serve or pass bowls around.

We have had some of the best conversations ever during dinner. Everyone is happy because they are being fed and it is a great time to talk about the day.

We had the boys at the table with us when they were still in high chairs. (When it was just Chris and I we didn’t always eat at the table – the couch worked perfectly fine!!!)

Some nights we dish the food (soup in this case) from the stove and just have any sides on the table.

I try to keep things simple so that it isn’t an ordeal because I want it to be something that we all enjoy and look forward to.

We used to have a rule that whoever cooked didn’t clean. When the boys were really young I changed it because working in the kitchen cooking and cleaning was my quiet time (Chris would play with the boys downstairs). Now the boys usually handle most of the clean-up!!

I know that if I’m not home for dinner Chris and the boys usually watch TV while they eat which is fine. Some nights we have to watch important stuff – the end of The Masters, part of the NCAA basketball tournament……but mostly we leave the TV off while we eat.

Some nights we can’t all sit together because of different activities. But, the majority of the time all 4 of us (or 3 if someone is gone) sit down and eat dinner together while we share things about our day and/or solve all the problems in the world!!!