Thanks everyone. I know it's not going to be easy. Sherry, I have given up on my husband but I still have hope for little man. He's only 8 and I am sure he has plenty of time to come around. Jess, they certain should. We can only wish! LOL Plllog, I did look into hydroponics but the closest thing we can do for now is using the Aero Garden. Can't do the real hydroponics due to space problems. The only "icky" food, I believe, that bothers little man is over ripe strawberries. Said they made his throat funny. I always give him very firm strawberries. Most vegetables are not icky but more so yucky to him. He got that from his dad and his half brother. Asked him why he didn't like mushrooms he said they're gross. The exact words from his half brother. He's proud to NOT eat anything green but frozen peas because that's how his dad is. So I know, he's just copying them. I will try to be patient for now. Still serve a few pieces of veggies on his plate. Ask him to take one bite and never forceful or anything in that nature. Rita, that's a great strategy if he will fall for it! The last time he saw me preparing some vegetables and asked whose dish it was. I said "Nope, this is not for you. You don't get any of this!" He said "YAY!" LOL Bean, I don't consider myself forceful. I do have a one bite rule at our dinner table. He is asked to take at least one bite. If he doesn't like it he can just leave it after one bite. I am frustrated because his desire for vegetables gets less and less every day. Now he has carrot on his will-eat list. I am afraid it will, too, come off the list. But again. This is not the end of the world. My husband hates veggies all his life and after 50 something years he's still strong and kicking :-). I just have to keep hoping. Al

In school, I was quiet, never caused anyone any trouble and made good grades, altho I didn't particularly like school or study. My best friend...who I met over the summer before she started school in our little town...and we met because we both had horses, ended up being the most popular girl in school. She was well liked by everyone, had very nice parents and money...had 9 horses...and always a crowd of people at their place. Due to being friends with her, I was included in a lot more and dated a lot. We double dated all the time. My daughter was a lot like me, in that she was also quiet, no problems, and she made better grades than me... A+ in every class she took. The teachers loved her and she loved school. She didn't date but had a lot of friends...all the really nerdy geeky ones In high school she also dressed weird...and would go to thrift shops and buy the most hideous old clothes you can imagine. She went with the school to New York City one time, and wore an old black lace prom grown that was so old, it was turning purple, that she bought for a quarter at the Salvation Army, and a pair of combat boots to a Broadway play. She wore old polyeaster "old lady style" pants suits...1970's, and she would buy old 1960's hostess gowns to wear when they went out to plays, etc. I never said anything to her about the way she dressed, because she wasn't like a lot of kids today and showing body parts. I worried about when she went to college, but was surprised that when she started college, she went to jeans and same type of things that most of the other kids were wearing. She graduated with highest honors, so being weird for awhile never hurt her.

I think it is more of the popularaity of the fast food places than it is working moms or kids vegging out in front of the TV. Kids today are involved in much more activities as compared to when I was a child. When parents have that much running around it is much easier to run through a drive thru or get pizza on the way home (stay at home or working mom) then it is to make a meal, get everyone to sit down, clean up and get out the door. I know because I have four kids and it's not that they are in too much by themselves but with 4 kids it makes for a busy week. I am a sahm but I still struggle with getting them from school, getting homework done, and getting them a nutritious dinner. When we get home in the evening that is when the dishes are cleaned off the table. It is so tempting to just run to McDonalds. Also, did you ever notice how many kids have lunchables packed in their lunches? Those things are packed with sodium, fat, calories, and tons of preservatives. Plus my kids' schools starting selling snacks (like nutty buddies and ho hos for lunch) I tell my kids "no you eat the snack that I pack and you are not getting a ho ho" But of course their friends get them (12 fat grams in the pack of 2) and share some of it with them from time to time. Can you imagine the amount of fat grams these kids are getting? Over 30 at lunch with their lunchable and their nutty buddies and then 30 more at dinner if they eat at a fast food place... not to mention any cookies they might snack on through the day? That amount of fat will make an adult gain weight. I hear that some schools actually have fast food like McDonalds available to them. So even if the kids were active in sports and activities they are getting too many fat grams to offset it :( Also I heard that kids today are getting too much juice. There are a lot of calories in juice and a lot of natural sugars. It is better for them to eat the fruit than it is to drink the fruit juice. I always have OJ but after 2 glasses of it they have to switch to water. My kids would drink a half gallon of OJ a day if I let them (each one of them) So kids are drinking a lot more calories than they use to as well.

If you mean what Mom4boys says my kids appreciate what they get at Hanukah. They beam and scurry for the phone to call whomever got them a gift (if it wasn't from us) so they can say thank you. Hanukah is a little easier than Christmas (I think). Less overwhelming for younger kids because the gifts are spaced over 8 nights. I think what might make some kids seem un-appreciative at Christmas is that they are a bit overwhelmed by all the stuff at one time so they don't know how to react. My kids get gifts from each set of grandparents (2 nights), our siblings (2 nights), thier great grandmaother (1 night), and us (3 nights). They give us a gift on the first night and they get really excited about our gifts. Regarding your problems adjusting to adulthood. Our financial situation is very comfortable. In order to help our kids get a feel for handling money we do the following. We give our oldest son 7 dollars a week allowance (he is 7 years old). Out of that money he has to save 2 dollars per week. 5 dollars a week is pocket money. We pay for all his necessities and he has to pay for snacks, ice cream, toys, etc. out of his money. Within reason he can buy whatever he wants with his money. So far he has been really good. He spends about $2 out of his spending money and saves the rest. He tells me he is saving for a computer. From his allowance, plus money that he gets from grandparents he has $215 saved towards his computer. Pretty ambitious for 2nd grader. Anyway, those type of things can go a long way in preparing a child from a financially secure family for dealing with their own money. We will add more responsibilities as he gets older. Mommabear