I've been trying to post for a good part of the day... but it's been crazy around here. I wanted to put up a quick picture of tonight's meal. We have been talking for months about adding the boys to the meal rotation... but it just never happened with everyone's crazy sports schedules. One of the many things they are supposed to be learning while they are here is how to be self sufficient after graduation. All 4 do have a huge role in our weekly chore rotation... but the meal planning and making hasn't been one of them. To be honest... food has been one of our biggest struggles here. And that struggle continued last night during dinner when someone made yet another negative comment about the meal. After dinner we gathered all 4 guys in the kitchen and gave them each a piece of paper. We told them they would be assigned a night to make dinner at some point in the next two weeks and that I needed their menu and ingredient list before they went to bed. They each (after several hours and a little bit of help) gave me a list and we drew names. J's name was drawn for dinner tonight. I just have to say that Dan and I were super impressed!

Here's the menu:
Chicken Alfredo (from scratch... he asked for it in a jar but we had him make it himself)
Canned Carrots
Salad with ham, craisins, shredded cheese and his favorite dressing
Steamed Broccoli
Garlic Breadsticks
Strawberry Cake and Birthday Party Ice Cream

He started cooking as soon as he got home from school and was not done until 6pm. We helped him with some of it (the meat and sauce) but he did most of it by himself while everyone else was enjoying their free time playing catch and hanging out in the basement.

He asked for an apron and his favorite music on Pandora and he was set...

The next 3 meals are planned for next week and will be a bit more interesting. I'll be sure to keep you updated...