Torture

I put carrots in Aaron's lunch today. Well, at least I started to. When Aaron saw the baggie with 5 baby carrots in it, his lips started to quiver and he let out a very unhappy squeal. (If you've ever heard it--it's definitely a squeal!) I was so frustrated--this battle over veggies has been going on for way too long. I finally had it and decided to do the unthinkable: I told him to eat a carrot or he couldn't go to school.

You would've thought I asked him to eat a raw onion! Just the thought of eating the carrot made him start to gag. Knowing he had no other choice, he pressed on and took a teeny bite of the carrot and chewed it quickly without tasting--tears welling up in his eyes the whole time. Gagging, he took another bite and did the same thing. However--he refused to swallow it. This kid, who can swallow pills without water chipmunked a whole chewed up baby carrot in his cheeks. Sternly, I repeated my mandate about school and he managed to choke it down. (This tactic wouldn't work for Travis by the way, he would've cheerfully chucked the carrot in the trash and called me on my bluff. He likes veggies so this wouldn't be a problem in the first place, thank goodness!)

So, back to the problem at hand.

What gives? This kid will drink V8 like there's no tomorrow, but refuses to actually eat a vegetable. He'll eat lettuce leaves without the dressing. He'll claim to love a veggie, take two bites and start getting nauseous on the third! I would love to say I won the battle by making him eat the carrot. But I know it will continue as long as he lives at home: 9 years of gagging and squealing down, 9 more years to go.

Let the veggies battles continue!

--Laurel