Rice Day

Our girls have recently been complaining about everything under the sun. They don't like the clothes I pick out, they don't like the food they are served, they do not like the hair clips I have chosen, etc.

It has become quite wearisome and so we have decided to bunker down on a few rules.

If you complain about the clothes you are given you cannot wear a skirt or dress to church that Sunday. Depending on the amount of complaining you might lose the privilege for the entire week. This is a huge deal for the girls especially Adele who likes to dress like this most days.

Complain about hair accessories and you get a plain, boring, black hair tie.

Complain about the food and no dessert.

I have realized that these are all punishments and have tried to think of more positive reinforcements.

A couple of days ago the girls and I were sitting around the lunch table discussing social problems as you tend to do. We were talking about the floods in Pakistan and that there are many people who have lost everything. In some areas they are even struggling to find food. That brought us to how we get to eat lots of tasty food and should be thankful for every meal even if it isn't to our liking. This is especially hard for Adele, she tends to have more selective taste buds.

I mentioned that it might be good for us all to eat rice for a day to help us understand how others eat in poorer countries. The girls were excited about doing it and so here we arrive at the title to this post. Tomorrow is rice day. As a family we are going to "try" and eat rice for the three main meals. We are not making the girls do this. I want them to want to do it. Of course Gids can eat whatever. For snacks, we all tend to eat 5 times a day, they can have only a little fruit or veg. Only water and no desserts.

For breakfast I think I will be adding milk, some salt, and maybe a little sugar to the girls' rice. Adele was enthusiastic about all of this when she went to bed tonight. She however is not, I repeat, not a morning person. She may crumple into a heap with loud cries if she arrives at the table with just a bowl of rice.

I'll report back tomorrow evening on how this whole experiment went down. Brandon is cooking his rice for work as we speak.