Find It Make It

My mother-in-law has been given a view of some of our household meal times that is a bit off. While we were bustling around her kitchen last week, I commented to my mother-in-law that we have "Find it/Make it" nights when no one is in the mood to cook lunch or dinner. She looked at me as if this was the most bizarre idea she had ever heard, and sort of gave a little laugh that left me with the impression that she did not quite get the concept.

There are rules for the nights when our family rummages around the pantry and fridge to individually satisfy their belly rumblings:

• No cold cereal.
• No frozen waffles.
• Find It/Make It must include at least three food groups.
• Katie cannot make rice for a total of six months because she did not clean up her mess three times in a row.

Rather than ask me or Don about Find It/Make It, my MIL waited until later to explore this wacky new idea. Katie explained it to Gram saying that everyone just finds whatever they want, and makes their own meal from the assorted available foodstuffs. (So far, Kate's description holds water.) She gave examples, too. According to Kate, she told Gram that the kids "make a bowl of cereal, frozen waffles, or whatever..." (What?! Kate's description leaks like a sieve.)

This conversation between my mother-in-law and my daughter does explain why Don and I have to repeat the rules of Find It/Make It very time we go that route for lunch or dinner. Katie has not noticed that every time we have a FIMI meal, Mom and/or Dad offer some specific choices and suggestions from the types of fruit and veggies that are ready-to-eat to entree choices. (FIMI usually occurs when I have cooked several meals and have a variety of veggies and fruit prepared for easy snacking. At the very least, a previously frozen entree or sandwich must be included in the child's meal.) The idea behind FIMI is to encourage a certain level of independence in our offspring, provide opportunities for those who will eat leftovers to do so, and to have meals where everyone gets to choose exactly what he or she will most enjoy.

So. I am cringing because my mother-in-law has been painted a picture of her grandchildren foraging for carbs while their lazy parents fail to feed them properly. I'm irritated because the child who I typically can expect to "get it" in most situations, has so totally missed the point of our FIMI meals. Ahhh. Well. I will resist the temptation to e-mail this text to my mother-in-law in my defense.