Such High Hopes

I've been having a hard time finding a dinner that everyone likes. Abby is the biggest issue. Some days she likes ham, some days she doesn't. Some days she likes mac and cheese, some days she doesn't. Some days she likes hot dogs, some days, she doesn't. I hate to make multiple meals for dinner--I'm into everyone eating the same thing each night. But as Abby began crossing things off her list of food items that she liked, I was forced to try to come up with new meal ideas.

So, I dug back to my childhood and pulled out the old pot roast. My mom made pot roast a lot. It was good, but I have never, ever made it in our 8 1/2 years of marriage. Not because I don't like it, but mostly because I had no idea how to make it (okay, I'm a bit embarrassed about that) and never looked up the recipe. So, I looked it up, got out my slow cooker, and made this fabulous pot roast that every single person in our family devoured. I really mean devoured. Nate, Jenna, and Abby all ate their first helping, and asked for more. This does not happen often.

I had high hopes for tonight. I planned to make the pot roast again, sure that it would be a hit and a hassle free dinner.

I was wrong.

I prepared the pot roast just like before (at least I think I did) and was excited about our family meal tonight. Keep in mind that Nate isn't home every night and I am not the best meal planner. I often pull something together at the last minute. But tonight, I had a plan, and a good one.

After the side dishes were done, I went to cut the pot roast and realized that I had to really work at cutting the meat. Pot roast is not supposed to be like this. The pot roast was as hard as a rock and not edible. So everything else is ready and I have no meat to serve. The kids have been scavengering for an hour-which, in our house, means that they are sneaking into the pantry and climbing counters to get food because they are so hungry. I am desperate to feed them a good meal. So, what did I pull out?

Hot dogs. Seriously . . . . I am so disappointed that the meal that everyone will eat is not going to happen and I had to resort to hot dogs.

On top of that, Nate ended up not being home for dinner and, you guessed it. Abby says, "Mommy, I no like gahgogs."

At least I tried.

Such high hopes.