What's Grosser than Gross?

Remember that game we would play in elementary school that went something like this... "What's grosser than gross?....... Sliding down a razor blade into a vat of lemon juice!" this followed by peals of laughter and fake gagging sounds? Remember that? Anyway, I think I have discovered the ultimate "grosser than gross"...... taking four kids to eat at a smorgasbord!

My mom and I wanted to do something fun with the kids. Out of desperation (everything else we thought of didn't pan out) we decided to take them to eat at Sweet Tomatoes. Oh boy, the kids saw the gazillions of eating choices and thought they'd died and gone to food heaven. My mom and I spent lunch with our faces twisted into expressions of disgust.

The food at your typical smorgasbord is kid tested, but not necessarily mother approved. They serve mac n'cheese from a box, chocolate mousse squeezed from a giant pouch, and soup from a can, heated up in huge vats for your slurpping enjoyment.

When given free reign and a tray, Jeffrey chose chocolate. He loaded up his tray with chocolate muffins, chocolate mousse, and chocolate milk. To cut the sweetness, he finished off his meal with a bowl of vanilla ice cream, not a vegetable or piece of fruit in sight. Typical. At least he got a little protein in the form of a bowl of shredded cheese.


I love how his shirt is even chocolate colored

Jonathan fared a little better. He actually had some salad and grapes, but he filled the empty spaces in his stomach with several bowls of soft serve. It's so fun to watch that ice cream swirling out of the dispenser. Then you have all those sprinkles and toppings to choose from.


See! Gross!



Have you ever noticed how everything you eat at a smorgasbord taste the same? The salad taste like the bread sticks and the noodles taste like the jello, even the ice cream tastes like the soup. I managed to get down most of my salad, but when I took a sip of my water and it tasted like corn muffins, I had to stop.

So...... after a fun filled lunch hour, which included many tears after Mary Kate dropped her loaded tray while filling up her cup with Hawaiian Punch, I made a vow to myself that I intend to keep for life.... never eat at a smorgasbord again, especially not with several children in tow. Jeffrey might miss having a lunch made up entirely of chocolate, but that's o.k., maybe he'll learn to like vegetables? I somehow doubt it.