After dinner tonight Dave and I unveiled our experiment to the girls. I was overjoyed with how receptive they were. Anna even got excited, thinking about the creative meals we would come up with. She asked if she could cook them.
I noticed Sarah was in tears, and it came out that she thought she would have to give up the big Easter Egg Hunt we have planned for her 13th birthday later this month. Dave and I decided that we’d make an eggception for her birthday.
Ruthie didn’t take it quite so easily. It’s difficult for a seven-year-old to comprehend words like “temporary,” “experiment.” I could sense through her quivery voice and the nature of her questions that she was picturing us foraging in the woods for edible berries in a matter of days.
It was decided that we would re-visit the matter every week and see how everyone is doing with it. We would make it a contest to see who could survive the longest. Dave gave me his vote of confidence by telling the girls, “You know who will be the first to give up don’t you? Your mother!” They all laughed and were inspired to get going.
That was last night. This morning the girls poured very little milk into their cereal, I noticed.
I cleaned out the fridge today, so I can show you where we are starting from (Already I feel a strange and wonderful sense of cleansing and purging in my soul. I normally put cleaning the fridge at the end of my to-do list and things grow in there like science experiments, but suddenly I’m inspired to clean out every area of my house!):
An American Family's Food-Buying Freeze 
Apr 07, 2011 @ 20:10:13
Hahah, my Fridge was already nearly empty when I started. I had some Tofu, vodka, wine, jam, popsicles, frozen onions, broccoli, more popsicles, etcetera… But you have many children. So. Maybe things are different.
Now all that’s in my fridge is frozen Broccoli, vodka, and wine.
Apr 08, 2011 @ 11:57:45
It’s nice to know we’re not alone. Keep us posted, Jason! Sounds like Broccoli simmered in wine for dinner tonight? 🙂