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If I were you I would order something huge. Eat as much as you can then go to the Ladie's room and make yourself throwup. Then come back to the table and finish your food. Problem solved. No leftovers.
Did you tell them not to eat your food? If yes, you have bigger issues.
Assuming they finish their food at the restaurant- even if it is twice as much as yours- they are obviously still hungry. They are growing teenagers after all! Order more food for them when out, or like you say, go out on a date with your hubby.
Somewhere along the line, your children discovered that they're in charge, and you are their minion. Instead of being picky and petty over half a chicken alfredo, you should be wondering instead which magickal genie taught them their own power. Then, track down that genie, and tell her YOU are in charge. YOU are the mom. You are not your childrens' minion, or their friend, or their confidant, or their babysitter, or their personal pet bully, or their playmate. You're the MOM. You're in charge. Period.
If it's not too late, your kids will learn to appreciate this, a few years after you teach it to them. If it is too late, well then get back to that restaurant and bring home some leftovers, because baby wants his alfredo and you're the minion.
It sounds like a small thing, but geez! I'm not the one being "selfish" they are!
Like I said, they had 2x the stuff, including dessert, I just wanted a night out, and the pleasure of eating my miserable portion MY way, not wolfing it down. I've found anyhting I bring home gets gobbled up as soon as we come in the door, oh, we're hungry, etc.
I like some of the suggestions here, like freeze it, but they would simply microwave that for themselves. I still like my idea best---simply get a small protion, like I did tonight, an appetizer, then, eat it or leave it. when your kids have had a truck driver's portion, and you just had a samll sample size, then you feel like you have to apologize for eating what was yours to begin with, well, it kind of takes the fun out of the evening!
You have the power to stop them gobbling up your miserable portion as soon as you get home.
Perhaps you could say "look here, growing luvies, these are MY leftovers and you may not eat them."
Then direct them to the bread and peanut butter.
ETA: You shouldn't have to apologize, or rant or rave, or freeze them - can you not tell your kids they are off limits and if they eat them they will have to suffer the consequences? That's not petty, it's teaching respect for other people's things.
Last edited by FinsterRufus; 05-14-2011 at 07:27 AM..
Reason: Final thought.
It's already pretty much been said, but just tell them "no." No need for arguing or any particular "feelings." Surely they have other food options. Without arguing or getting emotional (angry, frustrated, guilty, etc), just tell them no, and they can have something else. It's important to have those boundaries, whether it's food, belongings, etc. If they eat the leftovers anyway after you say no, then there need to be effective consequences.
Just say "no". If they eat it without asking, in my house we have a "fridge" rule, if it is yours, put your name on it, that means no one else can eat it. There are no issues like that in my home, it seems to be a major lack of respect that they would do that.
I frequently bring home leftovers, no one ever bothered mine.
Haha...once we went to a famous steak place, and took home a "doggie bag" of steak bones for the dog, and we asked the people next to us for their bones too. A couple of people gave us bones for Sam, we were going to freeze some. We put the bag in the fridge, went to bed. Our son saw the steak leftovers, and pigged out on them...we told him the next day that he jsut ate the leftovers of about six different people!!! Poor Sam, he was "cheated" out of his steak...and for SOME strange reason, no one touches "doggie bags" in our fridge.
Somewhere along the line, your children discovered that they're in charge, and you are their minion. Instead of being picky and petty over half a chicken alfredo, you should be wondering instead which magickal genie taught them their own power. Then, track down that genie, and tell her YOU are in charge. YOU are the mom. You are not your childrens' minion, or their friend, or their confidant, or their babysitter, or their personal pet bully, or their playmate. You're the MOM. You're in charge. Period.
If it's not too late, your kids will learn to appreciate this, a few years after you teach it to them. If it is too late, well then get back to that restaurant and bring home some leftovers, because baby wants his alfredo and you're the minion.
Agreed! What's so hard about NO? And if they don't know how to listen and respect what you say, the problem is not your leftovers.
If you tell them not to take something that's yours and they blow you off and take it anyway, then that's what they've learned that they can get away with. Saying no now is just noise to them and after years and years of you saying no and not backing it up with punishment or whatever, they are free to rule the roost. And they do. Or they call CPS on you, or butter the floor, or overspend at the school lunch counter.
If you are depriving yourself of a regular dinner and having just an appetizer solely because if you take a doggie bag home your kids will try to take it, then I'm sorry but that's just bizarre in the extreme.
Perhaps you should just stick to the breadbasket and soup and don't take a doggie bag. Or ask for half an order of whatever you want and finish it.
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