Table Talk

September 27, 2010  |  Posted by ClumberKim  

That's a lotta cans! We will be putting together dinner ... on TwitpicRecently I told you about an opportunity I had with Libby’s, Hannah Keeley, The Motherhood, and some terrific local bloggers. We got together to talk about getting our families back to the table for good food and conversation, and to assemble dinner kits for Habitat for Humanity families. It was a great afternoon, filled with fun, laughter, adorable kids, more fun, a brownie as big as Hannah’s head, and even more laughter.

Now it’s your turn to get in on the action. Libby’s has kindly offered to give one of my lucky readers a gift. All you need to do is leave a comment telling me how you get your family back to the table. I will choose one commenter at random and Libby’s will send that lucky winner a tote bag, Libby’s products, an awesome can opener, and of course, a copy of Hannah Keeley’s book, Total Mom Makeover. You have until noon (eastern time) on Friday, October 1 to leave your comment.

I hope you will also join me for a very special live chat with Hannah at The Motherhood on Tuesday, September 28 at 1pm eastern time. No special software is needed for the chat. It’s text only and requires only a web browser. We will be continuing the conversation about getting our families back to the table and sharing our best ideas. If you have never participated in a chat at The Motherhood, it’s easy, fun, and totally painless. And if you can’t make it live, follow the same link to read the full text of the chat anytime.

And because I like you and you’re pretty, here are more chances to take home a Libby’s tote and goodies from the ladies I was lucky enough to hang out with last week. I hope we can do it again sometime very soon!

[There may be more links added. Check back over the next few days for more chances to win.]

And don’t forget about the virtual can drive over there on my sidebar. Every dollar contributed helps feed America.

Disclosure: I was compensated for my time, and I used an affiliate link for Hannah’s book, but all the words are my own.

Category Categories: Uncategorized   |  Tag Tags: , ,  |  Comments 10 Comments »

  • Mary

    I'm not sure if this is where I should tell you about how I get my family to the table, but here goes. To be invested in meal time, I have found that three things must be present: Value the food, value the time, value the company. Each member of my family is responsible for suggesting one meal each week. I am happy to cook for the crowd, but I want to make things I know they will eat. They “rate” each meal as we go so I know if it was a hit or not. The ratings are gentle – - make this every week, once a month, couple times a year. During the meal, we have agreed to not answer the telephone, texts, and not read or watch television. It is our only time all together during the week, and we want to keep it to ourselves. Finally, everyone gets the opportunity to talk about their day, sharing the good and the bad. It has taken a while to get to this point, but we now have very nice meals together, and even our three year starts out with, “So, how was your day?”

  • http://topsy.com/clumberkim.com/category/uncategorized/table-talk/?utm_source=pingback&utm_campaign=L2 Tweets that mention Table Talk | clumberkim.com — Topsy.com

    [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by theMotherhood, Kim Daboo and Kim Daboo, Kim Daboo. Kim Daboo said: Table Talk (blog & giveaway) http://bit.ly/acnufH And join me tomorrow @TheMotherhood http://ht.ly/2KFVK We're getting back to the table! [...]

  • Melanie Myatt

    we just make sure we all eat supper together every night. no one can get down from the table until we've had our family devotional” time. that keeps us all together for a good half hour or even longer!

    melanie(dot)myatt(at)gmail(dot)com

  • Nancy

    We gather and buy food items at the farmer's market. We then also cook and eat them together. It is fun, educational, healthy, and inexpensive. Everyone is more likely to eat and enjoy when we have had this experience together. It is fun, too!

  • http://clumberkim.com ClumberKim

    Mary, I love this!!! I'm stealing it and trying to implement as much as I can.

  • red_pen_mama

    I struggle with getting the family to the table for dinner, I admit it. I try to especially make it a priority on weekends, though, when Dan is able to join us. (Mileage varies.) Right now, I have two obstacles: one is that our kitchen table has become a dumping ground for all things paper, and two, I am TIRED (at 30 wks pregnant), and it just seems easier to let the girls eat where they want to when we finally all get home. But we are working on it. Growing up, we had dinner as a family almost every night. And I think my girls (and, soon, boy) deserve the same.

  • JenEngland

    I apparently am a very bad mom. I get my family to the table by saying (and by saying I mean yelling) with increasing volume, “dinner's ready! COME. ON.” As a single working mom dinner time can be very hectic, but if we are all home, we all eat together. Sometimes its at the living room table b/c the dining room table is full of crap, homework, half folded laundry etc, but we all come together, don't watch tv (as a rule) and everyone shares three things about their day.

    Also, to get my teenager to actually BE home for dinner, I cook his favorites. It doesn't always work, but it helps.

  • http://twitter.com/happykidlets Tara Edwards

    My dad always worked so late when I was a kid and my brothers were 8 & 9 years older than me. We hardly ever ate as a whole family besides holidays. It never mattered much to me until I had my own family.

    I have 3 boys, 2, 4, & 6, and daddy doesn't get home until 6:30pm but we all wait for Daddy and we eat as a family every night.

    I dont have to TRY and get them to the table. They wont eat without Daddy because it's just how we always did it. They hear the forks hit the table and they run to eat. We try and all stay until we're all done but sometimes its hard with little ones. We do try and hopefully they'll value this time when they get older. I know I always will.

  • Kathy

    I like to have my kids eat together every night and talk about what we did for the day. Unfortunately, as a working mother, it's hard to do this every night, so we try to do this as much as possible during the week and as many meals as possible on the weekend. I like the kids to give me meal ideas, and take them grocery shopping for specific items.

  • Jen

    We don't have kids, but my husband and I do make it a priority most weekends to plan meals for the whole week, and then make a shopping list based on the menu. We then post the menu on the fridge. Having a plan, and having all of the ingredients in the house, really helps make sure we get to the table instead of running through the drive-though, picking up pizza on the way home or just fending for ourselves. This would probably help families with kids, too.