The Breeders: Forget College, We're Gonna Need a Grocery Fund

In junior high I didn't get in trouble for talking or doodling in class. I was chided for sneaking handfuls of trail mix in Pre-Algebra because an hour and a half was too long to go without eating between the passing period and lunch. 

By the second semester of seventh grade it was pretty evident why — I grew six inches in just the first six months of junior high. And, let me tell you, it was really fun being taller than 98 percent of the boys in my class...

Boys don't usually hit their growth spurt until high school, and, according to my in-laws, my husband and his brother had growth spurts to rival mine. According to my father-in-law it wasn't unusual to come home to just one of the boys having consumed an entire loaf of bread and a gallon of milk for an after-school snack. 

If we could, I'd start stockpiling bread and milk now. This kid can eat.

When he started eating solids we decided to try and make everything ourselves. It was cheaper and easier to know what he was actually eating. This was went well until solid foods became less of a novelty and more of the main event. Luckily, Grandma came bearing baby food in jars and pouches, and we realized we either needed to go into the baby food-making business or start supplementing with premade stuff.

When he was seven months old the kid could eat an "age-appropriate serving" of dad's pureed pears, another of peas and another jar of whatever Grandma picked up in one meal. Oh, and he was also nursing or having a bottle of pumped stuff around the clock.

Now that he can feed himself, the average breakfast consists of an entire banana and a piece of toast topped with a fruit puree. That is more breakfast than some adults eat. 

But, I shouldn't be surprised. I think he grew half an inch during his last nap.