The one person in my family that really knows how to cook is my dad.  Unfortunately, he doesn't get home from work until at least 8:00 every night, so my mom normally cooks dinner.  The worst part about it is that she truly believes she’s a great cook, but in reality her food isn't that good and she’s constantly cooking the same meals.  My sisters and I have learned to tolerate it, but I try to avoid being home for dinner during the school week as much as possible.  Luckily, we order in quite often; Italian on Wednesdays when my mom works late, and Chinese or sushi at least once a week. My family normally spends at least $150 on food made at home a week and about another $100-$150 spent when going out or ordering in.

            Since my dad works so late, we rarely eat dinner as a family during the week.  On Sundays, my dad either spends all day cooking or we go out to dinner.   Every Saturday morning, my mom takes my little sister to piano lessons so my dad and I go out to breakfast, always to different places.  My dad loves cooking huge breakfasts on Sunday mornings, normally consisting of french toast, eggs, and bacon.

            Although we don’t eat together as often as we should, we mom loves nothing more than when we are all home for dinner.  Even if we are being forced to eat my mom’s cooking, these meals bring us closer together as a family.