BETH

Trying to shave calories from Steven's diet has been one of Beth's main goals while they have custody of Steven. She allows him to eat whatever he wants but maintains a tight control on snacks. For example: If he wants cake he gets 1/2 a slice; or, he gets a piece with most of the frosting scraped off. If he wants milk, he gets non-fat milk. You get the idea! Steven isn't quite sure what's going on but he knows he needs to get permission from Beth for the snacks he's allowed to eat. This was evident last summer when he was introduced for the first time to "baby carrots". He'd never eaten them before and wasn't sure if he wanted to try them. After a couple of bites he looked up at Beth and said, "These are good! How many of them do I get?" We all laughed as she sheepishly told him he could have as many as he wants.

A small side-note to this process: As Beth and I got in the car last summer to go somewhere (I forget where), the first words out of her mouth were, "Quick! I need junk food!" We made a mad dash to the local convenience store where we bought a bag of Cheetos and a large Dr. Pepper. Steven's not the only one "suffering" from his diet. SORRY BETH--couldn't resist!