Where did my real child go?

I think an alien has come down and replaced my son. (A beta unit, perhaps? Name that movie reference!) You know, Mr. Picky Eater? This is the child who decides before he's even put something new in his mouth that he doesn't like it, and even if you can see on his face that he clearly *does* like it, he will swear that he does not and refuse eat any more of it. That is the child I am used to. That is apparently *not* who I was dealing with today!

We've been trying for years to find some version of chicken fingers that he will eat at home. Homemade certainly didn't work, but neither did any of the 5 or 6 varieties of frozen that I tried! Didn't matter what brand or type, he still said he didn't like them. I have noticed that his taste in restaurant chicken tenders has improved (he's now a Zaxby's boy, when he used to say he didn't like them), so when a coupon popped up in the paper the other day, I decided to try them again. I made him some for lunch today, and he immediately said, "Yum!!! I want to eat these every day!" Um, okay, maybe not every day, but it's nice to have an at home option besides peanut butter, pepperoni, and grilled cheese. I was certainly getting tired of making them for him for dinner, especially when he takes peanut butter or pepperoni in his lunch at least 4 days a week. Maybe in another few months, we can try homemade baked ones again?

Then, this afternoon, the *same* day that he had already tried (and liked!) the new chicken tenders, he starts asking me why we don't eat "the beans in the brown sauce" anymore. I'm sorry, the what? "You know, it had the brown sauce and the beans and it was my favorite." Do you mean chili? The chili that you ate starting around age 2 through age 4 or 5, and then have flatly refused to eat for at least the last 2 years so I stopped trying? That chili?! He couldn't say for sure, so I made some tonight for dinner. "Yeah, this is it. I love this! It's my favorite." And he proceeded to eat the entire bowl!

Okay, who are you, and what have you done with my son?! It's possible it's a fluke and he won't eat it next time, but for now, he seems to love it, and it's easy enough to microwave on nights that he doesn't want what the grownups are having. [Updated on 1/5/2012: He requested chili again for dinner tonight. I heated up Tuesday's leftovers, which he promptly downed and asked for more, which I sadly didn't have. I will definitely make sure we have some on hand at all times going forward!]

Look out, world. There may be pigs flying tomorrow!

Currently feeling: you want to eat what?