Things that cause tummy aches

I have learned all about tummy aches from my children and husband. Stomach aches occur daily in a household of 6. For example, today Jeff demonstrated one of the classic causes for stomach aches--eating m&ms for dinner. I know, I know, our blog title suggests that this is something we do all the time, but in actuality we always eat dinner first and m&ms later. Until today. We had "make it yourself night" (one of my favorites!) and Jeff apparently forgot to eat dinner. Then after dinner we got out some m&ms--one bag of peanut and one bag of dark--and he ate a few, and then a few more. Pretty soon, he said, "Why do I have a stomach ache?"

Next thing I knew, everyone in the family was volunteering tummy ache inducers, including:

• staying up until after 10 when you're only 5 years old (Maggie does this pretty much every night--and then comes downstairs and complains about her tummy).
• staying up til 2 when you're older than 5 (all three of the older girls have checked this one out during sleepover parties).
• running into the car door (or sustaining other minor injuries, if you're a kid. In my case, it took breaking my leg or being in labor to cause a stomach ache).
• forgetting to eat breakfast and/or lunch (Michelle regularly tries this one out).

So, if you're looking to have a healthy stomach, don't eat m&ms for dinner, and don't break your leg.