Ending the dinner time battle

What is my least favorite question as we approach the dinner hour? 

 "Mom, can I sit by you?" 

With six kids, everyone wants to sit by mom.  The children tried to better their chances by asking a few minutes before dinner if they could fill my water glass.  There were nights where there were three water glasses on the table intented for me.  Another strategy was to stake out a spot for mom, with them sitting beside it, long before dinner.  When those two strategies failed, there was always the next step to argue their way into sitting next to me.  It was a common occurance for their to be tears, put downs, yelling.  If Miriam didn't get to sit by me, she would get so upset, she would have be sent upstairs to cool off.  Or, she would grab a stool from the island and plant herself between the lucky child who thought they'd be sitting next to me and me.  Needless to say, that did not go over well.  It got to, when dinner approached and I was asked my least favorite question, I wanted to say, "No, because I'm not eating at the table!"  I couldn't keep track from night to night who had sat by me so there were cries of favoritism.

We came up with a solution that has worked perfectly, a rotating seating chart.  It's posted on the fridge for all to see.  It has entirely eliminated the battle.  Miriam now happily asks where she'll be sitting for the night.  Of course, Jacob thinks it's absolutely ridiculous (but I don't know what we do that he DOES think is great!).  The lucky child who sits by mom also gets to say the blessing on the food.  Hooray for coming up with solutions to problems!