One thing that has not changed with Dan being gone, is the dinnertime battles. Whether daddy is present or not, there seems to be an issue with sitting in a seat for any length of time, added with a side of trying to eat food while sitting there. Nathan will eat just about anything you put in front of him, so quality control is not his issue - it's the sitting there waiting for everyone to finish that possesses a problem for him. Andrew on the other hand, wants to inspect every piece of food for quality control before even tasting it. This dates as far back as his first solids. We used to have to throw a bite in, and hold his mouth shut for him to swallow it. Once he realized that it was satisfactory then he will slowly eat it.
Dan has always been much stricter than I at dinner time, and wanting to try and keep the same rules - I have had to step it up a notch. While I didn't have the reinforcement, nor the company to assist me, it did mean for a shorter overall dinnertime. Somehow those minutes, still felt like an hour.
Having just completed a Moms4moms meeting on how to have fun and be creative with your kids - I was challenged to help make our dinnertime routine more interesting and engaging. So, tonight as I served up Shepherd's pie I was inspired to tell them it was Pirate Stew with a gold treasure buried inside. While it was nothing more than corn hidden amongst the meat and the potatoes they totally fell for it! I managed to find our pirate hats, and really played up the theme. We talked about what we'd do with the treasure once we'd found it and even what Captain Blackbeard was thinking while he buried it. We had a blast, and both boys scarfed down 2 helpings.
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