I am pretty sure that last night will go down in history as one of our Worst. Dinners. Ever.
Complete meltdowns were had by 4/5 of us.
Let's back it up here. A few months ago, I had a pinteresting idea that I would get a chalkboard to hang in our dining room so I could be artsy and give the kids full warning what was to come for dinner. (This is mainly directed at Averey, who at 10 is still the pickiest eater I've ever known.) Last night was no exception. The menu board read: 8 Layer Casserole. With egg noodles, ground beef with tomato sauce and spices, spinach, a delicious cream cheese/sour cream/onion sauce and cheddar cheese on top, it was not a new menu item, and other than Averey, the rest of us have gobbled it up. Should have been an easy dinner, one that would soon be forgotten.
Should. Have. Been.
It all started with Kelsey, which was quite a surprise since "picky" is not a word I would use to describe her. She took a bite, claimed she didn't like it (never mind the two helpings she had the last time I made it), and got down from the dinner table. Right away, trouble was brewing since no one should get down from their seat until we are all (mostly) done. She wanted to escape to her room, and I knew all too well she was after her tablet.
Jacey refused to take a bite until she had some ranch dressing at her side. Jake wanted to her to take a bite first. The whining sobbing ensued.
Averey remained silent, but her looks of disgust as she pushed her food around her plate to make it look as though she were eating made it quite obvious how she was feeling about dinner.
Kelsey then flopped herself on the floor, crying because we were telling her to sit at the table. Not even asking her to eat, mind you, just sitting. At this point, both Jake and I were raising our voices (with our mouths full; we weren't going hungry!), and all of the idle threats I make about taking toys came full force into action. I grabbed Kelsey's tablet and put it on my closet shelf. I took their Legos that they had so nicely been playing with each other before dinner, threw them in their container and shoved that at the top of my closet. I was on a roll, and so I took the giant container of Wegmans Organic Animal Cookies that they can't seem to get enough of, slapped some painter's tape over the lid, and said, "NO ONE IS EATING THESE!" and found that I had no room at the top of my closet for them. Jake says, "What if I want some?" So I put them on his dresser.
There was yelling, screaming, Jake and I sounding all-parenty-like saying, "If we had acted this way at dinner when we were kids..."
If we had any composure, it was gone. (It didn't stop us from eating seconds though.)
I was sick of all of the fussing, crying, whining, and just general unacceptable behavior. Jacey told me she didn't like me. Well, kid, I wouldn't exactly call you likable at this particular unlovely episode!
But then Jake talked to Kelsey and she settled. Jacey calmed down enough to take a bite of her food. And I went in the bedroom, trying to calm down, pray, and swallow the tears that were stinging my eyes.
The poor lone man in our house came in, rubbed my back and said it would be okay. I said, "This is all I ever wanted!" The three kids I had dreamed about (once upon a time it was six, half of that is perfectly fine, thankyouverymuch) had worn me down into a yelling hot mess.
He said, "You get the good with the bad!"
Within the hour, the four of us ladies sat at the dining room table, coloring, enjoying being in one another's presence. I got the good.
(And the Legos and tablet are still at the top of my closet. I'm still trying to figure out how they can "earn" them back. It might be awhile. I'm still rattled from the ordeal.)
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