Two posts in one day! Yikes!
Perhaps because, as students on a fixed income, we enjoy the fruits of a successful budgeting system that allows us to splurge on occasion, or perhaps because we enjoy taking our well-behaved children into public without fear of a tantrum or meltdown – a security that makes their company a joy instead of a chore - we decided to go to Outback for dinner. Keven is hip-deep in studying, and we wanted to take a break.
I think Ilsa actually ate negative amounts of food. She loved her chocolate milk, though.
A digression: At lunch today, I introduced the girls to dried apricots. Ilsa refused to budge. She would not try the tiny bit I gave her. Cajoling and threats did not work, but her eating habits have gotten so reticent and selective that I am willing to go to great lengths to ensure she has a suitable selection of foods that she considers edible.
I was toying with my apricots, waiting for Ilsa to relent, when I noticed that they split in half lengthwise, leaving two oval halves. I put one on my tongue and pretended, to Juliette, that I was sticking my apricot tongue out at her. She thought that was hilarious and insisted that she try an apricot tongue as well. Great! I had an unwitting accomplice in my game. Ilsa saw what fun we were having and put her little piece of apricot on her tongue. I proceeded to demonstrate how I could eat my own tongue. "Ouch, ouch, ouch! Eating my tongue!" Juliette was in hysterics, chewing "tongue," and then she looked to Ilsa. We waited for her to follow suit. Voila! Apricot chewed and consumed.
I felt so much like Mrs. Parker on A Christmas Story ("mommy's little piggy") that I started to chant, "Mommy rocks! Mommy rocks!" Ilsa thought this was a piece of silliness worth imitating, so she did a dance in her chair and sang, "I-sah rocks! I-sah rocks!" Hilarious. I mean, peeing-and-crying-hysterical. We'll get this on video no matter the amount of prompting it requires.
So off to Outback. Ilsa refused buttered bread. She refused fries. She refused chicken nuggets. We didn't press any of these issues because we were all there to have a nice time, in public, and because, well, it wasn't like arguing with her to eat green beans. It's restaurant food! Who should force their children to eat grease they don't enjoy??
Juliette was almost as reluctant to eat. She was too busy playing with the free coloring menu and crayons. Also, in recent weeks, we've been learning the names of the continents from a world floor puzzle and a wall map in their room, which primarily means talking about animal habitats. For the moment, Africa is known for elephants, lions, and rhinos, Australia is known for Roo (her kangaroo) and koalas, and Europe is known for Grandma Linda, Grandad, Steve and Silvia in England. So in a restaurant wholly themed around Australia... Juliette was mesmerized. She just could not believe there was a place that was entirely about kangaroos and koalas, which - if you've ever been to an Outback - is nearly accurate. In the future, we'll have to remember theme restaurants as rewards after geographical unit studies.
There were five TVs within sight of our table, all playing March Madness games, so Keven was a little distracted too (he’s in a pool). Ilsa, watching the TVs above the bar, both of which were tuned to the same station, kept telling me that there were two of everything. "Mommy, two cars. Mommy, two doggies. Mommy, two soccer guys." She thinks all televised sports are soccer games, which amuses Keven. Then she started to do "I-sah rocks" again, leaving Keven and I in stitches. I know he and I talked about something, but the circus surrounding us made for hard-going conversation. Ah well...
We promised to take them to the mall play structure after dinner, but the mall was closed. Luckily, near any mall one can find a McDonald's. Where there is a McDonald’s in Madison, there is an indoor play structure. Keven stayed in the main restaurant to study, away from the loud children theatrics. Since he was working, that meant I had to work too. Only fair, so I was on child duty. About eight little kids, aged 9-ish to 2-ish, were running around, and the girls dove right in.
If you have not been in a McDonald's play structure, understand that they are neither designed for adults nor children under (approximately) three. Juliette climbed up just fine, but she got lost in the upper level tunnels and could not find the entrance to the slide. She started to cry. At the same time, Ilsa climbed up, found the entrance to the slide, but refused to go down. Little kids behind her tried to move her out of the way. She started to cry. I had to intervene to defuse the situation, which meant climbing my adult behind up a little flight of kiddie stairs in an enclosed tunnel.
I scooted Ilsa aside, let the other kids go down, showed Juliette the entrance, and then slid down with them. Juliette, now in the know about how to navigate the contraption, was in at full tilt. She probably made 20 circuits in as many minutes. Ilsa, who had such a good time when she slid down with me, wanted to do again. She tried but got scared again. "Carry me, Mommy." I refused. We watched Juliette slide down a time or two before Ilsa got so antsy about standing around that she had another go of it. This time, sitting at the top of the enclosed tunnel slide with me calling up to her and the other kids encouraging her (a fair improvement over trying to toss her down)... she did it. She slid on her own and was ready for more.
Time number two, she poked her head so far down to look at me that she slid head-first on her tummy. The third time resulted in another head-first tumble but on her back. A bump on the head. Some tears. I told Juliette it was time to go and she could have one more slide. Hearing this final call, Ilsa wanted to try one more time, which resulted in another success. She made it down in one piece, and we collected Keven for our ride home.
I thought it was funny that although we arrived with Keven, when he stayed in the restaurant to study and was not around for the playing, the girls did not ask where daddy went. I think because they are used to relying on me at play events that daddy's absence pretty much went unnoticed. Again, ah well... Some things at this age, with these family dynamics, and in our situation cannot be helped, which makes Ilsa's sliding successes, Juliette's eager-eyes curiosity about hackneyed restaurant decorations, and "I-sah rocks" all the more valuable to our stability and happiness.
Perhaps because, as students on a fixed income, we enjoy the fruits of a successful budgeting system that allows us to splurge on occasion, or perhaps because we enjoy taking our well-behaved children into public without fear of a tantrum or meltdown – a security that makes their company a joy instead of a chore - we decided to go to Outback for dinner. Keven is hip-deep in studying, and we wanted to take a break.
I think Ilsa actually ate negative amounts of food. She loved her chocolate milk, though.
A digression: At lunch today, I introduced the girls to dried apricots. Ilsa refused to budge. She would not try the tiny bit I gave her. Cajoling and threats did not work, but her eating habits have gotten so reticent and selective that I am willing to go to great lengths to ensure she has a suitable selection of foods that she considers edible.
I was toying with my apricots, waiting for Ilsa to relent, when I noticed that they split in half lengthwise, leaving two oval halves. I put one on my tongue and pretended, to Juliette, that I was sticking my apricot tongue out at her. She thought that was hilarious and insisted that she try an apricot tongue as well. Great! I had an unwitting accomplice in my game. Ilsa saw what fun we were having and put her little piece of apricot on her tongue. I proceeded to demonstrate how I could eat my own tongue. "Ouch, ouch, ouch! Eating my tongue!" Juliette was in hysterics, chewing "tongue," and then she looked to Ilsa. We waited for her to follow suit. Voila! Apricot chewed and consumed.
I felt so much like Mrs. Parker on A Christmas Story ("mommy's little piggy") that I started to chant, "Mommy rocks! Mommy rocks!" Ilsa thought this was a piece of silliness worth imitating, so she did a dance in her chair and sang, "I-sah rocks! I-sah rocks!" Hilarious. I mean, peeing-and-crying-hysterical. We'll get this on video no matter the amount of prompting it requires.
So off to Outback. Ilsa refused buttered bread. She refused fries. She refused chicken nuggets. We didn't press any of these issues because we were all there to have a nice time, in public, and because, well, it wasn't like arguing with her to eat green beans. It's restaurant food! Who should force their children to eat grease they don't enjoy??
Juliette was almost as reluctant to eat. She was too busy playing with the free coloring menu and crayons. Also, in recent weeks, we've been learning the names of the continents from a world floor puzzle and a wall map in their room, which primarily means talking about animal habitats. For the moment, Africa is known for elephants, lions, and rhinos, Australia is known for Roo (her kangaroo) and koalas, and Europe is known for Grandma Linda, Grandad, Steve and Silvia in England. So in a restaurant wholly themed around Australia... Juliette was mesmerized. She just could not believe there was a place that was entirely about kangaroos and koalas, which - if you've ever been to an Outback - is nearly accurate. In the future, we'll have to remember theme restaurants as rewards after geographical unit studies.
There were five TVs within sight of our table, all playing March Madness games, so Keven was a little distracted too (he’s in a pool). Ilsa, watching the TVs above the bar, both of which were tuned to the same station, kept telling me that there were two of everything. "Mommy, two cars. Mommy, two doggies. Mommy, two soccer guys." She thinks all televised sports are soccer games, which amuses Keven. Then she started to do "I-sah rocks" again, leaving Keven and I in stitches. I know he and I talked about something, but the circus surrounding us made for hard-going conversation. Ah well...
We promised to take them to the mall play structure after dinner, but the mall was closed. Luckily, near any mall one can find a McDonald's. Where there is a McDonald’s in Madison, there is an indoor play structure. Keven stayed in the main restaurant to study, away from the loud children theatrics. Since he was working, that meant I had to work too. Only fair, so I was on child duty. About eight little kids, aged 9-ish to 2-ish, were running around, and the girls dove right in.
If you have not been in a McDonald's play structure, understand that they are neither designed for adults nor children under (approximately) three. Juliette climbed up just fine, but she got lost in the upper level tunnels and could not find the entrance to the slide. She started to cry. At the same time, Ilsa climbed up, found the entrance to the slide, but refused to go down. Little kids behind her tried to move her out of the way. She started to cry. I had to intervene to defuse the situation, which meant climbing my adult behind up a little flight of kiddie stairs in an enclosed tunnel.
I scooted Ilsa aside, let the other kids go down, showed Juliette the entrance, and then slid down with them. Juliette, now in the know about how to navigate the contraption, was in at full tilt. She probably made 20 circuits in as many minutes. Ilsa, who had such a good time when she slid down with me, wanted to do again. She tried but got scared again. "Carry me, Mommy." I refused. We watched Juliette slide down a time or two before Ilsa got so antsy about standing around that she had another go of it. This time, sitting at the top of the enclosed tunnel slide with me calling up to her and the other kids encouraging her (a fair improvement over trying to toss her down)... she did it. She slid on her own and was ready for more.
Time number two, she poked her head so far down to look at me that she slid head-first on her tummy. The third time resulted in another head-first tumble but on her back. A bump on the head. Some tears. I told Juliette it was time to go and she could have one more slide. Hearing this final call, Ilsa wanted to try one more time, which resulted in another success. She made it down in one piece, and we collected Keven for our ride home.
I thought it was funny that although we arrived with Keven, when he stayed in the restaurant to study and was not around for the playing, the girls did not ask where daddy went. I think because they are used to relying on me at play events that daddy's absence pretty much went unnoticed. Again, ah well... Some things at this age, with these family dynamics, and in our situation cannot be helped, which makes Ilsa's sliding successes, Juliette's eager-eyes curiosity about hackneyed restaurant decorations, and "I-sah rocks" all the more valuable to our stability and happiness.
1 comments:
Picky eating drives me crazy! Ben loved dried apricots three days ago, but today he wouldn't touch them. And forget about any green vegetables....
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