High Chair Wars

A cup of blueberries
A cup of sweet peas
7 pieces of deli turkey
2 slices of cheese
A cup of milk
2 pieces of whole wheat bread
1/4 cup of yogurt

And still she asks for "MOHHH!"

After all of that food, consumed in a 15 minute time span, Peanut begs for more food!  Our table is in our kitchen which makes meal time slightly easier when Peanut is at the table.  Here is how dinner service "went down" this evening:

Peanut is yelling (her only volume these days.... happy or sad; it's always at volume: shout), stomping her feet at the gate between the kitchen and the rest of the house.  "EAAAAAT!  EAAAAT!"  I look at my watch and, she is right..... 10 minutes 'till dinner service number one.  I wash her hands and head straight for the booster seat, grabbing the blueberries from the fridge as I pass.  The sight of the blueberries induces clapping and leg kicking.... more shouting.

As soon as I dump out (what I think should take her 10 minutes to eat) about a cup of berries, she grabs two giant handfuls and shoves both of them into her mouth simultaneously.  Then as I turn around, rushing to fix the peas.... she is shouting: "MOHHH!!"  Tray cleared, mouth full, eyes piercing through me; knowing there are more berries in the fridge and I am withholding.   I truly spin in circles grabbing food from the counter, all but throwing it at her in hopes it lands within her reach instead of in the dog's mouth.  The dog is a totally different issue: whether he is licking her tray directly, licking her spoon (that she then puts back into her own mouth), or being fed by the diner.... he is never far and always interested.

Keep in mind that as soon as Peanut is seated, Bug notices that dinner has begun and she races to wash her hands and gives her input regarding the menu.  So, as I am trying to keep a clear head with the shouting, and the spinning, and the serving; I am also checking blood sugar and counting the amount of carbohydrates I am serving my oldest child.  Once the sugar is checked and the food is served, I head back to the counter and continue.  Thankfully, Bug is a peaceful eater and often only speaks to ask "Why is she shouting?!" or to tell me "Mom, she is definitely going to have to have a bath after this.  Just look at her face!"  She is right.

Almost every night, the post dinner routine for Peanut is a strip down, pre-bath wipe down, and we head straight to the bath tub..... all the while I am laughing and asking her how in the world she got yogurt in her ear and smooshed blueberry on her back.

I know what you are thinking: "why don't you just get her food ready ahead of time and have it ready for her to eat before she gets fussy?!"  I say to you, "No matter how early I prep; the hunger beast always wins."  I invite you to dinner with a toddler, and after that you may speak freely

This is a phase.  I know this because at one time, my peaceful eater was a shouter, food thrower, dog feeder, and 6 o'clock stress inducer.  So, just for now, I will continue to go to the grocery store 3 times a week to keep us in fruit and breath through the labor of love that is feeding my 25 pound 16 month old.

Chapter 14: Nomadic Adventures

I started at "Birth" as Chapter 1, and worked up from there.  This stage of life falls at number 14.

Nomad:

    1. A member of a group of people who have no fixed home and move according to the seasons from place to place in search of food, water, and grazing land.
    2. A person with no fixed residence who roams about; a wander.

I know what you are thinking......  and no, we are not moving to a far off desert to follow the camels as they search for water, or going to live with a herd of sheep to basically become one of them.  However, if you break down the definition of a nomad, we will be doing (our own version of) just that... free roaming herds of animals need not apply.

"1. A member of a group of people who have no fixed home..."

Later this week, if all goes as planned, we will have a "For Sale" sign in front of our (adorable, affordable, amazing, you should buy it) little house.  If you have ever attempted to sell your dwelling, you are well aware of the fact that as soon as you decide to sell, the house is no longer your comfortable, cozy, cluttered little home.  I have done my absolute best to make it seem as though:

-we have children, but they are quiet and boring and don't have more than 7 toys each

-we each only have a total of 10 outfits and 5 pairs of shoes

-we did not receive ANY wedding gifts

-we never use our bathroom or kitchen

and the one that keeps me going

-we don't actually live here, but rather it's like our home, on set of our family sit-com

All that to say, after we sell our house, we will have "no fixed home".  Don't feel sorry for us, that is apparently the goal we have set, so let's all hope and pray that "a safe kind of homeless" will be the end (and temporary) result.

".... and move according to the seasons from place to place in search of food, water, and grazing land."

I am sure that the definition implies that the seasons are that of Winter, Spring and so on.  However, for us this "season" is simply called Fellowship.  There was the Med School season, then the Residency season, now the Fellowship season..... to be followed by (God willing) the Finished season, or as I lovingly call it, the Job.  

So as we follow the season of Fellowship to a far off land called North Carolina, we will be in search of food (our new favorite restaurants), water (will we need to buy a Pur or is the tap water tasty?), and grazing land (this could be filled by any number of things, but for us it means: golf courses, play grounds, endocrinologists, Pharmacy, library, Whole Foods, dog parks, walking routes, pediatricians, red box spots, baby sitters, and anything else implying necessity or recreation).  

All potentially exciting things, as long as true life plays out exactly as the romantic comedy version; complete with a great soundtrack, and kooky (but safe and lovable) neighbors.

"2. A person with no fixed residence who roams about; a wanderer."

As we prepare to sell our house, I am spending every ounce of free time trolling every possible real estate website, having anything to do with a home that might be perfect for us, and available for rent beginning June 2012 and ending July 2013.  Which explains my absence from the Open Mic 4 times a week, here at Club Sugar Savvy.

Because we will be renting a house/condo/town home, (and I have rented many times before so I speak from experience) I will not feel that our space is our home.  That small fact eats away at me as I search for the perfect spot:

-3 bedroom, 2 bath, hardwood floors, fenced back yard, similar size to my current house, and a kitchen that is equal to or greater than the one where I spend a large part of my day

All that being said; we might be without a "fixed residence", and we might "roam about", but we will be unfixed and wandering together, with or without a dishwasher.

Thankfully, I know that there are other "nomadic" families in our midst.  As we await a long term dwelling place, we know we are not alone in our temporary displacement, and we look forward to sharing stories of our migrations.