Tuesday, June 24, 2014

And Then I Tried to Make My Toddler Eat Baked Beans

It's been a while!  Various celebrations have transpired since I posted on here.  I promise to be more diligent; I don't know where the time has gone.  I started making and selling wreaths to friends, family and on Etsy, but that's not really a great excuse....Nor is my laundry in "completed" status...please, I beg of you, don't inspect my kitchen sink.  I'm going to go with "I've been on a hiatus to foster creative thought."

Whatever.

Mother's and Father's Day have come and gone.  The Annual Parade of Birthdays is complete, almost.  Today was my anniversary of 8 years.  All of these holidays and milestones just keep coming and my years keep growing.  I have heard old people say all my life that it goes all too fast.  Well, I must be old, because it's going all too fast!!!  I want to save the image of my little girl playing in the dirt with her cousins, wearing her watermelon dress on Father's Day in my mind forever.  I want to remember the thoughtful gifts and gestures my friends and family gave me and did for me on my birthday (mostly I still remember the food related gestures.  I can't help it.  Priorities.)  I need to hold in my heart the pleased looks when we all spent time with each family member on their own special day.  I want to remember the delight of my little girl when she told everyone "Happy Birthday!"  Even though it may have been a few days past and maybe not the right person...

But one thing I don't want to remember:  The battle of wills that come with parenting a toddler.  My little one is two and is fairly well behaved, nice and sweet and wonderful 99% of the time and I really can't complain.

But then.

Then I tried to make her eat baked beans on my mom's birthday.  You would have thought I tried to make her eat a dead, rotting frog out of the yard.  Nothing says "Happy Birthday, Mom" like 45 minutes of howling and hysterical crying, except maybe 45 minutes of continuous whimpering with intermittent flinging of oneself onto the ground after that.

And they were really good baked beans!  She should be so lucky!  Two is too young for the "some kids in other places don't have any food to eat and would be so happy to have these very beans."  I know, because I've tried that angle.  I got a blank stare in return.  Not only did I waste copious amounts of energy trying to force the eating of the beans, but somehow my little two year old tricked me into saying things I swore I would never ever say.  TRICKED!

Fine, I'LL eat your beans.  But I will force feed a bite into your mouth, first.  (parents, this method didn't really work out for me...)

Happy Birthday, Mom.