Did You Catch That Puke? Good, 'Cause I'm Still Eating.
Updated: Dec 28, 2020
Dinner time in our house can be kinda crazy.
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Evenings at home are always a bit of an adventure. Well, let's just say that I call it an 'adventure' because it's one of the nicer words I'll use to describe what dinner is like with two strong-willed toddlers.
My boys are super active throughout the day. Their energy levels are so high I sometimes wonder how they could possibly be jumping, running, screaming and happily cheering for hours on end. I mean, I'm huffin' and puffin' after 10 burpees at the gym and these guys are able to Marathon Play for what feels like, All. Day. Long. And once dinner time comes around it's not that much different.
Before you think to yourself, "I get my kids to sit in their chairs and eat their food as often as possible", trust me when I tell you that I try. Every night. I try. WE try - both the hubs and I are constantly talking these guys through the process of sitting and eating, but sometimes, it just doesn't fly.
The other night our boys had had another fun-filled day that leaked over into dinnertime. My oldest, who's a pretty good eater had eaten the majority of his dinner while my youngest who apparently survives on kisses, puzzles and milk, wanted to continue to use the couch as his personal jungle gym while he refused any and all food we presented to him. My husband and I decided to eat our dinner since food, as we know it, is essential to our parental mental health and well-being. After a few minutes, the baby decided to sit and join us and as he swallowed his first bite, he started to cough a bit. This, however was no ordinary cough. He was coughing like he had been a bit earlier that day when he had gotten a little dramatic and coughed so much that he regurgitated. He was not choking on his food, but rather I think his throat was rejecting the foreign object of actual food-like sustenance that it didn't know how to physically process it. As he took that tiny dinner bite of food, I looked over at him and then at my husband who was watching him. Now, I had had a pretty long day with the kids by this point. From the first pukefest that morning to the mid-day nap battle to the partially successful attempt at conjuring up an appealing dinner for my little guys. As my baby continued to cough a bit, the next thought that I directed towards my husband was , "Well, if baby pukes, you'll catch it, right? Great, because I'm still eating."
I stopped for a second and thought just how nuts parenting can be. I had such a long day that I was perfectly ok with watching my 2 year old hurl while I continued eating my own food. By the same nutty token, I thought it perfectly fine for my husband to catch that puke in his own hands. What world do I live in? Oh, that's right, it's the Mommy/Daddy World of love, craziness, fun, and trying to teach our kids the importance of eating actual food all the while trying to make sense of our daily lives.