The Eight Stages of Dinner

When Jeff lost his job at the airport, one of the things he was looking forward to, was dinner nightly with his family.

Little did he know, that the ninos had been working on developing the Eight Stages of Dinner.  I think they have perfected it.  They practice every night. 

First, we have the Shock Stage.

"What?  I can't eat this.  I don't like this dinner.  I can't eat it."

That lasts for about two minutes and then launches promptly into Denial.

"I'm not eating it!  I'm not!"

This stage also does not last long, probably because we are completely ignoring them at this point.

The next stage, Silliness, is the longest, and most intolerable in my opinion.  There is spilling of beverages, dancing in the seat, creative usage of utensils, playing with food, games, squealing and other loud obnoxious noises, singing, and pretty much any behavior not appropriate for the dinner table.

This is usually about where Jeff and I finish, and leave the table, because Dyleva is just fooling around. 

Next comes Anger.  There is yelling.  "I don't want to eat my ____!  I don't like _____ !  I want ____ instead!!!"

Sometimes -almost immediately coinciding with the next stage- is Depression.  Sorrow.  Crying and sobbing at the dinner table.

The Bargaining Stage actually comes right in between the crying and sorrow.

Dylan especially, is infamous for, "Can you give me a deal?!  Can you give me a deal please?"

The Testing Stage is next, and a quick one.  This is where the ninos try to find creative solutions to their problems, like "accidently" dropping food on the floor, feeding it to Marley, or even sharing.

"Mommy," asks Eva, "How about Dylan eats my carne and I will eat his beans?"

Last, and especially not least, we have Acceptance.  The ninos finally eat what is expected of them.  By now, its nearly bed time, and dinner has lasted almost two hours. 

For babies and toddlers that LOVED to eat and had great appetites, these recent behaviors bewilder me.

So...anyone want to come over for dinner???

Sunshine Power!

Oh Saturday mornings are beautiful.  They are even more beautiful when Dylan is not awake at 6:30, but so be it.  We were up with the sunshine.

I promised Dylan if he didn't freak out getting his haircut yesterday, that we would go somewhere today.

So after a very perky Team Umizoomi episode with a golden fairy singing about Sunshine power, we had breakfast, and we were off!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI2hWKLmmNg


We were off to look for spring.  We wanted to find proof that it has in fact, arrived.  (After all, it snowed last week...)

Dyleva and I began with a nature walk.  I told Eva to dress for a hike. 

 

This is what I got. 

 I am all done fighting over clothes.

 

 So anyway we get to the park.  Mommy's park.  And it's windy.  This is Eva cracking  me up in the parking lot.
 

Eventually, after a costume change, we walk.  We begin to look for spring.  Dyleva is super excited as we explore our surroundings!  Moments after arrival Eva finds a snake, and some mud.  She also discovers a red plant beginning to grow. Dylan finds nesting geese, and finds a diamond in the water!  

nesting geese

red plant

mud

culebra

diamond in the water

The ninos play in tree forts and play on fallen branches along the way.  We also had a run in with some cranky geese, met a turtle, and talked with some eagle scouts.

After our nature hike, we had a lovely picnic in the sun, and went to play at Dylan's park.  That morning we came full circle.  I followed the ninos around the park, as they were singing "Sunshine poweeeeeer!  Sunshine poweeeeeer!"

And then they crashed.

Oh Dyngus

It's all about the Dyngus.  Unfortunately this year, we didn't participate. 
Our Easter holiday began jam packed.  On Good Friday we dyed eggs with Lola and celebrated accordingly. The weather was actually semi-decent.  On Saturday, we celebrated Polish Easter with Grandpa Jim and Grandma Sue.  There was an Easter egg hunt and the ninos played together. 

Sunday morning the ninos woke up, looked in Dylan's closet and continued to search the house.  Eventually, they circled back to the lazy susan and Dylan's closet again and found their Easter baskets.  We went to brunch at Tia Rhonda's house, and dinner at Tia Jill's.  Two more Easter egg hunts.

By Monday morning, Dyleva was tired.  And feverish.  We made it to Grandma Candy's house in the morning, but we decided to sit this Dyngus Day out.  Instead, thanks to Titi, we watched the Pirate Movie.  Awesome!

By Tuesday, Eva was feeling better.  I took Dyleva to Explore N' More Children's Museum.  They had a lot of fun.  It was Polish Culture week.  Unfortunately for Eva and Dylan, they head back to school in a day....I will be at a loss with what to do with myself!