Entertaining

One of the hardest times of day for us is from about 4:00-6:00. Two kiddos are usually grumpy and hungry, and mommy has been known to be tired and grumpy too! I usually start to think about getting dinner together at about 4:15, right when the two of them are usually at their worst! One is whining for a snack and the other is whining to be held, which makes cooking nearly impossible. I was just reminiscing the other day about the old days when I used to enjoy cooking and trying new recipes- now it really seems it's a race just to get something edible on the table. Beth usually eats what I prepare for the family; she has always been a fantastic eater. Luke is a little picker; we usually try to get him to sample everything, but more often than not resort to some cottage cheese and fruit.

I've been experimenting with ideas to entertain them during this period so I can get dinner together (we eat between 5:30-6:00), and short of turning on the television for Beth I haven't found a perfect solution yet. A friend suggested arts and crafts for Beth, but she's really not too excited about that yet. Or possibly, I don't have the right stuff for her (what, like broken crayons aren't fun?!). Today she was content to make some Valentine's Day cards with some glitter glue I bought for her. I spent too much money on some special toddler snack sticks for Luke but, surprise! He doesn't like those. So he found happiness playing in the pantry instead. Beth soon joined him, but the party ended abruptly when Luke grabbed- and subsequently dropped- a glass bottle of cider vinegar. Apparently old cider vinegar because it STINKS. The jar shattered and I had two screaming crying babies while all the food was about to be done at once. The were both fine, just very disturbed by the noise and commotion!

The kitchen has been thoroughly cleaned (we have an inspection tomorrow, so really it was good timing) and the kids are sleeping soundly. Maybe tomorrow at 4:00 pm we'll try something new instead...