A RealFamilies RealFun Blog

Jan 5 2009

Sippy cup juice blast

Category: Come and Get It

I like that my kids can get a yogurt, slice of cheese, or drink themselves. Still I'm tired of the mess when they get into things they shouldn't, like the other day when Lucie decided to pour herself a drink.

I make sure that the kids have several sippy cups pre-filled with milk, juice or water in the refrigerator at all times. But they drink a lot, too, which means they constantly need refills.

I heard Lucie dragging a chair around the kitchen, and knew I had to get downstairs quickly to investigate. I wasn't quick enough because by the time I found her in the living room, she was on the couch watching TV sitting next to an empty apple juice jug.

Wondering how the apple juice disappeared so quickly -- I just opened it that morning -- I was prepared to find a large puddle in the kitchen. Instead, I found a half dozen juice filled sippy cups on the table. Like gathering up empty beer cans after a fraternity bash, I started to perform a sippy cup round up.

Going back in the living room, I collected the empties -- leaving Lucie one to drink from -- and dumped them in the sink. I picked up the empty jug of apple juice, and filled it back up with the juice in the sippy cups on the kitchen table. Then I put all the cups in the dishwasher.

As I opened the refrigerator door to put away the juice, I realized I wasn't done. There were five more juice-filled cups on the door shelf. I placed them on the kitchen table, dumped their contents in the bottle, and placed them in the dishwasher along with their brethren.

As I put the bottle back a second time, I realized I still wasn't done. There were three more sippy cups filled with juice on the top shelf. Again, I dumped out their contents and tossed them in the dishwasher. By this time, the dishwasher was full, so I got that started while I sponged off the sticky table top.

I'm now contemplating putting a lock on the refrigerator and the sippy cups on a very high shelf. It's going to be a long summer.

Dec 29 2008

Big things; little packages

Category: Come and Get It

Occasionally we take the kids out to nice restaurants. Usually they behave themselves, but last night was an exception.

Paul and Nathan left to go to the men's room. As I ate my grilled shrimp and scallops, I heard a humungous burp. What gross and uncouth individual could have done that? Maybe a big, hairy truck driver? A 300+ pound Denver Bronco? Someone's hillbilly husband?

Nope, it was my darling 32 pound, sweet little Lucie.

Paul and Nathan came back to the table. I told Paul what his darling baby girl did while he was gone. He laughed and said, "People around us probably think you burped and blamed it on Lucie. No one would believe that a little girl could do such a great big burp."

As I started to agree with him, Lucie burped again as she kneeled on her seat eating a large meatball off a shrimp skewer. Paul gave her the daddy is disgusted with your behavior look and said, "Come on now. We do not burp at a nice restaurant and eat meatballs off sticks."

"See!" I exclaimed and started laughing so hard that I had to cover my face with my napkin. So much for being the figure of propriety for the kids -- I'm useless when my funny bone is tickled.

Dec 23 2008

Food jags

Category: Come and Get It

Nathan and I were going to visit my sister in Maryland. Being the gracious hostess, Michele asked me what we'd like her to stock up on. Immediately I blurted out, "Anything from Trader Joe's!" (We don't have them here in Colorado.)

Michele replied, "Not for you. For Nathan!"

My sister knows that I'll eat just about anything. But not being a mom at the time, she wasn't sure what a toddler ate. I requested cheddar cheese, canned peaches, high fat baby yogurt (peach and vanilla), boxed macaroni and cheese, and cantaloupe for the boy.

My sister laughed, "What is this, the orange food diet?"

Ah, my kid's first food jag, and in a Bronco friendly color, too.

Since then, Lucie has added mandarin oranges, cheesy poofs, peach and mango salsa, goldfish crackers, and Cheetos to the (now official) Nichols Orange Food Diet. However, she prefers her cheese shredded, thankyouverymuch.