Let's rewind a little bit. The child is tired. She had no nap today because daddy was out with her running loose errands all afternoon. This equals an adrenaline fueled kid. As patient as she is she still has her limits. Awwww, yes, of course, and she has no qualms about letting you know it, but all the same, "yes, you still have to remain in the carseat as prison-like as it may seem. Yes, I know it isn't fair. I know it isn't 'just', however it is your lot when tooling about around town". So at every stop she exclaims, "We're Here" only to realize it's only for 5 minutes here, 15 minutes there after which she has to return to that cage of a car seat! Poor baby. : ( A necessity for your own good. I'll be glad for the day that you can understand that. When she's this tired her crankyness comes in flares and jerks. It's like as if she's daydreaming and all of a sudden wakes to find herself back in this terrible horror of an experience: trapped in the car seat without her usual freedom to move about jumping, running, or pirouetting, as she loves to do and we have to talk about why it's necessary again and.....again....again....a.. You get the picture.
You cannot force a child to eat. That is pretty much common sense, however that doesn't mean that you haven't tried. Boy, is that an exercise in futility! At least with my child it is. She kind of gets off on it. At this point I let go of it like the hot potato of manipulation that it is. No child, we're not doing any 'table flipping' here. Thanks, but no thanks. Go ahead,....'fast' away. You know they have no knowledge of the story of Ghandi at this point and so you have to wonder why they are choosing the here and now to go on a hunger strike. After a little experience in this area you don't sweat it. You know this creature will not starve. Thankfully, biology will win out on this. You have seen it, and you are willing to wait for when the cells are demanding replenishment, for then there is no contest, and you will be there ready to supply the goods, good parent that you are. Also, when they are actually hungry they'll eat the food you have bought to Nourish Their Little Bodies (Whoa!), and no, 'cookies' is Not a food group. Let it be known. Go forth and spread the gospel. (You can't tell that I've been a little rattled about this can you? Nahhh. :) )
So here we are at Arrandas with Mommy. Mommy is tired. She's had a long day with confrontational teenagers. It's part of her job and it takes a lot of energy. Hats off to you Momma! Yay Momma! Okay, so the whole fam has had a good day of it. In this climate of tiredness, you are willing to 'pick your battles' more carefully, as it were. We ordered good, tasty food for all of us. Shayla was not interested in her chicken flauta or the delicious rice and beans, or even her sour cream (which she likes), but instead focused on the corn chips and a single corn tortilla. Fine. Who were we to argue? She just played with and wore (yes, of course on her clothes) the rest of it. A hot washcloth was the only other thing we needed at that moment. :)
Dinner as follows:--
Mommy: Chicken Enchiladas
Daddy: Chicken Enchiladas
Shayla: corn chips and a corn tortilla
.............When we got home she asked for some yogurt, which we gave her. She ate 10%, and with the other 90% she used as a face and arm massage lotion.
That's okay, I'll be ready in the morning with a hot skillet hosting tasty vittles, and she'll be ready to eat.