Today

This little stinker sat at the dinner table for 45 minutes. In this latest battle in the great dinner time war we used  a new tactic. Both girls are notorious for not wanting to eat supper but later asking for a snack or even having the nerve to ask for dessert. Sometimes we play the "just three more bites game" other times I have just put their plates in the fridge and later when they asked for a snack I will pull out the plate and have them finish their supper before they can eat anything else. I am not sure why they resist eating supper..it's not like I ask them to eat toxic waste or anything. Usually it's pretty average type meals with average type foods. Take tonight for instance: I made potato and corn chowder. These were the ingredients in the soup: milk, butter, onion, corn, potatoes and flour. I did add smoked sausage but gave them the option of taking it out. Seriously....potatoes and corn. Plus bread and cheese...oh and pears.

Meirah decided this was not something she was going to even try, much less eat. And no, she did not have any snacks prior to eating supper. She did try to claim to have a tummy ache but we didn't even acknowledge that excuse. So after Andrew and I had finished eating we turned our attention to the girls. We sometimes give Ellie a free pass because her medicine reduces her appetite. Heck last night I made homemade veggie lasagna and let both of them get away with eating only the salad and bread.

Tonight though, we were going to be the victors. Both girls got off task with spelling words as I was verbally quizzing Ellie in preparation for her test tomorrow. However, after reigning them in we told them it was time to finish their supper. After another ten minutes of them messing around I was done....for the first time I told them they were not leaving the table until their soup was gone. All of it. I mean really??? It was just potatoes and corn for heaven's sake!! Eliana huffed and puffed for awhile. Took small bites, dumped her soup on her plate, dammed off the corn from the potatoes with a piece of bread but eventually she finished eating.

Meirah laid across her chair, sang a couple of songs, walked around the table a few times, stared at her bowl and sat...for 45 minutes at the table before finishing her supper. Where this deep seated stubborn streak comes from is any one's guess. But as with every war, you win some and you loose some but after tonight's battle I think I can add a little tally mark on our side.