Good morning!

I’m taking a break from an endless game of Hide-and-Seek where Ishu keeps going back to the same hiding spot and then when I go to look for him, he shouts out, “DO YOU SEE ME?”

I love the way toddlers play games. 

We’re both in a happy mood this morning. 

Last night, I was being a real grump. 

I made some of my Instant Pot chili that I’ve been LOVING these days. And Ishu had some turkey from a leftover JM sammie, but wasn’t really feeling dinner.

He eats well at school, so I *try* (key word being *try*) not to stress about dinner. 

But then sometimes when he has a hard time going to sleep, he’ll say some things to get out of bed. 

Like, “I’m hungry.” 

And when I hear that, my mama ears perk up. Because how dare I let my baby go to bed on an empty stomach. 

And, yeah, I’ve been using the whole “kitchen is closed” thing and that has worked, but last night, there wasn’t like a definitive “close” time. We were chatting with the parents about our spring break trip on the Portal and that bled into dinner which bled into Ishu’s bedtime. 

So I was kinda thinking he was a bit distracted and really didn’t think about whether he was actually hungry.

So, while tossing and turning in bed, he sat up and said, “I’m hungry.”

And I said, “Okay, there’s chili still out. Should we get chili?” 

“Yes, chili. And sour cream. And cheese on top,” he responded.

So I threw the covers back and we walked out to the living room. 

I immediately scooped some chili into his favorite bowl and we sat down at the table. 

He just stared at it. 

Pacifier in his mouth. Staring at it. 

I gently took the pacifier out of his mouth and he pushed back the chili and said, “NO.” 

At this point, I was so frustrated. (This isn’t a one-time thing folks. He’s real good at asking for specific foods and then turning his nose up at it).

So then I took the pacifier and dipped it in the chili. 

If he wanted his pacifier back, HE’D HAVE TO TASTE SOME CHILI, DAMMIT. 

(I realize as I’m typing this how crazy it is and how crazy I sound. I ALSO want to say that a lot of times if Ishu can be encouraged to take a bite of something, he ends up liking it 3/5 times). 

So chili-dipped pacifier was my solution. 

Needless to say, it did not go well. 

A few minutes later, we all went to bed together (the chili stayed out on the dining room table) and he fell asleep within minutes. Seemed like he wasn’t actually hungry and he just wanted his papa to join us for bedtime. 

After we both tip-toed out of the room, I made Ankur finish up the chili that already had sour cream mixed in. I’M TIRED OF BEING THE CHILD’S TRASH CAN. And then I proceeded to be a grump for the rest of the hour ’til I fell asleep on the couch. 

WHY ARE MY MOODS SO INTRICATELY WOVEN WITH MY CHILD’S EATING PATTERNS?

Gah. 

I know – logically – that my kid will eat when he’s hungry. I know – logically – that 2 solid meals are likely enough for a toddler (which he has). He eats well at breakfast and eats really well at school (AM Snack, Lunch, and PM Snack). 

And yet.

And yet. 

Here we are. 

Chili-dipped pacifiers. 

Just pushing ‘reset’ today and taking a deep breath. 

That’s all we can do. 

Hope you have a happy hump day!