Dinner Time (emphasis on the TIME)

Wow!  It's been a whole month since I have posted.  My how time flies when you're.... boring.  Not that boring is bad or anything.  I'll take boring over some of the usual craziness just about any day.  

In the past month we have been working on getting the boys to eat a good dinner.  Less processed/quicky food and more meals.  I am a horrible and picky eater so combining that with busy evenings and Jeremy being at the firehouse every 3rd day our meals were really suffering.  I'm trying to get back to planning out a menu to keep us on track.  I'm doing a little bit better at it this month.

Tonight is a firehouse night so it's a left over night.  Dinner is less formal.  We will use the china tomorrow.  Oh wait, I don't have china.  Oh well.  Anyway, tonights menu is Egg McMuffins (not from McDonalds), grapes, pears, and cheese.  Fancy, I know.  Who's jealous?  I accidently bought a dozen eggs when I already had a dozen at home so it's all eggs all the time until we use some of them up.  To hell with cholesterol!

My boys are rather slow eaters which they get from their dear ol' mother.  I was always the last one done with dinner.  My sisters hated me for it.  They thought I was trying to avoid clean up.  They were wrong.  I just didn't like food.  Unless it was cake.  I like me some cake.  YUM.  Cake. 

Anywho.  My boys are also chatty.  During dinner.  Before dinner.  After dinner.  Pretty much every minute of every day.  Not sure who they get that from ;)  Chatty, chatty, chatty. 

Slow eaters and chatty.  So, basically dinner lasts 15 hours around here.  What follows is a list of tactics the boys have used tonight (yes all in one night) to avoid eating dinner.  I sat there and just took notes because finally I'm not the last one done eating in our house.  Pat myself on the back.

• Can I be done?  (this is asked by Leo by about the 3rd bite and continues throughout every meal until he is actually done)
• Can I play on the swingset?
• I need to go pee-pee
• My belly hurts I don't think I can eat.
• UGHHHHHHHHHHH (angry grunt when told repeatedly to finish dinner)
• Do I have to eat everything? (Yup).  Like even the rest of the egg? (Yup,  all of it).  How about the bread part?  (yup, everything).  Even the rest of my pears? (yes, EVERYTHING).  OK then.  I was just asking!!!!
• I'm so tired I don't think I can finish eating
• I want some more grapes
• after being told repeatedly to STOP TALKING AND EAT! Leo tried whispering to Justin as if I'm not sitting right beside him.  "Jushtin"  (Leo, stop talking)  Quiter this time "Jushtin"  (Leo, I'm sitting right here. I can hear you talking).  And again "Jushtin"  Really, Leo? 
• I really, really, really love you.  I really wish I could be done.
• Maybe if you let us eat on our TV trays in the living room we can eat good and be done so we'll have time for a movie
• I wish I could have more drink
• I need to go poo-poo
• various levels of crying and whining
• various levels of sillyness and giggle fits
• this is so weird
• Looooook mom.  I'm taking a big bite!!!!  NOW can I be done?  (no, you have to eat all of it)  Ohhhhhh, that makes me SO MAD!  (well, it's ok to be mad but you still have to finish your dinner)
• Now can I be done?
• more uncontrollable laughing

so eventually dinner was done.  Only a few scraps left on the plate so not a bad showing.  Off to bed they go and just as I sit down to write this Justin comes creeping out of his bed and says "I just wanted to tell you that you were right about dinner becuase I was being bad at dinner."  And just when I thought he was being really sweet he asked to sit downstairs for a few mintues so really he was just being nice to butter me up and get to stay up later.  I'm on to your game, buddy!  Nighty nighty!