That's NOT food!

It looks like my "Eat or Starve" policy may be backfiring on me.

Recently, my oh-so-funny twerpies decided that feeding the dog is a lot more fun than feeding themselves.  They shriek at the top of their lungs and fling all of their meals onto the floor and wait for the always near by dog to race to the fallen food's rescue. Veggies first, followed by a major portion of their chicken or eggs, and even going so far as to toss their absolute favorite, bananas...splat, on to my now brownish-grey tile floors.

The fix seemed easy enough. We made sure the the dog was gone for all meals.  Not just behind the baby gate or in another room, out of the house all together.  Out of sight, out of mind, right? Um, nooo.  All their food continues to go right down to the floor.  This time it seems to be simply for their own entertainment.  A food flinging competition, if you will.  Egged on by each others squeals of delight.  Each one trying to one up the other.

I sternly scold them, only to be met with adorable, heart melting smirks and giggles.  Trying not to break under the cuteness, I turn to their father for reinforcements.  He puts on his best I-don't-think-this-is-at-all-freakin-hysterical face, and I think the kids are actually buying it.  His big booming voice actually startles them and they freeze in their tracks...for only a moment before they start cackling in unison and swipe their arms across their trays throwing every last bite of food onto my sad pathetic floor.

And that's when I came up with the Eat or Starve policy.  They can feed the dog, that's fine.  Scout is a big supporter of the policy.  The policy simply works like this.  I will feed them their normal serving sizes, they can eat it or toss it, but I will not give them more food, or feed them a snack, or feed them their next meal early.  The logic behind it is that if they feed their breakfast to Scout, they'll be that much hungrier for lunch and hopefully EAT!  Also, once they are big enough to hold a mop, they are my indentured servants and will make up for all the mopping I'm currently doing.

However, yesterday and today, I'm learning that I may only be punishing myself.  The kids have been painfully irritable, which I have to assume is because they are hungry...and today, while we were playing in the yard, between the two of them they tired to eat, rocks, tanbark, rocks, dry pasta, a pinecone, rocks, a broken baby gate and rocks....

So what's a mom to do?


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