Victory dinner in bird's nest

Dinner is always a trying event for my family and me.  As a child, I would have to sit at the dinner table for HOURS not eating my dinner, so I suppose that lots of grandparents would say that this is payback.  (I hate it when people say that because I feel it implies some form of intention on my daughters' part.  My 3 1/2 year old and 1 1/2 year old probably think that payback is when you lay on your stomach while your sister puts pennies on your back, so how can this really be payback?)  

I'm always amazed when I go to friends houses and their kids sit down and chow down.  The only time Francesca and Cecilia do that is when I goof around too long and feed them dinner or lunch or breakfast way later than I should, so in essence, they only sit down and chow down when they're starving.  I'm not willing to starve my kids in order to get them to eat, so I have to be creative.

Tonight, we sat down to eat outside on the patio.  I ate, while they dipped their string beans in their water goblets (the only non-breakable glasses I have are the silver goblets my sister gave me as a wedding present, so they make great outside drink cups.)  Anyway, I'm eating this great dinner, chowing down because I'm starving and they're dipping their string beans in their water goblets, licking off the water and saying, "YUCK!"  Times like these, I wonder - "Why do I bother making three course dinners, balanced healthy dinners, when they just want to play in their food and insult my string beans?"  So after I finished eating and they had escaped to the backyard swing set, I let them play for a few minutes and then gathered their plates for re-heating and round two.

Round 2:  Francesca and Cecilia are running around the house screaming, while I'm blaring my broken record, "Girls, its time to come and eat."  So I resort to play, I resort to humor and EUREKA!  I told them I was the mother bird and it was time to come to the nest let the mother bird feed you.  I spread out my wings and whistled while I tiptoed/flew to the kitchen table. When I got to the table, I turned around and there were my baby birds, on their toes, flying/galloping/tiptoeing to the table, trying to whistle but just blowing air, but trying all the more.  We reach the table and my two birds perched themselves on their booster seats and pried open their beaks.  I put a bite into Cecilia's mouth - "Good baby bird!"  I put a bite into Francesca's mouth, "Good big baby bird!"  A few more bites and then I told Francesca real mother birds chew up the food and then spit it into their babies mouth.  She giggled with a mouthful of food.  "I'm thirsty!"  My big baby bird squawked!  "Let me swoop down to the stream to get a drink for you, baby bird."  And I jumped up for a drink with two straws.  And so it went until their plates were fairly clean.  Cecilia finished first and fluttered around the kitchen for awhile while Francesca continued to let me feed her while we giggled at Cecilia's flying tricks.  

When I remember to use humor to get the girls to do something, I always kick myself for not thinking of it sooner, but I'm sure that this mama bird gets low blood sugar and isn't so quick on her feet from time to time.