Thursday, July 14, 2011

The juice and yogurt fiasco

Last week I told you about how I took out my juicer from its dusty hibernation. Since I have been known to be a really big wimp when it comes to eating vegetables, it’s easier for me to introduce veggies into my diet when they are juiced along with some beautiful, seasonal fruit. This is something healthy that I like to do for the whole family.  

The beginning of the fiasco...

Recently Monkey had a big issue with the juice du jour I made, which included organic nectarines, organic carrots, and lots of organic kale. The color of the juice was more green than not and I could just tell that getting him to drink it would be difficult that day. I opted to make a quick deal as I served the juice, hoping that I could circumvent any problems before they began.
So Delicious Creamy Cultured Coconut Milk, Vanill (Pack of 3)We love So Delicious coconut milk yogurt. It’s way too expensive, but it’s a wonderful treat every once in a while. I happened to have some in the fridge and I thought it would be an excellent proverbial “carrot on the end of the stick” to entice my boys to drink their juice. After I made the promise that whoever finished their juice first would get to choose their yogurt first, it clicked in my brain that I might have a problem. There was only one container left. How did I forget that before I opened my big mouth?
You see, Monkey did one of his famous little tricks the day before. You may remember that we had to lock up our food because of his antics. I had forgotten that he had grabbed one of the containers of yogurt and opened it without my permission. I walked into the kitchen and he was standing there with the open cup in his hand, and he quickly asked, “Can I have this?” Um, it’s a little late for asking my permission, dude. Ugh. He ended up eating the yogurt that afternoon, but much to his dismay, I made him share it with his brother since he neglected to ask my permission beforehand.
Prince Charming powering down his juice and loving it.

So, no sooner than the bribe incentive of yogurt to the “winner” had left my mouth, I remembered the incident from the previous day and I knew I had just royally messed myself up. There was only 1 container left of the yogurt, which meant no choice at all and 1 kid (the second place juice drinker) would be without. I knew that with my promise, it would be worse if I asked them to split the single container. I double-checked the situation in the fridge and verified that I was about to have a really big problem.
I calmly told the boys the situation, gently reminding Monkey that the reason there was only 1 container left was because he had opened the other one without my permission the day before. The news did not go over well when Monkey looked over at Prince Charming’s cup and realized that he had already sucked down almost all of his juice while Monkey had barely touched his. He figured out his fate as the “loser” of the challenge and he didn’t like it one bit.  
That’s when the tears started. Those tears turned into a raised voice spiked with angst about how it was unfair that he wouldn’t get yogurt when he was done with his juice. He was mad that Prince Charming would earn the yogurt and he would have none. I reminded him about the day before and that I truly wasn’t punishing him. That was just the way things happened and there was no way for me to give him his own container when there simply was none left.

Monkey is trying to drink his juice through the tears.
After about a half-hour of crying and attempts at negotiating with me, Monkey finally asked to talk with his dad on the phone. I knew this moment was coming, so I agreed to let him call only if I had a chance to talk first and explain the situation to Titan. Frankly, with Monkey’s sobbing state I knew it would take him a very long time to get out a string of coherent thoughts that would make any sort of sense to Titan, and I certainly didn’t want to take that kind of time when he was in the middle of a busy work day.
We called Titan at work and I took my turn first and then Monkey had his turn. When things escalate at our house and I’m having trouble reasoning with the children, Titan has a way of getting through to them when they are distraught. He is like the kid-whisperer. It can be quite remarkable.
Sometimes I want to sock him in the arm through the phone when he gets them to settle down so quickly. Really? I’ve been negotiating, talking, cajoling, bribing, threatening, hugging, rocking, and everything else I can think of and we get on the phone with you and they are fine in about a minute? Really? Can I switch jobs with you for a day? Perhaps a week? Please?
Before they hung up, I got a quick run-down from Titan on what transpired and then Monkey and I chatted about the call afterward. Monkey listened to what his dad said, quickly became calm and finished his juice. We went on with our lunch routine, which was now stretching much later into the afternoon than usual. As we wrapped up and began talking about having quiet time, Monkey asked to call Titan again. I told him that it wasn’t a good idea since he was still at work and we had just talked with him, so I offered him the chance to send an email instead.
He was really excited to type his own email! He’s getting pretty good at using the keyboard and this was his first ever email to anyone, so it was a big deal for him. Other than changing the names, here is the email exactly as he wrote it:
Dad,
I finally did it, I finished my nectarine juice in 41 minutes and 23 seconds and so on.
I also tried to be a big boy and be like a superhero third grader
I also played sonic slam with Prince Charming too and we had a fun time together. Did you know that corn on the cob and chicken is what's for dinner?
My favorite food is Corn on the cob rather than juice.

Monkey

I think he did a great job! Don’t you? Now I think I need to brush up on my kid-whispering skills for the next fiasco.
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