Yes, its true. I let my children eat off the floor.

Maren egg, in hand, wandering about. This is how bad habits are formed, I know, I know.

Maren scavenging for the breakfast she SHOULD have eaten earlier.

Maren showing a mouthful of egg. MMM. Delish!



Its official. I've given up. My children are going to have stellar immune systems from all the dirt living on the floor.

You know when you go for the 18 month checkup? Well, the sheet they give you with the 18 month characteristics says something like "Appetite may vary." This essentially means that one day, they will eat like pigs who have been starving and your food supply will deplete in a matter of seconds right before your eyes. It also means, that some days, they will turn up their nose at anything you give them (except for grapes, raisins and teddy grahams), and throw it on the floor, or throw it at their sister, or put it over on their sister's tray, like my girls do.

So, you know what? I'm done picking up food over and over and playing that game. I'm over it. Now, I try to work with it. I don't get upset, I say to them, "Look, you don't want the food I have, you are healthy little people, you want to throw it all on the floor, fine. I'm not picking it up more than once to see if you are truly hungry. If it goes down, its staying down." And so, on the days when their appetite "varies," I just leave all the food they've thrown down on the floor. And those cute little disgusting people, they think it is soo much fun to eat it there! For some reason, it must taste better. All I can say is Blech!

So, there you see it, documented for humanity. Maren, who threw every single egg she had onto the ground during breakfast, only seconds after signing "all done" and having her face and hands washed, has decided to complete her breakfast now, by scavenging off the floor.

And no, I don't feel bad about it at all.

(*please note that this rule does not apply at church, in doctors offices, the mall, in any bathroom, outside, or at any child germ infested place such as chuck e cheese, pump it up or school)