Little Beggar

This is the view I have when I glance down from dinner preparation almost EVERY night.

She's usually saying something like "bite", "nack" (snack), "peas" (please) or simply just "ahhh" with her mouth hanging open as above. She even had her bib on with hands washed and was ready to chow in this pic.

This is why advanced preparation is key for me. Even when most of the meal is prepped and I just have some last minute assembling and "plating" to do, it is a scramble to get this accomplished when my daughter immediately wants a handout or to be held. I impress myself sometimes with what I can do one-handed!

Lately, I have taken to giving them a "snack" of vegetables while I am getting meals together. Sophie has decided lately that she has an aversion to green vegetables, but when I offer her some steamed peas in a tea cup as a "snack" while I work, they become a novelty to her and she happily eats them right up. Will does the same. Some time ago, I read a great idea that a mom keeps a small plate of raw veggies at the ready at all times in her fridge and sets it on the table while she's finishing meal prep so that her kids have this as an option when they inevitably come begging. At the end of that meal, while she's cleaning up and doing dishes, she also preps a new veggie plate to have ready for the next meal. Genius. Will would totally go for that but Sophie's not as crazy about raw veggies yet and I'm not comfortable leaving her with raw carrots unsupervised just yet. So steamed veggies in a tea cup is my alternative. It's not with every meal, but it's definitely a life saver when I need it. And then I come to the table knowing my kids have already eaten a serving of vegetables.