Messy Eaters

 
 
I need some suggestions for toddler food that isn't messy. After each meal, I feel like I need a maid, a back-up person to take over cleaning up the mess while I clean up the mess on the kids. Unless it's chicken nuggets and french fries, these kids make the biggest mess you've ever seen and sometimes nuggets can even be messy, at least Madelyn can make it that way when she chews it up and pulls it all back out of her mouth and sits it down in front of her and then spreads it across the table. Tonight we had chicken pie and I made some noodles just for the kids b/c I knew that would be easy for them to eat since they aren't so great with a fork. There were noodles everywhere. I was down on my knees scrapping the floor before getting them unbuckled and to the bathtub. I feel like giving up on them ever using a fork the right way. Andrew and Nate have a bad habit of kicking the table and pushing back to push away from the table while eating. Tony says we're going to bungy cord two chairs across from each other so they can push and pull each other back to the table. Highchairs were gone a long time ago. Our kitchen isn't big enough for three highchairs so the tots joined us at the table a while back. I think I've almost broke them from throwing their plates in the floor when they are done eating at least, although I did get onto Andrew at lunch time today for that but his plate was mostly empty thankfully. When the weather warms up again, I'll probably make them eat outside until we sell the house at least for lunch anyway. They got a new picnic table for Christmas from one set of grandparents so now the birds, squirrels and neighbors cats will get to enjoy the scraps thrown down on the ground by the Hooker Trio. This at least gives me one meal to keep the table and floor and surrounding walls clean of food debri. I probably wouldn't complain so much if it wasn't for waiting on phone calls to show our house to prospective buyers. Most sane people probably wouldn't try to sell their home with three one-year olds living in it.