Peas... and Quiet

I saw a fellow blogger post something about peas... and that got me thinking....
When Jaiden was about 3-ish, I started making very determined attempts to get her to eat her fruits and veggies (both of which she had decided at some point she did NOT like anymore).
SO, thus began a new -- and harried -- feeding routine. I would prepare some chicken nuggets or Spaghettios (VERY nutritious entrees) with a small side of vegetables. When I gave her peas, I usually placed 5 peas on her plate. She would frown and pout while eating her favorite food items first. And then the crying would begin. Not just whimpering. Full-out sobbing... along with the very loud, "I don wanna eat dem... I don wanna....WWWAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH--haaaaaaaaa."
My response? A very calm: "Eat the peas, Jaiden. I'm waiting. We'll sit here all night if we have to."
And often times, we did.
I'm not sure who is more stubborn or determined between the two of us, but I would roll peas at her for hours and tell her to eat them, between loud, angry sobs, of course. (Well, HER loud, angry sobs... not my own!) And -- eventually -- she would kind of squish them into her mouth, while crying, and then kind of gag on them while reaching for the few drops of milk she'd have left in her sippy cup.
It was a 10-step program just to down ONE LITTLE PEA! Kind of like this: 1. pout... 2. pick up pea... 3. squish pea into mouth... 4. hack... 5. cry... 6. gag... 7. sob...8. sniffle...9. gag some more... 10. drink milk...
FIVE hours later (no lie), the peas would be gone. (Yes, do the math: that's one pea per hour!) And my sobbing, red-faced, dribbly-snot-nosed little girl with squashed peas all over her fingers would perk up, grab a toy or a book and smile, contentedly, like nothing had ever happened.
Just a little peas...
and quiet.



(BTW: I did not take that great pea picture... so kudos to the clever photographer!)