Thursday, March 21, 2013

Car-mageddon - Driving At Seventy Meals Per Hour

I snapped a picture of my girls eating lunch in the car the other day, and posted it on InstaGram, tagging EasyLunchboxes because I'm an attention whore and love when Kelly comments on my stuff. *teehee*
The next day, I'm getting tagged and emailed and my phone is going wild with notifications - apparently Kelly took my picture and shared it on Facebook... and THAT got shared... and I became Worst Mom Ever for endangering my kids with choking hazards without adult supervision in a vehicle moving 70-miles-per-hour while taking photos while driving... Haha. Except clearly an adult is in the back taking a photo... and chances are good I can't do that AND drive!


There were lots of comments about how eating in the car is a choking hazard. And comments about how the foods in Baby's lunch were especially hazardous. And tonnnnnnnnnnnnns of comments about how messy it all would be. Plus the occasional "those meals are way too big," "eating in the car is a bad habit," "I don't use food for entertainment," and "meals should be spent together as a family."

I'm a monster!

The Skinny

We happened to have a little less than an hour between a doctor's appointment and preschool, so going home to eat would be a waste. Not only would I have to get everyone out and back into the car, but Baby would probably fall asleep while driving. So feeding her first seemed like the smartest move. But it was around 40 degrees outside, and no picnic tables in the parking lot. So we stayed warm and ate in the car. Plus no toddlers wanting to run into traffic. Win!

Even if we had been on a road trip, it would be far safer to eat in the car, even while parked, than letting them loose at a park or rest stop while the adults were distracted trying to eat as well. At this age, far better to all run around for a bit, then get in the car to eat. Especially in the perpetually chilly or rainy Pacific Northwest!

My 4 (almost 5) year-old loves to eat. Loves. To. Eat. For the past 4 years, if you asked her what her favorite part of preschool each day was, her answer was always "snack." Every. Time. Am I going to say, "No sorry. No healthy foods in my car!" No. Especially as we often didn't have time to go home for lunch in between activities. I'm the kind of person that if we don't have plans outside of the house, we sit in front of a screen all day.
But I *hate* the outdoors. Everything is trying to eat you, fall on you, burn you, freeze you, or kill you. And - surprise surprise - just like for Little Z, the sun is too bright for me and hurts my eyes too. So picnicking outside on a sunny day is torture for both of us! And rainy days are just too cold and wet. I don't like being cold. So we eat in the car. It's just what we do. We often eat together while parked. Sometimes I let the kids eat while I drive. Call the Mommy Police!

I'm trying not to get all defensive here, because I don't think I should have to be. We all do the best we can for ourselves, our families, and our kids. Some people are totally selfless and are happy to give up anything they enjoy out of life other than their kids. Some people are so selfish, they expect their kids to conform to their needs. Is either extreme ideal? No. But if everyone is getting fed and doctored when needed, then who am I to judge? I cut corners here and there. And I go the extra mile here and there sometimes too. We are all doing the best that we can.

Apparently I am an ace at trying to kill my kids!

I already posted Little Z's lunch here, so you can check out her "too much food" meal. And here is Baby's. When I pack, I plan for much of it getting thrown overboard. And this kid has a hollow leg sometimes, so I like having extras so I don't have to resort to convenience snacks to sate her appetite while waiting for Big Sis to get out of school.
Baby's Death Trap Lunch
As for the mess? Yup. Super messy. But babies learn by touching and eating and, yes, even throwing things. And while Baby is learning about gravity and cause and effect, Little Z is learning to say "Uh-oh! Looks like you're all done! I'll give your lunch to Mama for you" when Baby throws food at her, instead of "AAAAAAUUUUGH! NO! STOP THROWING YOUR LUNCH AT ME! YOU'RE SUCH A MEANIE! NooOOOoOoOoOO!"
I'll gladly take a little clean-up in exchange for giving my children tools for problem solving and independence.

And as far as eating somewhere other than the car, my 15-month-old only lasts about 10-20 minutes restrained at a restaurant or sit-down meal. So in a choice between chasing her down before she hits the parking lot or a street at a park or rest stop; versus vacuuming up dried rice in my car every week, I'll vacuum every time! And a choice between waiting 20-30 minutes and spending $20ish every meal to feed all three of us dye-free, gluten-free options from a restaurant (with the 15-minute attention span baby) or packing a fresh, healthy VARIETY of foods for a fraction of the price? No contest.

Disclaimer
Does this mean I advocate feeding your kids while you drive? No. Of course not. Know your kids. Both my girls teethed late (10 and 9 months, respectively,) so they had to learn how to suck on and mash foods with their gums if they wanted anything but baby mush. Which makes them ace at biting, chewing, and spitting out anything they don't think they can swallow. I've worked on teaching them how NOT to choke on things.

My eldest never choked on anything. Ever. Not grapes, not baby tomatoes, not hot dogs, not popcorn. Baby has choked several times on various things. And either coughs it back up on her own, or forcefully hurks it out, along with lunch and what's left of breakfast. So I'm confident that she'll puke it all up over her sister if there's a problem.
And if I feed them together, I have an almost-five-year-old spotter back there to warn me if anything looks wrong. Which seems far safer to me than having Baby in her high chair in the dining area while I work on dinner in the kitchen. Which, face it, is what's going to happen if she's happily amusing herself anywhere that doesn't involve me holding her!

Is choking a risk? Yes, of course. But that's the case no matter where they're eating. But a distracted parent at a picnic table trying to eat while keeping track of multiple kids isn't much safer, nor is a toddler running around with their food. So I've made an educated choice based on my children and me, and what works best for us.

But if you still think I should get the kids out of the car to eat someplace, you are MORE than welcome to come try and wrangle my little demon baby back into her car seat after. And chase her down in the street during. Because I guarantee, that's where she'll head. 153 times.

Mama's Lunch
Leftover brown sugar sweet potato coins, TJ's Coconut Chips, Van's GF crackers, guacamole, organic carrots;
Salad: lettuce, cabbage, carrots, beet, strawberries, raisins, sunflower seeds, hemp hearts, and raspberry vinaigrette
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I pre-chopped the lettuce and cabbage the weekend before, and keep it in a large container in the fridge, so it's easy to just pull out and fill my lunch box! I keep the veggie scraps and leftover beet or carrot halves from Little Z's lunches in a smaller container, so can just toss some in, or chop up the larger scraps fairly quickly.

I keep the bags of raisins, sunflower seeds, and hemp hearts together in the bread basket near my lunch station, so it's easy work to find them all quickly. I usually pack the night before and put them in a Mini Dipper to keep them dry (and the dressing in a Smidget,) but I was able to toss this together during our "lunch hour" between Z's preschools, and would be eating it right after I dropped her off, so I went ahead and mixed everything in first. Left more room for salad!

It was quick work to punch out a few carrot and beet flowers with a flower veggie cutter to fancy my salad up, chop the rest of the carrot into sticks to dip in the guacamole left over from the packet I shared with Z's lunch, toss in the leftover brown sugar sweet potato coins from dinner the night before, and add in some crackers. Plus some Coconut Chips for dessert! (Normally I would have used a silicone cup to keep them separate, but I was going to eat these soon, and Hubby was out of town, which makes dishes harder to do as often. I was running low on clean muffin cups!)


Linking up!
Photobucket Bentos on the Bayou BentoForKidlet Grown-Ups Gotta Eat Following In My Shoes Bento Lunch

Tools of the Trade
   




 The Aftermath
If I haven't shocked you enough, here's an "after" photo of Baby, asleep clutching the remains of her lunch - that I let her work on while driving the 15-minutes to Z's preschool. Notice that the grapes were in a little silicone cup. Had she not finished them off first (or chucked them all at her sister. Same thing.) the cup makes it easy to remove them from her lunch before I get in the driver's seat. See? I'm not a total moron. I think stuff.
I would also like to note that we have grungy towels laid over the seats to make clean-up easier. Notice the little bit of blue sticking up at the bottom of this photo? That's a towel draped to catch food headed towards Big Sis or that might fall in between. And the faint pink on the seat past Baby is the towel draped to catch foods falling between those seats, plus anything that falls on the seat itself. Some food still bounces off and hits the footwell. Or falls into her car seat. Or lands on Big Sis. But the truly sitty-down sit-down time together without a screen in sight is worth it. And no one is climbing on or groping at Mama, or grabbing at Mama's lunch. Trust me ladies. Worth every grain of rice on the floor to eat a meal in peace!

43 comments:

  1. I dunno. I wouldn't take the comments about mess personally. I can see making such comments and would certainly MEAN nothing personal -- just that you have a different tolerance for mess than I do.

    I KNOW my kids are held back by this. But what can I say.

    I don't like cutting grapes in half so I also don't give those unless I'm there to stand and watch. The rice and peas look good. Maybe I'll try that. But just at home. Because I'd rather use a broom to clean up than deal with mess in the car ;)

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    1. Yeah. Z always got so frustrated drawing or coloring, because she couldn't make her hands do what her brain was imagining. I got tired of the crayons flying and screechy screaming. So we didn't do a lot of artwork at home anymore! Some people can't handle a mess in their car. I can't stand yelling at her for being frustrated and throwing things. We all do what we can to avoid the stuff we don't want to deal with!

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  2. Kendra!!! :) :) :) I love to hand out Mama of the Year Awards generously because there are so many of us who deserve them. So here's one of my very biggest, along with an extra huge shiny blue ribbon for having the time, talent, and creativity to so eloquently post about your MamaStardom in a way that, hopefully, will help pull us all back together where we can support one another, instead of slinging self-righteous arrows where they should not be aimed.

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  3. I love your post and I love your lunches. <3 <3 <3

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  4. Statistically speaking, the act of riding in the car at all is the most dangerous thing about this. But of course, no one would go so far as to chide you about that.

    I'm so tired of the "Mommy Wars". I tend to assume that a majority of parents are good ones, and I'm willing to believe that they know their kid's abilities and limitations better than I do.

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  5. I could not care less if your car is a mess...I can't imagine why anyone would. It's just an odd thing to point out...like you don't know that food gets spilled in your car! You're an awesome mom! I'm with Kelly...you get a Mama of the Year Award!!

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  6. So glad your friend DID share on FB, that's how I found your blog (which I love)! Have to say, I was a little taken aback by the comnents. My only thought was, "Wow, what cool lunches!"

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    1. Well thanks! I'm fine with one new minion... I mean "friend" for every 5 haters! I'LL TAKE IT! :)

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    2. Same here - I found you through that post too. And I'm a bad Mom too! I love feeding my kids while we drive to save on time and keep everyone contained. I have an 11, 8, & 3 year old ( who is also a demon child and a terror to get back in his seat if I let him loose!) and no one has choked yet! And your photo helped me tons with ideas for meals on the g.o. We have recently given up fast food and are attempting to go gluten free to see if it helps the younger kids' behavior and my husband's and my oldest's asthma and allergies. I am looking into buying those food containers right now!! They will make a big difference!! Thank you for being a "bad mom" like me! ;-)

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    3. mom2bugs - I found that with my 4yo, cutting the artificial petrol-derived dyes, flavors, and preservatives did WONDERS! You know how kids go wild at parties, often melting down near the end, and everyone blames the sugar? Studies show that sugar does NOT cause those behaviors... but the artificial colors that are usually found IN those cakes and candies and treats DO! With some kids.

      The last few parties we went to, I'm watching the other kids bounce off the walls, go home crying, etc, and my girl is happy and calm and responsive and enjoying the party. And loved her GF donut, or dye-free frosted cookie or cupcake, or whatever she happened to pick that day instead of party cake.

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  7. Imagine what they would say if they knew it was a new car!!! Bwahahahaaa...great post!! Nobody mess with Ludicrousmama!!!

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    1. I know, right? Now to go buy one of those little hand-held vacuum jobbers...

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  8. I just want to say that I love, love, love your posts. And it hurts me that people can be so mean and hatful. From what I see, your a really super great mom. If I ever have kids, I want to be half as good a mom as you are. Your so cool!!

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  9. You go, girl! I like the way you word things and I think you're very creative. I've always been of the opinion that you know your baby/child better than anyone else, so trust your instincts. Sounds like you're tuned in.

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  10. Your children are adorable!

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  11. Ha, I looked at that whole series of posts/pics the day they came out and NONE of that even came to mind. Just remember for each the people who felt compelled to say something, several hundred did not.

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  12. This is awesome. Every parent knows what is best for their kids. We eat allllll the time in our car. One time I even found asparagus between the seats. When the car gets messy with food, I put the dog in the car to clean it up. Yes, car is in the garage and door is left open so she can come inside when finished and not forced to be in a hot or cold vehicle! Her longest clean up time...30 mins. She loves it!

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  13. I LOVE this post! Car-mageddon! haha

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  14. I feel bad that you even have to justify any of this!!! Seriously, don't people have better things to do with their time? Live and let live. And regarding grapes - or any other food.. that is what teeth are for..let it go people. If your child doesn't have teeth then sure watch every bite and if your grandpa hasn't got his teeth in then feel free to assume he can't manage to eat food either. Good grief!

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  15. I saw the picture of your girls through the 100 Days blog. My first thought? "Hey, that's exactly what I do!" :-) My boys are 3 and 5 and LOVE eating lunch in the car. I pack it to eat in the car routinely in the summer so we can spend more time playing at the park or after preschool so we can play in the gym before going home. My daughter is 20 months and I haven't graduated her to the Easy Lunchbox yet because I'm pretty sure she would just chuck the entire thing! As for the mess? Yeah, it's not always pretty but my kids are fed a healthy meal and full bellies makes for pleasant attitudes so who cares what you have to clean up!

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  16. Loved your post ! Good for you for setting the uglies in line. We eat in the car too kids 4, 16 and 14 but we always have. Don't get me wrong some days we may have a picnic, sometimes wait until home but quite often there are day when we are on the run or fitting something in and we eat in the car strapped in our seats. Works for us. And messy cars whew I'm glad no one has snagged a photo of my mini van OH the comments I would get. Happy Blogging . Great job keeping your kids safe and feeding them healthy meals Mama.

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  17. I give.my daughter chicken.nuggets in the car, hear, wrap, run. She falls asleep eatingt them, it's adorable. And oh no, chocolate, why? Because she makes a huuuuge mess on her hands and face and it she giggles and it makes for awesome.pix! Yes I either pull over or wait till we got a red light snap a shot and hand her a wipe. Oh no im.horrible. Lol

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  18. Hi. I came across this post from Easy Lunch Box Lunches post and am amazed at how judgmental some people can be. A picture says a thousand words and those women got it wrong! I saw this picture a while (it must have been on FB) and I thought, "well that would be on the floor so I can't do that now" but it would be nice to be able to feed my toddler normal homemade food like that while dropping him off or picking him up from the sitters house. I'm glad that you stood up for yourself and set things straight. What ya'll do is amazing and I really envy ya'll for being able to make your kids healthy and nutritious meals. I'm lucky if I can give my toddler anything but hot dogs or cereal for breakfast, lunch, or dinner because he is so picky! So good for you and I hope we as women can stop judging. We have enough pressures in our lives, either we work too much or we dont work enough and end up traumatizing our kids forever! UGH! Good luck!

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    1. Thank you so much, and welcome to my insanity! Hahaha!

      My girl was fairly picky about weird things, but when I started cutting things into shapes, she suddenly started eating things she'd previously refused. Keep trying, and don't give up!
      I eat plenty of rejects out of her lunch box, or see what came home uneaten and talk about what she didn't like about it, and would Ranch, mustard, or ketchup make it better? More salt? Sprinkles? etc. Often she'll eat it after that. And if not, no waste. I stick her box back in the fridge and roll it into Baby's or my lunch the next day! (Like the egg sandwich in Baby's lunch here!)

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  19. Haha, I love how you handled this!! People always have an opinion about everything but you really took it with grace (and humor). "Baby's Death Trap Lunch" still laughing about that one . . .

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  20. Bless your heart and bravo, I love your response.

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  21. As much as I am sad that everyone was so judgmental, I loved seeing the breakdown of the lunch. My son loves apples, but has problems chewing the skin (he's 19 months old) and doesn't like them peeled. I normally only feed them to him at home because his solution to the whole problem is to just chew off the apple and then spit the skin out when he's done which is nasty. It had never occurred to me to score the skin until you pointed it out. You, quite honestly, just made my life a little bit easier and my son just a bit happier since he can now have more of his favorite fruit.

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    1. Haha! My 4yo STILL does that sometimes! Ewww! I give her a "spittoon" when she wants to do that! If I slice them, both girls often eat them like watermelon too, leaving the peel like a "rind."

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  22. Your post is wonderful! Your lunches are wonderful! YOU are wonderful and I'm blessed to call you friend. Thank you for linking to 15 Minute Fridays and for sharing your heart. That salad looks absolutely delicious, by the way!

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  23. I love this post and all the controversy you pics caused on FB. You feed your well-loved children pretty, delicious, and nutritious meals. That is what is important.

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  24. You know what I thought when I saw that pic? Yay, happy babies eating a yummy lunch their mommy made them.

    I do NOT know what is wrong with people. Do people just scroll through the internet looking for spots where they can post mean comments? That's sad... and creepy.

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  25. Kendra,
    You don't owe anyone an explanation. You rock on Mamma!
    Judi
    Lunchbox Love

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  26. Great lunches and you're a great mama! Thanks or linking up at
    Leftovers on Fridays

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  27. This is the first post that I've read of yours, but now I'm going to follow you on facebook. I'm sure that the backlash was hideous, but you handled it so well! I like the way you roll!

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  28. So YOU are the terrible mother I heard about! Take the shame!

    And I share the shame. I became the worst mom every this week — not because my son almost had a serious injury 12 years ago in a shopping cart incident — but because I TOLD people about it (and Kelly shared my story) so that it wouldn't happen to them. EVIL!

    Apparently this induced so much mothering guilt that It was an incredible, horrific burden on all those who have done what I did and want to keep doing it!

    Now, I just need to respond the same way you did. This was beautiful. Love.

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  29. Love, love, love this post! Found your blog through FB. We need to do what we need to do! Bravo to you for keeping your sense of humor...and sanity! Where might I find the recipe for the Brown sugar Sweet potato coins?

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    1. Haha! I winged it! I cut them thin so they wouldn't need to cook as long, since I'm impatient, and looked up a recipe online to give me an idea for temp and cooking time. Basically I did this: http://www.doitdelicious.com/recipes/make_it/roasted_sweet_potato_coins

      except I used half butter-half olive oil, and as much brown sugar as I felt like. I also flipped them halfway through, since I wasn't able to fit them all without overlapping, so I moved the few on the top layer down and some from the bottom layer up as I turned them. I put brown sugar on when I put them in, and more on the other side when I flipped them. And a little salt. No pepper or any of that other crap. We don't like that nonsense here. Nothing gets in the way of our sugar and salt! Hahaha!

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  30. So this is one of the first posts I've read on your blog and it really made me laugh! :) ou're an awesome mom, and forget everyone who is trying to tell you different!

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Go ahead! Tell me how awesome I am. Or ask a question. Whatever.

(Please note that I had to disable Anonymous comments. Too many spam comments coming through the filters.)