Everyday Moments - Dinnertime

I'll be honest, dinner in our house is not a very relaxing time. But I have to imagine that is the case for almost all families with small children.

We do make a point to sit down and eat dinner as a family almost every night and we also make a point to almost always have everyone eat the same meal. There may be some variations (Julia doesn't like sauce on anything, Benjamin eats fewer vegetables, Julia eats more vegetables, etc.) but everyone gets the same basic ingredients.

The refrain around the dinner table currently goes like this:
"Julia, please sit and eat your dinner"
"Benjamin, please sit in your chair"
"Julia, you need to eat more meat"
"Benj, sit down"
"Julia, stop drinking your milk and eat your dinner"
"Benjamin, we don't stab the table with the fork. You're hurting the table."
"Julia, you can't have more peas until you eat your meatloaf."
"Benjamin, we sit in our chair, you're going to fall and hit your head"

and so on...

Here's a short glimpse into the end of one of our dinners. I actually took the video because Benj was copying almost every word we said and I wanted to remember what he sounds like right now. But it's also a snapshot of the silliness that occurs around here. And yes, he is eating a lemon (Julia had started it and he had to try it as well).