I am not going to lie.
Well, I am not going to lie to you, dear reader. I am going to be honest and tell you about a lie I told Declan.
One of Declan’s favorite things in the world is “the pizza with the little black dots on it.” To the layman, the pizza he is referencing is Domino’s Pizza.
Declan’s major problem with Domino’s pizza is that he doesn’t stop eating until the pizza is gone. He does not sit and eat the entire pizza in one sitting. Declan will eat his dinner, and since he learned how to reheat things in the microwave, he will reheat slices throughout the evening and the next morning until every slice is gone.
Overall, Declan has a problem with overeating as I talked about here. Declan is a mindless eater. I thought his urge to eat was a sensory issue and have many chewy tubes around the house for him to keep his jaw active. Sometimes, they work. Most of the time, they don’t, and I will hear a chair being dragged around the kitchen for Declan to explore all the cupboards for snack fodder.
Since the school’s closed down, Declan has had access to food 24 hours a day. A food routine was necessary. Like everything else, when a routine is created, it is now Declan mandatory. Declan wants a waffle for breakfast, his ramen noodles for lunch. There are days that an alternative was served at lunch, which I think is sufficient. Yet I learn that dinner cannot commence until the ramen is eaten first.
I realized it became important to limit the bad foods in the house and to increase the amounts of fruits I had available for Declan to snack on. This KIND of works. Now, as Declan mindlessly eats in between meals, he will go through a five-pound bag of apples in one day. Two pounds of strawberries in one sitting. And never be surprised to see half eaten food laying around. He is just mindlessly eating and moving on.
Thankfully, Declan and I have a symbiotic relationship. I juice my lunch every day, so when lunchtime rolls around, and the ramen water is boiling, I walk around the house, collecting half eaten fruit to add to my vegetables to feed my juicer.
We have tried to keep Declan physically active. After Declan’s trampoline was about to need another new mat and after replacing over 50 broken springs (he is an active bouncer) we decided just to get Declan a new trampoline. It is fantastic. It is so quiet I cannot even tell Declan is jumping until I hear him make his happy sounds. The trampoline is a great way for Declan to exercise – when he uses it right.
Since the pool opened, Declan spends hours in the water. As I allow for him to go a bit deeper, Declan just bounces in the water, standing in place. Unless he is anxious about an impending Amazon delivery, he will bounce in place for hours. I don’t know what the long-term effects socially distancing will have on Declan, but now, he does not attempt to engage play with others and bounces to the side if anyone comes near him.
But then it happened. Declan and I were sitting watching TV when the commercial aired.
Domino’s pizza.
Before the pandemic we would get Domino’s pizza every Friday night. Friday night, Domino’s pizza night was Declan’s favorite night of the week.
With everything closing during the quarantine, Bob and I decided to tell Declan a little white lie.
“Domino’s is closed too.”
We figured it would help to have one less healthy thing in the house for Declan to overeat.
Every Friday night for three months we listened to Declan make a lamenting statement about his beloved Domino’s.
And then the commercial aired bringing Domino’s back to our world.
“I guess it just reopened.” I lied (again), “Well, yay – right?”
Last Friday Declan was reunited with his favorite pizza. There was love in the air. And the smell of Domino’s pizza 😊.
Dominoes! Eye roll. We have two other pizza places with much better pizza, but Eli always wants to get dominoes. I think they put some sort of substance addictive to pre-adult males in the crust. I think the only reason we ever cave to his pleading is it’s so bleeping cheap.
Exactly! That was part of my problem too. One pizza is – I think $12. So I always got the deal which was two large plain pizzas for $16.94. It really was such a great deal! But so bad – especially since Declan ate an entire pizza in 24 hours. Gosh, I wish he missed that commercial 🙂
Wouldn’t work for me, Robyn… I make my own pizza…
Me too! That Domino’s stuff isn’t for me.
I know exactly where you’re coming from with this, Robyn, we’ve had to tell a few little white lies about all kinds of things being ‘closed’ over the past few months. Sometimes it’s for the best though. Goodness knows what the long-term affects on our kids (and us too!) will be of all this social distancing lark, but I hope society will heal in the end. Great post, and you’re not alone… 🙂
Oh good! I agree – the social distancing is important and Declan has taken to it very well. Which kind of surprised me as he usually wants to play with others at the pool. Is it social distancing, or is he going into a social shell? I guess we will see! Thanks, Alli! 🙂
Indeed, Robyn, interesting times ahead. 🙂
Younger Daughter sent me pictures of Ben from before the meds turned him into a chunky monkey. Wow! If Ben wasnt so active I’d be more worried.
Maybe you could develope a small problem where you accidentally drop pizza in the trash… oops! Darn! Its horrible to waste food, but is Domino’s really considered “food?”😉
We generally go for Pizza Hut. Stuffed crust and their pasta isnt horrible.🥰
I know! Declan’s big change year was from 6 to 7. I guess he just started to really eat everything in sight and started focusing on screens.
Haha! Not bad! I might try that!
I think our guys would order Pizza Hut instead if there was one near us. The only other pizza chain is Papa John’s and for some reason, they all frown at that place. So, Domino’s it is!
It’s the other way with Son. It’s an endless job to trying to stop him falling below the desired weight. Even the consultant told him to have chocolate whenever he liked. I worry about him going the other way too far. Nothing is ever straightforward is it.
It isn’t! Declan used to be a string bean and now we are just concerned for his health. Any treat we bring in is guarded, but somehow the entire box will be empty in a matter of hours. The big kids try to hide their treats in their rooms (against my wishes but with my understanding) and on come the ants. It’s a tough battle.
Those are acceptable lies, as healthy food is so much better.
Thank you! I agree – we were just trying to cut one more bad habit out when the time allowed for it. I wish, and am trying to stop, him overeating all the bad stuff. It is harder than I thought!
It’s the opposite with Isobelle. When anxious she forgets to eat, and her school lunch doesn’t get eaten. A nutritionist is working with her.
“I don’t know what the long-term effects socially distancing will have” on me, either. The more I distance the less I want to “engage in play” also. Maybe you need a locking box or drawer in your refrigerator so only small amounts of pizza, apples, or strawberries are available!! And I probably need one of those myself.
Me too! I need to start practicing so I don’t say something stupid when my first encounter comes. For a while, I tried bagging the things he could eat outside of meal time. That lasted a couple of weeks. There was some good in doing that – a lot of complaining, but I knew what he was eating at least.
Oh, the lies we tell our kids just to maintain our sanity and to help them. 🤣 You had me on the edge of my seat waiting for the big lie. In this case, I am happy he got reunited with his pizza!
It’s interesting you noted the mindless eating. It’s a nice way describe what T does too. He goes through three bananas a day and just leaves them half eaten around the smart. I’m not as smart as you to juice them! That’s a great suggestion. I’ll have to figure it out.
And glad he is enjoying the pool. Looks so idyllic from over here!
Haha! Thank you! Declan is definitely a mindless eater. He doesn’t mean to, but he will just constantly keep his jaw active. I have tried the chewy tubes – even the flavored ones to give him a greater sensory experience – but he just EATS whatever he can get his hands on. I follow Weight Watchers at times to really focus on what I eat, and even though apples and strawberries are zero points, I don’t know if the same rule applies when you eat as much in one sitting as Declan does.
The pool is so nice. It isn’t crowded and sometimes I wonder if I am the only one taking the risk ( and then thankful that it is just me at the same time:-) ).
I’m glad that you are using the pool. For sure, the same thoughts run through my head. But the way I look at it is they wouldn’t have opened it unless it was unsafe to do so. You’re taking a good educated choice for your and Declan’s wellbeing. And bonus there’s no one in there with you! Enjoy and stay safe!
Thank you for sharing this piece of life with us. I, myself, also love bouncing in a pool in the same spot. Though, not for hours. I do love the peaceful feel, along with being alone for the quick moment while under water.
Thank you, Matt!