Life with two young children is crazy sometimes! There's a lot of redundancy and disorganization, two things that drive me crazy. :-) I'm finding some great ideas though to increase Ella's independence and responsibility and we've tucked away a couple of Emma's mess making opportunties.
Ella usually eats lightly at meal time. I'll prepare a varied meal with things that she likes included and she'll take a few bites and then want to leave the table or refuse to eat anything else. She'll even agree to no dessert so that she doesn't have to eat anymore. Then she'll want a snack within 15 minutes of leaving the table and this pretty much goes on all day long.
I read this idea somewhere (can't remember where it was). It's a healthy snack shelf. It's filled with things I don't mind her eating anytime, even right before a meal. Now when she wants a snack 15 minutes before or after a meal I tell her she can either wait for the next meal or pick a snack from her shelf. It's working great so far! I'm no longer feeling pressed to prepare her several mini meals a day and she's eating a good balance of foods.
This is Ella's bedtime routine chart. She brainstormed the tasks on it with me and decorated it. We've been using this for a few months already and it's completely changed bedtime. (Thank you, Jane Nelsen! http://blog.positivediscipline.com/search/label/Routine%20Charts) Now instead of me telling her what she needs to do next and struggling to keep her on track I just ask her what's next on her chart. Even Emma has started following this routine because she wants to do everything Ella does.
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