Raising Hobbits

If you have ever read or seen The Lord of the Rings, then you must be familiar with hobbits. J.R.R. Tolkien wrote quite a lot about those slightly smaller than average characters and one of their most prominent characteristics is that of their never ending appetites. Always hungry. That's what they are. A little over four years ago before I gave birth to my first child, I was quite obsessed with Lord of the Rings and my favorite characters were, of course, the hobbits. Oh, at first glance the elves are fierce and beautiful with stealthy aim. But once the luminescence of their forever grace wears off, you realize that hobbits are...well...so much cooler. Perhaps 'realistic' is more appropriate. What I didn't realize after having kids was that I would, in fact, be raising two of my very own hobbits. Much like hobbits, they have massively huge feet that grow out of shoes quicker than I can buy them. Though they lack the thick coat of hair atop their feet, they do prefer to go shoeless at any given time and one would be hard pressed to actually find them wearing shoes in the warmer seasons. My kids prefer dirt of the earth over the clean floors of the indoors. But most importantly, the greatest similarity between my children and those wonderful ficticious characters is this: They love to eat. A hobbits daily eating schedule goes something like this according to Pippin: Breakfast, second breakfast, elevensies, luncheon, afternoon tea, and dinner. I imagine that this is the 'grown up' hobbit food schedule as hobbit children seem to need an added food break in between those from time to time. Today, Alex and Abby had breakfast when they woke up. One hour later they needed a second breakfast. In between this, they had a small snack (healthy one of fruit of course). This, of course, must have been the elevensies as that was the time they needed food. Next was lunch, or luncheon in hobbit terms. Afternoon tea is really just my kids' next snack time when they eat yet another piece of fruit or crackers. Dinner follows promptly and if not served quick enough a sharp case of the grumpies takes over. If dinner is served much later than 6:00 p.m. then my legs become welcome chew toys. I have the scars on my ankles. Remind me to show you someday. One hour after a well rounded dinner tonight, my wee ones decided to raid the fridge and both came running at me, each carrying a large carrot in their hands. They ate them then proceeded to need a quick banana snack that is required for book reading time. Whew! Is anyone else tired yet? I swear I never stop cooking or preparing food in this house. I suppose that's just what I should have expected when raising two hobbits.