Jul
12
2009
You scream, I scream, we all scream for ice cream
Bunting at the Regatta
Despite a grey and drizzly start to the day, which involved frantic head scratching Chez Spud about ‘what do we do when the weather is rubbish?’, things brightened up pretty quickly and by lunchtime it was glorious.
Just as well as it was our town’s annual regatta today…think: loads of boats, boat racing, nautical types, pink shirts, collars up, Crocs by the million, poor sound systems, tombolas, hog roasts, bad live music, warm beer, ice cream, bouncy castles, carousels, candy floss, children pumped on sugar and parents on the edge etc etc. All so quintessentially English. And all so delightful; it even involved a successful ice-cream ‘in public’ attempt which is always a bonus.
Two of Diggy’s biggest EVER tantrums have been over ice-creams ‘in public’, more specifically him letting his ice-cream melt too much and thus dropping it on the floor and then totally losing it. One of them was so bad I ended up having to shoehorn him back in to his car seat by effectively elbowing him in the stomach to get him to bend - he was totally rigid with fury and had been for 20 minutes whilst a small crowd of JudgeyPants gathered and tutted at me(thanks guys, your reward is in heaven..remember that). He was 16 months old…you can imagine how we feared the ‘terrible twos’ given that he was a seasoned pro by 16 months.
Moments before the first, monumental ice-cream droppage tantrum..it set the standard..
It’s been a year since an ice-cream related tantrum occurred, but the memory of them is terrifying enough that ice-creams ‘in public’ still bring me out in a bit of a sweat. The main issue is that he never stops talking (hmm, now where does he get that from?) and thus the ice-cream melts whilst he is chattering away. A previous tactic to avoid ‘the droppage’ has been for either parent to swoop in and lick the melty bits before the entire structure gives way. Such a mistake, he has a tantrum about that too – he hates it if you take his food, even if he has no intention of eating it (clearly not the case with ice-cream) and has been known to attempt to take food out of your mouth if he thinks it’s ‘his’. Thus, by deploying the ‘emergency licking’ technique to avoid a tantrum, you actually end up causing one.
Tip: ALWAYS take the tub option over cone...NB ice-cream on the beach in mid-winter
So ice-creams ‘in public’ now involve ignoring any of his attempts to engage you in conversation and constant ‘KEEP LICKING!’ orders, barked at him in a slightly shrill tone. It takes an age, and by the time he’s finished we’re normally running late so he has to take a ride on MrSpud’s shoulders to override the default toddler walking speeds of dead slow/stop/reverse to examine every leaf on the path. That works out well; we get where we need to in good time, and Diggy saves me the job of clearing up the post ice-cream aftermath by wiping his sticky hands on MrSpud’s hair. What’s left of it…
Waaah I love it! Amy once bawled for half an hour and told my Mum off – the crime..Mum ate one of her crusts lol.
OMG that’s so funny and so so violet. she’s still such a pussy with ice cream and actually prefers ice lollies. we tend to stick to the ribena or calipso…
I understand, I mean if it’s MY food why are you eating it?
But I see you know what to do now, must remember tub and keep licking strategies when I’m a Mum!
Wow – do we actually have the same son? I could’ve written every word of that (although admittedly not as well as you write) about Sam, right down to him forcibly trying to reclaim food that was never his from my mouth.
sorry to hear that you’re not a mum who appreciates creamy icecream as hair conditioner. or as moisturizing mask. or as furniture polish… ;-(
i gotta say those are two of the cutest, sweetest faces ever! and that blonde hair!
how on earth could you ever get mad at that?
love, love, love the second picture! happy week!
Maybe it’s a 2nd child thing – Ysella will flip if you touch her food, and the best way to get her to eat something she doesn’t want is to offer it to Ethan! Although Ethan’s the one who gets incredibly upset about ‘broken’ food (”No, darling, the chocolate isn’t broken, I’ve simply cut it in half so you don’t end up with it all over you”)
Kids, eh? Guaranteed to make a family day out such fun.
I was forming lots of clever comments in my head as I read your post when I reached the last photo and everything came to a screeching halt. Heaven’s above, is that a F..F..F..F L A K E in baby’s ice cream??? I ADORE CADBURY FLAKES! I could do a whole post about my relationship with this mouthwatering delight. If I had been there I would have pushed those fat widdo fingers out of the way and screamed…it’s MINE.
Sooooo funny!
Love the ‘Keep Licking’ instruction in a shrill tone. I’ve SO been there ….
Tell Diggy, I feel his pain. You people are always up in our ice cream business. We’ll get to it when we are good and ready. Harumph.
I’ll make sure I have some ice cream in his honour this afternoon
thank you for the tip. i will remember that when i get E his own ice cream. thankfully for now he is content sharing with me.
I will also enforce your “keep licking” instruction. hilarious!!!
That is sooo funny! Hey, is that a flake in his ice cream??? I have heard that they insert cadbury flakes in ice cream over there and I sooo want one someday. I have only found flakes here in one place, my local chippy (which is actually kinda a pub too) down the street from me. It’s my fav place and I always buy 2 flakes! mmmmmmm
Ok, I have got to try this Cadbury Flake I keep hearing about. Better be soon. I can feel a Diggy-tantrum coming on.