Eating

Fact:
I tell my little girl COUNTLESS times that soap will never taste good, no matter how good it smells.
Another Fact:
My little girl will always manage to sneak a taste when we get a new soap or shampoo. I'll hear the spitting and then see her wiping her mouth.
"You tasted it." I'll say.
"Yes, ma'am." She'll say.
"It didn't taste good did it?"
"Nope."
But that isn't enough to keep it from happening again. And again.

On her last day of day care I noticed a strange blue/purple color on her lips and teeth.
"Have you been eating crayons?" I asked (kind of joking, actually).
"Yep." She said (not kidding but laughing because apparently that is funny).

To all you nurses: Yes, I'm familiar with pica and, no, I don't at all think it is that. I just think she is curious. And smell good equals tastes good to her. Plus, she likes to eat:)

Recently I was reminded of their eating habits when they first came to live with us. Every meal we would sit down to they would eat their food SO fast and would continue to ask for more. We know this is a common occurrence with abused and neglected children (many children will horde food, hiding it in their room, etc). That wasn't the case with these girls but they did show evidence of having fear of not having enough/not knowing when they would eat again.
We don't necessarily think that either was the case in their previous home but, honestly, who knows. All of that has subsided until recently when we went to Gatlinburg with JD's family. Maybe it was the change in environment or maybe it was meeting many new people or maybe neither of those things...regardless, the girls started up the whole inhaling their food thing. It still hasn't completely subsided but it's gearing down a bit.

I wish I could jump inside their minds. I wish I could know what thought contributes to each behavior. I wish I could know where they have been and what they have been through.
Sometimes.
Sometimes not.

Sometimes the little bit I know is enough.