NATCHEZ — Ernest Chatman is best at juggling the things he loves most in life.

Recently, that’s included everything from 50-plus hour workweeks as a chef to taking care of a five-month old baby.

As The Dart landed on Arlington Avenue Wednesday, Ernest was in his living room watching the popular children’s cartoon show Spongebob Squarepants, while his wife, Erica Chatman, fed little Evan Chatman.

“(Ernest) puts it on the cartoons and says it’s for the baby, and then he doesn’t pay attention to the baby,” Erica said, laughing.

Ernest didn’t deny Erica’s accusations.

“Hey, I like it now,” Ernest said. “Last night, we stayed up watching cartoons.”

When Ernest isn’t watching cartoons with Evan, he’s usually working as a chef by morning, night or both at Magnolia Grill in Natchez or the newly opened Butt Hut in Vidalia. The same owner operates the two restaurants, so Ernest goes between the two Miss-Lou eateries.

The Butt Hut’s rising popularity and freshly served barbeque for Miss-Lou taste buds have made Ernest’s life more chaotic recently.

“It’s been fast-paced,” Ernest said. “It’s hard. It’s everything at once, but I like to do it, so I don’t have too many complaints.”

To further complicate Ernest’s shuffling working hours, Erica spends the majority of her nights working as a respiratory therapist at Natchez Community Hospital.

“I work in the sleep lab, and I hook patients up to determine if they have sleep apnea,” Erica said.

Working nights alters Erica’s sleeping routines. As soon as she gets accustomed to working at night and sleeping during the day, she gets a few days off that throws off her body’s internal schedule.

“It can be challenging adjusting, because a lot of nights that I’m off, I’m still up all night,” Erica said.

Erica and Ernest met in high school, as Erica graduated from Natchez High School in 1993 and Ernest followed in 1995. Erica and Ernest dated in high school and later reunited years later before marrying each other three years ago.

On days off, the couple, more so Ernest, enjoy going fishing, and anytime there’s a family function where barbeque is involved, Ernest gets put to work on his day off. That’s something he expects, as it’s become a regular occurrence.

“Too much,” said Ernest, as Erica couldn’t contain her laughter. “I just fire the grill up.”

Ernest shouldn’t expect anything different. After all, his life is consumed with food and family.