What's That Smell?

kIdS   iN   tHe   KiTcHeN

One of my goals in life,

 is to make sure all of my kids

know how to cook

when they leave my home.

Another goal is to make sure

 I still have a home to cook in

when my kids leave home.

I learned early in parenting,

that for about

every 15 minutes of kids in the kitchen,

I'm going to have roughly one hour of cleanup.

If you allow more than one in the kitchen at a time,

that ratio is multiplied with great amounts of exasperation.

(Little Gracie, about 3 years old)

But, this little mess maker

 turned into my Thanksgiving dinner baker.

There is always hope!

I am thinking of writing a cookbook with our family's favorite recipes,

but I think I'll have to include "fire extinguisher"

 in the list of items needed for each recipe.

I learned long ago that I can never have too many potholders,

because they traditionally get burned up.

It is the first initiation into cooking with mom,

a tradition followed haphazardly by all my kids.

They have also started dishtowels on fire,

because when they can't find a potholder,

they like to grab the towels hanging on the oven.

But, they always dangle on the element and start on fire,

of course.

This week I smelled something I haven't smelled

since I burned the entire bottom out

of my Tupperware sugar cannister.

I guess making jelly, talking on the phone,

and having five little kids around was just

TOO MUCH

multitasking for me.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Somebody also turned on the wrong burner.

It took days to get all the plastic removed.
Remember my clean stove with

the brand-new drip pans?

Wanna knows who has guilty hands

with bright blue fingernail polish?

Yeah.  OOPS!

I assured her that the cookbook I got for my wedding,

had an identical burn pattern on it.

Apples are falling from both sides

of the family tree.

Lemme show you my husband's secret ingredient for

our Southwest Roast...

Should I be wondering why having

kids in the kitchen is such a disaster?

They come by it honestly.

From both sides of the family.

Anybody want to come for dinner this week?

I double-dog dare ya'.