My ever-capable child

This has been a week of never ending help in my kitchen in the form of my 5 year old son. "Mom, when can I help you fix dinner?" This question sometimes hits right after breakfast! The name of the meal changes, but right now, he is wanting to be in the kitchen with me for "a job".

Having Mark home has created an even busier kitchen than normal. Now, we are not only having dinner at the table together. We have breakfast and lunch together too.

And so my little helper wants to be there to do whatever job I can think of. "What can I do next Mom? Think." So I think for the next task that I think he can do or is ready for.

He's blowing me away at how fast he's growing up and how capable he is. I said I would show him how to wash and slice mushrooms, and then he told me he already knew how. He's been watching for 5 years. So no wonder that when I turned my back to brown the ground beef he had already washed and was slicing mushrooms! He's setting the timer on the microwave on his own in minutes, setting the table with our fancy chargers, spoons forks and even getting drinks for everyone. (He's learned that I like more than one ice cube in my glass, and I also like it mostly filled, not just half way.) Every meal, and there are 3 of them, he wants to help. I am thankful for little hands that want to carry every drink, salad, dish, bottle of salad dressing, or whatever to the table. He can do it and it's good for him to have responsibilities in this family.

Last night at dinner he announced that he would like to have some cinnamon toast. "I'll get it, " he said. I looked at Mark, a look that said, This could be interesting.

The pantry opened and closed. He came for his chair to reach the toaster. The toaster went off. Then we waited and waited at the table while there was silence in the kitchen. He emerged with cinnamon toast, crusts cut off, buttered and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. "Did I do good?!" You did great! He's done this twice more since. He knows he has to ask first. Wow.

Our big joke is that I am Paula Deen and he is Bobby Flay and more and more I think he is!