Chez Toddler

I get a lot of help in the kitchen these days. The majority of it is not requested and usually ends with me screaming something along the lines of, "No. No! Stop! No, you put that down! Alright, everybody out of the kitchen! Zach!!"

Sam tests the flour

I've looked that over a couple of times and I don't think I have ever written dialog that accurately before.

The boys are just too curious for their own good. They want to pick everything up and taste everything and touch everything. And they want me to hold them. Have you ever tried to cut a tomato while a squiggly toddler is trying to grab a piece and taste it? It's no walk in the park, I'll tell you that.

Sam observes the flour

So, I'm trying to find some way to keep them away from danger (i.e. burners, knives, pots of boiling water, a frazzled mommy just trying to get a meal on the table before she cracks) but still have them be a part of the cooking experience. I want that for them.

Sam tastes the flour

Zach was home a little later than usual the other day because he had a thing with the President of the Basque country, Lehendakari Ibarretxe. So, the boys and I were on our own for dinner preparation. I decided, that if they weren't going to watch The Wiggles, like good little drones, then they might as well help out.

So, here are the boys assisting me with the calzones.

Sam likes the flour

I managed to get almost everything chopped while Sam was eating the flour. Then they were both too distracted by the green pepper to bother too much with the cutting of the zucchini.

"Sam, this is serious business. Stop fooling around. Those piles aren't going to mess themselves up!"

Ben strips the all the seeds off of the green pepper. He takes his work very seriously.

While I turned to sautée the veggies the boys saw an opportunity. And they took it.

The contents of the cutting bowl, dumped out.

Before

After

In the end, it was a success. There was food all over the place, especially in between the washer/dryer a.k.a. my prep work station, because the boys enjoyed watching things fall down there. But, all in all, it went well... and with minimal screaming.