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Bon Appetit

I may have mentioned somewhere that I'm a little overtired.  Naturally, that led me to try something new.  I recruited our boys to pick dinner recipes and cook with me once a week.  Because cooking with a three and five-year-old takes no patience whatsoever.

The truth is, so long as I can handle a little extra mess and the fact that it may take a bit longer, the boys are pretty capable.  They look through their cookbook (I highly recommend the Sesame Street books - simple, healthy and actually pretty tasty recipes) and pick out the recipe they want to cook with me.  Then I set them up with tasks that are appropriate.

Our first round Fischer picked salad with hard boiled eggs and Sawyer picked a simple chicken Parmesan recipe.  It turns out that Fischer doesn't like salad and Sawyer doesn't like chicken Parmesan.  Go figure.  Round two was a little more successful.  Fischer picked banana pancakes and Sawyer picked sloppy joes and cream of "any old thing" soup (we chose broccoli).

The boys were able to wash produce, tear lettuce, peel veggies, and cut some of the "softer" veggies - I have a special tool for that.  They add ingredients that I have measured out and stir them.  They set the table.  These are all things I didn't take time to do with them when I was cooking before the babies.  Somehow, having fewer expectations of myself has led to us slowing down a bit and giving the boys more opportunities to shine.

I only cook with one of the boys at a time.  It is their opportunity for one-on-one time with me and their chance to get some positive reinforcement in this chaotic stage of life.  They enjoy it, I enjoy it...mostly.  Plus it's two fewer dinners I have to think of each week!  It's an activity I highly recommend.

Not to mention they are learning to cook....and their future wives can thank me later!

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