This is the way we work at our house.
September 15, 2008
This is how I clean my house:
I turn on the water in the kitchen sink.
Me: (in my staged-panicky voice):
“Oh no! Would you just look at this messy sink! What ever shall we do!”
Addie:“Oh!!! Mommy!! I want to do the dishes!!”
Ian: “Ditheth, Ditheth!”
Good to go. Chairs at the sink, and they will last 1/2 hour while I vacuum, fold laundry, clean counters, etc. Granted, there is a river to clean up after wards (a soapy river), but I have a clean house!
This is how I make dinner:
Me (in my overly-distressed voice):
“Oh no!! Dad is going to be home soon, and we have got to make dinner fast!”
Addie: ” I want to make dinner!”
Ian: “Make dough!”
Great! Chairs at the counter, I hand them any thing I can find. The other night it was lime rinds, hot pink sugar cookie sparkles, frozen peas and salt. Mmmmmmmm. I can work at the stove without little fingers getting dangerously in the way, and It makes my cooking look REALLY good:)
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When my kids were a bit younger we worked in the same wonderful way…I just love it when parents let their children take part in the daily rutines at home!
Your sweet children seem to have the most wonderful time!!
And I know that there will be a mess and a lot of strange tasting food afterwards, but it’s definitely worth it……. :0)
By the way, how did the – very good looking – green and pink dish turn out? ;0)
You are awesome.
Love it! I put Mila to work with the dishes as well. She has so much fun. I need to get her “cooking” with her own ingredients. Right now she really wants to help me with dinner, but things end up getting measured incorrectly, stirred a bit too wildly, etc.
Smart! I am such a freak sometimes, i forget how much fun they are having being just kids….i can’t wait to try this with my son.
oh so glad to know you guys try this too! Ulla: The greenish pinkish was pretty scary to say the least, and Ian actually kept picking out the frozen peas to eat. (He LOVES peas). It looked so gross, but he was so proud that he made it!
Nice post and blog!
What a jummy dinner your kids make!
What a clever mommy!
Just look out – Alex decided to wash his cup on his own one day and he used half a bottle of dish soap before I found him! His jammies were actually sudsing!
whenever we do this at our house, whatever the kids have cooked winds up on the table as an appetizer or a side dish. they bring it over as if it’s not an option NOT to include it.
ha and they watch me to make sure i am sampling… but usually it’s a couple different cereals mixed with raisins [heavily handled], so i can stomach it. but i sort of have a lump in my throat looking at addie’s concotion. (shhh don’t tell her) 
(it sort of looks like an uncooked, raw shepherd’s pie)
Brilliant – I am going to start doing this.
What a wonderful post and beautiful photos!!
Sarah! What camera do you use?? You shots are Amazing!! I’d love to learn how you make such amazing photos, do you use photoshop? But they are so crisp and clean it must be your camera…we LOST our camera! or it was stolen…:( So any suggestions from anyone here actually would be nice
thank you!!
What a great post! We do the sink play too — usually we pretend it’s a car wash. I have a couple of extra bath mats and I toss one down to soak some of the sudsy river (it’s really only a drop in the bucket, but it makes me feel better) and then I toss it in the washer afterwards.
It’s genius to have the little ones mix up some invented food while you cook. I’m always trying to have my son help me with the actual meal, and it’s not very efficient (to say the least). Tonight I’m trying it your way!
I just jumped over from Martha’s Blog. I wanted to say Hi and nice Blog.
Stop by and visit me sometime…..
http://www.thebarberbunch.blogspot.com/
Carolyn
Very clever!
ha! so cute! i’ve done the “clean the dishes” trick too
. 3/4 of my dishing soap was used, suds all over the counter and floor but i had one very clean pot and got some work done. so sneaky 
. i’ll have to try your cooking idea next…i guess i never thought of pooling together a bunch of random ingredients before. brilliant! currently, i’ve placed our wooden play stove right outside our kitchen so i can get my littlest one to pretend-cook while i make the real thing. it works most of the time. last night she had my colander and a bunch of beaded necklaces that she was making…her idea 
. allowing them to do these things is good practice in teaching me to relax and not worry about the mess…
Genius Sarah, genius.
That is how we roll at our house too! Last night it meant there was a lot of rice on the floor but I got supper made with minimum leg clinging and demands to be carried. Whatever works right?