You Know You've Got Kids in the Kitchen When

Kids love to get dirty, I mean cook, in the kitchen. Its an amazing thing, on many different levels, to see the end result of their creativity. One word of advice -- keep an eye on em!

You Know Youve Got Kids in the Kitchen When...

You hear Oh... I was supposed to put the lid on the blender before I turned it on, wasnt I?

Youre still finding bits of cookie dough behind the coffee maker, fruit bowl, and salt shaker after that incident with the beaters.

You feel a distinct crunch when youre eating the scrambled eggs theyve lovingly prepared for you.

You hear Mom! Wheres the mop? and How do I pick up broken glass?

You find flour hand prints on the bathroom mirror and the stair rail and the black lab.

Every dish you own has been used in the space of one hour.

Each strawberry dipped in chocolate now has a name, and youre not allowed to eat them.

You hear Mom, just in case, where do we keep the fire extinguisher?

You notice the bread, ketchup, peanut butter, pickles, and marshmallows on the counter just as your child proudly proclaims hes made you a masterpiece. Youre supposed to eat it.

You have your suspicions about that cake in the oven. Your favorite stirring spoon has gone missing.

You hear the older one telling the younger one that recipes are just a guideline.

You have to remind your kids, again, that the only time a pot should be turned on high is when theyre boiling water.

As you turn off the smoke detector and open all the windows, you explain that microwave at medium heat means in the microwave, not on the stove.

You yell, just in time, that wadded up paper towels do not make good oven mitts.

There is some sort of goo in a large Tupperware container taking up valuable front space in your fridge.

Parents, although it may not seem like it, your kids are learning to cook through all their trials and errors. And just remember that everything that happens in the kitchen now is just a happy step down the wonderful path of Memory Lane later!

Peggy Baron cooks with her kids in Colorado, and runs cookinkids.com a website devoted to helping parents and kids have fun together in the kitchen. Peggy is the editor of the popular Cookin' Kids Newsletter, a bi-monthly newsletter with fun facts, recipes, jokes, games, cooking safety, and cooking terms wrapped around a different theme