Skipping A Generation

For those of you out there who have voiced concern about my poor cooking skills being passed along to my children, (you know who you are, Aunt Susie, Mom, Dad...and the countless others who have had the thought, but kept silent) you can begin to relax a little.

For one thing, I no longer consider myself without skills in the kitchen. That's right. I have some. I'm even developing enough confidence to enlist my two little eager helpers. It appears that our little Hannah is not fully my mini me. This girl is quite a natural in the kitchen.

Saturday morning it was just us girls. Daddy had soccer coach training. (After 2 years of coaching, he now has officially been trained). And a certain 7-year-old who had never spent the night away from home before? Yeah, he spent the entire night away from home. (Sniff, sniff). I was two houses down from him until almost midnight fully expecting the phone call, but it never came. He had assured me as I skeptically dropped him off that he was going to stay. "I was only 6 when I tried last time, Mom". Oh, right. I forgot about that whole getting older thing.

Anyway, with the boys away, we girls decided to break out our super cute princess aprons (well, I don't actually have one because when one has no skills or interest in the kitchen one tends not to have an apron) given to the kids by the lovely aforementioned Aunt Susie. First time Sarah could actually wear hers. Our sleepover champ had been requesting some pumpkin bread and we needed to bake some muffins for the Sunday School kick off party today so we got busy.

Hannah is a champion egg cracker. So many of you are rolling your eyes right now. I know that. I'm almost positive that many, many 4 1/2 year olds (and younger) can crack an egg as well as my daughter. HOWEVER, none of them are the children of the person best known in her family for making the, now infamous, "egg shell brownies". That's right. She has beaten the odds and on Saturday was even teaching her snotty sidekick exactly how she works her magic. Impressive I tell you!

Without the pictures, all of this would most likely be considered a work of fiction by most people who know me. So Voila! For the still doubtful, come to Brussels. I've been practicing and almost everything that comes out of this kitchen is more than just edible. Whoo hoo! (Don't worry, I'm going to start working on my humility skills this week).

It has been a nice weekend. Much less stressful than last. Mom's night out, first overnight away for our big guy, a mother/daughter shopping outing for some very cute (and thankfully inexpensive) "trainers" for our quickly growing 4 1/2 year old, egg cracking 101 with Hannah, birthday party in the park complete with train rides, a little college football...the only thing missing is Daddy who left for Germany this afternoon.

Kids are all in bed and ready for week 2. I might be a little bit giddy at the thought of two kid free mornings starting this week. Yes, my little Sarah will be going to her school again this week. She has been packing up her backpack and lunchbox with random things each morning causing us to be behind schedule more than once and tomorrow she'll have a reason to pack her bags. I hope she is as excited about staying at school with her bags as she has been at the prospect.