A couple weeks ago I had an epiphany - NO MORE KIDS COOKING IN THE KITCHEN!  I love to cook so I have always tried to invite at least one of my kiddos into the kitchen to help with the cooking.  (OK, some of you are already laughing at this crazy idea....you know not all of us are pros at parenting right off the bat!).  My thinking; show them how to cook early, get them to enjoy what they are eating and have some family time.  But that has never been the case.  

My kiddos are now 9, 7, 5 and this (madness) has been going on since my oldest was about 5 years old.  Instead of the peaceful scene you see on the Hallmark specials with mom and child cooking in the kitchen I hear, "Mom, it is my turn to make dinner!" as they push each other out of the way or fighting for the spoon as they are arguing, "I was supposed to stir the food!"  

So this last weekend my opinion of inviting my kids in the kitchen finally changed. (Well, for the time being.)  I was in the process of cooking a simple spaghetti dinner.  It started out as normal as can be, noodles in the pan, sauce on the stove, buttering the bread.  But in a matter of minutes it turned to chaos.  

Ethan (7 year old) "Mom, you said I could help." as he is pushing the 5 year old off the stool.

Bella (5 year old) "Ahhhhh....Wahhhhhhh." as she falls to the ground

Canaan (9 year old) "No, I am in charge." as he pushes his way in front.

Ending in me interrupting, "EVERYONE OUT!"

The dinner was solemn and I spent the evening calming down from our family cooking night flop.

While I lied in bed that night and said my daily prayers, this chaotic event entered my head.  "God, please give me the patience to deal with my children in the kitchen and show me what the best way to work together." And then I heard God clear as day. "Why are you inviting them in the kitchen.  Let them do some growing up first."  Whether this was God actually speaking to me or myself finally growing up as a parent, I immediately laughed to myself and realized there is a place and time for our kids to enter into different situations in life and right now keeping them out of the kitchen will help calm the chaos.  

As I get ready for the holidays, of which I enjoy nothing more than family time, I am going to keep the kids out of the kitchen and enjoy some alone time with the garlic, onions and spices - ALONE - Heaven! 

So today, I have been in my dream space for the last 8 hours in the kitchen!!  (OK, not entirely, I stopped for some time to take care of work, clean the house, feed the kids and even complete a weekend project with the family - but I am still in my PJ's and covered in flour and butter - so I think that counts)  

But I have to start the preparation for Thanksgiving feast today so that I can be ready for our family Thanksgiving.  See, my family has this habit of thinking we need to eat for hibernation during the Thanksgiving feast. 

I just finished making a monster batch of "momma's meatballs" - the kids favorite.  They are an new adventure every time.  Today literally 6lb of meat, mozzarella, bread, eggs, spices and other yummy stuff will make enough to serve a few dinners through the week.  I also made a cake out of Food & Wine magazine and excited to see how it turns out but now need to get the dinner in the oven

The kids have now realized I have stepped away from their sight as I can now hear the "MOM......MOM.........MOM" coming from upstairs so I need to wrap it up and get back to cooking!  My favorite time of year!!  

Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Cooking!

So…November. It means something to all of us, let see…finally fall in the south, big deal, no, really it is a really big deal! Halloween is over..bigger deal! Snow for some, I really miss that, being from Colorado. But what it inevitably means is the holidays are just around the corner and I don’t know about you but time is moving faster! I actually read this, it is literally moving faster. For those of us above middle age that’s a bad thing. But what can you do but get ready sooner!  Buy the Turkey, plan the meal, add to the guest list, start pulling out the decorations, but there are some things we must do first.

We must  first give thanks during this month of November. Thanks to our men in uniform who put their lives on the line daily for our precious freedom. Thanks for our families and their good health. Thanks for this beautiful, one of a kind country we live in that allows us to be anything we want to be, go anywhere we want to go, and do just about anything, within the law, that we’d like to do.

I personally would like to give thanks first and foremost to my family without whom I would be nothing. Thanks for my health and my new business that makes me get out of bed each morning with a smile, and to my many dear and wonderful friends who have been there for me through good times and bad, happiness and sorrow and I know for a fact that if needed them and put out the “All Call” they would come running from, Colorado, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee  and Arizona, just to name some. Without your friends you sometimes lose balance. A good friend will hold your hand, laugh and cry with you and tell you when to shape up, put on your big girl pants, and deal with what’s ahead of you. Besides my family, those are the people I want around my dinner table on that special day in November.

Those of us lucky enough to have children will always have an extended family and hopefully, as their families grow, we will all gather around the table at Grandma’s house, remembering other Turkey Days, laughing about the time the electricity went out in the whole neighborhood and we all pooled our grills and whoever had a gas range, (us) and all cooked together. It was wild but it was so fun. Or the time when a dear friend passed and her husband and mine and our children did it all on their own as I was called to my mother’s bedside to say goodbye. I was proud of them, they put on a great dinner for a family in mourning and ended up having a great time.

For these things and wonderful people, I will give thanks again this year looking forward to many more happy Novembers to come.

Cecilia Giamundo

Austin North SeekingSitters Owner