big taste made by the little folk

Jax is at the age where he sincerely wants to help. Help clean. Help cook. Help anything. Just help. He is excited to exert his growing awareness of his independence, and loves to display his skills by helping me or his Daddy do just about anything.

Sometimes, help is just a hindrance. Too much help can actually slow you down. But I try to remember what it was like to be in this wonderful age of discovery (yes, I can actually remember wanting to help my mom in the kitchen), and allow him the opportunity. I know, like so many other things, this won't last for long... so I better enjoy the help, whether desired or not, while I can. More importantly, I cherish the time spent during all of those occasions that I'm receiving the unsolicited help. They really are sweet times.

If your toddler is ready to help, try these for a fun supper one night. The kids can do practically all of the preparation themselves, and they are oh-so-proud of the resulting meal. And, it's something they will actually eat themselves! yay - everyone wins

Jax loves to make little pizzas. We take English muffins and cut them in half (we like the sourdough ones best). Place them on a cookie sheet (I always ask Jax to count them as he places them on the sheet.... you know, just to make sure we have enough!). He uses a spoon to spread pizza sauce (from a jar) on each muffin. Next, he adds other toppings that each person in our family will enjoy. Canadian bacon, pepperoni... Josh likes mushrooms and black olives, so we aim to please, and customize a few with those yucky-looking things. Sometimes. Sometimes, we make Daddy eat only the "normal" stuff. ha ha. Anyway, Jax also loves to sprinkle "white cheese" and "yellow cheese" on top. I help him put them into the oven, and we bake them until the cheese is melted... they are yummy. These are great snacks or appetizers. Sometimes, we make these little boogers for our main meal! (It's sad to say, but being the picky eater that I have always been, we aren't a very nutritionally-conscious family... these little pizzas are very "healthy" compared to some of the other junk foods I have suggested for our meals in the past!)

These are really quick (great for those little attention-spans!) and easy (no measuring; no right or wrong way to do it)... plus, what kid doesn't love PIZZA??? Even the big kids in your household will love them. Sometimes, you just gotta forget about the nutritional meal stuff and let the kid come out! YUM