"I Wanna' Help"
I Wanna’ Help Published 11-3-10 CLT
By Allan Olson
It’s great to have help on projects around the house. Whether it’s laundry, baking, cleaning or just wrangling four active children, it’s always nice to have help. Except when it’s not, because sometimes, it isn’t.
The kind of help I’m referring to is from the hands of a little child. Hearing those words from the little voice of a young child for the first time will make most parents smile and think how cute it is that they want to help. Well, I’ve had “help” for the last seven years, and it’s not always very helpful.
A couple weekends ago, I made cinnamon rolls. As the bread was raising, the kids went down for a nap. But all were concerned that they wouldn’t be able to help. “I want to make rolls,” Marcus said in sobs as he was heading to bed. “Don’t worry,” I said, “I’ll make sure you get to help.” I had 15 loaves to roll out, and it wasn’t going to be a quick task with eight extra hands helping.
The loaves rose before the kids started getting up, and I thought that maybe I could get a dent in the project before any of them awoke. Before I started, though, I decided that I would save two loaves apiece for the kids. I had only one loaf done before Abigail was up. Soon the three youngest ones were all awake and eager to help.
Well, the project just got bigger. Take a deep breath.
I called the first kid over to roll out the loaf. They have to help with each step. Roll it out, then we put spread on the dough, then cinnamon and sugar, then roll it up again, cut it into pieces and into the pan. If I try to cheat them out of any of the process, I get called on it. I’ve gotten to the point where I let them tell me what step is next, and they’ve got it nailed down.
This past weekend, as I was batching it with four kids, I decided to make cookies with them. What was I thinking? I started with peanut butter cookies. All four kids wanted to help at the same time. Since I’m in charge, I made an executive decision. “The girls help with these, and then the boys with the chocolate chip,” I said.
Each kid took turns dumping in ingredients. Abigail said, “I want to crack eggs.” Well, I might not be the smartest cook in the kitchen, but I didn’t fall prey to that. “I don’t think so,” I said. “I’ll be careful,” she replied. “Yeah, right,” I thought. In the end, I cracked the eggs in a measuring cup, and she dumped them in. That seemed to work for her.
That batch went into the fridge to chill. I cleaned up the dishes and started again with the boys.
It was a much easier and faster process than the previous experiment. Each of them helped an even amount of times, and it was soon ready to be chilled.
“Are the cookies ready yet?” Abigail asked, opening the oven door. “Where are they?” she queried, when she realized it was empty. “They haven’t been made yet,” I said. “Oh,” she replied.
Fast forward a couple hours, and I was rolling out the dough.
“I want to help,” Marcus said. “Um, okay,” I said, hesitantly. Soon all four were helping. It didn’t matter how many times I tried chasing them away, they kept coming back. I soon gave up and just sat back and let them roll the cookie dough out. Thankfully, it was nearly done when I gave up. In the end, I had cookie dough balls rolled into shapes and sizes from a ping bong ball to a golf ball. Did it bother me? I would lie if I said no. But ultimately, once I sat back and let them do it their way, with moderate instruction, it was rather entertaining.
Soon I was peppered with questions like: “Can I have a cookie?” and “Can I have another one?” and, naturally, “Can we have one more?”
The little ones certainly enjoyed the experience, and I have to admit that I did, too. Will I let them help again? Yeah, I’m still a sucker for those little words, “I want to help.” But I guarantee you they aren’t as willing to “help” when it comes to cleaning their room!
As always, we appreciate your comments, feedback and suggestions, so please feel free to drop us a line at cltimes1@arvig.net. Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a great week and a successful and safe hunting season.
By Allan Olson
It’s great to have help on projects around the house. Whether it’s laundry, baking, cleaning or just wrangling four active children, it’s always nice to have help. Except when it’s not, because sometimes, it isn’t.
The kind of help I’m referring to is from the hands of a little child. Hearing those words from the little voice of a young child for the first time will make most parents smile and think how cute it is that they want to help. Well, I’ve had “help” for the last seven years, and it’s not always very helpful.
A couple weekends ago, I made cinnamon rolls. As the bread was raising, the kids went down for a nap. But all were concerned that they wouldn’t be able to help. “I want to make rolls,” Marcus said in sobs as he was heading to bed. “Don’t worry,” I said, “I’ll make sure you get to help.” I had 15 loaves to roll out, and it wasn’t going to be a quick task with eight extra hands helping.
The loaves rose before the kids started getting up, and I thought that maybe I could get a dent in the project before any of them awoke. Before I started, though, I decided that I would save two loaves apiece for the kids. I had only one loaf done before Abigail was up. Soon the three youngest ones were all awake and eager to help.
Well, the project just got bigger. Take a deep breath.
I called the first kid over to roll out the loaf. They have to help with each step. Roll it out, then we put spread on the dough, then cinnamon and sugar, then roll it up again, cut it into pieces and into the pan. If I try to cheat them out of any of the process, I get called on it. I’ve gotten to the point where I let them tell me what step is next, and they’ve got it nailed down.
This past weekend, as I was batching it with four kids, I decided to make cookies with them. What was I thinking? I started with peanut butter cookies. All four kids wanted to help at the same time. Since I’m in charge, I made an executive decision. “The girls help with these, and then the boys with the chocolate chip,” I said.
Each kid took turns dumping in ingredients. Abigail said, “I want to crack eggs.” Well, I might not be the smartest cook in the kitchen, but I didn’t fall prey to that. “I don’t think so,” I said. “I’ll be careful,” she replied. “Yeah, right,” I thought. In the end, I cracked the eggs in a measuring cup, and she dumped them in. That seemed to work for her.
That batch went into the fridge to chill. I cleaned up the dishes and started again with the boys.
It was a much easier and faster process than the previous experiment. Each of them helped an even amount of times, and it was soon ready to be chilled.
“Are the cookies ready yet?” Abigail asked, opening the oven door. “Where are they?” she queried, when she realized it was empty. “They haven’t been made yet,” I said. “Oh,” she replied.
Fast forward a couple hours, and I was rolling out the dough.
“I want to help,” Marcus said. “Um, okay,” I said, hesitantly. Soon all four were helping. It didn’t matter how many times I tried chasing them away, they kept coming back. I soon gave up and just sat back and let them roll the cookie dough out. Thankfully, it was nearly done when I gave up. In the end, I had cookie dough balls rolled into shapes and sizes from a ping bong ball to a golf ball. Did it bother me? I would lie if I said no. But ultimately, once I sat back and let them do it their way, with moderate instruction, it was rather entertaining.
Soon I was peppered with questions like: “Can I have a cookie?” and “Can I have another one?” and, naturally, “Can we have one more?”
The little ones certainly enjoyed the experience, and I have to admit that I did, too. Will I let them help again? Yeah, I’m still a sucker for those little words, “I want to help.” But I guarantee you they aren’t as willing to “help” when it comes to cleaning their room!
As always, we appreciate your comments, feedback and suggestions, so please feel free to drop us a line at cltimes1@arvig.net. Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a great week and a successful and safe hunting season.
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