Colin was with me while I was grocery shopping today. The site of all that raw meat made him hungry. I kept trying to get me to buy huge economy packages of meats. "I like this!" he said, showing me 3 lbs of ground hamburger. "What would you do with it?" I asked him. "Take it home, and cook it in a pan, and eat it!" he said. "With sauce."

"Like sloppy joes?" I asked him. "Yes, cook and eat it!" he said. He's never had sloppy joes before, but that's what his description reminded me of. What the heck, I thought, it's definitely kid-friendly. I finally convinced him we only needed to buy 1 lb of meat, then went over to buy buns.

"I want THIS!" he said, holding up a box of macaroni and cheese. It's, again, something my kids have never had, but they've heard a lot about it. I told Colin if he helped me make it, we could have it.

Instead of lobbying for computer or TV time (and me redirecting him to trains or legos), Colin helped make the entire meal with me! He wanted to taste the raw meat, but I convinced him otherwise. He really enjoyed the process, once the water was finally boiling. "Mommy, its like our own restaurant. You and me are the cookers!" He did wonder where the cheese was when we mixed the powder with the milk and butter, but he liked the results. He also helped me make everyone's salads, and insisted on setting the table and serving everything himself. I've never seen him so interested in making a meal.

And did he enjoy it? Did he ever! Here's the photo finish...