My Son, Le Chef

Sprout talks non-stop when he is awake (and occasionally also when he is sleeping). I keep wondering what sort of job needs that continous commentary, without driving everyone else mad. Yesterday, I put it together with his fascination for cooking, et voila - maybe he'll be a cooking show host! I could live with that.

The other day, S, who is his daytime caregiver, took him grocery shopping with her, and she said he talked non-stop through the whole trip. "Dat's a green pepper, Auntie. You should buy a green pepper. We have green peppers at our house. You should buy some feta, Auntie. [Sprout] like eat feta. Dat's an orange, Auntie. Will you buy an orange, Auntie?" You get the idea. Through the whole store. She was also doing consumer math in her head at the same time, because she had forgotten her calculator, and her bill at the end was off by $30 from what she thought it would be - all because of Mr. 'Dat's a Green Pepper, Auntie'.

I have discovered children's nonfiction books, and they're a great success around our house. I spend a few minutes thinking about things that we have encountered in our daily life, such as the other current fascination with hot air balloons, and then I bring books home on that topic. They don't make a lot of books for very small children in nonfiction - most have too many words - but there are some really great series. One small series that the Library has is on careers, and it is well-written with factual content and great paintings, giving you a day in the life of the professional in question. Sprout was not so interested in "The Auto Mechanic", but he wants to read "The Chef" every night.

Jim is an excellent cook, and we both love good food, so it warms our little hearts when he says, "Did you read da Chef book, Daddy? We should read dat Chef book."

I'm hoping that he'll keep me in creme caramel, barbecued chicken, and fancy pasta in my doddering, old age. That's my Mother's Day wish.