Kitchen Goddess: BEHAVE FOOLISHLY!

In one of the very first blogs I ever wrote on Footie Patoodie!, I stated that the most important tool of the trade you can bring to the table is a sense of humor.  As a mother of a new baby, your boobs will ache, your hormones will rise and fall with such amazing speed only a NASA physicist could possibly begin to understand, purple bags will appear under your eyes that 6 months prior did not exist, your skin seems to think you have reentered your traumatizing pubescent middle school years, the voluminous hair that once bounced playfully around your shoulders will lay limply against your poor withered skull...As for the men doing it for themselves, all of your preconceived notions that a militant sleeping and eating schedule would be enforced just flew right out the window, frozen pizzas are your best friend, your expensive Craftsman tools you were going to use to restore that kickass rat rod are now being used to assemble the world's most complicated toy sets that will frustratingly come in second to the box and wrapping in which they were packaged (sigh), and you are wondering who this woman is that you married and with whom you decided to have children as she runs around like a chicken with her head cut off, yelling at you for doing absolutely nothing out of the ordinary.

This is why you must make time to behave foolishly.  Not just foolishly, but really embarrassingly. And most importantly, BEHAVE FOOLISHLY IN FRONT OF YOUR CHILDREN. I truly believe it is important and healthy for children to see their parents being silly, enjoying their lives, dancing like idiots, singing at the top of their lungs, movin' and groovin', and generally being goofy. Not only is it healthy for the kids to see that even during stressful times you are able to cut loose, but it's healthy for YOU.  When have you ever shaken your booty and not felt 10 times better by the end of it? Is it even possible to dance to your favorite throw-backs without grinning ear-to-ear?  Next time you're cooking dinner and you feel pressured to get the meal on the table or in your baby's mouth at exactly 5:00pm, stop.  Grab your favorite CD. Close your eyes. Find the rhythm. AND BUST A MOVE!!!!!  After you're finished you'll realize your family is not starving, and they were just totally entertained by the crazy person flailing about in the kitchen. Now go pop and lock that meatloaf on the table. Your family's waiting for (and still laughing at) you.

These videos were taken in January of 2011, so almost a year ago. Piper was a little over 5 months old and was sitting in her bouncy seat right in front of me. I'm not taking all credit, but today she is a dancing, energy MACHINE.