I have always had a slight heart attack when my kids got anywhere close to the kitchen while I was cooking.  I was so worried that they would get cut, burnt, or flattened by pots and pans.  As my oldest starts to get more curious, I see my kitchen as less of a danger zone.
 
He just turned 3 a few months ago and is a picky eater.  He would eat peanut butter and jelly for every meal if I let him.  Unfortunately for him, I'm the type of mom that cooks one meal and if you don't eat it, then you don't eat at all.  I recently noticed that he gets excited to eat whatever I'm cooking as long as he's had a hand in making it.
 
I still make sure to keep him away from the stove, but he helps me get the ingredients ready.  No matter what I'm making, I can find some way for him to get excited about helping.  Usually it is simple things like stirring or pouring ingredients into bowls from the measuring cups, but he can't wait to tell everyone we know that he helped make the meal.
 
He never used to eat chicken and dumplings, but last week I had him help me roll the dough in flour and he thought that was the best job ever.  He even had to call my mom to tell her that he was helping.  I was more than excited when he ate every bite on his plate that night.
 
It might be more time consuming and messy, but having my "little helper" in the kitchen is worth it.  We're having fun bonding time and he's finally eating more than PB&J.  Seeing him beam with pride makes me want to bake all day.

By Guest Blogger Dee from Two of a Kind Working on a Full House

Traditions are important to every family.  They can be as simple or as extravagant as you want, but traditions help create memories that will last a lifetime.

 
The holidays are filled with traditions and when you start your own family, it can be hard to form your own.  For example, as long as I can remember, we would wake up early on Christmas morning, open our presents, and rush around to get to my grandma's for breakfast at 8.  I knew that wasn't something I wanted for my own little family.  Even though we have had at least one child for three years, I'm still trying different ideas to form traditions that are fun and memorable.

 
Obviously traditions are not just based on the holidays, but that is when we make most of them.  One of the things I started when Evan was born was to buy the kids new Christmas pajamas each year so that my pictures of them opening presents wouldn't include mismatched or raggedy pjs like the ones from when I was growing up.  Another tradition that has stuck is having the kids crawl in bed with us on Saturday mornings.  We tickle, laugh, watch a few minutes of cartoons, and talk about what we want to do that day.

 
Don't be intimidated to try something new.  If your family enjoys it-that could be your new tradition.  There is no wrong way to do this, you just don't want to overload your family with new ideas.  Traditions can be as simple as ordering pizza and

playing games on Friday nights or as extravagant as wearing formal clothes to Christmas Eve dinner.
 
Its easy to let life get in the way of family time and that is why making traditions early is so crucial.  If you start doing something early, chances are you will work your schedule around that Sunday afternoon dinner with grandma or Thursday night walk at the park.  Your children will never forget those traditions that you stick to and will one day take some of those traditions with them to their own families.

By guest blogger TwoOfAKindWorkingOnAFullHouse