Sweet Tater Pie

Oh the joys of motherhood, they are countless. Yesterday I was blessed to add one more to my list of moments of my life. Our third child, Sweet Taters (nick name that so fits) is one of those children that live out loud. And yes, he is loud. His personality is barely contained between these walls. He's a cowboy, a superhero, a snuggler, a race car driver and recently added...a budding chef.

Late yesterday when dinner was a memory and bedtime looming, our dear Sweet Taters decided that it was the perfect time for popcorn. Other members of the household were upstairs crocheting, reading and getting ready for bed. The only one downstairs with him was his younger brother that is ok with whatever "Pie" wants to do. Very quietly (I'm not sure how, he is loud remember) they use the step stool to pilfer a pack of microwave popcorn from the cupboard. Then just as quietly they place said popcorn into the microwave on top of the spatter shield and power it up. Back to the folk upstairs..."What's that smell?". Hurrying down the stairs we find Pie and his accomplice looking quite pleased with themselves because, "My popcorn is cooking and I did it all by myself". Smoke is rolling out of the microwave as I hit the cancel button and hurriedly get the popcorn that no longer resembles popcorn and my now melted splatter shield outside. My eldest daughter and son help open windows to get the smoke out of the house, not to mention the smell. In all the chaos Pie realizes that somehow he made a wrong choice and is apologizing repeatedly, "I'm so sorry, I cooked the popcorn too long". Showing me his buttons, his timer had been set for 10 min, leaving a dark stain on the back of the microwave.

Later after so many sweet hugs, Sweet Taters promises that he won't use the microwave anymore and will ask for help when he wants popcorn. However, I know my Pie and his curiosity is endless as well as his need to perform tasks with no help. Fire extinguisher in hand we will greet tomorrow with a smile and a prayer and "Pie"'s personality busting at the seems.