Multi-Generational Outsourcing

Cooking requires two baking mits

"Mommy, I'm going to help you make dinner.  I'm a really good cook because I've been watching G.G."

I was making dinner when Joy came into the kitchen and pulled a chair up to the stove to help me.  While my back as turned, she started frying the sausage and insisted that she is really good at frying things because G.G. (my Grandma) taught her.  She broke up the ground sausage into smaller pieces, flipped it like an expert, and cooked it all on her own.  I just stood back and enjoyed the show.  She helped me chop up the veggies and then she sauteed the potatoes and veggies.

Joy went on the entire time, expounding on the reasons why G.G. is the best cook in the world.  She has lots of recipes and she uses them.  She fries things just right.  She sprinkles seasonings on her dishes, but not the ones I used.  She mixes things in the dish, but she doesn't toss it with two spoons the way I did.  Apparently my cooking skills aren't quite up to G.G.'s standards as perceived by Joy.

G.G. lives right down the street.  So do my parents.  And my in-laws.

My dad just stopped by on his way home from being out of town to pick up his mail that I'd collected while they were gone.  He asked if we were going to be stopping over while out trick-or-treating because they have candy for the kids.  Joy was so excited to tell him all about her costume, asked him what candy they were going to give her, and gave him a big hug.

Yesterday we all loaded up in the van and drove a whole seven houses down the street (it was raining) to invade my in-laws' house for a costume for David because his original plan wasn't working.  We got hugs and smiles and a flaming pirate chicken costume.

My Flaming Pirate Chicken, Puppy, and Princess Kitten

A few weeks ago my dad had to hang a picture on the wall for my Grandma.  He took David over there and taught David how to hang a picture.  My father-in-law stops by frequently to take David for a run or bike ride.  My kids are constantly begging to go over to see one of their grandmas knowing it means they'll get to play a game or have a tea party or some other fun thing.

Our life is intertwined with our family.  Hubby and I are not the only ones raising our children.  My kids can learn how to make the best Italian food from G.G.  They can learn how to make the best cookies in the world from my mother-in-law.  They can learn how to grow a garden that looks fabulous from my mom.  Their Grandpas show them how to do projects around the house.  

Good thing my kids don't only have Hubby and me as their only source of wisdom.  There's a lot they'll want to know that they can learn a whole lot better from their grandparents.  I like to call it "Multi-Generational Outsourcing."