High praise indeed

As parents, we all want to encourage good behaviors, so we do what works to get the results we want. In the Shoup House, tons and tons of praise is lavished on all parties. "Good job on dinner, Mommy" and "thank you for doing the laundry, Daddy" are often heard in our house, along with the standard "yeah, KIC, you went pee pee in the potty ALL BY YOURSELF!!!!". Mommy continues to cook for everybody, daddy continues to do laundry and KIC continues to pee in the potty ALL BY HERSELF!

I was recently the recipient of unexpected praise. On Tuesday, when I got home from work early, I decided to start dinner. This is not an unusual occurrence, but what was unusual is the fact that I decided to grill the steaks. The grill is Brent's domain, and I'm content to keep it that way, I just wanted to eat dinner sooner rather than later (ie I was STARVING). to toot my own horn a bit, I had never grilled before, a fact which did not escape KIC. After I successfully lit the grill and left it to preheat, she turned to me and said "Good job, Mommy, you didn't get me on fire!"

I hope the fact that I managed to cook without lighting my child on fire gets me nominated for Mother of the year. The fact that KIC was surprised that I DIDN'T light her on fire should be an indication of her confidence in my skills (or lack thereof) and should shoot me right to the to top of the nomination pile. That, or alert the CPS authorities. Here's hoping it's the former. And the next time you grill out, don't forget to praise the grill master on not lighting any small children on fire.