Now that I am unemployed a stay at home mom, I have this amazing opportunity to spend quality time with my baby, watch Real Housewives of Beverly Hills clean during her afternoon nap, and re-up my cooking game.

Last night, I was preparing a delicious gourmet dinner featuring flash-baked Shake n’ Bake and triple-steamed Rice-A-Roni, smugly congratulating myself on my superior housekeeping skills, when in walked J in from his 10-hour bar manager shift.   Here are a few ways he expressed his gratitude for all I’ve been doing:

1. On my kitchen organization: Oh good.  The steak knives are in THIS drawer. That’s nice, now I don’t have to get up to get them from where they usually are!
2. On my meal selection: Thank you SO much for not touching that tenderloin in the refrigerator!
3. On my meal prep: Oh, wait!–did you know that you shouldn’t put non-stick spray in a non-stick pan?  Ruins it. Oh, well.
4. On my meal prep Part II: DON’T USE THE KNIVES WITH THE WOODEN HANDLES!!!  YOU DON’T KNOW HOW TO USE THEM RIGHT!!!
5. On the food: Ahhh-choo! Woah, I guess there is ‘a little’ pepper in this, huh?
6. On my dinner clean up: Can I show you something? *assume it will be a shark video* I want to show you how to load the dishwasher.
7. On my baby-food prep: How long did you stick the bottle in for the baby? Oh, not thirty-two seconds? ‘Cause…that’s the magic number. You did twenty-five? Huh.
8. On my dessert: Does your stomach feel weird?  Mine feels a little weird.  No dessert for me!

I was so grateful for his gracious feedback, I decided to wait until he was asleep before I used the back of a plate to sharpen all of his wooden-handled knives, and then let them soak for an hour in the sink before tossing them in the dishwasher.  It’s the sweet surprises that really keep the romance alive.