Goldie: my kitchen-maid

As most mothers of young children (or any children?) I feel like I am constantly cleaning up messes. At the boys' request, I made pancakes this morning--not the most clean breakfast. The boys inevitably end up smelling like syrup for the rest of the day.

Goldie was trying her darnest to get a taste of pancake while the boys were eating. She keeps getting closer and closer to the boys (her nose is right at their laps, where all the goodies are). I kept telling her to LAY DOWN--her cue to back up, and up, and again, until she is a good 4 feet away on the carpet.

Well, speaking of messes and the dog, apparently the two go together quite nicely in the boys' mind, but not in the way you might think.

Here is a little conversation we had near the end of breakfast:

SCENE: Micah is schmooling his pancake (for a definition of "schmoodle" see this post, except for this schmoodling WAS fit for the dog, apparently)

Me: Micah, please don't crumble your pancake up. That makes a big mess for mommy.
Micah: But, W-H-H-H-Y-Y-Y? (this has become a very common phrase in our house)
Me: Because I will have to clean it up. (then I thought better) Or you will have to clean it up.
Micah: But Mom, Goldie will just clean it with her tongue.

I laughed out loud. Yes, it's true. (the boy is already thinking up clever ways to get out of work)

Goldie, my little kitchen-maid, do your thing, girl.

Unlike the boys, she didn't need any encouragement from me to clean up after breakfast.