A friend of mine just sent me a quick Instant Message to say, “hi.” In it, she confessed that she thinks of me every time she sees Erin Burnett on TV. Erin is a financial guru for CNBC. This two minute conversation made my day. Why?

I looked at Erin’s Web site and saw her photo — she’s attractive, stylish and looks smart too. So, someone out there thinks that I look as good as this. That makes my day.

This was at a hotel I stayed at last year and I just couldn’t resist taking the photo. Every now and then moms just need a sign like this to tell everyone that we need some alone time.

Photo credit: adjustafresh.

I’m not a good cook. Partially because Food TV didn’t exist when I was growing up, but mainly because I didn’t want to learn how to cook. I tried desperately to not confirm to the mold that the woman had to cook. I figured if I didn’t do it well, I would have to do it. I never had an Easy Bake Oven, nor did I want one. To me, it represented the typical stereotype of the traditional woman’s role at home.

My mother forwarded me an interesting article from the “Pittsburgh Post-Gazette” newspaper about kids and cooking. It has stuck with me and makes me quite irritated. Is cooking and baking just for girls? Yes, say major manufacturers of children’s baking toys, according to the article.

The article, entitled, “Boys at home in the kitchen: Yet makers of cooking-related toys still market almost exclusively to girls” discusses the growing number of boys who are interested in cooking and baking, yet how everything is marketed to girls. They cite the popularity of cooking for boys is because of shows on television that feature men like Duff Goldman from “The Ace of Cakes.” He’s a tattoo-d, goatee-wearing, manly man, who bakes cakes for a living.

Mr. Goldman had Easy-Bake Ovens when he was a kid. So did Rick Bayless, recent winner of “Top Chef: Masters” and chef and co-owner of Chicago restaurants Frontera Grill and Topolobampo.”

Back when Goldman wanted a toy oven, I’m sure it was unusual for a boy to have a typical girl toy. Fast forward 20+ years and nothing has changed — a boy today who might want an Easy Bake Oven must get one that has a girl featured on the front of the box, thus telling that child that it is, essentially, a toy for girls. What’s worse is that the marketing on the Easy Bake Oven Web site states that it is, indeed, for girls.

The large promos says:

The classic light bulb oven still delights with a girl’s first real baking experience!”

There is so much wrong with this picture and I get infuriated when people make these assumptions about what a boy should want to do and what a girl should want to do. Why not have a photo with two kids (a boy and a girl) on the front of the box?

Today I spend more time in the kitchen and enjoy it. I’m trying to learn more skills so that I can offer better meals at home. I also love spending time in the kitchen with my son — he won’t let me bake anything without his help. As my daughter gets older I’ll spend time in the kitchen with her too. We’ll all learn to cook together — without any stereotypes.

Boys and girls need to be able to grow up being whatever they want to be.

What do you think?

Related:

• Read the full Post-Gazette story here.
  
• Easy Bake Oven Web site
• Take your kid to a children’s cooking school: Young Chefs Academy Cooking School
• Get in the kitchen with your kids and start cooking. Here’s a Web sites that offers quick and easy recipes to prepare with children: Children’s Recipes
  
• Top 10 Children’s Cookbooks

I know it’s nearly December and the Christmas decorations have started to pop up, but last week I found some beautiful trees with their last bits of fall color in Western North Carolina. Here’s some amazing red color that I captured from one tree — this is for you Stacey.

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Update (Oct. 7, 2009): Baby Sophia is at her new hospital and waiting for the transplant.

Update (Oct. 2, 2009): Baby Sophia is getting a heart transplant instead of a heart repair surgery. She is being transferred to a hospital that specializes in heart transplants. Prayer requests are that she remains stable while she waits, she receive the heart quickly, that her body accepts the heart, and for the family of the baby who is donating the heart.

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Baby Sophia has only been on this Earth for a few short months, yet she faces major surgery to repair her tiny heart. Her surgery is taking place on Friday, October 2 at 7:30 a.m. and will take hours to complete.

“The chance of her surviving the procedure itself and also recovering from it is less than 50%.” Baby Sophia needs your prayers. So do her parents.

It’s impossible to imagine saying goodnight to your sweet baby, not knowing if she will survive the next 24 hours. Sophia’s parents are facing this tonight. Yet, they are so faithful — it’s amazing to see how thankful they are. Being thankful for the triumphs Sophia has survived so far. But, they deserve more time together.

Right now, all they ask of people is for prayers. Prayers for the doctors and prayers for their daughter:

“Please pray for the wisdom of the doctors as they prepare for and undertake Sophia’s surgery. Please pray that Sophia’s surgery is successful and that afterwards her lower chamber (ventricle) is strong enough to pump her blood to her lungs and through her body. Please pray that she survives the actual surgery and recovers quickly and does not need a heart transplant. Please pray for our family as we go through this difficult time and that once again God would defy the odds and deliver Sophia. Praise God for all the miracles he has done thus far in her life and for the future ones we have faith will come.”

• For more details about her surgery and to follow updates click here (see link in middle of page.)
  
• Please Tweet or Post this in your Facebook status today.

Photo courtesy stock.xchng.