Canning with a toddler

It's a cool fall day and my husband is gone for the day to a firefighting course.  I decided it was a perfect day to attempt to make apple butter.  I used this recipe (which is delicious).  It's actually quite easy to make, and I can only imagine how much simpler it would be without a toddler in the house!

Of course, the girls both entertained themselves until I reached the point of no return.  The apple butter was thickening nicely and splattering if I didn't stir it, the jars were being sterilized and ready to be pulled out, and I had to find my funnel, and jar lifter, and sugar and spices.  That was the moment Elsie decided Mommy had ignored her enough! 

She walks into the kitchen holding a cup.  "Ju, ju" (juice, which in her language means milk or water).  And this child does not want her juice in a sippy cup.  She wants it in a big girl cup, so she can dump it on the floor and splash in it, and then look shocked and heartbroken when mommy gets her in trouble.  I give her some water in her cup and she wanders off.  (I haven't found the puddle yet, but I'm sure I'll be stepping in it soon).  Less than a minute later, she comes back in pulling at her diaper "Mommy, poo."  (No translation needed, right?)  I tell her to wait, because toddlers are known for their patience.  She decides waiting is not an option, so instead, gets between me and the stove, and uses her bum to push me backwards until I'm bent in half trying to stir the pot from a distance at an awkward angle.  "Mommy, up".  So I lift her up, bouncing her on one hip, and continuing to stir the pot. 

Finally, my apple butter is ready to be put in jars.  I put Elsie down and brace myself for the screaming.  She fulfils my expectations and has a meltdown, because why can't mommy hold her while filling hot jars with boiling hot stuff?  Why doesn't mommy have enough hands?  You can see from the picture that the end of the world is clearly imminent, and she is the only one who can save it by making her mommy pick her up.

I work through the screaming, finish filling the jars, and then rescue us all from our impending doom (you're welcome)!

And I expect to have not learnt my lesson, and attempt canning again whenever the mood strikes.