Tupperware Tyke

Boy, if this isn't a sign of mothering a 3rd child, I don't know what is in my world.

Katherine had her own tupperware/pots-n-pans drawer.  Everything in that drawer was fair play for her to enjoy while we were in the kitchen together.  We found a way to prop open the drawer, she emptied it, re-stocked it, banged pots, put lids on, took them off and played until her little heart was content.

Well, I tried that with Brandon and he prefers the real thing.  The tupperware we use regularly to store our leftovers in is also there for Brandon's playtime enjoyment, apparently.  No matter how much I tried to switch him over to the play drawer, he wouldn't have it.

I spent 20 minutes of my life to hand wash and neatly place the tupperware back in its right place, 1 time.  And then I decided on something different.  I made a new rule in our house and informed the other regular-kitchen-attender of it: You must wash or rinse out any tupperware container and lid before you use it.  Including the steamer basket, the hamburger mold, the apple slicer, the pots and pans and the cheese grater.  Basically anything stored in the bottom cabinets.

I know, I know, you're thinking, "Why is your child playing with an apple slicer and a cheese grater?"  Well, I don't want him to be playing with it, and I frankly haven't thought about moving them up higher until typing this out.  (Maybe I should do that.  No maybe I shouldn't.  He would just find anything else stored in the bottom cabinets and play with them.  I don't have enough room to move everything up to the higher cabinets anyway.  Who am I kidding.  We're sticking with the rinse-before-you-use technique for the entire bottom half of the kitchen.)

So, thank goodness we have this understanding about pre-washing/rinsing.  Guess I better pass that on to any guests that visit our kitchen.
 

Another day, same cutie.

Kitchen reno - J&K style

Our kitchen is finally renovated!

I had to look all the way back to March of 2008, but this is what our kitchen used to look like...
It had a small flower pattern wallpaper with darker flower border surrounding the door openings.

I think it took next to forever to get the wallpaper off, because we lived with parts of the kitchen stripped of wallpaper for longer than we care to admit.
In January 2010, we had my mom come over to watch the kids so me, Jim and his dad could paint the kitchen. When she showed up and saw the ET-like Haz-Mat action going on, her jaw dropped and she said, "I thought you said you were doing some minor renovations to the kitchen?" We were, it was just painting, but some drywall had to be repaired first, which meant sanding, which meant tenting off the whole kitchen and kitchenware so as not to spread the dust. Oh yeah, and since we were at it, Papa had some clear varnish left over so why not add a clear coat onto all the door facings to spruce them up. Simple stuff, you know?
The painting turned out well. I like the color and the walls are repaired from the wallpaper stripping action. The countertops, with the flower wallpaper, looked fine, but after we painted the lighter yellow on the walls, they started to have a pink/peach hue. Not good.
It only took a week or so for me to be convinced the countertops had to go, but sometimes life happens and you must wait for the right time. The middle of November 2010 was the right time. We had child care for a whole day, we had the countertops paid for and we had all the tools needed. Let's go.

The countertops had to be removed and extra wallpaper had to be replaced. (Please remind me of how much I hate wallpaper if I ever decide to put it up.)

The grandparents stopped by that evening for supper and brought the kids home. Did you know how tiring it is at Bamah's house? She can wear a person out!
The sink side still needed to be attached, so they stayed a little longer to help with kids and construction work. Nathan offered his services also.
Jim and I managed to get that side attached, with no pipes leaking, cleaned up in preparation for little people wandering around the next morning and eventually got to bed by 11pm. Wow! What a day!

We chose a granite-looking countertop, which went well with the hardware we already had.
Added a hint of glass tile above the back splash,
a new valance I sewed out of a tablecloth from Target,
some new lighting,
and a couple of cute kids as props.
And voila! Our kitchen is renovated and updated to represent this century! I am very pleased with it and love the changes.

Thank goodness for friends who tolerate the kitchen

It's no secret: I'm not a cook.
Nor a baker.
Nor, do I really enjoy doing anything inside the kitchen beside cleaning it up or reorganizing it.
So, when family or friends offer to do things with our children that involve making kitchen activities fun, I'm all over it. Because frankly, that's why God made all types, right? I find it a blessing and privilege to depend on other's strengths to teach my children stuff I could care less about, and hopefully they'll look to me for the same.
So don't waste your time wondering what my response was when Bamah called one day and said, "Papa found this adorable Gingerbread house and thought the grandkids would like putting it together and decorating it. Would you mind if they came over for the day to do that and make some Christmas cookies?"
Or even, when my good friend 'A' said she wanted to have Katherine over to make/bake/decorate some sugar cookies with her daughter, AC.
We all know the answer to those two requests.
Just thinking about the patience I would need to muster up to do something like these two activities makes me want to go chill out and watch some HGTV.

Thankfully, our children not only have their father to encourage healthy kitchen habits, but also loving friends and family to do the same.
Even our neighbors make a point to include our little ones in baking.
Make sure you keep me in mind when your child needs tutoring in math or your closet needs a good cleaning.