A glimpse into my kitchen...

I am dabbling in potty training Charlie which is why he isn't wearing pants and my kitchen is a mess because I'm in the middle of making granola/cleaning up the breakfast dishes/sanding&oiling my countertops.  Busy place...

Granola...

Henry loves to help me make granola. His favorite part of the process is eating the uncooked stuff. I'm convinced he would eat a whole pan of it if I'd let him...


My favorite part of the process is when he doesn't spill a pan of uncooked granola all over my nice clean floor. Maybe we shouldn't cry over spilled milk...but spilled granola...that might be worth a few tears (it took me a full week to de-stickify my kitchen floors last time it happened :)

Playdough...

I made some playdough for Henry today using this recipe. We've been cooped up all week waiting for various plumbers to either call or stop by, so we're both going a bit stir crazy. This playdough was the perfect way to mix things up a bit. Henry loved it and I had fun playing with it too. A perfect activity for a busy toddler.

Frosting!...

Henry had his first chance at licking the mixer beaters a few days ago. He's a huge fan of frosting, so this was like a dream come true for him. Aunt Jill, I think we have a willing cupcake taste tester on our hands! :)

Making peppernut dough...

Henry and I made peppernut dough last Thursday. We made 2 kinds...My great-grandma Reimer's molasses recipe and Bertha Feil's orange/almond recipe. Both are incredibly delicious. Henry loves to work with me in the kitchen, and he has become a huge fan of raw dough...






Hopefully Henry will grow up to love and appreciate peppernuts as much as the rest of his family does (immediate and extended alike).

Henry helps with the dishes...

Henry's really taken to helping me wash dishes after dinner. Or more accurately, he's realized that there is a sink full of warm water available for free play if he "helps". Either way, I kind of enjoy the fact that he's becoming my little kitchen helper. Here's the play by play of our time together...

Henry brings up his chair, stands on it, and then immediately submerges his hands into the warm water. Notice the huge puddles of sink water on the floor...


Henry has discovered the scouring pad. Apparently I didn't notice, otherwise I would have taken it away. I used it to clean up our raw chicken mess tonight :(


Now I'm gasping because not only is he touching the scouring pad, but he's putting it in his mouth!


Apparently I scared him while I was trying to get the scouring pad out of his mouth because he burst into tears...


More consoling...


Here we are having a serious talk (notice my evil eye look) about Henry's future use of the scouring pad.


And now we're back where we started. Henry dumping water back and forth between 2 silicone muffin cups, and me actually washing the dishes.

My helper definitely adds minutes to my work time, but neither of us seem to mind.

Henry's new table...

I asked Bob if he could build Henry a little table for the kitchen. He did, and I think it looks great! I painted it a light blue and left the old SMBC Sunday School chairs their original wood color. Henry loves his new table! (I'll take some pictures of him using it soon!)


Things are becoming a bit tight in some areas of our house, but I don't really mind. My home should meet the needs of my family, not attempt to win any design awards. Our little house meets our needs in a big way, and we are very thankful for that.

In the kitchen...

Henry cracks me up when he is in the kitchen with me. I can't believe how much he absorbs. For example...

1. Henry knows that utensils are used to stir. He like to put them in various bowls/pots and "stir" by making lots and lots of noise.
2. Henry likes to pick up things that are potentially hot (i.e. bread pans, cookie sheets, etc.) with a hot pad and carry them over to the oven and say "ot" (hot).
3. He knows that spoons are needed for yogurt and will get his own spoon out of the cupboard when he needs one.
4. When he wants a smoothie he gets a cup out and walks to the refrigerator and pulls on the door.
5. He can crawl into his high chair by himself and always tries to buckle the belt.
6. He knows that when we sit down to a meal we always hold hands and pray before we eat.
7. Henry loves to sit on the counter and help me mix ingredients. This usually results in a HUGE mess, but a happy boy. He especially loves to put his hand in the flour canister and drop handfuls of flour on the counter.

I love to sit back and watch him play. I find myself falling back into teacher mode and analyzing his learning process. He's my own little case study!

New kitchen valance...

I was ready for a new kitchen valance, so I purchased this Nicey Jane fabric and made one during Henry's nap yesterday. I love the fabric, but I'm not sure if I love it in my kitchen...If I happen to find something better then I guess I will just have to use this fabric to make something else. darn.

A snack...

My new soap dispenser...

...John drilled a hole in the top of my canning jar lid and then we slid an old soap dispenser pump into the hole. Very easy.

Breakfast...

Henry served himself breakfast yesterday morning...
While I was making oatmeal, Henry was going about his usual kitchen business: open the tupperware drawer...pull everything out, open the towel drawer...unfold all the towels, open the pots & pans drawer...make noise, open the drawer full of his plates, cups, & bowls...suck on everything then throw it on the floor. You know, his usual routine. Except this particular morning, he discovered the cheerios box in the pantry. He's been opening the pantry doors for awhile now, but this time, he managed to remove the cheerios box, knock it over, spill the cheerios, and then consume them, without me even realizing it. I was pretty impressed.

More organization...

I love ikea...and I love this new hanging organizer that I purchased there. Thanks to Denise for loaning me her extra bar. I am another step closer to a clear kitchen counter.

A mail sorter...

I saw this organizational tutorial on this blog and loved it! I'm trying to keep my kitchen counters cleared off and thought this little mail sorter would do just the trick. I used a little bit of homemade binding at the top to perk it up and the labels came from the tutorial linked above. A very easy project, you should try it.

The tupperware drawer...

I wouldn't say that Henry is replacing the bathroom cupboards as his play place du jour, but I think it's fair to say that he is beginning to diversify his interests. He now loves to play in the tupperware drawer. He pulls everything out, and then spreads the plastic bowls & lids all over the kitchen floor. As you'll see below, he also likes to hide the lids in the kitchen towel drawer. Already playing tricks on mommy...he definitely inherited this trait from his daddy.

The month of May...

...will be a busy month around these parts. The first month as parents (assuming this child decides to be born), along with 3 birthdays, a wedding, and a graduation. I'm trying to get all of my gifts in order before the baby comes...although I'd be more than happy to do it after if he/she decides to make an appearance. Either way, while looking at the Olcott's website for a wedding gift idea, I came across this dinnerware:

It's Lenox's "Chirp Dinnerware" and it is lovely. I still love my dishes, but if I had my druthers I'd throw in a few pieces of this stuff to keep things interesting.

Food storage organization...

I know there isn't a soul out there who cares about this, but I figured I'd enjoying looking back at what I was doing prior to labor & delivery, so this post serves that purpose...

Monday: I cleaned out the refrigerator & freezer. I've come to realize that my passion for purging & organization somehow doesn't extend into the realm of cold food storage. A small inconsistency on my part, I suppose. Either way, the project is now complete, and the refrigerator is ready for guest viewing...

The dry food storage wasn't safe either. I purged & organized those too...

When John does the dishes...

...he thinks putting them away looks like this:

Don't worry, I've shown him in the error of his ways.

New Canisters...

...purchased here.

Ikea = Organization...

My trip to Ikea yielded a great number of new organizational tools. I love these blonde wood boxes with the label holders. If I'm being real honest, I pretty much bought them for the label holders...I love label holders! I think they work well in the kitchen. Understated, yet useful and sleek. But most importantly, order has been restored to this tiny corner of my kitchen.

Up Close


Although organized, I'm still itching to find a stool

The corner in context