Home Tour: The Kitchen

Turns out I never posted these pictures, which I took in--let the Christmas tree be your clue!--December.  Ah, well.  This is our kitchen, a la December.

Also, a la 6 weeks past Halloween.  The top of the refrigerator...where Halloween candy goes to die.

This is our little dining area, which is hardly ever used for dining.  On the rare occasion that the Mister is home for a family meal, he and I will eat at the table, but almost all the action takes place at the breakfast bar.

My children seem to need one thing after another at meal times...a refill of water, more strawberries, some ketchup {to dip the strawberries in--or something equally as gross}, another napkin, a new fork {because everyone knows a fork is only good for a single food item}, the list goes on and on.  I'm sure I'm not at all alone in this phenomenon, and I'm also sure I should figure out some proactive measures for dealing with this little situation, but for now, I do what I can do.  Which is stand on one side of the counter, while they sit on the other, and dish. it. up.  And then--swoop--all the countertop crumbs are wiped oh so beautifully into the sink.

Our art wall is one of my favorite spots in the house.  The display wire is from IKEA, and all preschool projects spend a little time there.  Before a new project goes up, the child has to choose which of his or her projects comes down {and immediately into the trash}.  With three preschool artists in the house, this is a great way to keep a lid on our paper adornments.  And they provide such a fun burst of color and seasonality!

This little stretch of wall is the children's hub.  Backpacks, coats, and a box that holds all their shoes.  This will probably seem like a strange arrangement to my southern friends--I had certainly never seen a collection of shoes by the door until I went to law school--but it's extremely common among people up here, especially those from more northern locations, to remove your shoes upon entering a home.  It blew my mind the first few times I saw the custom observed.  You mean you're going to take your SHOES OFF in someone else's HOUSE???  But I've now been to lots of parties where the foyer is full of the guests' shoes.  You just have to remember to have your toes painted or your cute socks on!  Anyway, the Mister's family follows this custom, and we followed it at so many other people's houses that eventually, my children adopted the practice at home.  So, if a bunch of small shoes are going to be shucked by the door, you best have something to catch them!

To the left of the children's hub is the half-bath.  Extremely useful with small children to have a bath off the kitchen!

And to the right, is the pantry.  This area needs some work.  Anybody got any great pantry organization ideas?  I've never had the abundance of food storage space that we have in here, and I think I get a little carried away with stocking it, to the result of lost and found food.

The back door is just past the pantry, and leads to the garage and driveway.  We're using that area more for recreational than automotive needs, and I can't wait to show it to you, once we get it all spiffed up for summer!