What’s In My Kitchen

Some days are rough. We woke up yesterday to a broken sump pump and a flooded basement. It was the second time in less than 10 months. Several days ago I aggravated a herniated disc that I originally got almost 3 years ago after the birth of my third child. I went to the doctor and it will be fine with physical therapy but it still feels like a constant throbbing in my back. Last night my daughter spiked a fever of 104 and the doctor confirmed today that she has the flu (type A). So I suppose when it rains it pours. Happily we have a wonderful nanny (superwoman. legit.) and my parents are close and we have friends who drive over with extra sump pumps and stand on wobbly ladders threading hoses through basement windows.  We are lucky in that way.

I decided to give you a glimpse into the reality of our situation.  When this is what used to be your basement:

This is what becomes of your kitchen (descriptions in captions):

A collection of unrelated items: cup of pencils (all sharpened), a book no one in this house is reading or has read, tzedakah box, lint roller, first aid items, headband, Pottery Barn Kids dollhouse furniture I got on clearance a couple of years ago and never opened, bath fizz, a non-working stoplight alarm clock, mixer from the 70s I couldn’t let my parents get rid of, a pull-up, cream, party hat, formula portioned out from our trip to Disney, some saltines and the only thing that truly belongs – the toaster.

And here on the center island you’ll find another collection of unrelated items: my bag (I LOVE it), a stack of magazines I still haven’t read and keeps getting bigger, crafts from school, “green” and hopefully effective disinfectant (ahem, flu), water bottle, pencil sharpener, daffodils from Trader Joe’s, nail polish (blue and red for my son, pink for my daughter), hamantaschen, vitamins, mail, measuring cups, a nightlight I took out of my son’s room a week ago that still needs a new lightbulb, a valentine, some thimbles from my youth.

Here is my baby-feeding corner so it makes sense it would have things like an iPad, random wires, Trendsend box (I. am. addicted. to. subscription. boxes.), some legos, produce, bagels, a clock we don’t use anymore, and finally the formula and my pump.

And the other baby feeding section of the kitchen: thirty thousand bottles and pump accessories, pacifiers we haven’t used in 6 months, some nebulizer accessories, and our cookbook stand.

This isn’t nearly as bad as it sometimes is. I won’t elaborate on this one – dirty dishes and garbage.

And here is our play area. The kids are now confined to this spot. They are either in school or on this mat. 

And our greenery (and pinkery)

 

I’m just kidding of course. It’s not the flood or the flu or the sore back that turned this kitchen into a complete disaster area. This is what my kitchen looks like 80% of the time unless I know you’re coming and then I’ve spent a good amount of time throwing everything into the guest room. As I sit here I realize I forgot to take a picture of the toy storage baskets, kitchen table (surprisingly clean!) and high chairs (not at all clean and I’m not even pretending they will be until tomorrow morning.)

Listen, I’ve got a crew in the basement cutting 2 feet of drywall around the perimeter and a messy house.  But I’ve got 4 cute kids sleeping upstairs.  They don’t care if the house is messy and they think the basement thing is an adventure.  I can’t complain so I won’t.