in the kitchen with LaRae and Co.

I was thinking today that it would be interesting to know how much time I actually spend in the kitchen every day. If I kept track of the time, would it be as much time as I think it is, or would it be less? Honestly, most days I feel that I spend about every waking minute in the kitchen (unless I'm in the car).

I like our kitchen. It truly is the heart of our home. Much goes on in the kitchen - not just the obvious meal preparation, eating & cleaning, but so much more.

It is where we do homework, work or play games on the computer (or maybe update a blog), create beautiful (& sometimes rather unusual) art projects - always accompanied by a fantastic mess.

It is where sisters choreograph & perform dance numbers. It is a world of discovery to a newly mobile little guy - you should see all the tiny, interesting & quite disgusting discoveries Ben has found lurking in the cracks & crevices of the kitchen floor. It is a place to play (each night about 7:30 you can find Katie & Lacey running around the kitchen, sitting on each other, wrestling, or acting silly & LOUD) - it's where the bewitching hour before bedtime begins.

For Ben, it is also a place to watch the wheels on his trucks go round & round & where he sits in his high chair & watches, with amazement, all the commotion his sisters cause.


So how much time do I spend in the kitchen? My guess is between 8 & 10 hours a day - which would be about the same amount of time I would spend in an office if I weren't able to be home with my kids. And though I may not always appreciate it the way I should - what a blessing it is that my office is the kitchen & I get to spend my time there with 4 co-workers who I love with all my heart!