I’m not even kidding.

Do you see the cute heart-shaped silicone cup on that plate? It’s filled with quiche, made by Ella (with a little help from Dad).

For Christmas, when I knew we were going to have a new kitchen but I did NOT know when, I bought my husband a cookbook, for the kids: Cooking Class: 57 Fun Recipes Kids Will Love to Make (and Eat!) They weren’t wrong!

So far, in our new kitchen, we have made from that book:

• Mini-quiches (more than once)
• Crepes (more than once)
• Yogurt parfait
• French toast on a stick
• Lettuce rolls
• Homemade applesauce
• Trail mix
• Granola bars
• Homemade tortilla chips
• Popcorn chicken

And there’s so much more! No, this is not an advertisement for that book, but this new happiness IS facilitated by our new, fabulous kitchen, designed by my husband to be the center of our home and make family time awesome. And it sure has.

Breakfast is served at the counter most days (in fact, many meals now happen there), where the Bart Johnson Kitchen is OPEN for business:

(in case you forgot what it looks like)

All that space between the cooktop and sink (which Bart was concerned about) has turned out to be awesome, since peeling apples with little kids is a task best done in the middle of the floor on a towel over a big bowl. And that’s exactly how we did it.

I literally cannot complain about it. Don’t worry, though, my husband can fill in on that front with his obsession over the shine on the countertops, two TINY chips in those countertops which an ant would not even notice, and the fact that yes, it’s near impossible to reach the back of our microwave (which opens like an oven and is placed a little high). Oh, and I guess I COULD complain about the floor, the color of which is too light, but then, it is one of the very few items in the kitchen I picked out, so I will not.

Regardless. LIFE! The flow of our days has changed, and often we make dinner while the kids are playing games in the middle of the floor in our great room, which is now OPEN to our kitchen (does it seem like we spend a lot of time on the floor? maybe). We had friends over for brunch and the “big people” sat at the actual table while the kids made (and ate!) french toast on a stick, and loved it.

So I’m pleased to report that our new kitchen has changed our lives, and when you’re ready for a mini-quiche or other treat made by a mini-human, come on over!