9 Things Every Mom Should Have in Her Kitchen

I made the mistake a while back when my sister-in-law introduced me to the "wine and goldfish" combo that coffee would be equally as good with said goldfish. Can we please just chalk that up to some sort of "mom brain" or something? It. Was. Terrible! So two weeks ago (yes, I'm a terrible blogger and need to blog more often so I don't say things like "two weeks ago") I watched my nephew, Isaac, while my brother and sister-in-law were in South Carolina for a romantic getaway...they paid me in coffee because they know me so well.

It was a good weekend, though it had some crazy mixed in. Everyone kept telling me that it was practice for #3 but I kept telling myself that #3 comes in the form of a baby...not a three year old boy. Big difference. Regardless, it was a good weekend that resulted in this coffee which I highly recommend! I'm drinking it now, thank you, Hannah.

Drinking my coffee got me thinking about a conversation that I had with Marty the other day when he said that I should write a blog about the top 31 things I keep in my house that every mother needs...which I thought would be fun and crazy all at the same time because let's be honest you all probably need nothing of what is in my house; but I also figured that Marty is paid to be an Internet guru so I should listen to him.  However, I'm the mom who runs all over the house so I adapted this, thinking it would be fun to have a mini series of lists (because who doesn't love a list? and how in the world could I pare down my whole house to 31 items?) about some must-haves in our life. I hope you're in for the long hull my friends...we'll see how this first post goes considering it's not even nap time and Judah is already playing with the knobs on the stove...so let's start in the kitchen.

1. Coffee:

Do I even need to explain the usefulness? Make sure you have good mugs, and really that just means big.

2. Water bottle:

I would love to meet a mom who's toddler hasn't "dropped" aka thrown something in their water cup or their baby hasn't tried to drink out of it and it goes everywhere...maybe it's just my kids. I prefer this one because it closes up nice and tight...though I hear they are breakable...what can I say, I like to live on the edge.

3. IPad:

And by IPad, I mean Netflix. Again, need I explain? We don't have a television but I love being able to put on a quick show if I'm prepping dinner or trying to get the bills done...and of course rainy days go by much quicker with shows in a 900 sq ft apartment. We're going on a mission, start the countdown...

4. Quality Utensils:

There are a few things I don't think you should skimp on and one of them is a quality spatula. My sister-in-law got us this one, by Kuhn Rikon for our wedding and we love it so much we actually bought another one so if, for some strange reason I don't do all the dishes, we have a back up. Another utensil I always have on hand is a coffee scoop...I'm terrible at guessing...and it would be a bad day if my coffee wasn't strong enough. Lastly, for me I would say I always need to make sure I have a good set of measuring cups on hand (again, thank you, Hannah).

5. Cast Iron:

Get a cast iron skillet if you don't have one. They are better for every one's health than nonstick and cheaper than All Clad (though, if you have All Clad, I still think you need at least one cast iron).  I love Lodge because they are affordable and you can beat the crap of out of them and they are still perfect!

6. Snacks:

Because sometimes dinner is snacks.  I love making sure Marty and the kiddos get good solid meals, but some nights Marty works though dinner and the day is just long...anyone feel me? So cooking goes on the back burner (my puns are amazing). Marty jokes that we only get kids snacks for the house now, and looking at this list, I would say he's spot on. We keep goldfish (not to be paired with coffee), Snackimals (not a bad pairing with coffee), cheese, grapes, coco lite pop cakes, cereal, applesauce, Annie's bunnies and Clif kid z bars in our kitchen at all times.  That sounds like a lot and now I feel like I should pair that down...

7. Hand Lotion:

I keep it on hand (haha) because what mom doesn't have sandpaper for skin with all the washing she does? I am a huge fan of Palmer's cocoa butter, and for some reason I always end up buying the kind for stretch marks because of habit (I guess) and who knows maybe hands start getting stretch marks at some point.

8. Frozen Girl Scout Cookies:

Okay, I don't actually have these in my freezer right now, but I kinda wish I did. Thin Mints make my heart melt. I always thought if they were frozen I'd eat them slower but....moving on

9. J.R. Watkins:

I love, love, love these products!  We use it for dishes, hand soap, and all purpose cleaner! It's plant-based and all natural which is a big deal for me when I'm cleaning with little ones. 

I'm sure there is a lot more than nine, but Marty told me to keep it small or make it huge...and I don't have time to write 101 things down, or 31...so no "go big or go home" for me today...I'm home so I think I lost by default. I'd love to hear what some of your must haves are, so I can add to my list (because I have a ton of room to play with....).

Now, I am going to sit and twiddle my thumbs while I wait for my polka dot box to come in the mail...why does it seem like mail takes twice as long to be delivered when you see that the status is "out for delivery"? I suppose it doesn't help that it's so rainy and gloomy out that I have every light on in my house, which is probably the reason why we use 74% more energy than our energy-efficient neighbors...oh well...