The Play Kitchen

I'm not sure if this is the case with all moms, but when it's time to take care of myself I get itchy and impatient. I have this thing with using my hands and letting my creative juices come out. This needs to happen on a regular basis otherwise my head gets filled with ideas and I start to feel dizzy. So it's extremely important for me to carve out time for my hands to move.

I got this idea to build a play kitchen for my son out of an old bedside table I've had for ages. "How clever!" I thought. Plus it went well with my "don't let Ikea into the house" vibe I've been on, so after looking at all the other clever builders' play kitchens on the web, I was ready to tackle this project. Never mind that I know next to nothing about woodworking.


First I collected tools from various friends and neighbors and powered the batteries. Then I went to the hardware store at least 4 times to get screws, knobs, primer and other "kitchen components". I'm not good with measurements, and the guy at the store has been super patient with me.

"1 and 3/8th?" he asked.
"Yes, you know, a bit longer than an inch plus two little lines." I replied with a smile thinking (please don't leave, I still have 8 other questions to ask.)

"So, you wanna work on the play kitchen?" I asked my husband for the 4th time because I was too nervous to use the skill saw to cut out the sink. Wanna? Wanna? Wanna? We cut out the sink and screwed on the back splash and then we ran into problems. So I went back to the hardware store. And the same guy was there.

"Can I have screws that are longer than this one and shorter than this one? I asked him with a really wide smile.

At this time I've managed to screw on 3 "gas knobs", to re-cut the oven door (12 inches and 4 little lines was not the right measurement the first time around) and to sand the whole thing. "It's a long term project." my husband said before he left on business. It's a long term project, it's a long term project, I say to myself every time I go back to the hardware store for advice and supplies.

And you know what?  I'm loving it! I'm making a play kitchen for my son with wood!! My hands are moving, my mind is quieted, my creativity is flowing and I'm happy. And that's how I take care of myself.