Thursday, January 7, 2010

Side-by-side side-by-sides

We have what most people would consider a large family. What most people don't realize is exactly how much my skinny little children eat on a daily basis. I cannot count the number of times I have heard, "Wow, that baby can sure pack away the food, huh?"

Drew at Christmastime was a perfect example. He would easily eat an adult-sized portion at most meals. Three slices of ham? He thought they were tasty. A whole slice of prime rib? No problem! This kid eats.

And he is not the only kid in our family with that kind of appetite. While they are all good eaters, Ben will eat more than me on some days. I do my best to feed them healthy foods, and I cook from scratch whenever I can. Our family consumes eight gallons of milk a week. We eat tons of fruits and veggies, and do without most packaged or processed foods. (Although the kids do enjoy their sugary cereal in the mornings! We compromise sometimes.)

Which brings about a bit of a problem. Like when our fridge looks like this:


And we say, "Dang, we need to go grocery shopping!" Yeah, it tends to make things interesting.

Especially when we go to Costco and the Green Barn and bring home this:
And try to fit it all in the previously pictured fridge.

We do have another fridge-freezer combo out in the shop, but it is hard to keep track of what is in there. I tried the list on this fridge, but would forget to cross things off when I sent my wonderful hubby out to get something. Also, when I was cooking and needed something, I could not leave the house with food cooking on the stove, and four small children inside in order to go out the front door, across the driveway, into the shop, and be completely out of sight while I got what I needed from the other fridge. Oh, and it's cold out there. And I'm a wimp.

So we made a change in our house. Here is our kitchen/dining room earlier this week:
And yes, there usually is a dishtowel on the floor. I have no idea why. It just happens.

And here it is after.
We are now the proud parents of side-by-side side-by-sides. I have to say, I love it.

We weren't sure at first how well it would work, as the table actually goes in front of the black fridge (it is moved in the picture in order to get the fridge in.) Yes, it's a bit more crowded, but the ability to see into the back of the fridge, as well as the ability to have enough food to last us a full week without having to pack four kids to the store as often to get milk is fantastic!
Oh, and this was taken before I went to Safeway. I was low on milk...

6 comments:

MamaOtwins+1 said...

That sounds like a great plan - I want another fridge - and I only have three kids! (of course the twins already eat more than me, and I'm scared of what will happen when they turn into teenagers!)

Vintage Dutch Girl said...

My fridge is overfull and we only have TWO kids....one of which who eats like a BIRD (Bubbalu) so I COMPLETELY see why two side-by-sides is necessary!

Yay for you :)

tealynx said...

I have no kids and I want this, unless Lonnie counts as a kid, which he may well.

You are a lucky lucky woman.

Oh and are those chairs working out? I'm cleaning out the last of that furniture... would you like more if I find any buried in the back?

Jenn @ Cuddles and Cameras said...

Love the 'sidebyside, sidebysides' We have and extra fridge and 2 1/2 extra freezers in the garage for the same reason! Though 8 Gallons of milk a week is baffeling to me, we go through 4 and that's with 6 kids and 3 adults...(Bro in law and niece live with us also) I thought 4 was A LOT. lol

Shell said...

I love it. I only have 3 kids, but they EAT. For a snack, they eat more than most kids will eat in a whole day.

I'm going to have to remember this.

Though, on my fridges, I have to put a childproof lock or the boys help themselves all day long.

The Campbell Family said...

You need more wine.