Ants, Organization, and Baking: One Thing Leads to Another

Well, nothing says vacation is over like ants swarming all over your pantry. And that is exactly what we had last week.

We tried everything. We double-checked to make sure we had everything closed up, and we did. Then I found some Jolly Rancher suckers of Amelia's that seemed to be their target, so I threw them out. Then they seemed to zone in on some balsamic vinegar, so I threw that out. We tried ant baits. Darryl read that all-purpose flour would smother them, so we tried that. Each time, I think the ants just laughed at us, shook their tiny ant-heads, and kept on doing what they do.

And then we called the exterminator, and he shut the ant-party down.

(Question to ponder: Have you ever noticed that exterminators are SO NICE? I mean, seriously...what's the deal?)

ANYWAY, because we had to dismantle the pantry somewhat, I decided to get all organized as I put things back in their place. I didn't take any "before" photos (just trust that it was bad), but behold the orderliness of my newly organized pantry:

The good news: My cupcake liner game is STRONG.

The bad news: I might want to invest in some canned goods because if we ever have a "weather event," my one can of diced tomatoes is going to get us only so far.

I also moved a few things around in my kitchen (no riveting photos of that, sorry), and all that cleaning and organizing made me want to cook and bake all the day long.

And this leads me to the fact that thanks to the American Girl (Doll) of the Year, Grace, who runs her own baking business and spends a summer baking with her uncle/pastry chef in Paris, Amelia has been all about wanting to learn to bake. Now, here's the thing: Do I think Amelia should learn her way around a kitchen? Absolutely. Does teaching her to bake require every ounce of patience I can muster? Absolutely.

So Saturday afternoon, we baked these chocolate chip cookies. And honestly, once we got going, Amelia did pretty well. After I showed her what to do, she pretty much handled scooping the dough on the sheets, putting them in the oven, taking them out, and taking them off the cookie sheets.

The earbuds crack me up because we were listening to music through the TV (the soundtrack to the American Girl movie Grace Stirs Up Success, of course), but Amelia wore the earbuds because Grace wears them to bake in the movie. Of course.

This week, we are supposed to make some 4th of July-themed sugar cookies.

Be near, Lord.