End of an Era (Error?)

Well, we finally did it.  We bit the bullet.  We pulled the trigger.  We sh!t...instead of getting off the pot.

We said adieu to our 15 year old white Whirlpool kitchen appliances.  It was a long run, and all things considering, we were very lucky that they made it.  OH, they were limping along, bearing the scars of battle  (you've never seen my husband attempt to cook), barely serviceable, but they were working.  Well, all but the microwave over the range that waited until it was one month outside of its manufacturers warranty to die.  And since it would have cost more to fix it than to replace it, and since we had already decided that our kitchen layout wasn't quite what we thought it would be, we figured we'd wait and redo all the appliances when we took down walls, and replaced floors and scraped the popcorn crap from the ceilings.  You know...when you have the money to do all that.  Which is why it was a LOOOONNNNNGGGGG 14 years.

So, no.  We didn't take down walls, or reconfigure the kitchen, or scrape the popcorn crap from the ceiling. What we did was what I call "step one":  new appliances.  To be followed by "step two": stone counter tops.  But, I'm getting ahead of my bank account...I mean myself.  These steps...they're baby steps.

I know, I know...you're anxious to see what we got right? Well, wait no longer.  First, we got the  Queen Mother of refrigerators.  It's an LG 31 cubic ft, water and ice through the door (originally, I had said no to water and ice through the door, then I caved and now I'm not sorry I did).  When they installed it, my first thought was OMG it's HUGE.  And in reality, it is 10 cubic feet larger than our last refrigerator.  So those of you who are used to seeing our fridge stuffed to the brim...well, I'm gonna need to win the lottery to fully stock it now.  Behold:

 Then came the stove.  Here is where I compromised.  What I wanted would REQUIRE me to completely redo the kitchen (maybe someday...when the kids are gone and I have two nickles to rub together again):  two ovens.  Ideally built in, but one of those gigantic Wolf/Viking numbers wouldn't be scoffed at.  Alas, that was not to be.  So, I took the next option available to me.  THREE ovens.  LOL.  Here is the picture of the LG range and microwave and then I'll explain:

The range is somewhat obvious.  Instead of the useless drawer at the bottom, I now have a second oven.  It is smaller, as is the lower oven, than a normal size oven but I think for what I need it will work admirably.  I've checked to verify that my large roasting pan works in the bottom oven which is also a convection and it does.  What I have now are numerous baking options available to me.  So, 2 ovens, 5 burners (there is a center burner for a griddle, which has taken some getting used to but once you do it works great) and one of the 4 burners is a "superboil", which is a fancy way of saying...HOLY MUTHER OF BTUS, that thing boils water fast!

So, where, I can hear you saying, is the third oven?  Well, the microwave is also a convection oven and can be used as a third oven.  And the things it can do...holy crap.  It can sense the amount of humidity in food and cook items on that basis.  No need to plug in a time, it will figure it out.  It can soften butter and ice cream.  OH, it can melt it too, but if you select the "soften" button, it will JUST soften butter.  I just haven't figured out how to get it to clean the bathroom but my husband assures me that if I just read the manual, it will explain all.  It is also the first time in 14 years we've had a exhaust fan and a direct light over the stove.  NIRVANA!

And finally the dishwasher.  The salesman at Best Buy (Matthew) talked me into a Bosch instead of the LG, mostly because of the engineering on it and the drying process.  If you knew what I know about the drying process in any other dishwasher you'd say what I said...EWWWWW.  No logo on the front so you don't see that it's different from the other appliances and the handle has the same curve:

To say I am excited (even though I compromised what I wanted) is a massive understatement.  And maybe, sometimes getting what you need helps you to see that maybe it is really all that you wanted. 

And yes.  I stocked up on stainless steel cleaner because, well, I have 4 children.  Enuff said.