Kitchen Help

We have a very small kitchen, so to avoid accidents and messes, we don't allow the boys in the kitchen except going to and from the bathroom. We have a little gate up to keep them out. So this morning I was feeling adventurous, and decided to let the boys help me make us all elephant ears. The boys were so happy to be in the kitchen and get to explore, I got no help with the baking. Ethan managed to kind of get into the dishwasher, the boys pulled all the canned foods and pastas off the shelves we have in there, they pulled magnets off the fridge, brought in their toys, got into the spices, and basically destroyed my previously spotless kitchen. They had fun, and the messes cleaned up easily enough. But with all the chaos going on around me, it's safe to say the elephant ears didn't turn out so great. We'll still eat them, but I think from now on, I'll let them help with the no bake stuff in the dining area and wait until they are older and the novelty of being in the kitchen wears off before letting them "help" me again.