Floor plan with dimensions and post it in GardenWeb Kitchen forum. You will get good ideas there.

You are looking at a gut job here. Raising the bottom of the windows to the same height as the one over the sink then combining the two areas is probably your best move. Then you can stretch the island. Also think about either reversing the swing of the french doors leading to the other room cutting the opening to about 40" and eliminating the doors altogether.

Agree with DDS -- you want to remove the peninsula and stretch the kitchen -- that gives you more working space, and also more options for layout, including, say, putting a microwave at counter level or below. It should be possible to design the whole kitchen to be useful for everybody and also compliant with Accessible Design standards (wider walkways, etc). But it definitely means pretty close to a gut. Not sure how likely you are to come out the end of a home purchase with $50-80k (assuming keeping appliances, flooring, and a few other efficiencies) in reserve for a whole new kitchen.

If that's out of reach, you might be able to use the "desk area" to set up a secondary kitchen, maybe putting sturdy seating there and letting it duplicate some functions: countertop microwave, working counter for somebody seated. (I'd put my coffee maker and any other counter hogs over here too.) You might be able to put an additional beverage fridge underneath. You can have tall seating at your current peninsula, if 3 stools will get you by, or skip that and put a round table into the space in front of the window, where several chairs could fit. All this to get you through a few years until you can do the gut and reconfiguration...

I'd suggest a walk through with a kitchen designer before closing on your house. Clearly, you have specific needs for your home which are best addressed on site. Good luck.

Sounds like you need a spacious kitchen more than a dining room.

Knock out the wall between kitchen and DR and reposition the refrigerator and the cabinets and an island in what's now the DR.

Take down the elevated section of the peninsula and make it one level. Add a second microwave that all the kids can reach. Either on the counter or on the desk area. Remove the island so there is more space to move around.