Meal Time Organization

In following my post on organizing, meal time is a high priority for our family. Even when not every member is able to eat together, it's still important that we have healthy prepared dinners.

Meal planning is hard to do, and I have to admit that I am not always “on it” as I should be. When I have my act together and plan my meals, life tends to go much smoother at the dinner hour! One technique that worked great for me for a long while was setting up a certain type of food for each night of the week. This was what I did:

Monday – Big salad or Sandwich night (panini’s, subs, grilled cheese & soup,…)

Tuesday – “Taco Tuesday” – any Mexican food

Wednesday – Asian night pr Something new night

Thursday – Italian night

Friday – Kid’s Choice night

Weekends – wing it! Left-overs

There are other techniques that I have used that work well. My mom taught me to plan according to the ads – what’s on sale is what we eat. She would always get the ad Tuesday and plan out her meals Wednesday to the next Tuesday. I still do this to a point. Another thing I have done, and still do the most when I plan, is when I do my Sunday night calendar plan I also plan out the meals at the same time. Then I know for sure what night needs to be a Crock Pot night and which nights I have a little more time for something more complex.

Some more tips for meals are:
*Make a menu  and list before going to the grocery store, it saves money (but only if you stick to it!)
*Make double portions and freeze, save as “emergency” dinners
*Keep “emergency” quick meals in the freezer (Costco and Trader Joe’s!)
*Get recipes from friends - ask for their "Top 5" meals they make and add what works for your family to your file

Do you just feel like "window shopping" on the web sometimes? I do this and end up wasting time looking at chandeliers and new furniture that I don't forsee getting anytime soon. I recently decided to "window shop" recipes to try. My favorite site is http://www.allrecipes.com/. It has tons of recipes with reviews and pictures done by people at home. You see the real deal and it lets you print or save recipes.

Do you have some tips for meal planning? I'd love to know them! Or share your favorite dinner recipe....
Here are some of my favorite cook books...
Cooking A to Z
Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics: Fabulous Flavor from Simple Ingredients
Barefoot Contessa at Home: Everyday Recipes You'll Make Over and Over Again
Everyday Food: Fresh Flavor Fast: 250 Easy, Delicious Recipes for Any Time of Day (Everyday Food (Clarkson Potter))

Getting Organized

In today’s society we are overwhelmed and rushing from one thing to the next. We live in a time when you almost have to plan everything to get anything done. Many families are under so much pressure – and granted, there are many fun and good activities filling our lives – but when our activities are robbing us of joy, contentment, and a sense that we have a handle on our primary responsibilities, then something must change. A key to truly living and not just surviving is organization.


Let me place a little disclaimer here – I am not a truly organized person by nature. I am a little more on the artsy side and would rather take life one day at a time and cross each bridge as I approach it. But living life in this manner with kids, church, activities, and a home to maintain left me and my whole family a little frantic and unstable.

There are some things I have discovered along the way that have smoothed out some of the wrinkles and made life richer for the E’s. I’d love to share these things with you and I hope you can find something that can help your own family!

Setting Goals For Your Family
Running a household and home is much like running a business (there is my business background peeking in.) A business’ goal is to find a niche, satisfy a need, and turn a profit. These goals are met through research, budgeting, and setting goals. It’s important to ask yourself, “What’s really important to my family?” What is important to you?

Bryan and I sat down to determine what our goals were for our family. We discovered that our number one priority as a family is God. After that it’s our relationships with each other and friends, education for the kids, a clean house (for my slightly OCD husband), and healthy meals for family dinner time. We decided to prioritize and organize ourselves in order to reach these goals.

Set up Your Calendar and To-Do Lists Around the Goals
It’s important to set up a schedule to reach the goals. The following is a list of tasks that we put in place to keep us going. They are not always met, and we do re-evaluate and change them from time to time as our family grows.

Family meetings- monthly
*Is everyone moving most of the time in the right direction toward the goals?
*Evaluation behavior, what needs to be fixed, good things done, everyone can have their chance to voice what they are thinking about
Family Devotionals- weekly (in addition to nightly praying)
*Honeywell Bible – short lesson, prayer for week ahead
Homework- daily or as needed
*Depends on schedule with other activities, but must be done before bathing
Activities- depending on season
*Two activities at most per child – music lessons, little league, gymnastics, etc.
Chore evaluation- weekly- Saturdays (on chart) Paid accordingly

In order to hit my own targets, I set up my calendar at the beginning of each month and make a list of things that need to be done.  I also sit down on Sunday nights to update and review the calendar for the week to pace out what needs to be done. Bryan sets up our master family calendar, too, so we can all see what’s on each other’s radar. I highly recommend this on a large calendar where everyone in the family can see it. We hang a large dry-erase calendar inside our pantry door so we can all check it easily. I really helps to answer many questions on meetings, rehersals, practices, etc. Each family member has a different color ink to help the kids see what is their activity. (Please see the end of this post for some calendar links.)

I also have set up a weekly routine that I keep in order to schedule and plan accordingly. Sometimes, of course, appointments, friends, or Target happen that don’t fall according to my plan, so I move things around as needed. This is not in concrete for me, but I do my best to keep it without it keeping me…

Daily schedule for mom
Monday- Clean house, clean linens, do as much laundry as possible
Tuesday – Finish laundry, run errands, grocery shop, pay bills
Wednesday – Correspondence with friends, house project
Thursday – Bible study, dump garbages
Friday – laundry and something fun – craft, walk, meet with a friend
Saturday – whatever
Sunday – church, plan out week, plan meals

I hope you can use some of what I’ve learned to help you get more organized. Organization isn't fun, but it pays off in a big way.  Please share any tips that you have, too!


Board Dudes 18"x22" Home Décor Magnetic Dry Erase Calendar (84012UA-4)
Cra-Z-Art 3-in-1 Combo Board (Dry Erase, Calendar and Cork) Contemporary Sleek Silver Aluminum Frame with Marker and Two Magnets, 17 x 23 Inches (12195)
Cra-Z-Art Dry Erase Calendar Board, Contemporary Basic White Plastic Frame, with Marker and Two Magnets, 17 x 23 Inches (12174)
Board Dudes Unframed Magnetic Calendar, Magnetic Dry Erase Board, 14 x 14 Inches (13850UA-4)

Bitterness

My daughter has brought so much healing into my life. God has given me a sweet balm to quench the bitterness that has consumed my soul for far too long.

For almost fourteen years I was angry at God; serving Him begrudgingly because I knew I had no where else to turn. I had failed at so many things and needed even a small victory to get me through each day.

I didn't know how bad off I was until God started to heal me of my anger. With anger came pessimism, self pity, being judgmental, self loathing, depression and self righteousness... a dangerous combination. I was scared to breathe for fear that pain would consume me or the fragile balance of sanity I was teetering on would shatter. Bitterness brought me into a depth of depression where I would weep in the corner of my dark, locked bathroom and couldn't emerge until my husband would engulf me with his arms and cry with me. I couldn't leave the house. I couldn't talk to anyone; I wasn't strong enough to hold the mask up to hide who I really was.

I'm not really sure what changed this; part of me thinks it was when I determined not to let my circumstances dictate who I was and therefore God allowed me to get pregnant. I decided that I would love and serve God for who He is, not for what I did or did not receive. Another part of me thinks that with my pregnancy I had a reason to believe and hope again. Either way, it doesn't really matter. I am healed of depression. I am healed of bitterness. I am still trying to chisel down the walls around my soul to let God fully in. But its a start.

Dealing With Pain Daily

As I've mentioned before, I have fibromyalgia (chronic pain) and arthritis. I thought I would share some products that make my day to day life a little easier. Nothing takes all of the pain away, but many times I just need to take the edge off.

I love my Fit Flop shoes. They are like flip flops but are sturdier with great support and cushioning. They are supposed to help tone your tush and legs... I don't know about that. I just know I can walk around in them for hours. They are pretty expensive; about $60 a pair at Macy's, but sometimes you have to bite the bullet to be comfortable. They also last a long time. I constantly wear the ones I bought last summer and I bought another pair a few months ago. They come in simples styles, but I like the flashy ones in sequins and rhinestones. My sister says I have an ugly shoe collection, but even she owns two pairs of these!

Salonpas are my next big go to item. They are patches that you place where your pain is. You can find them at most grocery stores, Target and Costco. The main ingredients are menthol and camphor, so you'll smell rather minty but it feels so good. Beware of wearing them too long or too much; they can hurt when you take them off because they are stickers and will take off the fine hairs on your skin and sometimes even a little skin. For a while I had small rectangle scars on my back because I wore these everyday for...hmmm.... a year?!? They are perfect to throw in your purse and there is no mess when applying like with creams. It also comes in a spray, but I like the patches because the medicine stays on longer.

I also love the aromatherapy heating pads that you can get at the mall kiosks. I heat mine in the microwave for 2 1/2 minutes and wrap it around my shoulders. When I get too lazy, a plain old plug in heating pad will suffice (especially in the middle of the night.)

When I get a horrible headache, I take a hot bath and add a few drops of Kwan Loong Oil. (You can get this at Country Square Market or online.) The menthol steam penetrates soothes my sinuses and the oil relaxes my muscles even more. Between the Kwan Loong Oil and Salonpas, I smell like an old lady! Don't sit next to me in church!

Valerian Root helps me sleep at night. (I haven't taken it in a while due to pregnancy and breastfeeding.) This is an herbal muscle relaxer and you can find it at most stores in the natural foods section. Warning: it smells like stinky feet! Luckily, you won't smell like it and you won't taste it after you swallow it.

Well, I hope these products help you if you battle pain like I do. I've tried TONS of products and these are my favorites.

Top 10 Things I Thought I Would Never Do as a Mom

Here are some things I thought I would never do as a mom:

10. Put my kid in an exersaucer to watch TV while I get stuff done

9. Cuss when she gets up for the third time in one night

8. Feed her sugar before her first birthday

7. Feed her snacks that fall on the floor (not public floors, though!)

6. Forget to see my husband as the man I fell in love with and only as a partner in caring for a baby

5. Say "crap" 5 out of 10 times when I hear the cry that naptime is over

4. Watch Yo Gabba Gabba until I start humming "There's a Party in my Tummy" without even realizing it

3. Visit Toys R Us every other week just to get out of the house

2. Shove snacks in my kid just to keep her quiet and happy

1. Become so "mommy" - dang it!!!