I know that healthy households thrive on routines. I have some wonderful friends that effortlessely breathe organization into everything they touch. They put everything back in it's rightful place (easier when everything actually has a rightful place), are efficient with their time, scheduled and disciplined with their activities. And it just seems to be second nature.
I'm a tad envious. Maybe more than a tad. I am not one of those people. Often, I am okay with that. I like the fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants-figure-it-out-as-I-go-pretend-I'm-MacGyver part of my personality. But I've noticed that having a family, and a husband with a doesn't-fit-in-the-box job, means that I am often wishing for the benefits of a more disciplined, organized lifestyle.
When it was just Joel and I, we were fine the ability to look in the refrigerator at 5:00 p.m. and come up with a nutritious, decent tasting home cooked meal by 5:45. I'm extra blessed because this man knows how to cook! So we just did the tag teamed thing since we were both working. But our family has grown, I am home with the boys, our lives are more hectic, and there are too many variable in the day for it to be successful. Beckett wants to be held, Eli wants a snack, something came up for Joel at work, I didn't make it to the store all weekend, etc.
So, I'm trying to learn a thing or two from the experts. It's hard to quiet the voice in my head telling me about what I "should" be able to do. The magazine articles, web site, and blogs of these dreamy women that eat only organic, feed a family of four on $250 a month, prepare a month of meals in advance, all while home-schooling their 5 children, training for marathons, inspired & loved by a big and personal God, humorously & romatically loving their husband, warmly & creatively decorating their home, and selling their handmade creations on Etsy...you catch my drift. Somehow I feel zero pressure when Faith Hill sports a bikini on the cover of a magazine at the age of 41. It's this other stuff that really has me inspired, overwhelmed, and then sometimes discouraged.
Yes, God could do something supernatural, and in that case I will humbly blog about how I have it all together. (ha!) In the meantime, I want to be the best mom, wife, and friend I can be, figuring out how God has equipped me to fulfill these roles. Here are my small steps for the week.
1) Be really aware and present in moments as they unfold. Especially with my family.
2) Make something more beautiful each day. And something is a broad category.
3) Have a dinner plan and fix dinner 5 nights this week.
Baby steps, right? Yep. And this is what we are having for dinner this week.
#1 Baby Back Ribs, Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Roasted Asparagus
#2 Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings, Salad, Acorn Squash Oven-Fries
#3 Pasta Primavera, Italian Rolls
#4 Lasagna, Baby Carrots w/Butter Dill sauce, Salad
#5 Maple-glazed Salmon, Curry rice w/cranberries and pecans, Edemame
#6 Tamale Pie
#7 Sunday...time for leftovers or Pizza
Have any quick healthy dinners you want to pass along? Oh, and here's a cool site that already has me inspired to start working on next week's menu. And maybe I'll get to the gym too.
Hey, a girl can dream, right?
4 comments:
Yum, Yummy and YUMMIER!! WOW! Not only home-cooked, healthy, but creative too?! I'd love your recipes and hints on how you chose what to put with what. Don't know if I have any recipes to contribute since my home-cooked meals right now are chicken nuggets and cottage cheese or something like that. ;)
Okay, I know you have recipes b/c I'm still trying to re-create the yummy noodles you brought over after I had Eli. That was 3 years and I'm still thinking of them!
I'm on an allrecipes.com kick b/c I can type in a main ingredient and can sort by rating. (Avoiding some of the bad "new recipe" experiments.)
I like the simplemom site (I linked as "inspiration"). She does a month of meals, but has an easy rotation:
Mondays: Mexican
Tuesdays: Pasta
Wednesdays: Asian/Stir-Fry
Thursdays: Crock Pot
Fridays: Homemade Pizza & Dessert
Saturdays: Something New
Sundays: Something Easy
I think it's easier to have a starting place like that. Sometimes I start with one night each of pork, beef, chicken, vegetarian.
oh hon.
I think I read the same blogs as you. the hardest part is to read them and not get totally overwhelmed, discouraged and flipped out. it's a fine balance, which usually leaves me with having to limit my blog reading - because if I compare myself to them, I'm a total failure. (sure I have an etsy shop... but my housekeeping is a disgrace and the quote of the evening tonight was when I said to Jay, "what would you be okay with eating tonight for dinner?")
oy vey.
good luck with the dinners. i need to get back on that saddle too.
love you
I'm trying to do it. The hardest part is the first week, because it can be overwhelming. Now I'm taking notes for the next week that I think of this week. I seem to have a comfort in what is coming next. Thanks for sharing.
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