scout251 you will also ask yourself why you thought one kid was hard. Many many times. It's not double the work. It's like 4 times the work. Somehow. I don't get it.
Omg yes! I literally cannot fathom how I felt stressed with DD1 even though I did.
We all get home around 5:30. DH and/or I cook dinner, and try to have it on the table by 6:30. During this time DS is usually playing (the kitchen and living room are a big open space) or watching TV or one of us is playing with him. After dinner, we clean up and DS usually wants to have a Popsicle. Then we play some more or watch TV some more. At 7:25 our "5 minute warning" goes off and we clean up. Then another alarm at 7:30 and we drop everything and head upstairs. He has a star chart for the bedtime routine upstairs. We do all those things and try to be in his room ready for bed by 8-8:15. Then on a good night we read two books and he goes to sleep. On a bad night, we read two books and he begs to watch his tablet and cries when we try to leave the room and finally passes out from exhaustion by 10:00.
No idea what this will look like when #2 arrives, but I imagine H will try to maintain this routine for DS1 and I'll participate as much as I'm able according to DS2's needs.
Thanks for all your feedback ladies. It definitely helps to hear what others do and I know I need to cut myself some slack on the meals I cook. Frozen veggies were invented for a reason I guess 😉
becole I am starting to feel like I just want to give up on actually trying to make dinners. Anything that requires too much chopping or too many steps is just so stressful and it turns into a shit show. My mom got us 2 weeks of Blue Apron but it's actually not helpful at all because the recipes involve too much prep work. I really try to make healthy meals and make sure we eat together but I think that will require a personal chef when I go back to work.
I go in waves of being able to make decent dinners or not. But what works for me is planning the whole week of dinner on the weekend. And I don't plan 7 decent meals. It's like 1 night where I actually have to cook (and H knows what night that will be and is prepared to be on kid duty) and then leftovers one night, a crock pot meal one night, spaghetti or something easy, another night of leftovers, pizza night. I usually try to do my "good meal" on Monday or Tuesday so I can chop the necessary veggies, measure out the seasonings, or whatever I need to do on Sunday and have a lot of the prep work done. And I write it all out what we're having each day so if DH gets home before me and he knows it's taco night, he can start working on it.
Also, whenever I brown ground beef I do like 3 pounds at a time and freeze it, so that makes spaghetti or taco night really easy. And I buy frozen skillet meals or frozen lasagna for a backup in case the plan goes awry.
Cooking 6-8 chicken breasts on Monday with different seasonings can make food all week- alfredo, fajitas or burritos, buffalo chicken, or some kind of chicken casserole bake. Or just chicken with frozen veggies.
Unfortunately I can barely keep leftovers around...DH will just keep eating at dinner or if he has some self control then, he will late night eat chicken, steak, basically anything leftover. 🙄
Unfortunately I can barely keep leftovers around...DH will just keep eating at dinner or if he has some self control then, he will late night eat chicken, steak, basically anything leftover. 🙄
Unfortunately I can barely keep leftovers around...DH will just keep eating at dinner or if he has some self control then, he will late night eat chicken, steak, basically anything leftover. 🙄
Really?!
Omg yes, it's so annoying. He will even wake up in the MOTN and eat. I'll go look for something in the fridge and it's gone or I'll wake up and find a plate in the living room. And now he's been going to the gym at night and will often eat when he gets home after I'm in bed.
Omg yes, it's so annoying. He will even wake up in the MOTN and eat. I'll go look for something in the fridge and it's gone or I'll wake up and find a plate in the living room. And now he's been going to the gym at night and will often eat when he gets home after I'm in bed.
That's crazy. My dh eats a lot but not all the time. He eats at meal times.
Maybe you need a second fridge in the garage or basement with a pad lock!
Unfortunately I can barely keep leftovers around...DH will just keep eating at dinner or if he has some self control then, he will late night eat chicken, steak, basically anything leftover. 🙄
You could do big meals and put some in the freezer before he has a chance to get to it. This happens with most of my crock pot meals. I'll do a big pot of italian beef for sandwiches, and then set aside enough for a few sandwiches and freeze the rest in small portions (I like the ziplock brand containers for that) and then get one out in a week or so for a repeat. So leftover night means something from the week before, not necessarily the night before.
Omg yes, it's so annoying. He will even wake up in the MOTN and eat. I'll go look for something in the fridge and it's gone or I'll wake up and find a plate in the living room. And now he's been going to the gym at night and will often eat when he gets home after I'm in bed.
That's crazy. My dh eats a lot but not all the time. He eats at meal times.
Maybe you need a second fridge in the garage or basement with a pad lock!
This. Lock your fridge. Goodness that can't be healthy.
I don't know what that makes me that I plate everyone's dinner so portion sizes are adequate and I put leftovers in containers before we even sit down to eat. If H wants more he can have a snack of something else but not my planned out portioned meals for the week.
I don't know what that makes me that I plate everyone's dinner so portion sizes are adequate and I put leftovers in containers before we even sit down to eat. If H wants more he can have a snack of something else but not my planned out portioned meals for the week.
I used to do this but now we do family style for the sides for J's food therapy. I still plate the main course.
Scout, get him some power bars or protein shakes. Hands off the meal planned food, buddy!
I don't know what that makes me that I plate everyone's dinner so portion sizes are adequate and I put leftovers in containers before we even sit down to eat. If H wants more he can have a snack of something else but not my planned out portioned meals for the week.
I used to do this but now we do family style for the sides for J's food therapy. I still plate the main course.
Scout, get him some power bars or protein shakes. Hands off the meal planned food, buddy!
It's funny because in our house, it's usually DH that hands out small portions so we can have leftovers and I complain that the portions are too small! We usually make plenty so we don't have to ration food and it's not like I'm eating the equivalent of three meals. I suppose this is why I need the healthy eating thread...
scout251 it's funny you posted this because I was just thinking yesterday about how it would be nice if DH worked more normal hours. I have to drive 20-25 minutes out of the way to get the girls so we usually get home anytime between 6:00 and 7:00 depening on what time I left work. I start cooking dinner and try to get #1 to entertain #2. Now that #2 is mobile and puts every damn thing in her mouth, it is getting harder to cook dinner. DH doesn't get home until 7:30 or 8:00 and that's usually when we eat. We get the girls to bed by 9. We do baths on Thursdays (since DH is off) and on the weekends. I usually have one or two nights a week that are leftovers. I cook my biggest meal on Sundays. I do need to get better at meal prepping and planning for the week. Even if DH did get home at a decent time, I would still do the cooking though because he can't cook to save his life.
scout251 it's funny you posted this because I was just thinking yesterday about how it would be nice if DH worked more normal hours. I have to drive 20-25 minutes out of the way to get the girls so we usually get home anytime between 6:00 and 7:00 depening on what time I left work. I start cooking dinner and try to get #1 to entertain #2. Now that #2 is mobile and puts every damn thing in her mouth, it is getting harder to cook dinner. DH doesn't get home until 7:30 or 8:00 and that's usually when we eat. We get the girls to bed by 9. We do baths on Thursdays (since DH is off) and on the weekends. I usually have one or two nights a week that are leftovers. I cook my biggest meal on Sundays. I do need to get better at meal prepping and planning for the week. Even if DH did get home at a decent time, I would still do the cooking though because he can't cook to save his life.
This just made me realize my window of calm dinner making is closing. Ds is not fully mobile yet, but anything and everything goes in the mouth, and he's starting to sneakily get to things. Better dust off my little used play yard for this kid.
We all get home around 5:30. DH and/or I cook dinner, and try to have it on the table by 6:30. During this time DS is usually playing (the kitchen and living room are a big open space) or watching TV or one of us is playing with him. After dinner, we clean up and DS usually wants to have a Popsicle. Then we play some more or watch TV some more. At 7:25 our "5 minute warning" goes off and we clean up. Then another alarm at 7:30 and we drop everything and head upstairs. He has a star chart for the bedtime routine upstairs. We do all those things and try to be in his room ready for bed by 8-8:15. Then on a good night we read two books and he goes to sleep. On a bad night, we read two books and he begs to watch his tablet and cries when we try to leave the room and finally passes out from exhaustion by 10:00.
No idea what this will look like when #2 arrives, but I imagine H will try to maintain this routine for DS1 and I'll participate as much as I'm able according to DS2's needs.
We all get home around 5:30. DH and/or I cook dinner, and try to have it on the table by 6:30. During this time DS is usually playing (the kitchen and living room are a big open space) or watching TV or one of us is playing with him. After dinner, we clean up and DS usually wants to have a Popsicle. Then we play some more or watch TV some more. At 7:25 our "5 minute warning" goes off and we clean up. Then another alarm at 7:30 and we drop everything and head upstairs. He has a star chart for the bedtime routine upstairs. We do all those things and try to be in his room ready for bed by 8-8:15. Then on a good night we read two books and he goes to sleep. On a bad night, we read two books and he begs to watch his tablet and cries when we try to leave the room and finally passes out from exhaustion by 10:00.
No idea what this will look like when #2 arrives, but I imagine H will try to maintain this routine for DS1 and I'll participate as much as I'm able according to DS2's needs.
It works pretty well. He knows if he gets all his stars during the week we can do something special on the weekend. But that has turned into going to target to pick out a new toy every weekend, and that's going to have to change. The one he picked out last weekend was a $20 transformer thing and apparently he has 3 friends and now we need to complete the set.
scout251 it's funny you posted this because I was just thinking yesterday about how it would be nice if DH worked more normal hours. I have to drive 20-25 minutes out of the way to get the girls so we usually get home anytime between 6:00 and 7:00 depening on what time I left work. I start cooking dinner and try to get #1 to entertain #2. Now that #2 is mobile and puts every damn thing in her mouth, it is getting harder to cook dinner. DH doesn't get home until 7:30 or 8:00 and that's usually when we eat. We get the girls to bed by 9. We do baths on Thursdays (since DH is off) and on the weekends. I usually have one or two nights a week that are leftovers. I cook my biggest meal on Sundays. I do need to get better at meal prepping and planning for the week. Even if DH did get home at a decent time, I would still do the cooking though because he can't cook to save his life.
This just made me realize my window of calm dinner making is closing. Ds is not fully mobile yet, but anything and everything goes in the mouth, and he's starting to sneakily get to things. Better dust off my little used play yard for this kid.
It's amazing and annoying to me because G hardly put anything in her mouth. This little one will even pull G's hair and put her hands in her mouth to see if she got any hair. I think I need to put Poison Control on speed dial. She also always has her finger up her nose so I forsee her shoving something up there too eventually. Sigh.
This just made me realize my window of calm dinner making is closing. Ds is not fully mobile yet, but anything and everything goes in the mouth, and he's starting to sneakily get to things. Better dust off my little used play yard for this kid.
It's amazing and annoying to me because G hardly put anything in her mouth. This little one will even pull G's hair and put her hands in her mouth to see if she got any hair. I think I need to put Poison Control on speed dial. She also always has her finger up her nose so I forsee her shoving something up there too eventually. Sigh.
I never had this problem with Dd either. Ds was playing with a foam ball one day, next thing I know he's quietly chomping away on it, little red pieces all over his face. He's also eaten styrofoam and outside he keeps trying to eat leaves.
It's amazing and annoying to me because G hardly put anything in her mouth. This little one will even pull G's hair and put her hands in her mouth to see if she got any hair. I think I need to put Poison Control on speed dial. She also always has her finger up her nose so I forsee her shoving something up there too eventually. Sigh.
I never had this problem with Dd either. Ds was playing with a foam ball one day, next thing I know he's quietly chomping away on it, little red pieces all over his face. He's also eaten styrofoam and outside he keeps trying to eat leaves.
Commiseration love tit. The grass and leaves are also on the menu here. And I didn't catch a piece of play doh in time one day.
I'm replying a week late because I suck at keeping up with two boards...but...meal planning is my best friend. DH and I will come up with a meal plan on Saturday - we plan out each meal and he takes DD grocery shopping. Saturday and Sunday nights are reserved for meals that require more prep/cooking time. I'm a huge fan of crockpots and grilling.
Unless traffic is terrible or I have a late work meeting, I pick the kids up from school around 5:30 pm and we're home no later than 6pm. It's usually one of getting dinner ready. I said I'm a huge fan of grilling because I can send DD to play in the backyard while DH or I grill and the other one can be inside doing the sides with DS. We're eating around 6:30/6:45 and dinner is done by 7/7:15pm. We do baths for the kids every other night. I'll get in our bed with DS and nurse to sleep at 7:30. DH does the "chart" with DD (Melissa & Doug responsibility chart and she gets to put a "sticker" on the things she did right - it's a great way to recap the day and talk about things we're going to work on tomorrow - listening, keeping hands to ourselves, etc.), assists in teeth brushing, reads a book, sings a song, and tucks DD in - lights out by 8/8:15. At this point, we're both downstairs cleaning up dinner, prepping pump/bottle supplies, making snacks and my lunch for the following day. DD gets out of bed a few times but is usually asleep by 8:30/9pm.
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