So, I thought there are a lot of us mamas & daddys going through this right now and a little checklist might be helpful.
Sign up for a Tiger Blue account (or whatever college your child is considering) CHECK
Attend meeting at the high school about fafsa & scholarship info CHECK
ok, I'm doing good, we've got the first 2 items checked off the list.
Sign up on fafsa.gov for an account and make sure it is .gov not .com
7am
Well that is easy enough, open browser, type in fafsa.gov watch the page open and
quietly freak out because holy crap my oldest child is about to go to college. Quickly
close the page and play Panda Pop instead.
7:45 am
All out of lives on Panda Pop so I really need to make a to do list. BUT it is time to get
the other 4 up and ready for school so I will have to postpone until 9am.
9am
OK, this for real, I have to stop procrastinating. Going in Abigail's room to find the to
do list they gave us at the above mentioned meeting. While looking, realize I haven't
brushed my teeth yet and oh, now I need my glasses for all of this reading.
9:15am
Finally, sitting down to find the to do list in the stack of papers from above meeting.
Oh, look, there is that parent brag sheet info that I was supposed to make for Abigail to
turn into guidance. I wonder if she turned in a picture of herself to guidance? Focus,
you have to make a college application process to do list!
9:20am
Actually reading all of this stuff. Texting Abigail now to remind her she needs to get
the transcript paperwork because they are free this week! Oh look, Facebook. FOCUS!
9:25am
Going back to fafsa.gov
My stomach hurts
I need more coffee
I can't do this
My baby girl is starting college in less than 1 year. Those people screaming at the football game on Saturday will be her. She will paint her face blue.
But I went to college and my first semester was a flop. I did meet my awesome friend Julie there though.
Oh my goodness, she may meet her future husband in less than a year!
She isn't going to be sitting at the dinner table for our Monday night "nice dinners".
Amelia is going to have a room to herself!
Hey, it has been almost 2 hours, I have at least 3 lives on Panda Pop by now for sure.
9:43am
Successfully created my own FSA ID. There was some pretty serious wordage on there
about not creating Abigail's for her, so I guess her part will have to wait. Now to
Ticketmaster to buy Panic! At the Disco tickets.
Get the Parent brag sheet in order
This should be easy. I'm telling why my baby girl is awesome
Now I'm crying over how amazing my kid is. Writing takes well over an hour plus a 1 hour lunch break.
Now to really buckle down and figure out this Fafsa junk.
Oh wait, I totally have 5 lives in Panda Pop again. I'll just play for a minute, after all, Abigail will be home soon and she can help me make a list.
Making a list is hard, going to call a friend or two and see if they made a list. Melissa, I sure hope you have a list for me.
Sorry, everyone, maybe this blog should have a different title but here is a shameless picture of my amazing senior.
2 1/2 years after my last blog post, I have resurrected it. Not sure why, maybe I have a few extra minutes on my hand now that I am down to one kiddo at home. Anyway, here we go...
I have a senior in high school and I have managed to avoid car line since about 3 weeks into her kindergarten year. My kids have ridden the bus, walked and biked for 13 years. 13 years y'all, 13 years so far of a kid in elementary school (We have 8 more for anyone keeping count). Some days it is raining and I give them an umbrella & raincoat, drive them close and tell them to avoid puddles and hustle. Some days it is really really cold, we bundle up and send them on their way. Some days I know it will be hot as Hades in the afternoon, I put them on their bike and tell them to enjoy the breeze coming down the hill after school. But now here I am 13 years into this parenting a school age kid thing and I have found myself chained to the car line. Just for this year it is our only option for my little pre-k boy.
My view after 8 minutes in car line.
I hate it. I seriously hate it. My first day to drive in it took me 35 minutes! I was angry, whiny and angry again totaling time spent per week in my head, 175 minutes which is almost 3 hours per week!!!!!! It took more than 10 minutes just to see the building. Later that day I began to feel guilty, guilty for behaving that way in front of my son just before I sent him to school but mostly guilty for being so grumpy about 35 minutes with a captive audience. How could I best spend that 20-35 minutes each morning? I thought back to what a wise friend told me. I could either A. ignore him and be angry or we could B. sing, dance and learn together. So I decided of course B was the better choice. I spent that afternoon finding songs we could sing together. Songs that were Bible verses, pump you up songs and just plain silly songs. {A little back story info on me, I hate all things that resemble Kids Bop in any way. They make me insane and it is nails on a chalkboard to me. The only time I want to hear kids sing is on a stage with my kid up there.} So, I found a good variety and was ready for the next morning. We got in the van and were immediately singing "for when those gates are open wide, I'll be sittin by Jesus' side" together. The time passed much quicker and we began his day with singing and smiles. He mostly wants to listen to the same song over and over but he still laughs at it and sings along so I have learned to endure and almost enjoy the song. I have now figured out the sweet time to leave my house to shorten my time spent in that line, I don't always make it at that time but that is ok.
I was talking to a friend, who has also managed to avoid car line for many many years, about the craziness of it all. She pointed me to a post on Facebook about parents expressing the same thoughts. I get it, totally get it. I generally don't have problems with road rage, Rusty says it is because I don't spend much time driving in Memphis. But this car line y'all awakens a road rage beast inside of me. Take turns people, don't cut people off and follow the signs. Twice I have been cut off by an impatient parent. I want so bad to tell you what the vehicle looked like and the bumper stickers on the vehicle but I won't. I so bad wanted to yell at the person, my heart raced, I griped the steering wheel a little tighter, I glared into the back window of the vehicle but then I listened. Oh yeah, I had that music playing, "Oh happy day, happy day, you washed my sins away. Oh happy day, happy day I'll never be the same." Darn it, that kids music was convicting me! OK, OK, OK, I get it. Chill out. Drive my kid to school. Enjoy the moments where he is singing and dancing in the back seat. Enjoy giving him a pep talk before he walks into the big bad world. Say I love you 14 times while he puts on his backpack. Wave and smile at the teachers standing out there for my kid. Remind him to say good morning to his teacher. I know I will fail a few mornings, more than I will admit. I will want to listen to something else or I will yell at the inconsiderate jerk that cut me off or I will be mean as a snake to my kids before we leave. My hope is he remembers mama being silly and scrubbing my arm pits while singing at the top of my lungs with him. I have a senior in high school and more than ever this year I realize these days are numbered. He won't want to sing with me for much longer and will think I'm an idiot soon enough.
***A warning to my fellow car line driver who thinks they don't have to take turns because they are more special. One day you are going to cut off a mom who hasn't had her coffee or a dad who just got terrible news or a mom who is at her limit of bratty kids already at 8:47am or a mom with a van full of loud kids and she isn't listening to the Fruit of the Spirit song or a parent that is just plain crazy. One day, someone is going to come out of that car and come at you. It won't be me but I may just turn up my music and lock my doors.***
So it is finally here, the time we begin looking forward to in January, SUMMER BREAK! I know this is also a time that can make parents crazy. Here are some tips to keep your sanity and still have a little fun.
MAKE A SCHEDULE - remember your kids have been on a tight schedule for the last 10 months. They have eaten at the same time, awaken at the same time, played at the same time, even peed at the same time. So forgive your kids if they wander around aimlessly claiming to be board, they are and they have no idea what to do. Sit down with your kids this week and make a schedule together. Plan times where they have to do chores, have their room clean/bed made by a certain time, homework (YES, I'll get to that further down this list), lunch, TV, play with your siblings and free time. This can help them with the "what to do" attitude. I even have a wake up time. I know it is summer break but come on, nobody needs to sleep past 10am. My house, my rules, you may feel different about that.
SET RULES - Our favorite dog whisperer has a behavior theory, set rules, boundaries and limitations. I know it is for dogs, but kids need these too. Without rules, they have no idea sometimes that leaving their wet bathing suit on the bedroom floor is a bad thing. Make sure things that will make you crazy are prevented. For example, it makes me insane when they ask 100x to go swimming in 10 minutes. I want to blow up, for real. So we have a rule this summer, if you ask more than 2x you get 10 minutes out of the pool when we do go. I'll keep you posted on how that goes. If you are tired of picking up the Pop-Tart wrapper off the den floor, make a rule about trash about your house. Kids have to have rules boundaries and limitations.
ASK THEM TO SET SUMMER GOALS - My oldest had her goals set for her by the high school with the summer work that was assigned. She may have some other stuff she wants to do but 8000 pages of Spanish work ought to keep her busy. Help your little ones decide, do they want to read 10 books or learn to ride their bike. Maybe they want to build a Lego spaceship or learn to play an instrument. Whatever it is, help them achieve that goal. My personal summer goal is to potty train my 2 year old. If I have that done in August I will be over the moon, if not, well I'll still be changing 2 boys diapers and it will be OK.
PLAN OUTINGS - Don't just stay at home all day, do something. Whether it is finding a pool to get into, heading to the park, going to a museum, DO SOMETHING! We try to go to the zoo at least 1 time. I get a membership each year, with my family it pays for itself with 1.5 visits! Take lunch orders from your kids the night before, pack it all up while they are still sleeping and hit the road early. With the zoo, I always ask them the #1 thing they each want to see. I make sure to see those things and anything else is just gravy. Another thing is kidsbowlfree.com. Go to kidsbowlfree.com/memphisbowl and sign up, your kids can bowl 2 free games each day all summer long. Eat before you go and have fun. Also, the Pink Palace, you can sign up to go there for free all summer. Another thing we plan to do in the next week or so is head downtown. My sweet friend suggested it to me yesterday, including taking a trolley trip around downtown for $.50 each! We will be doing that no doubt. Go to Graceland, see a classic movie at the Orpheum, free Sunset on the Square concerts on Thursday and free bluegrass every Friday on the Collierville Town Square, 1/2 price shakes at Sonic after 8pm, the water park. It is easy to get out and do something and reduce the occurrence of cabin fever.
CHORES - Yes, in a family the size of mine they have to do chores, but even if you have 1 kid, they need to be doing chores EVERY SINGLE DAY. Just this morning my 2 year old took out the recycles and then put the boxes at the street. They can unload the dishwasher (I help my 8 and under kids with this), vacuum the floors, wipe down counters, clean the bathroom, fold and put away towels, help with dinner, clean microwave, Windex the front and back door, or take out the trash. Please, I beg of you on behalf of their future college roommates and spouse, make them do chores. Do not turn into your child's maid. They can not simply sit and watch TV or play video games while you vacuum under their feet. Even if you have a house keeper come each week, get your kids to help.
NO ELECTRONICS ALLOWED TIME - I will be instituting no electronics time at our house. I have a love hate relationship with IPods and cell phones. I hate double screening, that is when you have your phone in your hand playing a game while you are watching something on TV. Set a time of day where they are not allowed to have any type of electronic device in front of their face. Force your kids to speak to you and have eye contact while they do so. Please, I ask this on behalf of the future spouse (again) and their future boss.
PLAN DINNERS - Sit down with the whole family and plan out dinners. I do the whole month, some people can only do a week or 2 in advance. Make sure you have the ingredients by Sunday. This will save you running to Wal-Mart 3 times in the week or eating too much $5 Hot & Ready. Have your kids involved with the preparation of each meal and desserts. They need to have some ownership in dinner. We have a spinning dinner job chart that consist of the following, silverware on table (that is the person who prays), drinks, plates and clean up. Each night it spins to another person. With all this said, I told my kids I will happily cook dinner and help with lunch each day but I will not help with breakfast. They are on their own this summer!
HOMEWORK - Yes, I make my kids do homework all summer. The closer to August the less they do but they still do it frequently. The most important thing they need to do is continue reading and working on math facts. Go to the library each week and help them pick out books they would enjoy reading. Whether it is a dumb series, historical fiction or the summer craze, find something to read. Have a time of day where they all sit down quietly and do their homework. TLSBooks.com, has some great worksheets to print out for all grade levels and subjects. Google algebra worksheets or language arts worksheets, you will find tons of stuff. Also, Dollar Tree has some cute workbooks as does Wal-Mart and Target. Sometimes you can find this stuff in August, buy then and save for summer. Bust out some good old flashcards too! They will hate you for it but are you not out to be their friend, right!
SNACKS - Keep easy to self serve snacks in the house, but of course limit how often they can have them. Grapes, apples, bananas and baby carrots are wonderful healthy nature's convenience food. Limit intake of caffeine items, this will cause hyperactivity which will equal trouble. Instead of Little Debbies, have them make their own brownies or cupcakes. Set boundaries on food, it can get expensive really quick!
CHURCH - I can't imagine life in the summer without my church family. They give me something to look forward to each Wednesday and Sunday. I can be sure I will see a friend at least 2 days a week and so will my kids. They give us all fun activities to look forward to all summer. If you don't have a church family, I'd love to see you! Check out backyardkidsclub.com for a neighborhood Bible club close to your house in Collierville. If you don't live close, I am sure there is a wonderful church close to you, full of fun summer activities.
The bottom line is plan ahead to avoid any boredom and trouble. Don't just sit around while everyone in your house gets their next high score on Flappy Birds. Spend time with each other, have fun, don't scream and don't get sunburned. After all, isn't that what you were looking forward to anyway?
So in just a few short days we will be heading to the airport to leave this country. It has been a long time coming and I sure many folks are sick to death of me talking about it but it seems to have snuck up on me too!
What we have left to do:
Get clothes together & buy what is needed
Buy consumable supplies
Prepare my household & people for our departure
Finish paying for the trip
Pray
So a couple of those things I have already started. I have paid for the trip! I have made a list of clothing and other supplies and I am starting to prep this house for my absence. I have prayed some about it but I'll admit I don't feel like it is nearly enough. I have various things about the trip I need to pray about. First the obvious, that my time there will be well spent instead of me making a mess of what I am supposed to do. Second, that my family I leave here will do just fine without me and my baby boy won't FORGET me! Third, I won't get on my friends' nerves that are going with us. Next, that I will remember details to come home and tell people. Next, that I will really enjoy hanging out with my 2 oldest girls and they will do the same (they will be 13 & 15 when we get there so....). The last kinda silly thing is, I am mildly claustrophobic. I'm not afraid of the plane going down in a fiery crash but more so the tight quarters! I'm the kind of person that can't have the sheets too tight or I can't have someone sit on my legs. I had to psych myself up to go up the St. Louis Arch, the long line didn't help. I was fine once I was up there because I could walk around but the little dryer size tub they stuck me in to get up there was insane! It is stupid, I know. I just have to remember how stupid that sounds when I'm seat belted in with no clear path to the lavatory. I have to remember to not get all in my head, I will be fine. I will be fine. I will be fine. Now that I write that and re-read it, I see how utterly ridiculous it sounds but I also know some of y'all will totally understand. And no, a jack & coke won't help, A- I don't really drink and B- it is a mission trip!
OK, moving on. I want to ask my friends to pray for the same things. Especially my people at home. If you see Rusty at church don't judge if Finn is in his PJs, don't judge if Annabelle's hair isn't brushed and don't judge if Rusty has oatmeal on his back. He will have lots of help and everyone is taking shifts. I really don't think he will need any help other than what his mom and my mom provide. Adeline is very self sufficient. She likes to take care of details so I think even though she is 8 she will be a big helper.
So for those of you who haven't run into me in the last month here is a rundown of what we'll be doing all week.
1. Whatever I am asked to do.
2. Love on some kids.
3. And whatever else I am asked to do.
That pretty much sums it up.
When I get home, I'll give a much more detailed report. I plan on keeping a journal so hopefully between Abigail, Amelia and me, we will remember what happened!
If you would like to pray for us will you let me know. It is just reassuring to actually know names of people that are praying on your behalf!
Last little thing. To anyone who bought earrings, bracelets, necklaces, dressing, potatoes, let us babysit, dogsit, catsit, thank you. All three of us, plus my mom, sister and nephew, have worked really hard and are ready to see the fruits of our labor. There is probably no way to ever thank you enough for paying too much for a pair of snowman earrings or for just overpaying for a necklace. We will work hard and make every single penny worth it!
So I've finally had time to sit and do nothing for a bit. After making insane amounts of dressing and cheesy mashed potatoes for fundraising, getting ready for Christmas in the midst of a nasty stomach bug, having Adeline's birthday and having 6+ kids in my house each day for 2 weeks I've been busy. Some idle time today has my brain working.
This week's weather patterns got me to thinking. I'll be honest, I never watched Al Gore's film about global warming. I'll be even more honest, I don't really know much about it. And even more honest, I don't really care much about it. I know that sounds ignorant but I feel like if it is real it is too big, and again being honest I haven't researched it and don't know what my opinion is of the validity of it. I'll just keep recycling like I have been for years, my friends in college called me a tree hugger. I'll keep buying things used. We'll keep using cloth napkins at dinner. I even used cloth diapers for my first two kids! I'll keep using reusable grocery bags. I'll keep my electronics longer than the normal American and not upgrade just to upgrade. I don't make unnecessary trips around town but I combine stuff for one day of errands.
With all that said, it had me thinking of some other inconvenient truths. Right now in the United States there are roughly 408,000 children in foster care. 408,000! That is 9 times the population of Collierville! 408,000 children do not have someone to call mom or dad. 408,000 children who are not sure who they will live with next month. 408,000 children that need a home. That is an inconvenient truth. In 2011 26,000 children aged out of foster care. Meaning, they turned 18 and were no longer a responsibility of the state. Also, meaning they were thrown into the world without ANYTHING and nothing to fall back on. 31-42% are arrested (that's upwards of 10,000) and 18-26% are put in jail (that's over 6000). As for some of the young ladies 40-60% are pregnant within 12-18 months of leaving foster care. That is an inconvenient truth.
In the world right now 33% of the world's population is considered starving. 1.5 million children die each year of hunger. 1.5 million children cry and hurt until they are too weak to cry because they need something to eat. In fact, since you began reading this 27 people have died from hunger and over 20,000 more will by the end of the day. That is an inconvenient truth.
According to US census data 15 million children are being raised without a father. Studies show that children with an active father figure score higher in reading! We all know that without a father present kids are more likely to grow up and find themselves in prison. Another inconvenient truth. I know there are many awesome single moms out there that are working their tails off but statistics don't lie. Keep working hard single mamas many of you are doing a wonderful job!
Here is another, 19% of high school grads can't read. Here is another crazy statistic that goes with that, 63% of inmates in the US can not read. This is such a strong predictor that some states use the 4th grade literacy rate to predict what the future prison population will be. That is an inconvenient truth.
Did you know that Memphis has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the country, equivalent to some third world countries? Ten years ago, 15 out 1000 babies did not make it to their 1st birthday in Memphis. Thankfully, through the work many different groups that number has improved but is still is ranked one of the highest in the country. Another inconvenient truth.
Yesterday in Shelby County school was cancelled due to the cold weather. Students all over the county lacked proper clothing to go outside in the weather and it was not safe for them to be outside. My girls have worked in areas where kids are just a burden and as long as they just leave the adults alone they are ok. So getting a winter coat or some gloves is most likely not going to happen. That is an inconvenient truth.
So yeah, maybe we are messing up our environment and some things need to change for the planet to be ok in 500 years. But right NOW people on our planet are starving. Right NOW children on our planet are without a parent. Right NOW there are children without a father and are likely on a destructive path. Right NOW in Shelby County, TN there are kids hungry, without parents, no one helping them with school, cold, unloved and on a path straight to prison. These are inconvenient truths that we don't like to think about. These are the inconvenient truths I am willing to pay attention to and do something about. Whether you are a Christian or not doesn't matter. We all have to face the facts, this is the state of our planet, our country and our city. Stop sitting back and drinking your pretentious coffee each day and ignoring the fact that something has to be done. Stop sitting back with your brand new iPhone that doesn't work right and do something! Support a foster care agency, support a family fostering children, give to a family adopting, volunteer to tutor some inner-city kids, give them the supplies they need to start school, donate one of the 47 pairs of gloves you have floating around your house, donate to your local food pantry. Don't just sit around thinking you've done something by tossing that can in the recycle bin. Find a place that needs help, it doesn't even have to be one of the things mentioned above, and help!
What you don't need to do it send me messages about how dumb I am to ignore Al Gore and his message. It is not that I don't care about the state of our environment but that I just don't have time enough to learn more.
My brain gets stuck on a song sometimes, everyone does I suppose. Today, as I hurried to run errands before the baby boy fell asleep a song came on that I can't shake 3 hours later. I finally went to YouTube and pulled it up. As I read the lyrics while singing them to my sweet baby I realized a lot of what the song was saying has been in my head the last week or two.
I'll start here, I completely avoid the news, I don't pay attention to politics and I never try to discuss them. But this last week how can anyone avoid it? I will have to admit, the state of this country has me shaken up a bit. The thought of a major recession is scary, the thought of a major recession with 6 kids is even scarier, the thought of a major recession with 6 kids and a husband who needs perpetual medical care is very scary. It had me contemplating stocking up on some veggie seeds and moving the process of getting chickens up. I even thought maybe having a hunting weapon isn't such a bad idea or at least get something other than blunt tip arrows. It had me thinking maybe I need to research and learn how to use the butter churn that was my dad's when he was growing up. It had me thinking maybe I should check the status of the cloth diapers in my attic that I swore I would never have to use again. Seriously. Maybe I've watched too much Revolution, Walking Dead and Hunger Games. I have had to remind myself, I have no control over these things. We as Americans over the years put way too much trust into our elected government and now we are in trouble. Am I worried, absolutely. But I have decided to not be scared. Here is what I have decided...
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly trust in Jesus' name
When darkness seems to hide His face
I rest on His unchanging grace
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil.
The Bible doesn't promise us blue skies and sunshine, in fact it even says we will have troubles. Sorry, Mama Odie and Mr. Osteen, hate to burst your bubble. But what He does promise us a place to put our hope. I know to non-Christians that sounds like a bunch of bologna and that's ok. I'm ok with being labeled crazy or a fanatic. I've got a couple of non-Christian friends that don't think I'm crazy and they will stick by me. :)
I'll give y'all an example, a couple of weeks ago an acquaintance of mine had a young child quickly get very sick. Like critically ill. I watched, well read, how this husband and wife totally leaned on God to comfort them in their extreme time of need. Their child is now doing a better, by the way. Until you have witnessed someone take refuge in Christ like that you will never understand what it means. There is something so calming about just putting it all in our Savior's hands.
Christ alone; cornerstone
Weak made strong in the Saviors love
Through the storm, He is Lord
Lord of all
I witnessed this family through a major storm rest on His unchanging grace and place their anchor in Jesus. They proclaimed through each day that He is Lord of all. I mentioned to another friend that I couldn't imagine how non-Christians survived through those type of storms without Christ to lean on.
Another example, I watched another friend last week go through some scary health issues. This sweet woman quoted scripture she had memorized over the last year to comfort herself through different procedures. Her anchor was held within the veil. She had no idea a storm was brewing but she was ready when it hit. I could give more examples of people I have witnessed take refuge in Christ but I need to get to the point.
Things are in a scary place right now, our US government is in turmoil, our healthcare system is on the brink of I don't know what, our economy is in a bad way, our local school system is making a very fast swirl down the toilet (totally thankful for amazing people in place in our town that are holding things up though), and our society is in a way that I can't imagine how it can ever turn back to the Cornerstone. Here's what I know, as long as I place my anchor in Jesus and not any other earthly thing or entity I will be fine. I may have to learn to use a bow & arrow or learn how to harvest insulin from a pig but in the end I know where my anchor is and things will be ok. I may have to start hoarding rice and beans under my bed or learn how to churn butter but things will be ok.
When He shall come with trumpet sound
Oh, may I then in Him be found
Dressed in His righteousness alone
Faultless stand before the throne
Just a side note, Mr. Kim Noblitt if Cornerstone is on the set list for Sunday morning a heads up would be nice. Someone get this message to him!
Also, this is not a springboard for a political conversation! I have put my head back in the sand today.
Lastly, this song is Cornerstone by Hillsong. Check it out on YouTube if you need to hear it today.
A few weeks ago I realized my already crazed life was about to speed up even more. What normally is Space Mountain was about to turn into the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. What is normally the freeway, was turning into the autobahn. With 4 girls playing soccer on 4 different teams and 3 of them being coached by Rusty and me, our life just sped up. I decided that in order to survive I had to have some food prepared ahead of time in the freezer. Right before Finn was born I cooked 3 or 4 of our family favorites and froze them. I knew I had to do this again but on a larger scale. Here is my step by step process to filling my freezer.
First, I normally make a menu for each month and I try to buy all the ingredients in one shopping trip. This keeps me out of the grocery store and therefore making less impulse purchases. For the milk and bread weekly trips I try to send Rusty, men don't make impulse grocery purchases, or I go to Aldi. Aldi has less stock which leads to less junk for me to buy. I printed out a blank menu for September and got out my list of "Riley approved dinners." Yes, this list actually exist. I filled in different meals each night leaving Saturday and Sunday open. I don't cook dinner on Sunday night and Saturdays are left for spontaneity. Some months I ask for my family input during dinner one night but not this time. The week we had spaghetti I filled in a block later in the week with leftovers. There are always spaghetti leftovers usually. This week, however, we gobbled up every bite so I will have to do a plan B tonight. I added on the menu items like frozen pizza, chicken nuggets and fish and chips too. Side note, on nights where you might not be home for cooking, make something that you can put in the oven before you leave and set the oven to automatic. I sometimes partially thaw something and let it finish thawing while it sits in the oven waiting to cook. Do not bake a cake or cookies this way. The preheat time and the time it sits in the still hot oven after it shuts off will ruin anything baked.
Second, I started a grocery list. I began with the meat that I would need. I would put a tally mark next to the meats I needed for more than one meal. I then wrote down all the other ingredients needed, various pastas, seasonings, veggies, cheeses etc. I also calculated how many different veggies we would need for the month. I use at least 1 can of veggies each night. Sometimes a frozen bag, sometimes fresh, sometimes dried. There is occasionally a spoonful left that I get out the next night. Last thing added to the list was frozen foods. I made sure to add extra chicken nuggets, fries and pizzas for the nights dinner just doesn't get done. I also added a box of good freezer zipper seal Ziploc bags and aluminum foil. Making this list actually took a while too. I wanted to make sure I hadn't missed anything and I checked my pantry for ingredients that I might already have. I also left the list on the counter for the kids/Rusty to add items they might wish for. My plan was to buy the cereal needed for the month as well! These first 2 steps were day 1.
Third, I went to the store, Wal-Mart actually. I knew they would have everything I needed and the cheapest price. A side note, I don't go to Wal-Mart for customer service, clean bathrooms or an organized shelf. I go there to save money, so I can stand a sassy cashier or filthy bathroom. My solution to both of those, potty before I leave the house and find a familiar cashier and kill them with kindness. I have found if you say hello, how is your day going, they are generally nicer. OK, back to the shopping trip. I went on a Thursday, the day I only have 1 kid, which means more room in the basket. I shopped and shopped and shopped. I started with dairy, skipped the meats and moved until I got to frozen food. My basket was completely full, it was time for my high schooler to come home and baby boy was getting hungry. Even though I still had meat and produce to buy I headed to the check out. Like I said, I was very sweet to the cashier and she felt bad for me when it had to be put in two baskets and called someone to help me carry it out. How's that for customer service at Wal-Mart! When I got home it took me 30 minutes to put everything away, that was with the eldest who had already made it home from school helping me. The next day I took the same list went back to Wal-Mart with 2 babies in the basket and purchased the rest of my ingredients. I'm not even going to share the grand total as you can probably imagine. So there was 2 days of shopping!
Fourth step. I began prepping meals. I cut all the veggies at one time. I put them all to the side. I then began to cut meat. I am going to add recipes below. As I mixed things like fajitas I put the chicken and veggies in a bowl with my seasonings, mixed them up and then divided it into 2 Ziploc bags for 2 meals! I fold a bag over a blender so it is on a stand, just a little way that makes it less messy. I then laid that flat in the freezer. Once frozen I set it upright like a file folder to use more vertical space. That is a tip from a smart friend on storing stuff in your attic but I have applied it to storing this all over the house, freezer included, use all of the vertical space available. I went ahead and cooked the ground beef for 2 spaghetti dinners and 2 taco nights. The spaghetti I went ahead and put it in the crock pot and completely made the sauce. The taco meat was also seasoned and ready to go. For the fettuccine alfredo I cooked the chicken, sauce and pasta and froze it all together. I didn't finish on Friday so cooking day actually turned into 2 days. By the end of Saturday this is what I had, 2 hamburgers, 2 bags of cooked and shredded chicken with broth, 2 dijon pork chops, 2 spaghettis, 2 whole chickens, 3 bags of chicken legs, 2 bags of chicken wings, 2 fajitas, 2 fettuccine chicken alfredos, 1 pork tenderloin, 2 pinwheel steaks, bacon, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, breaded fish, fries and pizzas. That is enough for almost 40 meals.
Fifth step, let us take Monday night for example. We had spaghetti on the menu. I took the spaghetti out of the freezer the night before and thawed it on a plate in the refrigerator. I put the sauce on the stove and let it simmer for an hour. All I had to do was open a can of green beans and make noodles. Homemade dinner very quick. Clean up was easier too!
So here are some of the recipes:
Spaghetti sauce- brown ground beef and drain fat off. Put in crock pot for 8 hours with can of tomato sauce, tomato paste and season the way your family likes it. We use some italian seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic and onion. This time I also added pureed onions and peppers. I have been known to puree carrots too.
chicken noodle bake- it is on the back of the egg noodle package at Kroger. You can mix the whole thing and freeze. All that is left is baking it in the over.
Jamaican Jerk Chicken- massage a whole chicken with EVOO. Don't forget to get the guts out of the chicken before you cook it. Don't be a wimp, it is just a chicken kidney. Mix salt, pepper, cinnamon, all spice, red pepper, onion powder and garlic in a bowl and rub on the chicken. I cook mine in the oven on 450 convection for 25-30 minutes then bring it down to 400 for 15 minutes or until temperature is right.
My alfredo sauce isn't anything fancy, Kroger brand powder sauce mix. I like the store brand better because it has less garlic. I mix the cooked noodles, cooked meat and sauce together. Put it all together in the freezer. Just thaw and cook until hot.
Pork tenderloin- I massage the whole thing with EVOO and sprinkle a couple of different packs of McCormick seasoning on it. Again, I use convection roast at 450 for 25 minutes or so. I don't do any prep work before it goes in the freezer. Just thaw the meat, season and cook. Super easy.
I make cookie dough ahead too. I mix up dough from scratch and scoop onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet. I use the Pamper Chef little scoop. Flash freeze on the cookie sheet for 30-60 minutes. Take frozen dough and put in a Ziploc. I only take out what I need, instead of cooking 40 chocolate chip cookies. They thaw enough while the oven is pre-heating.
I suggest getting this book, Don't Panic Dinner's in the Freezer. It has lots of tips and even more recipes. I went through the whole book one day and tabbed every recipe that I thought my people would eat. I wrote in the front all the chicken recipes with page numbers together and the same with other meats. That way when I find meat on the quick sale rack I can just go to that list and make each of those recipes with whatever meat I bought. ALWAYS check the quick sale meats!
This whole process has evolved over 10 years. It started when a girl sitting next to me in English 201 at State Tech told me about making a monthly menu. At 22 I had never thought about planning dinner more than 1 hour ahead. It changed as I learned to cook more. I have tested various meals in small batches in the freezer and know what I can and can't freeze. If you have something your family loves, next time you make it freeze a small portion and test it in a week or so. I have learned how to double and triple things. I have learned how how to work the KitchenAid mixer. I have learned how to shop on a tight budget. I have also learned that cooking from scratch really is cheaper and probably better for us. Now here I am with dinner planned and a lot of it ready for each night until November.
If you have ways that you prep and cook ahead of time I would love to hear them. I am always looking for ways to save time in that 3pm-7pm time frame. If you have a family friendly meal that doesn't involve mixing veggies and meat together I would love to hear it. My family is anti-casserole. I love the crazy life having 6 kids brings and I am always looking for ways to ease the insanity!
