from the mom
Several of my friends have taken to posting weekly menus at the start of the week. I admire them. I like menu planning, to a point. Planning definitely helps avoid that last minute scramble and cuts down on the number of times I run to the store for one or two items. Ultimately it saves money which is vital with today's rising prices.
There's just one problem. I rebel at anything that constricted. I used to try to lay out weekly menus. Invariably I would make it to Tuesday, stare at what I was supposed to be making and think, "But I don't want to make chicken and rice. I want calzones." After several weeks of this happening repeatedly, I realized that it just wasn't going to work for me.
The solution is that I lay out a menu of 4-8 meals with no days of the week assigned to them. I shop for those meals, trying to tie things together a bit. Recipes that call for flat-leaf parsley or cilantro are strung together so it doesn't go bad. But having "meal 1," "meal 2," etc... doesn't feel quite so limiting. I can manage that much organization without losing my creative side. And the power to change my mind.
The same thing happens with weekly chores. There is an organized side of my brain (the side I sent to the work force) that tells me it would be wise to assign tasks to days of the week. Monday is vacuuming day, Tuesday, clean all the bathrooms, Wednesday, change all the sheets, Thursday, laundry, etc.... Unfortunately, my homemaker side is the creative (and lazy) side of me. There aren't a lot of ways to make cleaning a creative task, other than being completely creative about when it gets done. This way my husband can be completely surprised. "Wow! You cleaned the mirrors," he might say, while thinking "after 3 weeks of not being able to see myself clearly while shaving." (Actually he rarely comments on the house which leaves me to fish for comments because I need some motivation to keep on with boring tasks.)
Unfortunately, it is difficult to be haphazard and creative with my kids. "Let's eat breakfast at 11 today to break up the monotony" doesn't go far with them.
So for now I'll just have to switch up the household chores and the menu planning. And try to be a more organized mother that remembers to get her kids dressed. (Today, Kyri just took her pjs off as a serious hint that it might be time for daytime clothes.) Thanks for the help kids!
6 comments:
I agree with you! I have a hard time staying on a meal schedule too. Some of our best dinners have been' what can I throw together tonight'? I do need to get better at planning grocery trips; I'd like it better if I can plan meals, but not meal 1, meal 2 and so one.
I've got pork roast in the crock pot right now, but now I want calzones! :-P
~jenna
I do a very flexible meal schedule for the month, but it's the only way I can get myself to cook. If I was creative and a good cook, I'm sure it would be harder to stick to a menu. :) The housecleaning gets done because it feels so good to have it done, and I get major props from the J man for it. But I have to either have music blasting or be on the cell with a good friend or something to make it really fun. :)
I was trying to say, "creative and a good cook" LIKE YOU. :)
Yeah, I've stopped posting menus for now for lack of computer time, even though I really like putting them together. We rarely stick to the "right" days either. Like you, I'm too much of a mood cooker.
Also, great to hear that Ben is doing so well with speech. I'm way impressed with the Spanish. That's awesome!
I have a friend who writes out a week's worth of meals and sticks it on the fridge and her husband decides which meal (from whatever meals are available or remaining) he would like in the evening.
I don't usually write out a menu, just kind of shop the sales and then give Chad a few options either the night before or during the day and he can let me know what he feels like eating. It takes the pressure off of me to try and figure out meals ahead of time and it keeps me from making something he's not really in the mood for. There have been plenty of times where I'll suggest one thing and he'll be like, "Do we have such-and-such? That would be really good tonight."
As for cleaning, it all gets done on Friday. It may take me all day, doing little bits here and there, but it sure feels good having the whole house clean at one time (minus any toys, etc. that Emmie happens to get out after I've put them away.) Emmie even gets her little vaccuum out and "helps." From the sounds of it, she and Kyri could have a cleaning party. =o)
You express my sentiments perfectly. It seems so practical to plan meals and chores, and I am all about practicality, but it just doesn't fit my style. We never go hungry and the house isn't a complete shambles, so clearly it works well enough for us. =)
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