The other morning I emerged from the shower to find James had thrown a ball for our tiny figures. Every princess was matched up with a partner. Bride Cinderella was happy with Tigger, Ariel was dancing with Piglet, Belle was with Pooh, and Sleeping Beauty was cutting a rug with Donald. Too funny!
One question I get constantly from my SAH mom friends is: "What do you guys eat for lunch? I'm so tired of PB&J!"Admittedly, we do eat our fair share of PB&J and PB&H (honey). But I do feel like we have a wide variety of lunch treats. Essentially, the more open you are to potential mess, the more options you have for lunch. Here are some of our favorites:- (veggie) hot dogs
- (veggie) burgers
- burritos
- quesadillas
- mac & cheese
- soup (tomato and minestrone are our favorites)
- grilled cheese
- pasta salad (can be made in advance so this one is really convenient)
- (veggie) nuggets
- pizza (we have tiny do-it-yourself crusts so the kids really love making pizza)
- leftover wraps (whatever was for dinner last night thrown in a spinach wrap)
- BFL (breakfast for lunch - pancakes, eggs, etc.)
- cheese tortellini
- egg noodles w/butter
Yes, soup can get messy. And yes, their burritos always fall apart. But they get better at eating these tricky foods every time. I adore having lunch with my kids each day, here's hoping this post is inspirational to those of you who have hit a lunch-rut!
Firstly, a disclaimer: I am in no way, shape or form attempting to argue that stay-at-home mothering is superior to career-mothering. Secondly, a fact: Although I am well aware that staying home full time is not the best choice for all moms, it for sure is the best choice for me at this point in time. What follows is a celebration of a good fit for myself and my family, not a persuasive argument for any of you working moms out there to give up your day job.
Staying at home, for me, is mostly about the luxury of time I have.
We can have such wonderful breakfasts. We certainly don't eat like this every day, and we have our fair share of cereal, but it feels wonderful to have the time and energy to make pancakes for the kids if that's what they are really craving.
When you stay at home, any day can be face-painting day.
When the weather is bad, we play trains. And when we play trains, we play HARD CORE.
Being home with May lets me see her grow and change on a daily basis. Here she is diapering Kale, her baby robot. I can't imagine missing out on this.
When it's a nice day, we can venture into the backyard for a picnic. Even if the weekend is snowy or rainy, I know I made the most of the good weather during the week.
When you stay at home, Pirate Story Time at the library is a *big* deal. You have time to dig into your dress ups and get into that aforementioned face paint.
I eat lunch with this girl EVERY DAY. How fun is that?
Finally, some mornings all the kids want to do is lay around in their pajamas and read books. I'm so fortunate that I don't have to drag them out of the house every day in time to make it to work. I'm so fortunate that this IS my work.
On Monday James brought this disaster of an art project home from school. Looking at the soggy ziplock bag containing a rock, several buttons, a length of yarn, and two raggedy feathers covered in blue goo - I attempted to keep the disgust out of my voice as I asked, "So what did you make today?" James explained that it was a "Rock Pet." I then asked him if it would be ok for us to throw it away, and try again. I told him that the paint wasn't drying and that nothing was actually stuck to the rock. "Yes," he said, "that's not what it was supposed to look like."
May's "Mouse Rocky" was a bit on the abstract side.
I am thankful that I have kids willing to try, try again. We had a lot of fun on this do-over!
