From Scratch meals post unemployment
Now that my children are both in school 5 days a week (for the first time ever!) it's time to look for a job after ending my last one mid-August. Since I haven't found all that much out there yet, I've decided to blog in order to write about my adventures while being a full time mom and wife for really, the first time ever.
It's been a big transition and not all bad. When my husband and I were both working dinner often consisted of frozen chicken nuggets or pizza with very little variation. Recently I actually MADE pizza dough from scratch with whatever I had in the house. Did you know there is such a thing as yeastless pizza dough for those of us who don't happen to have packets of yeast lying around? Who knew that a can of stewed tomatoes could be substituted for pizza sauce? With a ton of cheese on top, my kids hardly noticed all the lumps and devoured the pizza. Okay, this is a bit too "Becky home ecky," right? I need to find a job!
While it has been nice having home cooked meals, what's been even nicer is having my home cooked family eating all at the same time. My husband goes in early to his new job and comes home early so once again we are breaking bread together before the rush of homework, bath and bedtime. Now I know my kids have a chance of being National Merit Scholars. Did I lose you? There was a study that came out many years ago saying that one of the commonalities all the National Merit Scholars had was that their families sat down to dinner together every night. I actually know families that state that as their reason for having dinner together.
My reason is just that with all the chaos of the day, it's nice to sit down together calmly and enjoy a meal. We go around the table and share our highs and lows for the day. Lately my almost 7 year old daughter's high is as follows:" My high is that we're all sitting down together as a nice family..." All the not listening she's done throughout the day melts away when I hear that sentence.
Thank you family for your contributions in making that happen: Mommy for cooking, Daddy for shopping and getting home early, Charlie (our four year old) for keeping me company while I cook and helping me mix things and for trying new things to eat, Tali (previously mentioned almost 7 year old) for setting the table, eating, and thanking me for making dinner. It really is about teamwork, not just about one person slaving away.
Getting back to other family food studies... Did you hear about the one that recently came out saying that teenage girls who ate breakfast were more likely to postpone sexual activity for up to a year and a half later than girls who don't eat breakfast? Do you think people will start sighting that study as their reason for giving their daughters breakfast? I hope not!
It's been a big transition and not all bad. When my husband and I were both working dinner often consisted of frozen chicken nuggets or pizza with very little variation. Recently I actually MADE pizza dough from scratch with whatever I had in the house. Did you know there is such a thing as yeastless pizza dough for those of us who don't happen to have packets of yeast lying around? Who knew that a can of stewed tomatoes could be substituted for pizza sauce? With a ton of cheese on top, my kids hardly noticed all the lumps and devoured the pizza. Okay, this is a bit too "Becky home ecky," right? I need to find a job!
While it has been nice having home cooked meals, what's been even nicer is having my home cooked family eating all at the same time. My husband goes in early to his new job and comes home early so once again we are breaking bread together before the rush of homework, bath and bedtime. Now I know my kids have a chance of being National Merit Scholars. Did I lose you? There was a study that came out many years ago saying that one of the commonalities all the National Merit Scholars had was that their families sat down to dinner together every night. I actually know families that state that as their reason for having dinner together.
My reason is just that with all the chaos of the day, it's nice to sit down together calmly and enjoy a meal. We go around the table and share our highs and lows for the day. Lately my almost 7 year old daughter's high is as follows:" My high is that we're all sitting down together as a nice family..." All the not listening she's done throughout the day melts away when I hear that sentence.
Thank you family for your contributions in making that happen: Mommy for cooking, Daddy for shopping and getting home early, Charlie (our four year old) for keeping me company while I cook and helping me mix things and for trying new things to eat, Tali (previously mentioned almost 7 year old) for setting the table, eating, and thanking me for making dinner. It really is about teamwork, not just about one person slaving away.
Getting back to other family food studies... Did you hear about the one that recently came out saying that teenage girls who ate breakfast were more likely to postpone sexual activity for up to a year and a half later than girls who don't eat breakfast? Do you think people will start sighting that study as their reason for giving their daughters breakfast? I hope not!
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