Keeping up with life

At an event last week, I got to speak with several other moms of young kids and the conversation turned to food. The other ladies all agreed that keeping up with the family meals is difficult in the best of times. Where are the sales this week? Where is the best produce? Can I fit a grocery run in on my lunch break? Does cereal for dinner more than one day a week mean I'm a bad mother? It's so interesting to learn about other families' situations and how other moms deal with challenges. And it's comforting to know I'm not the only one who freaks out a little at meal times.

I like to think I have my life together most of the time. But this week has been a doosey. And what has suffered the most (aside from my mental fortitude)? Our family lunches. I usually do the job of planning, preparing and packing lunches. Which I love to do and have a natural inclination for...plus my partner in parenting does almost ALL the cleaning. I know, I've got it good!

Anyway, the food planning has been an increasingly important job as we budget our time and money. The morning rush is tough on us and our almost-fifteen-month-old tike. Thankfully, she stays with my mother for the day so even when I'm not on my food game, Nanny has it covered. She loves our little gremlin like her own (or perhaps even more) and she has duplicates of everything: diapers, cereal, treats, sippy cups, etc. It means I can be lazy about packing a bag for the day if I want or need to. Be that as it may, I still like to have things planned and assert some initiative in the healthy diet of our family.

I make at least one big-batch recipe a week which is used for several meals. I roast or steam vegetables and have those on hand in the fridge. And I often have fruit and some snacks packaged up on stand-by (like already-cut-up strawberries, Nutrios or other cereal, or yogurt). Processed foods are limited and we offer drinks like water, milk and only real fruit/veg juice like this one. I make smoothies with yogurt, fruit and vegetables. It can take up to an hour each night to get things in order for the following day for the baby...not to mention the two adults in the house.

All that prep really helps with the mornings and the short half hour evening window between getting home and getting baby to bed before she explodes in screaming tantrums of tiredness. It's a challenge every day. We do splurge with a treat out but usually on the weekends for time's sake.

Sometimes, though, even the best intentions fail and this mama slips up. This week, vegetables have been overcooked and even burnt, chickpeas have been used as a protein several times despite baby not really liking them, and I even sent a frozen salmon fillet in the lunch bag with cooking instructions. One night, I was very thankful for pierogies I had pre-made and frozen the other week...and even more thankful that the kiddo ate it up like it was the best food she'd ever eaten.

So I try to remember my Girl Guide days and the motto Be Prepared. But sometimes, you just gotta go with the flow. Even if that means cereal for dinner.

What I'm doing on maternity leave

I have about a half dozen food posts waiting to be written with related photos sitting idly on my camera. Though I'm on maternity leave, I just don't seem to find enough time to think up and type out posts. I got to thinking, what am I doing with my time (other than looking after a helpless little new life, of course) and what changes should I make in the last few months of my leave.

I had thought I would be cooking and baking lots of new and interesting things - and perfecting some favorites - as I became more used to motherhood and the baby became more sturdy. Of course, I was blessed with a child who NEVER naps. Thankfully, she sleeps well in the nights so we're not zombies. But in the day, she craves attention and is a social butterfly. Perhaps I created a monster. See, to stave off my own craziness and loneliness, I enrolled us in a bunch of activities and made sure we got out of the house at least once every day. I'm a scheduler and doing this made me feel ten times better in a short-lived postpartum blues bout. We go to Mother Goose, library story time, a baby playgroup, playdates, walks in the park and around our neighbourhood (and when its not so nice outside, the mall). And of course there's grocery day and stops to the second-hand store and other favorite shops to see whats new. Oh, and I can't wait to take her swimming!

My child will smile a gummy grin when strangers poke their head into her stroller and she has never fussed when someone else holds her. For this, I'm thankful...but I hate the stubborn fights she puts up every day when she refuses (with bags under her eyes!) to nap. How many times have I said to DH, Sorry, honey, dinner wasn't cooked again tonight because I was dealing with a cranky mess. And the baby is tired, too.

For example, tonight's dinner was a frozen chicken burger and a half-hearted homemade coleslaw (though, to my credit I threw in sunflower seeds and raisins & it was delish,). But I can do better! At least on the weekends. 'Common!

So, in my last few remaining months of leave from work I vow to not let this Amazing Awake Baby get to me. I will find time to have fun with food, to cook and bake, and I will write about these attempts here. I've also enlisted some family help to plant an edible garden and look forward to sharing that experience with our daughter. It's time to un-schedule some of my time and bond with baby in the garden and kitchen. Who knows, maybe it will even help with her first bites of solid food? Mamma's going to make a sauce...yes, a béchamel. Can you say bech-a-mel? Good!