The weather has been absolutely gorgeous for the last week or so! It's hard to not spend all day outside...I love to be outside because I feel more relaxed as a Mama when I'm sitting in the fresh air sipping something yummy, and the kids seem to always behave better outside, too. Of course though, being outside means I get nothing done in the house during that time.
I always feel more motivated to get things done in the late spring/early summer...this week, my husband and I have been trying to do different types of organizing...putting away clothes that are too warm for this time of year (that's my project, of course), bringing out summer necessities and making sure the kids have everything they need (which they do thanks to my stocking up on clearance items all winter long).
Anyway, one of the things I've been really unsettled about lately has been meal planning. I love to meal plan and find it so much easier to get through the day when I know exactly what I am serving. However, now that we live on the monastery grounds (unlike last year at this time...we moved in mid-July of last year), it is camp season for most of the summer (kids come from late June through the first week of August, a different age group each week). Last year when we moved, we were bombarded with leftover food every day (sometimes more than once a day!) from the camp cooks. It was overwhelming to me and really messed with my meal plans and caused a lot of frustration for me. I felt like I was throwing away food that was not even my food to begin with, so it felt really uncomfortable. We couldn't keep up.
Anyway, this year we are trying to plan better. My husband came up with a good idea which I am choosing to go along with. We are going to buy fruits, vegetables, and necessary staples, such as milk, cheese, and eggs, and only meat such as steak or chicken. For lunch, I'll make very simple things such as soup, grilled cheese, pizza, etc, for the kids and I (my husband usually eats at the monastery hall for meals with the other clergy who work here). I don't want to plan anything fancy for lunches in the event that we are brought food..that way we can eat what we're given for lunch and not worry about wasting the food I have made, and we won't have as much of an overload of food.
For dinner, we'll keep it really simple - my hubby will grill either chicken or steak (or fish if it is a Lenten day), and I'll make a salad. We're going to cut carbs out of our diet as much as possible this summer to avoid feeling that heavy, gross feeling in our stomachs at the end of the night which we so often get. I'm going to keep pasta for Lenten meals, only, if possible.
For breakfasts, even though we like ourselves a nice, traditional, yummy breakfast, I've made a new rule. On the days that my husband is off (he's off one day a week), I will make a big, yummy breakfast without letting health play a role (bacon, omelets, crepes with nutella, etc)... On the other days, I'll keep it to something healthy (like oatmeal with a hint of brown sugar and blueberries), simply because I feel better knowing I fed my children and husband a healthy meal to start the day. I grew up eating really healthy (but yummy) food, and since I've become a housewife I have let things go a little bit, mostly because my hubby was used to different types of meals than I was. I have developed an issue with gastritis though, and haven't felt so great in my stomach for a few months now, so I'm trying to make a real effort to cut out junk food and unnecessary fatty foods, too. It will definitely not harm us to be a little more healthy with our meals (and hopefully we can stop getting take out so often).
Speaking of take-out, who doesn't love themselves some take out?? I am not only a HUGE coffee junkie (as in a drive-through coffee at Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts or anywhere else where you can get a good coffee), but also, I love to eat out. It's a huge weakness of mine. Of course, the added factor for the last few years is that when I get take out or we eat out, I don't have to cook (or clean up!) Of course, not only is this not great for my health, but it's also not great for our budget. I've been trying really hard not to spend any extra money from what I should be spending (this has been another weakness of mine), so take-out has to be cut down, too. I have a great idea that I am really excited to try out, starting this week! I'm going to instill Thursday Date Night with my hubby. I chose Thursday because it's towards the end of the week, when I often feel like I need a pick-me-up, plus it's a non-fasting day (most of the time), so we can eat anything we'd like. I really, really love having date nights with my hubby, but a babysitter is a true luxury these days and we don't have one often unless we are in New York. I am sick of having an excuse for not "dating" anymore, so I thought it'd be nice to try in-home date nights. After we put the kids to bed on these nights, I'll have my husband order and pick up some nice food for us (from a restaurant or sandwich shop) and while he is out getting the food, I'll set up our dining room table with a nice tablecloth, candles, dim lights, music and nice China (and hopefully, some wine!) Basically, I'm aiming to set up a restaurant-like ambiance in our own home. (We usually eat in the kitchen or sun room). On top of having the chance to talk to my hubby without having little voices constantly interrupting us or needing something, I"ll still have the treat of not having to cook for a night (plus, we'll save a few bucks than usual by not paying a tip and by not feeding the whole family but just 2 of us). I'm not sure if we will do this every week or every other week, but this should definitely cut down on our take out amount if I have a set time to look forward to each week/every other week. We have fallen into a big trap of "oh, let's get takeout" because sometimes our weeks do not go as we originally planned, and we end up out late somewhere, or I haven't gotten to the store, or I feel too exhausted to cook. (In my defense, I've had a newborn the last 4 months, and now that she's in a better routine, I'm hoping to cut out all of the above excuses!)
I'm excited for our first Thursday Date Night this week - I'll share how it goes and what we get later on this week! I'm thinking we can watch a movie, too...we never do that anymore!
