I try to be the mom that feeds her kids good food all the time but the truth is, I’m somewhere in between being organically, fresh food obsessed and holy shit I’m running late yet again what the hell are we going to have for dinner.
Some weeks I plan meals, other weeks I’m all willy nilly. I buy fresh fruit and vegetables with the best of intentions only to find a rotted cucumber at the bottom of my vegetable drawer in the fridge. Food wastage drives me insane and yet my kids don’t like leftovers.
But when I do get it right, I like to share the food love because a good go-to recipe is a staple in every kitchen. Without further ado, here’s how I get three meals that are relatively inexpensive, incorporate leftovers (no food wastage) and my kids actually like them. And by like I mean Son No. 2 will actually eat it without freaking out at the table.
These aren’t “exact” recipes – incorporate your own flare into them and remove stuff your kids don’t like and add some stuff they do.
Day 1
Marinade and cook six chicken breasts, cutlets included (if you have a larger family, cook enough so you’ll have leftover chicken) either on the bbq or broil in the oven. Serve with sides (on this particular day I did rosemary potato wedges, a white kidney bean salad and bruschetta).
Day 2
Fast, Tasty Quesadillas: Chop up the leftover chicken. In a bowl mix the chopped chicken with a can of drained and rinsed black beans, diced tomato, red onion, cilantro, goat cheese and a mixture of shredded cheese (we used pre-shredded Tex Mex mix). Spoon mixture onto whole wheat tortillas, fold the tortillas in half, bake in 350 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes until cheese is all melty. Serve with a side salad. Ole!
Day 3
Veggie/Chicken Pizza: Prepare two premade pizza crusts with pizza sauce (you can also make your own pizza dough but that’s never going to happen at my house.) Add a can of drained (no salt added) corn to the leftover quesadilla mixture from the night before. Spread over prepared pizza crusts, sprinkle with cheese. Bake according to package directions. Even though it's filled with veggies, your kids will think it's molto buono.
There you have it - three easy meals that aren't quite all natural but don't suck either.
Enjoy.
It's been a particularly tough start to the school year at Casa DeVellis. I know it's going to get better, this is all an adjustment process - but in the interim I think we're in for a couple of rough weeks with Son No. 2.
What it boils down to is that Son No. 2 misses me when he's at school. He's happy with his class, he's happy with his teacher, he has fun at recess, he's good with the work....he just misses me. Which is all kinds of ironic because he spent his whole summer telling me how mean I am.
I do my best with this whole parenting thing but I kind of fucked it up this morning and am feeling a bit sick to my stomach about it.
He asked that I wave to him through the second floor window. He has to go up a set of stairs to get to his class and he passes by a large window. He wanted just one last look at me waving before he went into class. So I promised him I would.
Twice.
He waited beside me as the lines started going in and as soon as his started to move, he ran off to catch up. I looked up at the window and waited. But I also started talking to another mom and for, literally, a few seconds my attention was taken away. That's when he passed the window and he saw me, not looking for him to wave but with my head turned away from the window talking to another mom.
I had promised.
I glanced back just in time to see the back of his head as he trudged the rest of the way up the stairs. My heart sank. I said goodbye to the mom and jogged into the school. By the time I got to the second floor he was already in the classroom, all alone, sobbing at his desk. It was the hiccuping cry where you can't catch your breath. I walked over, knelt down and hugged him; he started to cry even harder.
"Mom, you promised"
I'm pretty sure my heart shattered.
I fucked up. My promises to my kids are very important to me, I don't make them lightly. I had promised him and I broke it, plain and simple. I broke his trust - I could see it in his eyes as the tears rolled down his face.
He'll be okay, of that I'm sure. I spent a few hours this morning beating myself up, now I'm moving forward, yet again. I don't know how long it will take for him to get settled or how we're going to make this better for him. But I'm damn sure of one thing.... I won't be taking my eyes off that window tomorrow, not even for a second.
You can learn even more ways to get organized and transition from summer to school on our Back-To-School 2014 page.
Parenting is not for the faint of heart.
That's pretty much been my parenting tagline since day one. You get pregnant and carry this life around inside you for nine months (arguably, ten) and by the end you're tired and just want the baby the hell out of your body so you can bend at the waist again. Only it's when the baby comes out you realize the hard part has just begun.
Back to school is never an easy transition at our house, mostly due to Son No. 1's dislike of school. We work with him and try to make it better but at the end of the day, he's going to go but will never have a love for it. Every night before bed we go through his high, medium and low points and ever since school started, his high point has been walking home from school.
Son No. 2 was excited to get started, he wanted to see his friends again.
I was so focused on Son No. 1 that I lost sight of Son No. 2.
On Friday I kissed him good-bye and watched him run off to his line-up. Moments later he came running back with tears streaming down his face. He wrapped his arms tightly around me and buried his face in my belly, all the while sobbing. I honestly chalked it up to being tired - it had been a long week and I knew he was exhausted. We hugged, I told him I loved him and he slowly made his way back to the line.
But yesterday as we walked home from school, he said to me "Mummy, I cried in school today". He had been feeling sad all day and when the teacher had handed out a worksheet to the class where they were to write about why they loved their family....."I just couldn't hold it in anymore Mummy" he told me. He went on to tell me he did the sobbing hiccupping cry for close to an hour.
We talked about it a lot last night, not just about missing me but other reasons he's sad about school and the nervousness he feels. But he's still so little and it's hard for him to articulate.
The drop-off this morning was a carbon copy of Friday. There were tears, faces buried in tummies and hugs. Lots and lots of hugs.
Then I came home and cried.
And I ran on the treadmill and cried some more.
Some days I'm just not cut out for this shit.
But tomorrow is a new day and like all the other moms out there, I'll try, try again. Because that's what we do.
See what I mean? Not for the faint of heart at all.
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