Wednesday, February 12, 2014

The "S" Word!

Anyone else feeling the winter blahs?  Every year I get them, but this year I think it is worse due to the "s" word which has kept my kids home from school more times than I would like to mention.  And another storm is approaching….well at the time of me posting this, the storm has arrived and school is cancelled…again.

The winter blahs have also made it hard for me to write... actually hard for me to think about something to write about.  I have sat in front of my computer and started posts, many different times.  And then I hit delete and start over.  I just wasn't feeling it.

All these snow days have helped me "focus" on different aspects of my life.  In the past I would have complained on and on about my kids being home, driving me crazy and not having enough caffeine and wine to get through it all.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I didn't complain about all the past snow days...I did, but for the first time it really truly wasn't about the kids being home.   Of course having my kids home for 11 days (including weekends!) got to me….and I to them, as we all craved our routine...our schedules....our sanity.  But something inside me changed.

Snow days are going to happen whether or not I want them to.  If I didn't want snow days, then I could entertain the idea of homeschooling my children.  But we all know that would lead to them learning the other "s" word!  Instead of complaining about it I decided to find the silver lining.  While it was hard to find after almost two weeks off...I found it.

I realized everything doesn't have to be perfect and run smoothly.  In my already "different" life, I try to have some things run as smoothly and perfectly as I can….the things I can control.  However, I realized if I want the kids to help me around the house I need to let them do it their way...even if it takes longer.  I realized when we are helping each other we all learn from the experience.  I learn to be less controlling and not have "it has to be done this way" attitude...and they learn independence and life skills.   If I don't take a step back so they can step forward, how will they learn?

My kids love to help around the house...always have, but I often give them the easier tasks as it takes as longer time for them and I just want to "get it done".   Not any more.  If they want to help...they can take all the time they need.

Betsie, my nine year old, showed interest over the Christmas holiday in wanting to learn how to do the laundry.  Sorting, washing (settings and all), drying (learning what goes in and what air dries), folding and putting away.  I was blown away!  Maybe a little bit of guilt was setting in as she likes to change her clothes a couple of times a day!  Did the laundry take longer to do?  At first, yes!  But guess what?  I loved seeing her independence and her willingness to help so much, that I didn't care how long it took!  She was doing the laundry for ME...and I could enjoy my coffee…the same cup I have been trying to drink all morning.  You know, the one you keep putting in the microwave to heat up.



After Christmas break my kids were in school for TWO weeks before they had an unexpected mid winter break for another TWO weeks due to a four letter word!  Over the snow days Eli, my six year old, decided he wanted to start cooking with me.  Usually I would have given him the easy things to do just to speed up the process, but since we had all the time in the world and no school days were in sight, I decided to let him make dinner.  On. His. Own.  Of course I was there to help assist with the stove and oven, as well as, the sharp knives as I didn't want any burns or missing fingers to happen on my watch.  The last thing I needed was to explain to my husband that our son has burns as he was cooking dinner because I was on Pinterest pinning our monthly menu!

So he rolled up his sleeves, threw his apron on and got to work!  He read the instructions, grabbed all the ingredients and started mixing.  I was so impressed!  And it was so much fun sharing this with him.  He had a blast and was equally as impressed with himself.  Talk about a confidence builder…not that he needs it, but still who doesn't like a little boost of self esteem?!?!

I mentioned Pinterest above.  When I think of Pinterest one word comes to my mind, addicted!  I love Pinterest.  Don't you just love all the folders you can create.  I have every house I can dream of designed and outfitted down to what we will be eating for the next year.  And with the help of Pinterest I can plan a party on a whim!  But let's get back to the real world….and the folders I use the most….recipes.   I don't mind cooking.  I have to do it if we want to eat, right, but its not something I love.  However, Pinterest has really helped changed this…I enjoy cooking now.  I enjoy trying new foods and getting out of the rut of the same recipes in the weekly rotation.

Not only do I love trying new recipes, but it helps to have options for my kids to chose from too.  This is just what I did with Eli when he wanted to cook.  I let him pick the recipe from the options I was already planning for the week.  He is a picky eater, so a part of me was hoping if he prepared and cooked it, he will want to eat it….this was part of the plan anyway.

So he picked Meatloaf Muffins topped with Mashed Potatoes sprinkled with bacon.









And it was a hit!  A huge success!!!!  He loved them!!  And he enjoyed eating them just as much as he did cooking the meatloaf.  I was so happy my plan worked.  The next two days were no different.  Our menu the next two nights consisted of Italian Sausage with Peppers and Onions over Rice and One Pot Pasta with corn noodles, spinach, diced tomatoes in vegetable broth with seasoning.  













I was one happy mom….that is for sure!  And to be honest, it really didn't take that much longer to prepare than if I had done it myself.  Seeing the joy in his face when we all raved about dinner and watching him talk in detail about what he prepared for us and how he prepared it was worth every second.

So I am thinking with this new snow storm a lesson on cleaning the bathrooms will be perfect!  I just don't know how I will be able to motivate the kids to see the excitement in a clean bathroom.   It's not the same for them as it is with me.  Since my plan A probably will not work, I do have plan B…..new recipes to try!    I can't wait for all the kids to get their hands messy as we have fun cooking over the next two days (even though school has only cancelled one day, I know by looking out my window school is out for the rest of the week).  I know my kids don't appreciate what they are learning in the kitchen now, but one day they will.  And my son's future wife will thank me one day…and I will look back on the snow days that could have driven me completely crazy but instead they turned into days of teaching my children skills they will use….forever.

When I start to lose my mind in the next two days, I will take a deep breathe and remember the silver lining……this is of course after I grab a calendar and count down the days till spring or at least a girls weekend….whichever is closer!

And just for fun….











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