A Wahm Trying to Homeschool Also!

Dinner with the Family: It’s More Important than you Might Think

When was the last time you had dinner with your family? It is the meal we often skip because we work late, the kids have sporting events or we get tired from daily activities. But, skipping dinner with the family is detrimental to the family dynamic.

Family dinners are more than just a meal. It is about the only time that families have to share time through the week. Whether you sit down to the dinner table or enjoy a meal on tray tables and a movie in the family room, the important thing is that you are together.

There are some interesting facts surrounding family dinner time. For instance, teens that spend dinner time eating with their family are less likely to get involved in drugs, alcohol or other illicit activity. This is a point many parents will find interesting. Out of all of the things you do to try to keep your kids away from bad influences, the one thing that is the greatest influence is still the event that we skip routinely.

Why is dinner so important? For one thing, it is a time to share thoughts and feelings. All day, kids are influenced by teachers, friends and the outside world. At the dinner table, they get a chance to connect with their parents on tough issues like schoolwork, peer pressure, friendships and other things. They can each share and help one another with helpful suggestions. Parents can even talk about work or family finances over a meal.

The main point is that conversation is taking place. The average parent talks to their child

less than 40 minutes a week. It takes a second to say “Hi” when you come in at night, but that isn’t effective communication. When dinner is shared by the family, you spend at least 45 minutes to an hour talking about everything and anything that may be on your mind. Even if you are watching a television program, engaging questions can arise from topics addressed in the program.

Young children learn how to communicate with their siblings and parents. They are the center of attention with questions about their day and it makes them feel happy. You know that kids always want to be in the limelight when they are a certain age and this helps them learn to share the spot with others.

For teenage girls, body image is everything. Learning to prepare and eat healthy meals with their families is a sign that eating right will keep their bodies in shape and not avoiding food. Teen girls are less likely to become the victim of an eating disorder but develop a healthy view of food and their bodies when they eat dinner with their families.

There are many benefits to eating dinner with the family. It is a time for meaningful communication that leads to stronger self-images that resist the urge of drugs, alcohol and other destructive behaviors in your kids and teens.

If you would like to find out more about families eating together and how you can work and still make a home cooked meal, please visit DineWithoutWhine.com

Christmas is in 3 days (two if you celebrate on Christmas Eve!), so dinner’s gotta get get done. As a WAHM you might be thinking you are over your head in things to get done.

Everyone thinks of the traditional ham or turkey with all the trimmings as the must-have meal, but it’s a lot of work.  You can still have a delicious meal without slaving away all day.  Really!

Here's Some Ideas:

* Don’t have a lot of guests? Try oven-roasting a whole chicken or even chicken pieces.

* Take a walk on the wild side with a crockpot recipe the family loves. Even a pot roast can be cooked with a Christmas flair by topping the roast with cranberry sauce. Yes, cook the roast with the cranberry sauce on top and sprinkle a little onion soup mix for extra flavor.

* What about a Christmas pizza? A simple idea that can get the family involved. Choose a Christmas-themed pan shape (Christmas tree, bell, etc.) and go for it.

If You’re Still Making The Big Turkey or Even a Ham:

* Choose ready-made stuffing.

* Packaged turkey gravy can help in a time crunch. Just replace some of the water with pan drippings and YUM!

* Packaged mashed potatoes have come a long way. If you haven’t tried them in a while, do a test in your kitchen. You might be surprised.

Of course, if you aren’t into processed foods, things may not be so simple. You’ve just got to get creative with the time you spend in the kitchen:

* Appetizers can be simple. A veggie or meat plate. You can even purchase these fresh items, pre-cut and arranged.

* Don’t go overboard with side dishes. If you’re making them yourself, you don’t have to have EVERYTHING. Just make bigger batches of a few vegetables and other items. They WILL satisfy a hungry crowd.

* But better than making less is getting OTHER people to make it. Enlist all your guest to bring a side dish. Unless they have a specific dish they really want to make, be bold and tell them what to bring. It’s easier for everyone involved.

* Chop vegetables, get the bird ready and do other kitchen prep the night before. Enlist the help of family members and enjoy a glass of wine or a hot buttered rum…or two.

* Don’t be shy about asking for help on the big day. Your guests are perfectly capable of basting, slicing, setting and more.

The important thing is to enjoy the day. Entertaining can be fun, but if you’re running around the kitchen all day, sweating up a storm…it can lose a bit of its lustre.

If you are like many of us who home school you do take a little vacation from schooling the kids and maybe from your business also, in the summer time. It is about that time to get back to the schooling and the business. That means getting the kids back on a schedule and you too- this can take a little getting used to again.

It's still possible to have pleasant family mealtimes even after schooling/work has begun but again it will take getting back on a schedule. Check out these back-to-schooling dinner tips for busy Moms who are also WAHMs:

1. Have a meal plan.

The most important key to having relaxed family dinners even on school/work nights is having a meal plan. This will simplify both food shopping and meal preparation, and help you save money to boot.

If you need help, check out Dine Without Whine's meal and grocery planning service.

2. Try freezer meals.

Cut down on cooking time by cooking large batches and then freezing them for future use.

3. Simplify your schedule.

With school time comes extracurricular activities that could have you running - or driving around - like a headless chicken. Keep things to a minimum. Overloading children with too many extracurricular activities is not good for them. They need downtime too.

4. Get the kids involved in cooking.

Get some help by mobilizing your own troops - your husband and children - as your kitchen helpers. Cooking is an important life skill and now it's bonding time as well.

5. Have an emergency plan.

No matter how well you plan in advance, something always comes up. Plan for that as well. Always have emergency supplies in the pantry so you can throw together a home-cooked meal at a moment's notice.

It could be a frozen dinner you prepared during the weekend. Mine is pasta, a can of tomato sauce and whatever vegetables are in the refrigerator.

6. Post your family schedule.

Keep a large calendar on the wall where you can see every family member's schedule at a glance. It will also help you plan activities around your family dinner times.

7. Set a routine.

Decide on an earlier dinner time, bedtime and wake up time and start following them a few days before schooling officially begins. This way, everybody's adjusted when the real thing comes.

8. Stay flexible.

Sometimes you just can't afford disruptions to your meal times. An occasional missed family dinner is no big deal - when you know you'll have more throughout the week.

9. Consider schooling/work schedules.

Take note of school events the kids may want to be apart of and other activities in your family calendar - so you can plan your family dinners with them in mind.

10. Cook once, eat twice.

Every so often, cook a double batch of meals that can easily be transformed into another entree or side dish. For example, roast 2 chickens. Have one for tonight's dinner. Chop up the other for chicken salad for later in the week.

11. Organize your kitchen.

If you haven't done so yet, now's the time to take stock of your kitchen. Make sure the items you use most often are accessible from your food prep area. Replace the tools that are broken, and get those gadgets that will help you get dinner ready faster.

12. Have a special meal.

Make Friday night Teen's night - which means they plan and prepare the meal. That is, if you have teens or any child old enough to prepare meals. They'll learn how to cook, you get the night off (from cooking), and everybody has fun. The only condition is: everybody has to eat what's prepared.

13. Make it educational.

This idea is for preschool-age kids. Make or buy a special placemat with letter or numbers. Laminate it with Con-Tact paper so it becomes a wipe-off board. Use it only for dinnertimes.

14. More mealtime learning opportunities.

Plan some meals to coincide with specific topics your child is studying. For example, on the night after a field trip you take to a pioneer town, have a pioneer-style meal, cooked outside over an open fire (if allowed in your area).

15. Celebrate schooling successes at dinner.

Celebrate schooling successes with a special family meal. Prepare the child's favorite meal and prepare a nice dessert. It's more important to have a meal that's relaxed and delicious, than one that tool hours to prepare.

16. Nurture relationships.

Get to know your children's closest friends by inviting them to dinner once in a while.

Follow these tips to make family mealtimes simpler, easier and more fun. For meal planning and grocery shopping help, go to Dine Without Whine.

Your monthly subscription includes a weekly meal plan with recipes for main dishes, side dishes, 2 desserts and 2 brunches.

You'll also get a weekly grocery shopping list of everything you need to create the recipes. The list is categorized according to grocery sections, so your shopping will be easier and faster.

For a limited time, you can try Dine Without Whine for a penny. Click here to find out how.

Blogdumps had a small problem two weeks ago and all posts were lost, it was not only a hassle in we could not get into our blogs, it was a lesson in not typing your posts directly on your server!

When you type directly into your blog you have no way of backing up your posts and saving them somewhere else.  Someone told me to email myself my posts but I haven't figured out how to do that.

So, what do you do?  Well, I have always been told you should type your posts in a program like Microsoft Notes, which comes free on any computer that has Windows.

I hate this method!! It seems like double work, because in Notes you can not underline, bold, link anything, or any other different types of editing you would like to do.  If you want to do these activities you have to do them once you past your post into your blog.  Double the work!

If you type your post into Windows Word, you can add all the links, bolding, bullets, etc that you want.  Right into your post and save it, copy and paste.  Ta Da Done!  Problem with this method, for some strange reason, Word tends to add some crazy stuff to the beginning of your text and if you don't check your post in html, you could end up with something that looks like you are posting in Russian!

My problem with all these methods is, I like to type when I am thinking about, like I am right now.  I am typing this right into my blog.  CRAZY I KNOW!!!  You would think I would learn, but no!!!  Well, I sort of have learned, because what I will do after I am done typing this, is, I will copy and paste this post into a Word document and then save it by name and DATE.

See, this is where the Lesson Learned comes in.  Not only then will I have a copy by name of the article, but also by date, so, when Blogdumps goes down and loses a weeks worth of posts, I will know EXACTLY what posts were lost because I also have the dates on my posts that I have saved!!  See, lessons learned!

No matter how you do it, you should learn to save your posts some how!  Otherwise you could be like me and searching for NEW posts to put on your blog, when suddenly posts are lost!

Happy posting!

It seems like there is no rest of the weary.  And, the weary person is usually mom.  Moms take care of everything in the home, but who takes care of her?  If you are a busy mom, learn to value yourself as a person and schedule personal time.

Personal time is not being selfish, it is your right as human being.  Each of us has the capacity to nurture others but that type of care takes its toll on moms if they don't take care of themselves.

A car is filled with gas to make it run.  Eventually the gas runs out and your car won’t move unless the car is replenished with fuel.  The same goes for you.  Emotional issues can develop when you don’t take the time to take care of your emotional well-being, not to mention the physical results of emotional neglect.

Mom time refuels the tank so that you can give to your family as well as yourself in equal measure.  Don’t be ashamed to sit for fifteen minutes doing nothing.  In the springtime, relaxing in a hammock under a tree is the perfect getaway from the pressures of the day.  Reading a book for 30 minutes can also seem like heaven to many moms.

Here are a few tips to help you fit in much needed “mom” time:

1. Get up early if you have to.  When you have kids, the day begins at a hurried pace.  Once you hit the ground running, there is no stopping you.  Waking 30 minutes to an hour ahead of time means quiet solitude to drink your coffee, read a book, meditate or listen to music.

2. Turn ordinary experiences into major events.  When you take a bath, add candles, bubble bath, quiet music and/or an inflatable bath pillow.  Your regular bath has now become a spa level experience.  If you watch a movie, turn out the lights, pop a bag of microwave popcorn and curl up on the couch.

3. Ask your significant other for help.  Kids love their mothers but time spent with dad is important too.  Let them bond with dad while you go shopping for a new outfit or root around in the garden.  Since the time is yours, do whatever you like.

4. Use the Boy Scout motto.  Always be prepared and you can spend more time in a relaxed mode.  Fix lunches the night before.  Iron clothes for the next day and place backpacks by the front door so kids can grab them on their way out.  The fewer things you have to do throughout the day, the calmer you will be with your family and not experience burnout.

5. Take exercise breaks.  When you get a few minutes the last thing you want to do is exercise but getting a little physical activity in your day has far-reaching implications.  Exercise helps you to think clearly and stretches the muscles.  Also, stress will drain away as powerful endorphins are released into your system.  Do jumping jacks during a television commercial or jog to the bus stop to pick up the kids.

6. Laugh at regular intervals.  Keep a funny calendar cube on your desk or subscribe to a daily joke site.  Laughing releases stress and can lift your spirits significantly.  It also keeps the abs tight.

Moms, take care of you.  Your family would miss you if you were not around to love and care for them.  You owe it to yourself and you deserve a break from the daily hustle and bustle.