Our refrigerator is barren… and in that I don’t mean that it can’t get pregnant. I’m talking about the other kind of barren. It is desolate, bleak, and deserted (according to my thesaurus). Really, we are in desperate need of a trip to the market, but that has proven to be an impossible task this week. Between a lovely late-March snowstorm and fitting in a long-overdue oil change on our car Tuesday… it just hasn’t happened. Maybe tonight? Oh if there were only a few more hours in each day.
I hate getting home after work at 6:00 and scrambling to get something on the table by 6:30. HATE. I think it probably goes without saying, but a pretty big part of having children means you’re in charge of feeding them, and it just feels inappropriate to have cereal or ice cream for dinner. At least until Gus is a little older. So anyway, poor me, it is the cross I bear.
On days that Dan’s not around, I am so that mom who runs around putting together a balanced meal for her 18 month-old that includes multiple fresh fruits/veggies, a form of protein, and some sort of whole grain, and then sits down and eats an orange and a bag of microwave popcorn whilst he feasts.
Yeah, I know. That’s not going to fly for much longer, as Gus gets older I think he may start to revolt against a system that involves broccoli for him, and Starburst jelly beans for me.
So we try to eat meals as a family as much as possible, preferably most of the same things, and especially at dinnertime. But yeah on those three nights a week after which I’ve worked 9 hours (especially after a busy weekend that did not involve grocery shopping)? Blergh.
I must say, after this loooooong winter, (right? it has seemed exceptionally long hasn’t it?), Gus has become quite the little connoisseur of take-out. Granted, (disclaimer!) we always supplement these meals with fresh fruits and veggies from our refrigerator, but seriously the child could eat his weight in chow mein, vegetable fried rice, chicken curry gyros, saffron rice, cilantro lime rice with black beans, and mostaccioli.
I am not proud.
On the other hand, he will turn his nose up at pizza, or anything that resembles a chicken nugget or fast-food sandwich. Go figure. But I can’t really take credit for that. Toddlers are weird and they have their own ideas about pretty much everything, don’t they?
Sooooo even though I have no idea what we are going to eat with it, I will take this opportunity to brag a little that I had the where-with-all to defrost a pork roast earlier this week, and actually threw it in the crockpot (slow-cooker?) before I left for work. I had to put my cell phone on top of the crockpot last night to make sure I would actually remember to do it this morning, and that did the trick.
And it has been lovely going about my day without that sense of DREAD about what we will make for dinner. It has been decided! The crockpot is a wonderful thing isn’t it? I should really take advantage of its awesomeness much more often, but again that would involve some foresight and meal planning, which you may have gathered by now is not really how I roll.
I fear the poor dog has felt tortured all day, with the smell of onions and peppers and meat wafting throughout the house. Don’t pity her too much, though, I’m sure she’ll get her share tonight during dinner, via the tiny hands of her favorite little toddler. Oh I can’t wait to kiss his cheeks, just a few more hours…
If left to my own devices, I WOULD have chips for dinner 3 nights a week, and cereal the other 4. Meal planning is THE ONLY reason that we eat well at my house - without it, I honestly wouldn't even know what to buy at the grocery store anymore. Ben or I usually remember to do it on the weekends, but there are some weeks we forget and just wing it. Luckily, Ben is an awesome cook and works from home so he starts dinner almost every night. I get home around 4:45 and still feel rushed, because Annie wants to eat NO LATER than 5:30. I've been meaning to write a post about food and feeding Annie but...... just haven't yet. Someday.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, all this to say that I feel you and I hope you enjoyed your crockpot dinner - it really is a savior sometimes!
You could eat a lot worse than an orange and popcorn. :) It's a true testament to how wonderful a mother you are. Gus comes first.
ReplyDeleteI stress out about meals the second I get home. I'd suggest cereal or PB&J sandwiches every night if I knew I could get away with it, but apparently men need real food. Whatevs.
So, I'm anxious to hear how the crockpot meal went! I've been tempted to make something in our crockpot, but haven't gotten to buying the ingredients or finding a recipe yet.
Oh man. I can totally relate! We had NO food in the house for over a week since I was too tired to go grocery shopping. Lately dinner for Andy and I has consisted of fast food, cereal, or sandwiches. At least you give Gus a well balanced meal! Isla refuses all fruits and veggies at the moment (aside from mandarin oranges) and she will pretty much only eat chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, and spaghetti. She is offered fruit and or veggies every meal and it's getting ridiculous watching her refuse to touch them! Hopefully she'll grow out of that soon!
ReplyDeleteI have been debating getting a crockpot, but not sure what I'd make in there since I don't really eat much meat right now.
Ugh. I hate cooking. And you'd think that since I'm a SAHM I'd be wearing an apron cooking yummy meals....but really we're lucky if we eat 1 home cooked meal a month. Seriously.