I’m really paying attention to what makes my days easier because I want to share that with you. So, I’m going to tell you what I’m doing to make it through the day.
We had an early start today. The baby started waking up at 4:30 this morning. We let her cry for a little while and she quieted down. When we were finally back asleep, she started crying again. Eventually she quieted back down. When it started up again at 5:30, we figured it was time to get up.
So how did I make it through dinner today? The crockpot.
I know, everyone else is all about the Instant Pot and here I am still using the crockpot, but that’s what I know. I don’t do recipes in the crockpot, I just take my protein and a veg philosophy and let the crockpot do the cooking. I don’t brown the meat or anything either. Who does that?!
The crockpot, simplified.
When I’m ordering groceries, I order a $5 package of stew vegetables. It’s a pound and a half (or more?) of carrots, celery, onions and potatoes. So usually all I have to do is pour that in, put the meat on top, season and turn the crockpot on.
This week, I didn’t get any stew vegetables because they were out of stock when I got my groceries delivered. I even stopped by the grocery store after my girls’ dentist appointments the other day and they were out of stock there too. I didn’t feel like chopping vegetables last night either.
So what did I do?
This morning I scrubbed some potatoes and carrots, threw the potatoes in whole, cut up the carrots a little and tossed them in. In went the meat. Salt and pepper. Lid on. Done.
I’m going to be honest, I think this is the first time I’ve used large potatoes whole. The new potatoes I always use whole, but it works with regular potatoes too. Why didn’t I think of that before?
I always use the crockpot strategically too. For me that means it gets used on bath nights because those are the nights I have the least amount of time.
I know my girls (at least the older ones) don’t love roast and vegetables, so sometimes I throw on some egg noodles and have that as a side. They always love those.
Bathtime wins? When husband does it or the kids are big enough to do it themselves.
Tonight I had both things going for me. My husband bathed our younger two girls. Usually I bathe at least the older girls while simultaneously making dinner. I’m not really sure why that is. I think it’s because there was a period of time where they would scream at him when he gave them a bath. I hated listening to them screaming. I mean, who likes to hear their kid scream? So, I just gave them a bath all the time.
Tonight, my husband did the two younger girls (separately) and I got to hang out on the couch with whoever wasn’t being bathed. The baby goes in the big tub but with a small amount of water. She’s about to learn how to crawl, so she’s moving past the laying down in an inch or two of water, but definitely not big enough to sit in a full tub. Otherwise, they would bathe together.
My oldest, who is now 5 (how is that possible?) took a shower by herself. She requires a little bit of supervision, but I don’t have to be in there with her the whole time. She is perfectly capable of washing her hair and body by herself, but she needs a little nudging to actually wash and sometimes needs help closing the conditioner bottle. Does she do an amazing job? I’m not sure. She does good enough.
She also likes to be in there by herself and draw on the window. Yes, we have a window in our shower. It’s frosted. Today, I went in and she didn’t hear me and when she saw me watching her draw on the window she told me she wanted some privacy today.
I don’t know how it is that the kids can ask for (and receive) privacy, but I can never get any! I think she thought she was going to get in trouble for making a mess…
It’s actually pretty amazing to me that Emma will take a shower by herself. When she was younger she hated even hearing the shower. She didn’t want to be in the bathroom when it was on. So, if your little one is like that, have faith. A day will come when your child will be able to bathe themselves.
That’s how I’m getting through the day today. What about you?
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