Bryan came by for lunch (hallelujah!) and is currently playing Sonic with Hayes so I said to myself, "HEY, I should use this time to write a blog post!"
I thought it might be fun to share a couple of things that have been saving my ever-loving-sanity lately. The first has to do with my "lunch-packing system" and the second is a list of my current favorite podcasts. Yes, these are the exciting things in my life. ;)
A very, very big part of my day consists of walking in and out and around the kitchen---cooking, cleaning, wiping, refilling, doing dishes, more cleaning, making grocery lists, complaining about cleaning, and PACKING LUNCHES. When you pack at least 14 lunches a week (I just counted--that is a minimum and will only get worse), it gets old quick, but thanks to a good ole' Instagram creep, I have adopted a nice little system that makes my mornings so much easier (and me a lot less grumpy!)
I make about 3 weeks worth of sandwiches at once and then bag and freeze them in their own little bin in the freezer. I do PB&J (with the peanut butter on both sides to keep it from getting soggy---literally how did it take me 30 years to figure this out), PB& Nutella (or "chocolate sandwich" as Hayes would say), and then turkey and cheese sandwiches on Hawaiian rolls. I love making that last one because it is super quick! I just slice the whole loaf of Hawaiian rolls in half, layer on turkey and cheese, place the top back on, and then cut them into individual squares. I ordered the "hoarders box" of Miracle Whip packets from Amazon so that the sandwich-eater can grab one to add later.
I know none of this is rocket science and is probably pretty obvious but it literally makes me SO happy to finally be in on the secret and not be so rushed in the mornings. Thank you, Super Moms of Instagram!
For the "sides", I designated different boxes and drawers in the pantry and fridge to hold everything, and then grouped them by fresh fruit, dried fruit/ applesauce, dairy, salty, and sweet. I numbered them from 1-7 so Parker could pack his own lunch in the morning and just follow the numbers (he rarely does this but it works when we need it!)
ALSO: Our fridge is NEVER this clean--I had just cleaned it out because a coke got too cold and exploded.
To get everything in our (very fancy cardboard) bins, I either buy prepackaged lunch snacks (like the little bags of chips or string cheese), or separate a big bag or box of something into little baggies. I also have a bin for straws (for yogurt smoothies), juice boxes, and those little lidded condiment cups (also from Amazon) for dips/dressing, if needed.
The foods currently on rotation in the bins:
Fresh fruit/veggies: bananas, apples, grapes, broccoli
Dried fruit/applesauce: dried mangos from Costco, raisins, applesauce pouches (Lily could live off these....so could Bryan ;)
Dairy: string cheese, go-gurt, drinkable yogurt smoothies
Salty: Chips, pretzels, Goldfish
Sweet: Famous Amos snack cookie bags, cheap-o striped fudge or oatmeal cookies, fruit snacks
I grab one from most every bin for each lunch (according to what each person prefers) and then we are good to go!
I've done this for two months now and IT WORKS. It's so weird that things actually happen when you plan in advance! Who knew?!
Other things that are giving me life:
These memes.
Don't deny it!! I served my time! (I'm kidding! Usually.)
Literally every summer from 2002-2009.
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And last but certainly not least: my current favorite (new to me) podcasts. They make me laugh and think about hard things and talk to myself and probably look even more like a crazy person than I already am! I love them.
First up is the Journey Women Podcast. I love the host and wish I could be her friend! The "When The Holidays Are Hard" episode was eye opening and so good for many reasons.
That Sounds Fun with Annie F. Downs. Yet another girl I want to be friends with! I just listened to her episodes with Banning Leibsher (I'm sure I butchered that last name) who is the lead pastor at the Jesus Culture church, and with John Crist (basically my fave instagram comedian) and was obsessed with both.
Coffee and Crumbs Podcast (have I mentioned this before?) A few weeks ago a friend texted the link to the "This Is How We Don't" epidsode and it made me feel like I am not alone in the world after all! It also made me laugh. Highly recommend that one and all of the "This Is How We Do" episodes (I've listened to every single one!)
The Rise Podcast with Rachel Hollis. I've read a bunch of controversy on her book but went ahead and listened to part of it and think she has some great advice on pulling yourself up by your bootstraps and not feeling sorry for yourself. Her podcast is the same and while I maybe want to roll my eyes at some parts (probably because I'm envious of her and her drive!), I do think there are A LOT of takeaways!
And that's all I've got! Byyyyyyye.
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