You’re Killin’ Me Smalls. I Don’t Have Time For This!
The other day I was grocery shopping at Aldi’s (story of my life) and I watched a small girl fall off the counter as her mother packed groceries. It set off a domino effect of gasping mothers in her immediate radius.
As she picked her daughter up, I observed the typical mom reaction when we are trying to knock out missions with kids in tow.
“You’re okay. You’re fine. Shhh. Okay, you have to stop crying now.”
We’ve all been there. We move through our days with minimal built-in time for real life, such as accidents, falls, and uncooperative children. Unfortunately our WE CAN DO IT ALL attitudes sets ourselves up for feeling overwhelmed almost every day.
It also doesn’t fair well for the little ones who are along for the ride with us. While we tackle insurmountable to-do lists, they try to grab any attention and recognition they can get.
While I have no sage advice about dialing back (I’m just as guilty as all you!), I do find stopping to simply acknowledge our kids goes a long way. It’s as simple as verbalizing their feelings back to them.
If they’re hurt, sympathize, hug, and say, “I bet that hurt!” Plus, throwing on a bandaid or ice pack is an usual end all.
If they want something say, “That does look cool! I bet that would be so fun to play with. Let’s put it on your Christmas list.”
Then show them how you taking note of it in your phone by writing it down or taking a picture. (I keep a “Presents” note in my phone which also helps me when I’m trying to recall what the hell everyone wanted.)
Basically just imagine how you’d want your husband to respond to you in that situation…
“You’re fine. It’s not a big deal. You have to stop crying now.”
OR
“That does sound like it sucks! What can I do to help?” 👈👈👈👈
What Has Made My Life Easier This Week
Speaking of insurmountable lists – huge fan. I can make lists and cross those bad boys off like nobody’s business.
So you know what really gets me going? A daily planner. Sigh.
Last week I attended a conference and our goodie bags had Passion Planners in them. At first glance I thought it was a planner with some fancy book marks. Oh, but it’s so much more. LOOOOOOOVVVVVEEEE IT.
Some highlights are separate to-do lists for work and personal, goal setting, reflecting on the good things, monthly reflections, and creating a focus for the week.
If you are like me, and feel like you can’t clear your head until something is written down, check out the Passion Planner. Game changer.
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Save This Weekly Meal Plan to Your Pinterest Dinner Board!
Monday: Smoked Sausage with Cheddar Apple Hash (Hands On: 30 minutes), steamed or canned veggie
Tuesday: Breakfast for Dinner – Flourless Banana Oat Pancakes (Hands On: 25 minutes), scrambled eggs with cheese, oven bacon
Wednesday: Lemon Penne with Oven Roasted Broccoli (Hands On: 15 minutes, Bake 12 minutes), fruit, salad, bread
Thursday: Chicken Tetrazzini (Hands On: 15 minutes, Bake: 30 minutes), steamed or canned veggie, applesauce
Friday: Quick Taco Dogs (Hands On: 25 minutes – make while fries are baking) and Oven Baked Fries (need to soak potatoes first, Hands On: 15 minutes, Bake: 30 minutes)
Weekend Making: We’re having friends over so I will be making these Raspberry Peach Mojitos and Chocolate Pecan Meringue Cookies
CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S MEAL PLAN!
Tammy says
Awesome meal plan! Lemon penne with oven roasted broccoli was a huge win with three boys ages 7,9 and 5.
Melissa says
That’s always a win. Thanks for dropping me a line Tammy!