We have implemented a few things to make time without dad a little easier on the family. We put karate on hold until at least next summer. That was the huge relief for me. I am a very scheduled person. I like to eat on time and go to bed on time. If I don't do those two things, I lose all patience. So eliminating karate is working out well. Since we gave up karate, the big kids now have time to take up guitar lessons (they are continuing with piano too). The teacher is very reasonable, only $15 an hour and she comes to my house so I just have to be home on Wednesdays between 4 and 5 pm.
The next thing I decided was to give the big kids opportunities to share in the cooking. Erin loves to cook so she would cook almost everyday if she could. My only issue with her cooking is that she likes to make things more tasty than healthy. She recently asked me if I like to modify recipes to make them taste better. I said no, I like to modify recipes to make them healthier. She likes to use spices that I never would think to use. Plus I have been buying a lot more butter since she started cooking. So with Mario being gone, I figured Eric, Erin, and I could each take 2 days a week to cook. Then we would order out or go out for the other dinner. I thought the kids would make simple meals, but Erin has already made turkey pot pie twice and tacos. Eric has plans to make lasagna tonight. I don't think I have even cooked once since Mario's been gone. So I may not even get my two turns this week. I was thinking we would have meals like grilled cheese sandwiches and homemade mac and cheese while Mario was gone, but apparently we will be eating better than ever with the kids cooking. I figure Eric's wife is going to thank me one day for all this cooking experience plus it will help him not starve on his mission.
The other thing I started was doing a 10 minute cleanup after dinner. It is amazing how quickly we can get the house cleaned up with 5 people helping. When the house is clean, pjs on, and teeth brushed, we sit down to read scriptures and watch one episode of a classic tv show. This treat at the end of the night helps the kids calm down and also helps me motivate them to do the 10 minute cleanup and get ready for bed.
Mario and I have been so blessed with such a wonderful marriage and family. Life is good.
1 comment:
I'm so happy that way you are bringing your kids up to help with the cooking and cleaning. You can accomplish so much with so much help and have fun doing it plus have fun after the work is done. It help everyone in the family if Mom is not stressed out. I'm glad that Eric and Erin are able to take guitar lessons along with the piano lessons. You're doing an awesome job with your family. mom
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