Help! He’s always like this. How can we eat food?
Help me, friends. I have a screamy baby. And two other hungry children. Dinnertime is the worst. For all of us. Last week, when I found myself breastfeeding while trying to remove a 450 degree frittata from the oven, I knew I needed help. All my go-to dinners are suddenly too hard with a needy baby in my arms (too much stove, oven, or knives).
Our new morning routine involves all five of us piling into the minivan, then Sawyer and I drop off the preschooler, the commuter, the first grader, and then return home to have our baby-style day. And usually he’s screaming when we get home.
During the day, I use all my tricks to plan and prep as much as I can of dinner. Then around 4:30, Sawyer and I fetch the big boys from their respective schools. We return home around 5:30. Back in the day, the boys would watch their allotted 25 minutes of TV while I made dinner. Now, I spend that time nursing. Then 6:00 comes around and we’re no closer to dinner.
Having written this site for six years now, I have made a special effort at gaining and sharing tips about streamlinning the dinner-making process. Tips like declaring Monday crockpot night have seen me through the rookie year and two-under-two challenge.
But now.
OhMyGod.
I chopped veggies a day in advance, created the marinate during naptime, and used the crock pot to make a delicious brisket. By the time 6pm rolled around (after the scream-a-palooza-nurse-a-thon), all we had was a huge hunk of meat with not a veggie in sight. Should we just sit around with forks poking into a steaming crock pot in the middle of the table? Probably not.
I’m seriously wondering if I will ever be able to get dinner on the table again. Please share your easiest one dish meals, tricks, hacks, or tips to see me through the next few weeks (months?!)!
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