How we survived the semester

 The biggest changes I made to our daily life this semester revolved around the two most important categories: food and rest.

We instituted a Lazy Genius-style food plan for weeknights that made almost everything feel manageable. We decided ONCE for the WHOLE semester that Tuesday we would grab Culvers on the way home from dance; that Wednesday, I would swing by Milios and snag subs for Dorothy and Cooper to eat for their after school snacks on the way to dance and dive; and that Wednesdays Minnie would eat chocolate chip pancakes, eggs, and fruit for dinner. Every single Wednesday night. Sometimes Jack joined her (and also joined in on Culvers), but sometimes, he was busy with his own life, and that was OK, too. I never indulged in the Tuesday Culvers, but I was more than happy to walk the dog while the kids ate and come home to a barely touched kitchen and a bowl of protein oatmeal that I ate in relative quiet before putting Minnie to bed. Sometimes, I did join in on breakfast for dinner, and sometimes I ate leftovers or bagged salads instead. It didn't bother me to make something else for myself when feeding my people was on autopilot. We also followed LG advice to have the easiest, most crowd-pleasing dinner on the hardest night of the week (Tuesday). And! If Thursday ever felt hard, I had no problem grabbing a pizza on the way home from the after-school drop off run, and Ben was never sad to come hone to those leftovers, either. (Usually I would make something easy with great leftovers on Thursdays, so Ben could eat something when he got home and so we would have food for Friday lunches).

Fast food for the win!

I also started making it a habit to rest BEFORE my work was done. Sometimes this looked like waking up early to drink coffee and read 50 pages of a book before anyone was around to bother me. Sometimes, it looked like reading on the couch for an indulgent hour while I put my work (housework sometimes or work work others) aside, knowing it was going to be there for me when my alarm went off. Sometimes, it looked like a walk around the lake on campus while I mulled over an issue and found that I was ready to solve it when I got back to my office. Resting and taking intentional breaks (not scrolling mindlessly because I didn't want to admit to myself that I was actually taking a break) made parenting 4 kids and working a full time job while my partner spent part of every single week out of town feel doable. Not just doable-- enjoyable, even.

That's it. Stop cooking and start loafing-- a recipe for success. (And also some weight gain, but what are you gonna do?)

Beginning of the semester:

End of the semester:

I am a bit overwhelmed at the looming summer break. So many people in my house with so many schedules to juggle! And by all of the prep work that needs to magically happen between now and the fall. But! I already know that I am going to lean all the way into pool dinners, zero morning alarms, and lots of afternoon naps with a book. 

Also, big things on the horizon, like THIS!!!!!  Jack and I are so excited