Category: Family Schedules

Posted in Family Schedules, Healthy Meals, School and Daily Schedules

3 Tips for Making Mornings Stress-Free

Posted on by Denise Lewis
Getting kids ready for school
Photo by Luis Quintero on Pexels.com

Who hates the rush out of the house in the mornings? The inevitable cries of “Mom? Where’s my…lunch, bag, boots, gloves, trumpet, basketball shoes, etc.” And then there is the “Honey, who’s taking the kids to school this morning?” Does this sound familiar? Interested in easing the frustration so your day doesn’t start with stress and fatigue before you even get out of the door? Read on for some tried and true tips for making mornings [mostly] stress-free.

What are my top 3 tips for taming the chaos?

1. Organization Station with Weekly Schedules

2. Grab-and-Go Breakfasts

3. Pack lunches and school bags the night before

Tip 1- Create a Family Organization Station

A simple calendar that lists activities, games, pick-up and drop-off schedules for the week helps keep everyone on track. I update it every Sunday with a daily list of who is going where and which driver is responsible for daily pick-ups and drop-offs. If you are interested in how to set it up take a look at my Back to School Preparation post from August.

Family Organization Station, stree free mornings
Create a family organization station for calendar and chores.

Tip 2- Create Grab-and-Go Breakfasts

My youngest has basketball practice at 6:30 AM each weekday. Getting a 13-year old boy up that early is a challenge. What helps is having pre-made ready to go, healthy, and protein-filled breakfast options for him to heat up. He loves the Egg Bites I make in the Instant Pot. Add a piece of fruit and he has a healthy breakfast in under 1 minute; one that he can make himself! My daughter isn’t a big eater in the morning, and I was concerned that her choices were a granola bar and coffee for breakfast (if she ate at all). She likes convenience and carbs, so the solution–protein-packed breakfast muffins. Her favorite muffins are Morning Glory Muffins full of shredded carrots, walnuts, pumpkin, cranberries, apples and I add protein powder for an additional 10 grams of protein. These are low in sugar, and she gets 2 servings of fruits and vegetables. Usually, she eats on in the car on the way to Jazz Band in the morning, or as an after-school snack before weightlifting.

Grab-and-Go- Breakfast Options stree free mornings
Grab-and-Go Breakfast Options

I admit that part of my Sunday is spent in the kitchen making these, but the time and headaches it saves during the week is well worth it!

Tip 3- Pack Everything the Night Before

Grab-and-Go Lunch Options stree free mornings

Calendars and breakfast are great, but let’s be honest and acknowledge that the greatest amount of morning stress comes from when kids forget or cannot find items they need. If you only make one change to your routine it should be this–pack lunches, backpacks, and school bags the night before. This allows you to find missing items, get all completed homework in folders, and have luches in the fridge ready to be grabbed on the way out the door. Put these items in the same place every night so all the kids have to do is grab them on the way out.

Not Just for Kids

These tips are not just for kids. These are strategies that I use each day to help me get out of the house on time. Each evening before I go to bed, I pre-program my coffee pot, pack my lunch, and make sure all of my papers are in my school bag. Chaos Tamed.

Posted in Family Schedules, Healthy Meals, Meal Planning, School and Daily Schedules

Healthy Grab and Go Breakfast Options

Posted on by Denise Lewis
Healthy grab and go breakfast options for the busy family.
Grab and Go Breakfast Options

Grab and Go Breakfast Meal Prep

Are mornings chaotic? Do you have multiple drop-offs before you head to work? Most of us do, so how do you tame the chaos and still offer healthy, protein-filled options for breakfast? Interested? Read on for tips, tricks, and simple meal prep.

So, whoever decided that basketball practice should start at 6:30AM each weekday obviously is not in charge of breakfast and school drop off. It is one thing to get myself out of bed at 5:30 and make breakfast, but it a very different experience to haul a 13-year-old boy out of bed that early. Let’s be honest and acknowledge that a fully cooked, sit down breakfast is probably not going to happen, so what are the options?

Meal prep breakfast for grab and go protein filled options.

This week’s options are eggs, breakfast cookies, pumpkin protein muffins with the addition of fruit.

Eggs

Hard-boiled eggs are great options for a quick, protein-filled breakfast or snack. I make a dozen at the beginning of the week. I make the eggs in the Instant Pot which is the quickest and most convenient way I have ever used. I just add 1 cup of water, stack my eggs, and select the egg setting. When the eggs are finished, do a quick release and then place the eggs in an ice-water bath to stop the cooking.

I also use the instant pot to make Cheesy Egg Bites. You need silicone molds to create these delicious options. Store the eggs in an airtight container in the fringe and your family can microwave 1-2 each morning for a healthy, protein-packed grab-and-go breakfast.

Hard boiled eggs are a great options for protein packed grab and go breakfasts.

A single egg has 7 grams of protein.

Protein Packed Breakfast Cookies and Muffins

Eggs are nice, but my daughter prefers muffins or breakfast cookies. The healthy store-bought options are nice but full of sugar and really expensive. I can make healthy breakfast cookies and muffins for a fraction of the price and with the same or even more protein. This week I made Oatmeal Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cookies. I added ½ cup of Collagen Protein to increase the protein already found in the nut butter. The only sugar found in the cookie is in the chocolate chips. These small, portable cookies are a favorite snack in between school, games and practices in addition to great breakfast options. Don’t tell my kids, but I used pumpkin puree instead of bananas to bind the cookies, so not only are these full of protein but also contain a serving of vegetables.

Protein filled breakfast cookies.
Breakfast Cookies

The other half of the can of pumpkin I used in the muffins. Again, the combination of oatmeal, whole wheat flour, honey, pumpkin, almond milk, and spices makes a delicious, healthy muffin. Like with the Breakfast Cookies, I snuck ½ cup of protein into the recipe to boost the nutrition.

Pumpkin Protein Muffins with fruit.
Healthy Protein Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Meal prep takes a few hours on a Saturday or Sunday, but it saves time on a hectic weekday. These grab-and-go options save time and sanity.

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Meal Prep for the busy family.
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Coffee and Calendars is here to share tips and tricks for organizing modern family life .

Posted in Family Schedules, Meal Planning, School and Daily Schedules

Back-To-School Preparation

Posted on by Denise Lewis
Tips and tricks for getting ready for back-to-school organization.
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Tips and Tricks

It is the last week of summer vacation for me. I’m heading back to the classroom next week.

My district has opted for a hybrid model, so I’ll be navigating both the digital and face-to-face world at the same time. I hesitate to plan beyond September because of the uncertainty around returning to the classroom; this is difficult for a planner like me. So, how am I spending my last week of vacation? Zoom meetings (3 so far) to plan the upcoming school year, trying to decide what to move back into my classroom and what to leave at home, haircuts for everyone, and creating a two-week schedule for my family who will still be at home. Everyone has gotten used to Mom being home all the time, and it will be a shock when I leave for work on Monday, and they have to fend for themselves. I know many parents are in the same situation. How do you transition back to work and school while still maintaining support and accountability for your children? For my family to be organized–I must be organized.  This week I am focusing on setting up monthly and weekly calendars for the family, teaching my son how to complete more complex household chores, and reestablishing academic expectations. 

The next two weeks are a trial run for when the kids go back to school. Let’s be honest; it is also a trial run for my husband to see how he handles being the parent at home full time. We are blessed that he can work from home until January. I am also going to be honest and say that even though he is home, I fully expect my kids to call or Facetime me if they need help. To mitigate that, I’m going to give them select 30 minutes time periods during the day that I will be available for their questions and they can call me if they really are stuck on an assignment. I will build it into my day and then add an hour or two in the evening to finish up my grading and planning.  Is it ideal? No. But what in the year of 2020 is ideal?

I work in one local district and my children attend another, so we are not following the same schedule. I am in the classroom 5 days a week at least until October and they are in the classroom two days a week. We have always had a family calendar, but it highlights big events and not the daily to-do-list. Because I am no longer responsible for most of the daily to-do-list, we needed a family command center that houses the weekly schedules (pick-up, drop-off, football, dance, vet appointments, hair cuts, etc.) and the daily expectations for each child.

Photo by Bich Tran on Pexels.com

The command center houses the new weekly calendar and two chore charts. The calendar lists each activity by day has room for notes and papers. The chore lists are printed lists in a clear plastic sleeve hanging on clipboards. The clear sleeves allow each child to check off the daily chores and then we can wipe them clean each week. I have listed daily, weekly and optional chores for each child. When school starts for the kids I will update the chart and we will create a daily schedule to meet their needs. I like that the charts are reusable and that they can track progress each day.

To get them ready for this new chore chart, I spent a portion of this week teaching my 12-year-old son how to clean bathrooms and to cook some basic dishes. The additional responsibility is good for him and will decrease my stress level.

What is also going to decrease my stress level is my continued meal planning and now lunch meal prepping.

Weekly grab and go lunches for school and work.
Weekly Lunch Prep

Meal prepping is also a time saver during the week. It took me about two hours on Saturday, but I have an entire week’s worth of lunches and snacks prepped for the week. Each evening when I pack my lunch I just need to grab the pre-prepped containers and toss them in my lunch box. Lunch options this week include: Greek Yogurt, Hummus and Pretzels, Cheese and Crackers, and hard-boiled eggs. Snacks and additional lunch items include: sliced carrots and apples, mixed berries, clementines, dark chocolate, popcorn, walnuts, and dried fruit and nut packs.

My weekly meal menu is posted on the fridge and my daughter is increasing her cooking duties to two nights a week instead of only one.

Post a weekly menu so you know what is for dinner each night.
Weekly Menu

My final task before school starts on Monday is to pack my car the evening before. All of my boxes and bins are in the trunk all I have to do on Monday morning is to Mask-Up and grab my purse. 

These pre-planning steps take time, but pay off in the end with the additional time I get to spend with my family each evening. Happy organizing.

Posted in Family Schedules, Healthy Meals, Meal Planning

Why Meal Planning is Essential for Taming the Chaos

Posted on by Denise Lewis
Weekly and daily organization helps keep everyone on time and happy.
Photo by Jess Bailey Designs on Pexels.com

As much as I like to cook, coming home from work or the gym and getting peppered with “What’s for dinner, Mom?” isn’t what I want to hear when I walk through the door. After dropping my bag, I next go stand in front of the fridge and stare–hoping inspiration will strike. Or  I’ll look at a recipe, and find I’m missing an ingredient. How do I avoid this and decrease my stress at the end of the day? A weekly meal plan.

Why Meal Planning is Beneficial

Meal planning is beneficial for many reasons, and for me, it takes the guesswork out of what to make for dinner each night. We are less likely to eat out and more likely to eat healthy if everyone knows ahead of time what is on the menu. Additionally, my meal planning functions as a family calendar and schedule. It helps me choose Slow Cooker meals on nights when my kids have back-to-back activities. A simple meal in the crockpot allows a wholesome and healthy dinner to be ready when we are. Finally, I find meal planning helps me stay within my monthly food budget. When I plan my menu, I also plan my shopping list. I know what I need to purchase and only what I need to purchase. It keeps impulse buys out of my shopping cart, and it keeps us from eating out because we don’t know what to fix for dinner.

Where to Start

Step 1

  • Begin by recording the weekly schedules and activities for your family. I use a small magnetic whiteboard to record all activities and my menu. Why? It allows me to plan for nights I may be busy–a good night for leftovers, sandwiches, or a slow-cooker meal. 

Step 2

  • Check the fridge and freezer.
    • Take stock of what you have and what needs to be eaten in order to avoid waste. Do you have a package of ground turkey in the freezer or a package of asparagus that is getting soft? If so, make a note and plan around those ingredients. 

Step 3

  • Gather your recipes.
    • Browse your favorite cookbooks, magazines, and Pinterest sites. I have several Pinterest boards based on food groups and food types. During the Fall, I use my Slower Cooker Board more often than my Grilling Board, and in the Spring and Summer, we tend to eat more salads and lighter meals. 

Step 4

  • Build your menu

Step 5

  • Make your grocery list and do your shopping for the week.

Step 6

  • Post the menu where you and your family can see it.

Weekly Tips

Sample Menu for July

Knowing the menu each night takes the quess work out of cooking.
Posting the weekly menu and schedule reminds everyone of their responsibilities.

Tips for Monday are to make your quinoa ahead of time. You can also substitute your favorite rice or other grain. If you are in a hurry, there are many 90-second healthy rice options that cut your prep time down. Also, use whatever vegetables you have on hand. I added beets and carrots to our bowls because everyone likes them. Just toss your veggies in a bit of olive oil and roast for about 45 minutes or until tender. I usually set the oven at 425.

Tuesday’s tips include making your pizza dough ahead or keeping a good quality frozen dough in the freezer for Pizza Night. We usually do some sort of flat-bread or pizza once a week, and having the dough in the freezer is helpful. I will often make a double batch of my Whole Wheat Pizza Dough and freeze half for later use. 

Wednesday is pretty straight forward. Season and grill some chicken breasts or tenders and top with your favorite veggies and condiments. Set everything out on the counter and let your family build sandwiches. I added some leftover pesto from Tuesday’s pizza to my sandwich, topped it with sliced tomatoes from my patio garden pots, and finished with a slice of mozzarella cheese. Yum!

Thursday’s meal is my go-to when I forget to plan ahead or if I want a quick vegetarian option. Like Monday’s bowls, the frittata uses any vegetables that I have left at the end of the week. This week we are using up asparagus, zucchini, and tomatoes. I also added fresh basil, thyme, and oregano from my herbs growing in the sunroom. Dried Italian Seasoning also works, or whatever your favorite seasoning combination is. 

Cheat Day is practically a national holiday in our house. It is the one day a week where we eat out for dinner and we allow ourselves to splurge on a dessert or two. That isn’t to say we do not have snacks during the week, but the grown-ups at least try to eat healthy six days a week and then treat ourselves on the seventh. 

Saturday is a great day for a cookout and this week Turkey Burgers are on the menu. You can purchase them pre-made in the fresh or frozen aisle or make your own. I made mine with cheddar, bacon, and BBQ sauce. 

Leftover Day is also a good idea, and you can place it on any day you want. During the school year, Leftover Day seems to be Tuesday. I think it is because I have more time to cook during the weekend and tend to make larger meals with more leftovers. During the summer is rotates. This week it is Sunday because we have been hiking, and the last thing I want to do when I come home after a long, hot hike is to cook, so Leftover Day it is.

Here’s my menu for the week. I have recipes from various sites, cookbooks, and family favorites, so if you are interested in any of these, I suggest looking at Pinterest. You can see that I also have my family activities for the week noted. This helps me know who’s turn it is to cook and when and where we need to be.

Wrap Up

However you design your weekly meals, the planning is what is essential. Knowing what to fix takes the guesswork out of the process at the end of the day. Give it a try. What do you have to lose? Nothing really. And, what do you have to gain? A step in taming the chaos and perhaps even a well-deserved break with your favorite cup of coffee.