Do Over!

Do you ever have one of those weeks when you just can't seem to get it together?  You're not sick, nothing major is wrong.  You just. can't. seem. to get. it. together (I put periods in there so you would say it real slow, like Captain Kirk).  Notice I said "one of those weeks" and not "one of those days".  Because for me, it doesn't seem to be a day that is out of whack.  It's all or nothing here.

Recently, I had one of those weeks.  And on Friday I was left shaking my head and thinking, "What the heck just happened?"  And more importantly, "What do I need to do to make sure this doesn't happen again?"

I knew exactly what I needed to do.  I needed to make a list (if you don't know me yet, lists fix everything!). A Sunday checklist. What needs to be done to ensure a smooth week?  What's going to help my mornings run smoothly?  Because seriously, when you are running around like a crazy person in the morning, you are stressed and exhausted by the time you GET to work.  That is no way to start the day.  So if I have to take an hour or so on Sunday and make sure I am ready for my week, it is totally worth it.

Alright...what needs to go on the checklist?  We used to have family meetings on Sunday nights and we have kind of gotten away from that.  That's the first thing that needs to be on my checklist.  Our "meetings" are at dinner (we have even had them at breakfast) and this is just a quick "here's what's going on this week".  It's really taking a look at the calendar together.  This way everyone is on the same page and hubs can't say "I didn't know about that!".  Hopefully this means no surprises for any of us.  This is also a time to make sure I have given girls lunch money and signed any forms that need to be turned in to school that week and find out things like "oh yeah, tomorrow's picture day".  Better to find out at 6 p.m. than 6 a.m., I always say.

Next on the checklist, I need to look over my menu for the week ahead and see if I need any produce.  Once a month grocery shopping can only go so far, so I do have to go back to the store for perishables or things we run out of (If I had room in my frig I would buy 10 creamers and 3 milks at the end of the month!) While I have my master calendar of meals for the month, I also have a cute little chalkboard menu I made on the side of the cupboard.  It was my first Pinterest project (tear).

Once I decide on this week's meals (because I do move them around sometimes), I write them on my cute little chalkboard.  I bring any freezer meals inside (from my outside freezer), so I can easily pull them out at night to thaw.  I also decide on what's for breakfast for the week at this time.  Sometimes I have breakfast meals in the freezer, sometimes I make muffins or pancakes on Sunday.  I have one kid who would rather have cereal for breakfast than anything else.  Go for it.

Next! Check the forecast for the week and have the girls lay out their outfits.  For the whole week.  This was one of the best things I ever started doing.  I have given my girls hooks on the back of their doors for their weekly outfits to hang on. Each night before bed, tomorrow's outfit gets moved to the door handle and socks, shoes, etc are added to it.  In other words, everything is there and we are not looking for anything in the morning.  No one in this house wants to think in the morning.  Least of all, me.  I always say I am going to iron my clothes at night for the next day but, I'm not gonna lie. That never actually happens.  But at least I know what wrinkly thing needs to get ironed in the morning.

Then, we need to take care of after school snacks for the week.  One needs to pack them to bring with her (she's at school with me) and the other just needs to portion them out beforehand.

And last on the list...lunches.  Dun dun dun!  The bain of my existence.  We decide what the girls will be having that week.  Usually there are a few items here that have to get added to the grocery list (fruit) too. Then they pack whatever they can in advance.  You guessed it...for the whole week.

(Insert quick trip to grocery store here)

As for my lunches, I can have leftovers, but sometimes that is a risky game.  There are times when nothing is left over.  It happens.  Sometimes everyone wants it in their lunch and I am so happy, of course I let my kids have it.

This year, I made a discovery.  Jar salads.  Have you tried them?  They are wonderful!  I haven't timed myself but I think they just take about 30 minutes to make.  The thing I love about it is, you make a whole week's worth of lunches in one assembly line and in the morning, you grab a jar and go.

Fantastic.  Add a yogurt or fruit and some crackers and voila!  Lunch is served.  There are tons of "salads in a jar" recipes on Pinterest.  I have loved all the salads I have tried.  Most recipes I have seen give you homemade dressings.  If you don't want to take the time to make your own dressing, of course you can use store bought.  But most of the dressings I have tried are super easy and so delicious!  Give it a try!  I was really skeptical that my salad made on Sunday would taste good on Friday, but it did!

Decide on your salad.  Start by getting out 5 Mason jars and gathering your ingredients.  I like the wide-mouth jars for this job.

Each jar salad recipe gives you the ingredients and the order to put them in (this is clutch).  Make your dressing.  Starting with your dressing, start layering!  I usually put in about 4 t of dressing in the bottom of my jar.

This is an Oriental Mandarin Chicken Salad.  I added some extra ingredients I liked.  If you do that, try to put it with ingredients that are of like consistency.  For example, I added bamboo shoots and water chestnuts and put them right over the mandarin oranges.  Feel free to experiment and substitute!  The basic rule is dressing is on the bottom and lettuce is on the top.

Here are a few of my favs:

Fresh Mozzarella-Tomato-Pasta-and-Spinach Salad  I could NEVER get tired of this one.
Oriental Mandaran, Buffalo Chicken and Southwest Salads 3 Great ones
Strawberry Spinach Salad w Strawberry-Lime Vinaigrette  Love this one too.  Also some other recipes on this site I have not tried yet.
Taco Salad with Cilantro Lime dressing

Check out my board "Make Mine a Salad" on Pinterest for some more jar salad links.  I haven't gotten to try many of them yet!  I'm working on it!  I think I will probably make these in the summer as well.  We are often on the go and when we go, we usually pack lunch.  What would be easier than grabbing my jar?

So...my checklist involved 6 things.  If I can just do these few simple things on Sunday, it makes my week so much easier.  I definitely incorporate my girls in this with me, so this is not even me doing all these things, as much as overseeing much of it.  We all do our own snacks, lunches and clothes.  It gives us some good quality kitchen time too.  I have found this is much less stressful if we do this Sunday morning or early afternoon and not in the evening.  Just sayin'.

Sometimes things just aren't working for you in life.  It might be a routine or a room in your house.  And we may need to take a minute and figure out what's not working.  Seriously, lots of people don't take time any more to think about things.  They are just rushing through life from one thing to another.  Stop and think about what is not working for you and why.  What causes you the most stress during the week and what could you do to make it better?  Sometimes one small change can make a big difference.  While it takes time to be prepared and organized, it pays off.

And if you need a checklist, call me.

It's Never too late for a Do-over!
K