Can we talk about dinner?

DH and I both work full-time and carpool to/from work. Our current evening routine looks like this:

4:30pm Arrive home; play with kiddos a bit before dinner
4:55pm I start working on kiddos dinner
5:10pm LOs eat dinner in highchairs, in kitchen
5:45pm Kiddos are out of highchairs and play with DH while I clean up
6:05pm Bath-time
6:25pm Bedtime snuggles and a book
6:45ish LOs are in bed
6:50pm I start dinner for DH and myself

I REALLY want to get us all eating dinner together...but I don't know how I can prepare dinner for all of us during the week. They are eating "mostly" the same type of food as us, but they are starting to get a little more "toddler-esque" in their habits (and it is going to drive me crazy). I have read Ellyn Satter's books and really believe in her principal of sharing the job of eating. But, I know that we must all be eating together for a lot of her ideas to work.

SO...how do you do it? Should I make dinner the night before and then have it ready to heat-up? Should we consider doing baths every-other-night?

What works for you?? Thanks

 

I'm really interested to know about this too. Right now the boys go down about 6PM, and my husband isn't close to being ready for dinner before then.

 

We're in the same situation and we just recently starting eating dinner with them. It's tough, but we have to come up with something really fast & easy for us---like some of those microwaveable meals or leftovers from the weekend or even sandwiches. We don't always succeed in doing this every day though. If we don't have anything that's quick & easy to make...or if we just don't feeling like rushing through our dinner....then we just feed them & eat our dinner later. It's kind of crazy, but I just remind myself that it won't be this way forever.

 

My mom worked two jobs when I was younger (still does) and she would make dinners ahead of time during the weekend. She picked two nights, one night on the weekend where she made 3 dinners and another night that she had off to make the other dinners...she also did leftovers as well, so we could eat together as a family. I also do not see the harm in doing baths every other night as well. Do what works best for your family :hug: Good luck!

 

Depending on my DH's work schedule, sometimes we eat together and other times they eat first and we eat after we put them to bed. On the nights that we eat together, I give them a snack a bit later than I usually would so they can hang in there until 6. Then we all eat, play for a bit, and either skip the bath or do a quick shower (mine love showers, though...wouldn't work if they were afraid of the water that way!). If DH will be running later than 6, I just feed them at around 5:30 and worry about us after they are in bed. Probably not the healthiest way to do things since we end up eating at 8, but it works. I like it when we all eat at the table, though, because it really does make them want to eat what we're eating and use their forks and plate.

If I were you, I'd try to prepare meals ahead of time a fwe nights a week just to see how it goes. Even eating a few meals with you at the table would probably be fun for all of you. On the nights where you're too busy or too tired to get it done in advance, do it the way you're doing it now.

 

We have almost the exact same schedule, but eat together. I usually prepare stuff over the weekend and just reheat them, or make dishes that are ready to eat between 5-5:30pm (varies day by day). We all eat together, and then follow your same routine of baths and then bedtime. If I see the girls are a bit cranky when we get home, I give them a small snack like raisins or something to occupy them until dinner is ready. If they are eating almost the same thing as you, I would suggest just planning meals, trying to prepare ahead of time, etc...hope this helps some.

 

I get home with the kids around 5 pm and DH just started a new job where he gets home around 6 pm. I usually give the kids a snack when I get the younger 2 from daycare (around 4:30/4:45) and then we eat around 6 pm. Sometimes I can't hold the kids off until DH gets home, but he gets home while they are still eating and sits down with us. I've been making some of my stuff the night before. So, tonight I cooked up the meat for spaghetti for tomorrow night. When I get home, the kids can play a bit. Then, all I need to do is make the pasta and heat up the meat and add sauce. Easy. I've also been doing more crock pot meals so it's all ready when we get home. Tomorrow night I'm going to make up a meatloaf for Tues. night. This seems to be working for us. We also give the kids baths every other night. Sometimes if I can fit one bath in before dinner, I'll do that so that there is only one needed after dinner. I am also home on Tues/Thurs, so I try to make that bath day and I can give them a bath anytime during the day. I know that doesn't help you since it sounds like you work M-F, but if you can go to an every other day, it might be helpful. Good luck. It's hard to get a good schedule going. Seems like it always needs tweeking.

 

I would re-arrange your schedule to look like this:

4:30pm Arrive home; start working on dinner for everyone. Dh & I will usually play music and work on things together while playing or involving the kids
5:30pm everyone eat dinner
6:00pm Bath-time with one parent, the other parent cleans up after dinner
6:25pm a little bit of playtime, books and snuggles for everyone!
7:00pm LOs in bed

Would that work? thats pretty much what happens at our house

 

one word - slowcooker! that's the magic worker in our house. i usually throw something in in the morning & voila! warm food for everyone at dinner time. i also use a lot of the recipes from The Big Cook cook book. although, i don't usually make as much as they do at one time. i usually do enough for about 8 - 10 meals at a time. also, whenever i cook anything, i make a double (or more) batch & freeze the leftovers. voila! quick meals when needed. GL!

 

I'd try to push their schedule a bit so you can all eat together at 5.30pm and just make food for everyone and not just the kids.

We're a bit in the same situation except dh only comes home at 6pm so there's no way we can eat together. The times I've made food for all of us it was cold by the time he got home and kids were starving... so we eat after they are in bed too.

 

We were pretty much on the same exact schedule as you up until about 3 months ago. First of all, making a menu for the week totally helps!!! It lets you know exactly what you need to do ... this way if you do want to cook something for the entire family, you can prep stuff the night before, and just pop it in the oven when you get home. We also use the slow cooker a lot ... this way dinner is ready when we get home.

I also would go to baths every other night ... My pedi always said doing baths every night is overkill and can dry out the skin. So unless they need it (messy day at daycare) I would go to every other night.

 

Thanks for all the great suggestions, ladies! We did our first family dinner last night (Sunday) and it went over so well that I am encouraged to keep trying!! We even walked in the door from errands around 5:15, and I still had everyone to the table by 5:30pm (granted, I just heated up left-overs, but it worked!). The kiddos seemed okay with a later dinner and ate so much better!

I think my biggest worry is that I will miss out on playing/hanging with them...I already feel like I never see them <_< I hate the idea of walking in the door, kissing the kiddos and then heading straight into the kitchen to start dinner. We have an open floor plan, so they do end up spending time in the family room while I prep the meal. I know they are almost at an age when they might be able to "help" in the kitchen (instead of trying to pull things off the counter, or running to climb in the fridge the moment I pull it open!).

And I like the crockpot idea...I have one that is large (6qt.), but it keeps burning food (thankfully we have someone home all day to keep an eye on it)! I think I need to invest in another one...I will take any suggestions!

 

Glad you had a successful family dinner! For me it has always been very important to eat together if at all possible, so we arrange our schedules around it. I'm fortunate enough to have a caregiver come to my home, so she does baths every other day and I don't have to worry about that.

DH gets home before me, so he plays with the boys and gives them a small snack so they can make it until I get home. We make meals pretty simple; soup and sammie, burgers, leftovers from weekend cooking, occasional take-out. This makes meal prep easier since they are into EVERYTHING. If they're getting cranky or disruptive in the kitchen, either DH or I will take them into the living room to play so the other can continue fixing dinner. If dinner is very close to being ready, we'll confine them in their highchairs for 5-10 minutes with milk sippies and a few crackers to keep them busy. We usually eat around 6:30.

They eat almost everything we eat, unless it's something very spicy or something like soup (they don't use utensils yet). After dinner is play time, then bedtime routine starts at 8pm. We wake them at 7:30am for breakfast as a family, so they get about 11 hours most nights.

I've made a lot of changes and adjustments in my life since having children, but family meals are the one thing where I wanted *them* to adjust to our lives. A lot of times it's hectic (I don't sit down a lot), but it's mostly very satisfying.

Enjoy!