As a mother of 3 boys, I understand the challenges faced by parents bringing up children in the world we live in today, so I would like to share some tips and shortcuts that may help to make your life as a parent a little easier and more enjoyable
As a new parent, I often found myself trying to juggle multiple balls at once and, sometimes, I couldn’t help but drop one (or two). I eventually learned that dropping a ball here and there was OK, it’s just part of being human.
To survive the demands of being a working parent, I worked out early on that I had to be extremely well organised and plan ahead. This was particularly important when it came to feeding my family, because eating home cooked meals is what I grew up with and I wanted to raise my sons to have the same (mostly) healthy eating habits that I was taught.
If you don’t have boys, you probably don’t know how much food they can eat, especially in their teenage years – as they say “boys can eat you out of house and home” and ours were no exception. My husband always did the supermarket shopping for the family and, until the boys grew up and started moving out of home (in their 20’s), he would have to go shopping at least twice a week just to keep the fridge stocked with the basics.
I have always been a working mum and had to find ways to prepare meals quickly once I got home after work, or risk having by arms bitten off by my 3 hungry monsters. To do that, I would take shortcuts by making and freezing basics like stock, tomato sauce, Bolognese sauce, soups and chicken schnitzel, so that I had them ready to use. I would also plan meals ahead rather than be tempted to opt for an ‘easy to prepare meal’ (code for takeaway) after a long day at work. Spending half an hour planning our weekday meals on Sunday nights, make a huge difference to getting through my week relatively unscathed and with my arms still in tacked!
Look out for new posts on tips and if you have any tips or shortcuts to share, I’d love to hear them, so please feel free to add a comment.
Meatballs and Muffins 