Intentional

Tomorrow I return to work after having 3.5 months off with my sweet baby boy. 

Tomorrow I take Kingston to a daycare provider I've met 2 times.

Tomorrow I become a working mom. 

As hesitant and anxious I am, this is something I have to do for my family and the 'lifestyle' we choose to live. 

When I think about it - I will have about 4 (awake) hours a day with Kingston throughout the week and 12 hours a day on the weekend. When I do the math, that's 44 hours out of the 168 total hours (70 of those he's asleep and 54 he's at daycare) I have with him while he's awake. That's not very much time I get to spend loving on my little man. 

That's why I'm making a commitment and a vow to be intentional with my time. 

The definition of intentional: done on purpose; deliberate. 

Especially for those 4 hours I have with him throughout the week, they are going to have a purpose. 

That means no time with my nose stuck down in my phone. 

That means meal planning so I don't waste precious minutes slaving away in the kitchen. 

That means tidying the house, starting the laundry and loading the dishwasher in the evening after he goes to sleep. 

That means packing our lunches and laying out our clothes at night, so I can get a few more giggles in in the morning. 

My goal is to be deliberate in all of my actions so I can be the best working mom possible.  

Crafting: A Meal Plan

I don't know how some women do it. Take care of kids, make sure the house is clean, or work all day and then immediately come home and cook a healthy, hefty meal. I look up to women who can do all those things, plus more. 

As part of my new years resolution I wanted to become a better cook by cooking more frequently. Hannah, a friend and fellow blogger, just recently started meal planning for her family. What a great idea it is to make this a Sunday night ritual, so you can plan out dinner for the week and know exactly what you need to pick up during your weekly grocery shopping trip. 

I thought this idea would be a perfect for me to try, and hopefully it would help get me organized to make it easier to achieve my resolution. I searched the web for a weekly meal planner, but I ended up make my own version. 

 Free Printable

So far our week is looking like this:

Monday-        Sphaghetti, garlic mashed pototoes, and grilled asparagus

Tuesday-       Help yourself night 

                   (Being a wife of a coach and to someone who has an extreme
                   love for all sports, we attend almost every Wichita Southeast
                   sporting event, so this night we will be watching Basketball.)

Wednesday-  Sausage breakfast pizza

Thursday-     Grilled chicken, salad, & turnips 

Friday-         Leftovers
                  (Basketball night)

Saturday-     Meatloaf, corn bread, green beans, salad

Sunday-       Family night

                  (Every Sunday we usually get together with family after church
                  for a late lunch/early dinner, where we go out to eat or someone
                  hosts dinner)

Usually, I make a dessert at the beginning of the week that lasts the husband and I awhile, but since we are trying to eat more healthy, sweets are a no go these days. In return, we have added another vegetable to almost each of our meals.  

What are your go to meals throughout the week? Feel free to leave me a comment with a recipe or two! I get stuck in a rut of cooking the same things, so I'm always in need of some fresh new ideas.