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October 2011 Moms
Scramblersmom
member
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Odd Confession
Scramblersmom
member
I went back to work full-time when DS was only 6 weeks old. Even though I was home alone with DS for 6 weeks during the day, DH, DS and I have always been together in the evenings. Last night DH was at his counseling/treatment and didn't get home until after 9:00 PM. It was the first time I was alone with DS all evening, and I was a bit nervous about how it would go, but it actually went quite well. I know many of you ladies take care of your LO alone all of the time but it was just new for me.
My biggest concern was wondering how I would get dinner made and deal with the evening chores without anyone to watch DS. Usually when I am cooking DS wants to be held, and when I tell him I can't because I am cooking, he will start crying. We didn't have any issues with that last night.
I do have another confession...What I had planned for dinner wasn't going to work because we got home too late and I wouldn't have been able to have dinner ready until almost 8:00. I decided to make a run through the McDonald's drive thru. When we got home I cut up DS's burger and some fries and gave him some pears too. All he ate was the fries and pears. I need to plan a little better when DH will be gone. 
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Re: Odd Confession
I'm sure that won't be the first or last time he eats a McDonalds lol.
We have cold quick stuff for nights like that. Chopped veggies and fruit, shredded or cubed cheese, yogurt, pepperoni, pasta, chicken.
As for keeping LO occupied while you are cooking, that can be a challenge. DD usually either plays in her kitchen which is next to mine or plays with a bunch of animal refrigerator magnets and puts them in Tupperware, pots, and pans.
I hate to cook. Hate it. Jonny does....95% of the cooking. We keep a stock of frozen stuff for nights he works late. Trader Joe's has frozen mashed sweet potatoes (the only ingredient is sweet potatoes). I toss five or six pucks into a pyrex dish, cover, and microwave for 2 minutes. Then I fill another pyrex with frozen veggies (we get TJ's organic foursome, which is green beans, peas, carrots, and corn), add a couple teaspoons of water, cover, microwave for 1.5 minutes. Add a pile of cold kidney beans and a cup of milk, and dinner is done in less than five minutes.
I am definitely keeping all of these quick dinner fixes so we don't have to do McD's again! My biggest issue last night was that I was planning on picking him up from daycare about 1.5 hours earlier but couldn't because I had to work later than expected. That threw my whole dinner plan off. We have a large freezer in our unfinished basement with a ton of stuff in it, including some Trader Joe's frozen dinners, but I don't want to take DS down there nor do I want to leave him unattended while I run down there.
After reading your posts and suggestions this morning I ran down to the freezer while DH was home and grabbed a bunch of stuff to keep in the freezer upstairs. Between your recs for quick meals, playtime ideas while making dinner, and the stuff I brought upstairs it should hopefully go OK without resorting to McD's!
Overture, that sounds like a very well balanced meal and that is great that it is done in 5 minutes! I am definitely keeping that idea on hand too!
We have this also! Definitely keeps the kiddos occupied while I'm cooking dinner. I also gave them a kitchen drawer to keep toys in so when they are in the kitchen they always have something to play with. Dinner time is actually a time of day that I enjoy because the kids are happy to play in the kitchen, and I'm busy cooking.
As for McDonald, meh. It happens! My kids have had it before and will have it again. Pizza is a go to whenever we are running late for dinner.
Where did you buy this? I have been looking for one! They used to also have one that was half body parts of farm animals that you would put in the big piece and it would say the name of the animal and make the sound...I cannot find that one anywhere. My former nanny kids and my cousins kid have it and love it.
As for McDonalds...that's NBD.
That fridge phonics toy does look very cool! I think I should check into getting it. I also think that I should definitely bring some toys for DS into the kitchen (maybe his pot and pans and play food) so he can keep himself entertained while I cook.
I am definitely learning that I am a little too uptight about what my kid eats. My Mom worked full time after we were old enough to start school and she tended to either get a lot of take out or make a lot of hamburger helper, or crappy frozen or canned foods. I know she was exhausted when she got home and cooking isn't her favorite thing so I am not flaming my Mom for doing what she could handle. However, I really like to cook and I always wanted to provide DS with fresh, healthy, 3 course dinners every night. I didn't want to take the same route as my Mom. It has become clear to me that I am too uptight about DS's meals and I need to stop worrying so much about the occasional fast food. As long as most of his meals are balanced and healthy an occasional trip to McD's isn't going to damage him!