Tuesday, January 24, 2017

When The Kids Take Over


As most of you know I am recuperating from a lower back strain injury.  For those who suffer with chronic back pain my heart goes out to you.  I can only imagine what living with that kind of discomfort day in and day out must be like.  For me, I know this is only temporary and if I behave myself I'll get past this and be good as new.  I say behave because I am a very impatient patient. 

To make sure I behave the girls took over.  My job has been to take care of myself and manage getting to work and working through each day and fortunately I have been able to successfully do that.  It would seriously mess with our finances if I had to be off work for a prolonged length of time.  The two days I did miss were covered by sick leave, but I didn't want to use up all of that either.  So I've had a lot of incentive to behave.

Homemade Mongolian BBQ

The girls pretty much ran the show.  I think I only washed two small loads of dishes and folded one load of clothes all week.  Other than that they did the rest.

Initially we had quite a bit of food I had prepared ahead in anticipation of a possible ice storm with power outages.  That kept us quite well through that first week.  Then after a week it was time to start preparing meals again.

Chili dogs!  Yum!

Last Monday they made a list and we went to Fred Meyer so they could pick up some stuff to prepare meals.  I pushed the cart and they did the shopping.  They did a fantastic job too.  With $25 they picked out items I would expect them to like chips and frozen pizza, but they also picked out healthy things too like a veggie tray and some mushrooms on markdown, a bunch of bananas and whole wheat hotdog and hamburger buns.  They compared prices and sought out sales.  I was so proud.

Mushroom burger & tater tots.  That was one awesome burger!

Here is what they prepared:

Sunday:  Homemade Mongolian BBQ (stir fried noodles with veggies and shrimp)
Monday:  Frozen pizza and salad
Tuesday:  Chili dogs and chips
Wednesday:  Mushroom burgers and tater tots
Thursday:  Mongolian BBQ (it was that good we needed a repeat!)
Friday:  Grilled Tuna Sandwiches, veggies and dip
Saturday:  Homemade veggie pizzas on whole wheat crust


They put everything away when we got home and I loved how they worked together as a team to decide who was going to prepare certain things.  One day my youngest made the salad and the oldest the main course and then they would switch.  They also took turns washing dishes and putting food away after we ate.  It was really good for them.

Veggie pizza ready for the oven.  My youngest did a great job chopping everything.

By Saturday I was doing much better and able to make pizza dough and help assemble the pizzas.  Everything they prepared was delicious, well rounded and pretty darn nutritious.  I was super proud of them.



18 comments:

  1. How wonderful that they were able to take over for you. To be honest the meals sound pretty darn good! Take care of yourself and hoping you feel much better soon!

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  2. I'm sorry you are dealing with back pain. It is awful. I finally had back surgery and it was the best decision for me. L4 and L5 discs, degenerative disc disease and arthritis in my spine.
    Please be careful from now on as it won't take much to bother it again.
    BTW your daughters are doing a great job!

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  3. Sorry about your back, did shoveling snow have anything to do with this:)

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    Replies
    1. Oh yes. Three weeks of steady shoveling at our house, my elderly neighbor's house and unsticking two stuck cars took its toll on me. What a crazy winter!

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  4. Would your girls share the Mongolian Beef and Noodles Recipe?

    Saryn

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    Replies
    1. I'll see what I can do. It's one of those "little of this little of that" scenarios. But boy, it is good!

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  5. You are teaching them such wonderful life skills. I'm sure you are super proud of them but think how proud they are of themselves! You have amazing beautiful girls and have raised them well. Take care.

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  6. I'm way behind on my blog reading as usual. I am so sorry to hear that you hurt your back. As someone who lives with Chronic pain, in my back and other areas, I really do feel for you. Your girls did an amazing job doing the shopping, cooking and taking care of you. I would be so proud too!

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    Replies
    1. They have been true rockstars!! You take care of yourself too.

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  7. I recently found your blog and have been reading through it. Your ways of saving money and meal planning are inspiring me to get with it and start planning better. Thanks for sharing

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  8. Looks like you have some great kids! Glad they were/are able to pitch in while Mom is down. : )

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  9. Your daughters are doing an awesome job! That Mongolian BBQ looks wonderful and chili dogs are a favorite of mine! Well done, girls, and Mom, too. :) Hope you feel better, soon.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you. Every day is better. Not much longer and I'll be back at it, I'm sure. :)

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