Small Town Mom Blog., New Routine

- August 24, 2021

And Just Like That.

By: Katina Kennedy

August 24, 2021

Routine Change 1

Lunch bag packing. Raise your hand if you were relieved to get a 3month break from packing your little's lunch. I mean I love my kid, but jeez last school year she was picky. All she wanted for lunch was a hotdog and ketchup (every day, by the way) and cookies. I'm not kidding. Having survived the world of teaching and break room gossiping over the crazy moms who pack the same lunch every day; I didn't want to be the subject of teachers at Grace's school "lunch packing" topic, so I tried other things like pizza and cookies. Not too different than what she was already having, but I didn't want her to go hungry. Anything else I would pack would come back uneaten. The excuse? There was no excuse, only the hardcore truth, "Mommy, I don't like what you made me." This year I decided to include Grace in prepping her lunches. We started with this multi-compartment box, which is also leakproof. We ordered this one on Amazon.com search lunch box container/

leak-proof

Next, I have included Grace in searching through pictures of healthy lunches, deciding on a grocery list, and heading to the market together. This helps because Grace feels like she maintains control of what she eats at school, and I don't have to beg her to please try something new, #Win. She loves to dip things, so we purchased dollar tree mini containers, almond butter, ranch, chick fil ay sauce, and hummus. We cut apples(spray a little bit of lemon juice to keep them looking fresh) carrots, wheat thin crackers, and pretzels. We cleaned a variety of fruits together and used short skewers to make fruit kababs.

Routine Change 2

This year we're going to have a bedtime ritual. Okay, so let's be honest, I made a ritual last year too. The ritual went down fast! Most days we would have activities or church. By the time we would finally get home; Grace was cranky and hungry. I wouldn't have a clue what we were having for dinner and my anxiety would meet my brain at a level 10. This year, I plan to pre-plan simple, healthy meals(even things that can be popped into the oven) We will use a Do Terra diffuser and oils like lavender to create a peaceful environment. Grace usually negotiates her way out of bath time, she likes telling time so we purchased a vintage wind-up clock at a neighborhood estate sale. I plan to set the clock alarm each night to ring at 7:30 bath time. Hope this will be a fun way for Grace to be responsible for bath-time while feeling like she is in charge. We say goodbye to electronics at 8 pm sharp every evening, and read a chapter from Charlotte's Web. The anticipation of what's going to happen next in this reward-winning chapter book is cause for hopping into cozy, lavender-infused sheets for our Grace. We're only at the beginning of the book, and I am already thinking about what we will read next!