My day yesterday:
Up at 6am. Shower, dress. COFFEE. Eat breakfast. COFFEE. Make breakfast for the boys. COFFEE. Empty dishwasher. Get boys up and dressed, hair combed, teeth brushed. While boys eat breakfast, make lunches and pack school bag. Take boys to school. Run to Target, return too big baseball glove. Meet girlfriend at hospital to see new baby. At desk by 10am, work until 3pm. Pick up boys from school. Come home. Play outside. Get t-ball things together. Feed boys (something, anything). Eat the remains off their plates (sandwich crusts and smushed strawberries...mmm...) Hand off little one to Mimi. Run to t-ball with older one. After t-ball, hand off older one to DH (who thankfully made it to t-ball just in time). Go straight from t-ball, sweaty and smelling of bug spray, to neighborhood mom's social. Inhale wine, cheese, crackers, fruit, cookies, and an obscene amount of jelly bellies, probably to the horror of perfectly coiffed and better-smelling ladies who apparently did things like eat and shower before attending a cocktail party. Go home and collapse.
These kinds of days are the ones when I do the worst job meal planning, and yet need it the most. I have no excuse - I knew Tuesday's schedule on Monday, and thus no reason not to get myself a little better organized and at least have a more substantial dinner for myself planned. (I have no qualms about the boys' dinner of pb&j sandwiches and strawberries, it was my own last minute foraging that was totally unsatisfying). But what to make? At a get-away weekend recently, my college roommates (the source of all wisdom in the world) and I were talking about meals on these kinds of days, and the universal conclusion was "cereal." (Except for one, who said her emergency meal is grilled eggplant with tomato sauce and cheese. Um, okay. )
But to me, cereal is just as unsatisfying for dinner as sandwich crusts and squished fruit. I wanted something that could be made ahead of time and thus required no separate preparation that afternoon, simple enough that I would make it even if I were the only one eating it, and satisfying enough to make me feel like I actually ate a real meal. Oh, and it should be at least reasonably healthy (otherwise we could just drive through Wendy's and end all the drama, right?).
It occurs to me that perhaps my standards are too high.
But here's my resolution - next time I know I have a day like that coming up, I'll figure out a better dinner, and then I'll let you know what it is. In the meantime, if you've already figured this out, please share!
