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Over the years, I’ve gotten a number of family cookbooks, and this one from Weelicious is one of my favorites (and her newsletter is also wonderful). I have one that wanted me to make pasta for 12, and another that told me to cook parsnips, which just aren’t readily available where we live. This one had the fewest problems like that and the most reliably yummy food that my whole family enjoys. At Amazon, it’s $15 for the hardcover and $8 for Kindle (includes audio/video). Weelicious: 140 Fast, Fresh, and Easy Recipes This post contains affiliate links and CorporetteMoms may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!Sales of note for 3.28.24
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And — here are some of our latest threadjacks of interest – working mom questions asked by the commenters!
- If you’re a working parent of an infant with low sleep needs, how do you function at work when you’re in the throes of baby’s sleep regression?
- Should I cut my childcare down to 12 hours a month if I work from home?
- Will my baby have speech delays if we raise her bilingual?
- Has anyone given birth in a teaching hospital?
- My child eats everything, and my friends’ kids do not – how should I handle? In general, what is the best way to handle when your child has some skill/ability and your friend’s child doesn’t have that skill/ability?
- ADHD moms, give me your tips to help with things like behavior in the classroom, attention to detail, etc?
- I think I suffer from mom rage…
- My husband and kids are gone this weekend – how should I enjoy my free time?
- I’m struggling to be compassionate with a SAHM friend who complains she doesn’t have enough hours of childcare.
- If you exclusively formula fed, what tips do you have for in the hospital and coming home?
- Could I take my 4-yo and 8-yo on a 7-8 day trip to Paris, Lyon, and Madrid?
AIMS says
Ooh, I love cookbook recommendations. I’m currently working my way through the new Smitten Kitchen book and looking forward to the new Cravings cookbook coming out. For family recipes, I got a used copy of Ina Garten’s Family Style at a library book sale, which is pretty great, especially the birthday cake recipe. But, Kat, Brooklyn is chock full of parsnips!
Cb says
I’ve just ordered a vegetarian bowls cookbook and am looking at Pretty Simple Cooks.
Anon says
I love the party cake builder from the new SK book. I make my new baby a little cake (really I make us a cake since we are saving her first taste of cake for 1 year) every month and that has been awesome. PS, a 6 inch round holds half the batter of a 9 inch round, so you can make a little two-layer 6 inch cake instead of a flat 9 incher. For our small household, this has greatly increased my willingness to make cake, since we (sadly) don’t eat enough of it for a full-size cake recipe to not go to waste.
I also swear by the 1999 Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook (out of print, but available used). I can’t speak to the new edition, but the old edition is pretty much my cooking bible and I have never made anything bad from there.
ER says
I love to cook and I’m currently working through Dinner by Melissa Clark. Great, practical recipes with realistic prep/cooking times.
Anon says
I like the Weelicious website/blog. The homemade chicken nuggets are awesome. I’ve found the recipes are either great or giant flops. No average. But enough are great that I keep going back. My biggest complaint about the Weelicious recipes is that I think they are very low and inaccurate on their time estimates. I cook a lot and like to think I’m fairly good at it, but it always takes me twice as long to make something as they estimate.
Anon says
Threadjack. Husband and I are looking to shake up our boring weekday night dinners as we have gotten in a rut lately. We tried Blue Apron years ago but found the recipes took too long for us. Has anyone done a compare and contrast on all the different food services out there? I tried to search the archives but only found a post from about 3-4 years ago. TIA!
HSAL says
I did Blue Apron and didn’t love it – the recipes were a little too exotic for us and they took a long time to make. I wasn’t a fan of Freshly, but I can see how it’d be good if you were always pressed for time – they’re fresh, prepared microwavable meals. Hello Fresh has been my favorite. The recipes generally took a little longer than what they estimate, but they were really delicious and it definitely gave us new things to try on our own. We quit because of cost/difficulty in getting all three meals made before things went bad, but apparently they recently started offering just two meals a week instead of three, so we might go back.
anne-on says
Plated was my favorite, but we really like ethnic recipes, so I can see that being a turn off if you prefer more straightforward food. My biggest suggestion is to read the recipe card first, mentally figure out the order, and then cook in a way that makes that fastest. I could easily shave 10 minutes off the estimated prep time by doing things as I went instead of prepping every.single.thing first.
Anon in NYC says
The nice thing about Plated is that you could get ethnic or also more simple flavors. We liked Blue Apron’s vegetarian meals – at the time there was an emphasis on Asian flavors, which we are huge fans of. We also liked Plated a lot because there was a greater variety to choose from. My inlaws, who prefer more straightforward food, prefer Plated.
anon says
how do you define “ethnic food”?
anne-on says
Basically all the good takeout I can’t readily get in the burbs – thai, greek, spanish, a few jewish dishes (smoked salmon pizza – yum!) nothing earth shattering w/r/t Mexican but they did have some lighter takes that I appreciated (ie – I never would have thoughts about chopping cauliflower and carrots up to add to burrito filling but its a great way to get some more veggies into a recipe!). I will credit plated with teaching me to make a very passable homemade pad thai, drunken noodles, and ramen. They did supply excellent fresh noodles.
Anonymous says
DH and I don’t have time to cook, so we use Territory. Really love it– super healthy, variety of cuisines, and delicious.
Pigpen's Mama says
We just started Territory this week — so stress relieving and the food was pretty good!
AwayEmily says
I have been a CookSmarts subscriber for several years. It’s a $7 a month recipe service, not a food delivery service, but has lots of features to make life easier. My favorite is that once you select the recipes you want to make that week (you can choose the weekly ones or any from the archives), it automatically generates (1) a grocery list with everything you need from the recipes and (2) a list of “weekend prep” you can do if you are so inclined.
I would say 25% of the recipes are GREAT, 50% of them are very good, and 25% of them are edible but we wouldn’t eat them again. And you can always choose between paleo/veg/regular versions of each recipe.
Having done both the Blue Apron type stuff and CookSmarts, I very much prefer the latter. It gives me most of the advantages of a meal delivery service (not having to think about what we’re going to make that week, recipes that are really quick to make, exposure to new dishes) and very few of the disadvantages (high cost, worry about wasting food if you don’t end up having time to make something). I imagine that CookSmarts would be even better if you had grocery delivery in your area (sadly, we do not).
Sarabeth says
Similarly, we use Mealime, which is a free app. With grocery delivery, it’s 80% of the benefit of Blue Apron for half the cost (just pay the actual grocery store price for ingredients). Especially for vegetarian food, the markup on all the meal delivery stuff is so high that it’s hard to justify. Plus the environmental impact of the delivery and packaging.
AIMS says
BA has simplified their recipes and gives more choices these days if you want to try again. I’d say most can be about 30-40 min, some less. They mark the quick cook ones. I’ve also tried HelloFesh and find those a bit simpler. My issue with that one is you can’t choose both veggie and non options, and for veggie it’s always only three options, which sucks if you don’t like those 3.
Plated is also good and offers more flexibility – you can choose the number of servings and which meals you want but if I recall it’s one of the more expensive of these.
HSAL says
Twin moms – carrier recommendations? With my first we had a Moby (my husband mainly used that), a sling (seldom used), and a Tula (my favorite by far). I’m open to the Weego or the Twingo if they’re worth it, but right now I’m thinking a K’tan (so I don’t have to fiddle with the wrapping) or a Nesting Days carrier. They both seem to work for twins, even if they’re not officially approved for it. I tried the Nesting Days with my first and she hated it, but I have a friend with twins who wore one of them in there for like two months, so it seems like it might be worth another try.
Cb says
No recommendations but I couldn’t visualise how this worked (one on front, one on back??) so google imaged and oh my goodness, double cuteness!
avocado says
Adorable, but wow those mamas must have strong backs!
AwayEmily says
I am not a twin mom but I really love our K’tan — it’s just so fast/easy.
Anon says
Also not a twin mom, but I loved the K’tan until about 3 months, and it really helped build confidence in babywearing. After that, it just didn’t feel supportive enough for my big baby. We now use a Lillebaby for my 24 pound 7 month old and I love it. She also loves being able to face out when she wants to engage with the world and facing in when she is tired or fussy. Took it on vacation and my sisters both wore the baby in it too. We got the extension strap for my husband to wear her, but haven’t tried that yet.
Anonymous says
Weego was a hit with DH. I found my chest wasn’t broad enough once they got bigger. I only used the Weego up to about 4 months and then they were too heavy to carry both on the front. From 4-8 months I mainly wore one at a time on the front in an ergo. Around 8 months I figured out the tandem thing and used 2 ergos to wear one front and one back. I was able to do that until about age 2. Now I have a toddler tula for one at a time wearing on my back (age 3.5).
I found being able to wear one at a time very useful. Allowed me to have phyiscal closeness with one twin while helping (e.g. bottle feeding/diaper changing/solids feeding) the other.
BC says
Honestly, as a twin mom, I find the double carriers to be really impractical. Maybe it suits someone else’s life better, but it could only work size-wise when they’re really tiny and I’m sorry to say, I just wasn’t going many places with them at that age for a million other reasons (like all the crap I had to haul around in addition to the actual babies and the fact that I EPed so I was always trudging back to the pump). I liked having the single carrier to wear one at a time, either while doing light housework or on the go with the other in a stroller/ snap n go.
HSAL says
This is really helpful, thanks!
anon says
I’m also expecting twins and this is my thought. If I am home with them myself I do not think I’m going to feel confident enough (these are my first) to safely put both in a carrier and carry them around and I don’t anticipate going too many places at the beginning. Plus what if one likes the carrier and one doesn’t – then the carriers won’t balance properly. I plan on getting one to use early on, like a K’tan and then 2 Ergos so my husband and I can each carry one sometimes.
Pogo says
Since you mentioned the carriers we have, a general note: K’tan is sized based on who is wearing is, so DH will probably need a bigger size if you both want to use it (meaning, 2 K’tans even if you only had one baby). Additionally, both K’tan and Ergo can go from teeny tiny to toddler depending on how you wear them. So we decided we’d get the K’tan in my size (small) and the Ergo. For newborns, there is an Ergo insert you can get and we did use that. You could start off with K’tan in your size and Ergo + insert, and you and DH could both carry them from the start. Then if you really want 2 Ergos you can shell out the bucks.
We wore LO so so much in the early weeks, even though we weren’t going anywhere. It really soothed him and the skin to skin is so beneficial. You never know, you and DH might end up each wearing a baby early on! DH was able to get plenty of work done (taking calls, working on his laptop) with LO in the Ergo.
AwayEmily says
We are carrier twins (K’tan + Ergo). We did the “folded up blanket” hack instead of getting the infant insert, though.
Anonymous says
I also have twins and did not double-wear for this reason– it would have only worked when they were itsy-bitsy, at that age I was always pumping, and it was just easier to use a stroller when shopping (we got a Joovy Roo and the bottom basket held all our groceries). I did get a K’Tan and liked it the best– we had two Ergos so my husband and I could each wear, but they never took to those like the did the K’Tan.
Twin Mom says
Yes, as another twin mom I agree with this. The twin carriers seemed really impracticable. I carried them individually in an ergo for one on one time around the house. Occasionally I carried one and pushed the other in a single stroller for walks, but for outings I used our snap and go stroller.
Anonymous says
I just found out I’m pregnant! I haven’t told anyone in real life (other than DH) but just needed to say it out in the world. I’m overwhelmed and terrified and excited. I am trying not to put too much of my anxiety on DH because he just lost a parent and is grieving.
It’s also a super busy time for me at work– I seriously don’t know how I’m going to be able to concentrate!
Boston Legal Eagle says
Congratulations!! Feel free to air your anxieties here – I’ve found this to be such a supportive community.
I would say have some wine to celebrate, but obviously for now maybe have some chocolate (if you like it) instead :)
Cb says
Congrats! Sometimes the baby makes you a bit more focused. I knew there were things I wanted to achieve before baby got here and that served as an added incentive (handed in PhD at 37 weeks)
EB0220 says
+1 I have never been more productive than when I was racing to finish my dissertation before my first came.
Cb says
Right? I mean it is riddled with typos but it is written and defended!
Baby was then 2 weeks late and I ran out of things to do…
AwayEmily says
Yay congratulations!!!
EB0220 says
Congrats!! This is definitely a great place to celebrate or vent when you’re not quite ready to share in real life!
avocado says
Husband has requested that I cut down on the “weird complicated hippie food” and start serving more straightforward dishes that get on the table fast. What he really wants is for me to serve hot dogs every night because kiddo will reliably eat those, but that’s not going to happen. Has anyone tried the cookbook Dinner: A Love Story or The Mom 100 for this sort of thing?
Cb says
Said with no snark intended but if he’s this invested, maybe it his turn to meal plan/cook?
avocado says
But then I would have to wash the dishes. And I hate washing dishes.
Anon says
There’s a middle ground. Can you cook together, so meals get on the table faster, and then you BOTH wash dishes? One washes, one dries? And alternate who does the meal plan and grocery shopping for the week, so you get one week of food you prefer and he gets one week of food he prefers. Agree on some ground rules ahead of time, like at least one fruit or veggie at each meal, can’t eat the same thing two days in a row, etc. Try that for a month, see how you both like it, and then reassess.
Anon says
There is certainly a middle ground, but how much you can do together often depends on the age of your kids. We’re at a point where one of us can be in the kitchen and the other is usually tending to kiddo.
Hubby and I rotate dishes regardless of who cooks. They’re separate, unrelated chores in our house. I usually cook for lots of logistical and preference reasons.
mascot says
I have the Dinner A LoveStory cookbook and it’s pretty good (her website is also robust). Her philosophy on family meals was making them in parts that could be easily separated out for less adventurous palates. I don’t know that this is a straight up cookbook problem or more of a parent pressures and expectations problem (which DALS does touch on). How old is your kid? I think there is a lot of value in repeated exposure to less favored foods to keep broad exposure for kids. If you and your husband enjoy certain foods, maybe split the kids meal between some of those foods and tried and trusted components. If kiddo can’t wait for dinner to be ready, could you offer an appetizer plate with veggies and a little fruit? Then serve your regular dinner and if you don’t get extra veggies in, well, you had success at the appetizer portion. And yes, let your husband take charge of some meals.
avocado says
Kid is 11 and we already do a lot of “deconstructed” meals, so Dinner: A Love Story might help out with that. She is more than just a picky eater–I think she could probably be diagnosed as a resistant eater with sensory issues, so repeated exposure is not working out for us. But the menu issue is also about husband’s preferences. He doesn’t love all the rice bowls, vegetarian dishes, and ethnic-inspired foods I like to cook and just wants a plate of meat and potatoes like he ate growing up, which I can’t stand. So I guess I am looking for some sort of middle ground with less “exotic” recipes that still have some flavor and vegetable content.
Anonymous says
You can’t do roasted chicken thighs and potatoes Monday, shredded leftover chicken turned into tacos Tuesday, salmon and green beans Wednesday , spaghetti and meatballs Thursday and take out Friday?
Meat and potatoes doesn’t have to be boring and I can see him thinking it’s a waste of time for you to be spending an hour cooking something only you will eat every night
mascot says
Gotcha-I was thinking you had a little kid. So DALS also has the Dinner a Playbook book out, I haven’t read it yet, but it sounds interesting. Can your kid help out with cooking? I feel you on the husband thing- mine is so much more adventurous than he used to be. But, he has a hard time accepting dinners that don’t have a meat in them as a protein. We compromise on having one meatless meal a week (he doesn’t realize I plan it this way) and one seafood meal.
avocado says
Ha ha, I think my husband just figured out my planning formula (two veggie, one seafood, no more than three poultry; one pasta/Italian, one Mexican, one Asian- or Indian-style). The Playbook definitely looks interesting.
Kid will sometimes help plan and cook a meal on the weekends, but during the week it’s a divide-and-conquer situation. I typically cook while husband picks up kid.
Meg Murry says
Could you focus on the “faster to the table” part and turn a blind eye to the “weird hippie food” part? This has become a point of contention between my husband and I – he eats a big, sometimes late lunch, while the kids and I have much less for lunch and would happily eat dinner at 5:00 or 5:30 if that was an option, while he would be perfectly content not to eat until 6:30 or 7. I’ve been trying to do more weekend and night before prep so that “making dinner” after work is ideally mostly heating together final components rather than cooking from scratch starting after we all get home. That’s in an ideal world – in reality I often give in and my kids have mac & cheese or pasta with a side of chicken or tuna and some raw carrots because they know it can be ready quickly and that’s what they beg for.
Or could you at least rotate in one day a week of “old school American” style food as a compromise to him? Or swap cooking and kid pickup one night a week – make him in charge of Wednesdays, for instance?
Anon says
This is kind of what we do. I want my 3 year old’s dinner to somewhat resemble ours, but, for example, he won’t eat gnocchi so I made him pasta instead and used the same sauce on both. Or when we have salad, I’ll give him the strawberries, cheese, and chicken that we put on ours.
AwayEmily says
I got Dinner: A Love Story from our library (Kindle version), so maybe see if it’s available at yours so you can try before you buy? I think it’d be good for what you are talking about.
Anon in NYC says
What sort of food do you like to cook / what sort of food will your daughter eat? And how much prep time are you willing to do in advance? I personally have really enjoyed the Melissa Clark cookbook Dinner – some stuff is super easy and is done in 30-45 minutes. Other stuff requires more advance prep. Also, I think Gwyenth Paltrow’s It’s All Good cookbook has a lot of kid friendly recipes that are also pretty healthy (although I adjust her recipes for what’s in my pantry, so I use regular all purpose flour instead of whatever gluten free flour she uses, I use regular mayo instead of veganaise, etc.)
Anonymous says
We solved with a three week meal plan rotation – some foods are used more than once. We have an assigned meal and an assigned cook. DH cooks to his talents/likes and I cook mine. Each meal has two veggies (chopped up fresh veggies counts), a protein and a carb. We also pre-plan to order take out once a week and we rotate who gets to pick where we order from.
Might be too boring/organized for some but I included a ‘random new thing night’ so I’m motivated to try a new receipe once every three weeks. Plus we don’t fight about what’s for dinner or what we need at the grocery store anymore.
Pogo says
+1 to two veggies, a protein and a carb. That’s what “meat and potatoes” means, really.
In our house, I’m avocado’s husband. I would love to just stick some salmon in the toaster oven, steam some veggies and slice a baguette every night. Takes 20min and it’s healthy and delicious. My husband is the one who wants fancy schmancy stuff from America’s Test Kitchen (but he also will cook, which is fine with me).
Anon says
+1 on cooking to each other’s strengths. Hubby makes certain dishes in our house and does nearly all weekend lunches. He doesn’t have a huge bag of tricks, but makes pancakes, waffles, and mac and cheese better than anyone I know.
Meiqi says
I like the weeknight section of Cooking Light. Those recipes generally turn out for me and really do only take 30-45 min to make. And for me (I cook often), it only takes that long because I am constantly distracted by small children under foot.
avocado says
I get a ton of recipes out of that section too. The Cooking Light “Let’s Cook” series is pretty good too. A few of those, including the one-pot pasta bake and the black bean burgers, have made it into my regular rotation.
Jane says
I dropped the ball on figuring out taxes, etc for my nanny and realize now I’ve got to give her the paperwork. She started working for us at the end of last year, and I’ve just been paying her cash, with the intent of figuring out taxes at some point – and never did. Any advice? Should I just see an accountant?
Anonymous says
Uhhhh I think at this point you accept you paid her under the table last year and fix it going forward? You’ve done it all wrong and now you want to saddle her with major last minute tax liability?
Anonymous says
I think Jane would be paying her employer and the nanny’s taxes if she were to try to fix it, not shouldering nanny with tax liability…
Jane I’d forget about it unless you have a job with background checks etc., which I’m guessing you don’t as you would have been too scared to procrastinate!
Jane says
Anonymous 1, on what basis did you come up with this idea that I wanted to “saddle her with major last minute tax liability”? I expressly do not want to do that, and will be paying her share as well as my own of the taxes — that’s one of the reasons i don’t want to give her a 1099.
Anon 2, you got it- thank you!
Anon 1 — do you always just attribute the worst possible motives to people Yikes. Also, beginning any sentence with “UHhhh” is unconstructive.
Anonymous says
How long ago was “the end of last year”? We use Homepay for our payroll taxes and really like it. Their customer service has always been fantastic for us– although I’ve only used them for much smaller issues. Maybe give them a call, explain the situation? They might be able to help out if you use them moving forward, if for a fee.
I know we’re spending money on something we could do ourselves, but they make all this SO easy (and let’s be real, we throw money at lots of things we don’t want to but could do ourselves– eg grocery shopping, house cleaning, laundry…).
blueridge29 says
+1 – talk to an accountant or service like Homepay. You may also want to check if your state requires you to pay quarterly unemployment for the first few years you have an employee.
Jane says
Thanks so much to you both! That’s really helpful – I will check out Homepay. I heard care.com was good too.
And she started in November. It’s such an excellent point, that some things if possible are worth outsourcing. Even after hours of reading I just could not navigate these tax rules, and I’m relieved I might be able to get some help.
Thanks too for the unemployment info – I’ll check.
CLMom says
Book Recommendations
What career or personal development book deeply impacted your life? Which books would you recommend an early-to-mid career woman (and mom) to read?
Mama Llama says
Laura Vanderkam’s books on time management
EB0220 says
+1 I really really like Laura Vanderkam’s books. They totally changed my perspective on being a working mom. I recently read and liked Switch by Chip and Dan Heath. Lean In must be taken with a grain of salt but is of course a classic.
Mama Llama says
Does anyone have a recommendation for a cookbook of recipes to cook with (as opposed to for) a preschooler? Keeping in mind that said preschooler is an extremely picky eater and doesn’t like, for example, bread.
Anon says
Me eating yeast seems to give my BF 7 month old severe gas (I also couldn’t eat yeast when pregnant because major puking), so I share the “no bread” life. It’s terrible. I miss it so much. BUT, we eat a lot of Mexican because tortillas are awesome. And the 7 month old loves black beans, cheese and shredded pork. So maybe something in the Mexican vein if your picky eater will go there?
Anon says
I have a toddler and a 6 month old and this might sound crazy but I don’t remember when/how we introduced beans to toddler and he LOVES them now. Are you cutting them up at this point? Throwing them in the food processor? How do I forget how to feed a baby table food in such short amount of time?
Anon says
As long as they are tender, I mash one at a time between my fingers (and split it in half either by squeezing or I bite off half) and put a few on her tray to practice her pincer grasp, and then just pop them in her mouth. My (perhaps unresearched) view is that if it is soft enough and cut small enough, her little gums (and adorable two emerging teeth) will be able to work with it, and again, if it is small enough she can swallow it whole if it’s not. We started with puffs to get her used to the concept of picking up bits and putting them in her mouth. Now I generally try cutting up very small bits of whatever well-cooked thing I am eating and then fill in with purees. Shredded cheese and shredded pork are favorites (fished out of my burrito last night), she tolerates quesadillas. Loves cheese tortellini (holding off for now until we figure out eggs). Was not a fan of mashed potatoes, shepard’s pie (really ground beef) or sausage. We need to retry scrambled eggs per ped’s instruction as she had a rash. My coworker just tosses whatever they’re eating in a cup and hits it with an immersion blender for her 6 month old.
Anon says
Thank you! Once he gets some more first bites in, I’ll have to just start doing the immersion blender.
Anon in NYC says
I didn’t do anything to them. I usually cook my own beans from dried, and I get them softer than canned black beans. So she was able to pick them up and eat them from a young age.
AIMS says
Not kids per se, but I remember a Teens Cook book with pretty tasty and easy recipes. I still cook the veggie lasagna from it.
Anonymous says
You are making me feel better about my 5 year old who doesn’t like exotic foods like rice, french fries, and hamburgers.
I liked the Sesame Street Cookbook as a kid, but as an Extremely Picky Eater myself (I’m sure my mother is enjoying me getting what I deserve as a parent), I’m not sure I wanted to try all the recipes. But it is funny at least.
avocado says
We started out with some of the Williams-Sonoma cookbooks: Cooking Together, The Cookbook for Kids, and some of the American Girl ones. Cooking Class, The Young Chef (Culinary Institute of America), We Heart Cooking, and ChopChop look good, but maybe for kids who are a bit past preschool age and probably not for picky eaters (my picky eater turned her nose up at all of these).
avocado says
Oh, and Tiana’s Cookbook by Disney!
Carine says
We have Pretend Soup and Other Real Recipes: A Cookbook for Preschoolers and Up. We got it when my daughter was 4 and she’s been able to follow along easily – review says it’s appropriate for as young as 3. There’s a page of adult instructions and drawings for the kids steps. She loves it and the recipes we’ve tried so far have been pretty good.
rakma says
+1 to this book! DD1 cooks from it with me, but also uses it in her pretend kitchen, which is amazingly adorable.
shortperson says
omg i used to be a huge mollie katzen fan (she signed my copy of the enchanted broccoli forest) and i have never heard of this. cant wait to use w my 3 yo who loves to cook.
SC says
I just bought one for my kid’s birthday. I’m tempted to buy another copy for my nephew, whose birthday is in June and who loves cooking with his dad.
Bedtime for Adults says
Does anyone have any great tips for getting yourself to bed at a decent hour? I am a natural night owl, and left to my natural tendencies, I would stay up until midnight or later and wake up at 8. However, this does not work well with the need to get up before my young elementary aged children. Every night, I tell myself that I will go to bed earlier, and I have no problem falling asleep when I do get to bed at 10:00, but late evening is the only time that I get to myself or to spend time with my partner. The end result is that I am not getting enough sleep, which leaves me tired and cranky and without the bandwidth that I really need to handle all the things that life is throwing my way (this is Betty). Any tips?
Pogo says
Ugh, commiseration.
One thing that does work for us is to head upstairs at an early hour – before 9 even. We won’t go straight to bed, but listen to the radio while we read (either on our phones or magazines) and chat.
This also increases weeknight gardening chances by 1000% because the last thing I feel like doing after I’ve fallen asleep on the cough with my contacts in at midnight is getting naked. But if we snuggle and relax in bed early there’s still time for that and a reasonable bedtime!
Anon in NYC says
I typically go to bed somewhere in the range of 10:30 – 11:30pm (although usually by 11). I think what you should do is commit to going to bed at a designated time for a week and see how you feel at the end of the week. Set reminders on your phone to go to bed (if your bedtime routine takes 30 minutes, take that into account as well when setting your alarms).
AwayEmily says
I’ve started applying basically the same rules to my bedtime as I use for my kids’ bedtime: making it a standardized routine that involves things I enjoy (for my toddler: milk and stories. for me: a half hour of TV with my husband, then a half hour of talking with him while drinking a glass of wine) and no screen time — I’ve made a rule that I’m not allowed to check my phone in the bedroom, or while talking to my husband. This has helped me get to bed earlier and go to sleep a bit faster, too.
Anon says
Also a night owl so I can commiserate. Something that helps me is getting completely ready for bed right after toddler goes to bed. I’ve discovered one of my biggest obstacles to getting to bed earlier is brushing my teeth so I will procrastinate that as long as possible. If I go ahead and get it done (and pjs on, and face washed, etc), I have no excuse to get in bed when I’m tired.
anon says
My son is in 1st grade, and has some kind of speech issue – I can’t really explain it, except he pronounces his words strangely. Maybe it’s a lisp. Strangers sometimes have a hard time understanding him. I’m interested in finding a speech therapist for him, but I’m not sure where I start. His teacher says that because it doesn’t affect his learning, the school district won’t do it. (It clearly doesn’t affect his learning; I just want to intervene earlier rather than later.) His pediatrician says we should go through the school because he is over the age of 3. Anyone have any experience with this? (I’m in California, if that helps.) If the answer is that I just need to hire a therapist myself, then I will do that.
Betty says
You can absolutely go through the school, and I would recommend it. The school is required to follow a particular protocol, and it is not solely the teacher’s decision as to whether he would qualify for services. I would email the teacher and principal of your child’s elementary school and state your observations and then state: I am concerned with my child’s speech development and his ability to progress at school. I formally request special education testing, specifically focused on speech and language development, and how it may impact his ability to learn. FYI: This language is from my DH who is an elem principal and what we used to initiate testing for our son.
2 Cents says
How do you keep it together during your last few weeks of pregnancy at work?
I’m working till the end (currently 36 weeks pregnant), but my patience is fried. Add to that we hired two new teams members who get to be trained by yours truly — and no, that wasn’t discussed with me before their hire. (Shocker: I’m the team member who gets to do everything that isn’t in anyone else’s job description.) One is fresh out of college, eager, but trying to learn a specialized skillset in a short time frame. The other *should* know better when it comes to office norms and how to adapt to a new job…but doesn’t. And quite frankly, is annoying as he*l. I have no patience as it is (thanks to not getting a decent night’s sleep in weeks). If I weren’t pregnant, I’d be on my anti-anxiety and depression pills, and probably having a relaxing glass of wine every night. But I can’t. /sobstory/
Anon says
Are you me? I lost all tact at work (and probably at home) during that last month of pregnancy. The best thing to do when you feel your patience is waning is to walk away before you say something you regret.
Anon says
Do your best to keep your cool and just think about how they won’t be your problem on leave :) And if you do lose it, you can blame hormones/discomfort and no one will think twice. They might remind you of it for years to come, but they won’t hold it against you.
2 Cents says
Thanks, I’m trying (really!) to keep things in perspective. I just get those hot, burning flames on the side of my face sometimes (like Ms. White in Clue) and have a hard time disengaging. Trust me, I can’t wait to put up my mat leave away message of “See you in x weeks, BYEEE!”
ANon says
For the young eager team member, could you perhaps just tell her/him that you’re not sleeping well and that your patience is short. That it is nothing to do with her/him and you’re sorry in advance if you come off as short or irritable. At least then she/he might not take it personally and put her/his energy into learning the job rather than freaking out that she/he is disappointing you or not living up to expectations? I’d focus on training the young eager team member and assume the more experienced one will figure it out based on written instructions that you can provide without interacting with the more experienced but annoying team member.
Travel with toddler says
Let’s talk travel with toddlers. How do people handle bedtime when sharing a hotel room? I’ve heard about putting the crib in the bathroom, booking a room with a balcony and hiding out there (weather permitting), booking a suite so it’s a non-issue, and/or bringing along the monitor and sneaking down to the lobby bar for a drink, although the latter appears to be fairly controversial. Tips or tricks? I’m trying to decide on booking a swanky hotel with a smaller room but nicer amenities, or a not as nice hotel with a bigger suite for an upcoming mini vacation. I have a ridiculous craving to sit at a fancy hotel bar with a giant martini right now (well, maybe in five hours), so could use some other opinions to talk me down.
Anon says
We almost exclusively do a “suite”. I use quotes because, yes, they’re suites, but they’re nothing fancy. Basically the same room as a normal room, but with a door between the bedroom and the living room. Certain chains are better about this than others. Embassy Suites obviously. Hilton Garden Inn is great. I figure you can always visit fancy bars. We often get dessert to go from a meal out and enjoy that after kiddo goes to sleep to make it feel more like vacation after bedtime.
Anonymous says
We do AirBnBs most of the time. Have never left baby even with video monitor. Since it sounds like you are just trying to decide between two hotels – really scope out what each offers. We stayed at the Fairmont South Hampton in Bermuda and even the standard rooms had walk in closets big enough to fit a pack and play (left closet door open for air circulation of course!) but it was much darker than in main room and we enjoyed room service dinner + drinks on the balcony.
mascot says
Suite or room with balcony. You can always order a drink from the hotel bar and carry it to your room so that’s half of the craving. The midrange/extended stay type hotels may have the better prices on true 1 bedroom suites with doors that close instead of those studio suites that only have a half wall.
AwayEmily says
We crammed everyone in a single room once and vowed NEVER AGAIN. Now we only do suites — but make sure to call and ask about whether there’s a door separating the bedroom and living area. Sometimes they call them “suites” but there’s no actual door.
We haven’t done the lobby drink thing but we have had a babysitter come sit in the living area after the toddler was asleep so we could go out (may not work as well if you have a toddler who wakes up a lot).
octagon says
You want the suite. The best way this works is if you can put the kid(s) in a separate room for bedtime. I have heard people suggest the bathroom but that never worked for us — most bathrooms are too small for a pack and play and what if you have to use the toilet?
Katala says
In a hotel room (paid for by new job, so no option as to hotel/suite/etc.) with hotel provided crib that did not fit in the bathroom, we put kid to bed and hung out in the bathroom with a bottle of wine. Not the most comfortable but at least it was large (just not large enough for a crib) and we had only just arrived so it was still very clean. Would’ve been nicer if there were a tub we could have soaked in!
shortperson says
sometimes we do suite, sometimes we do a fancier room. it really depends on location, the type of vacation, where kids are in sleeping quality, etc., so you just need to judge for yourself. for example, sometimes we choose a single room so that we can stay in the middle of a city or in a really unique hotel (i.e. a rainforest hotel), and the availability of room service helps too. on those trips we usually dont stay up later than the kids, we’re usually exhausted by that time anyway. but when we have a suite available we love it.
OP says
Thanks all! Suite it is if we go the hotel route, although now I’m off to look at AirBnbs…
Anonymous says
look for places that have floorplans. One time I chose a place that had a huge closet. The pack n play (and baby) went in the closet and we had light!!! It was wonderful!
EB0220 says
I echo other commenters. We have found AirBnB or VRBO is usually the cheapest and best option for travel with kids. There’s more space, at least bedroom and usually A WASHER AND DRYER. This is really really nice when you’re traveling with kids (see: altitude sick 2 year old). When we stay in a hotel so we can use points, we always do a suite or two rooms. Otherwise, no one gets any sleep. I’ve tried the monitor thing and found that it doesn’t go far enough to go down to the hotel lobby, plus I worried about fire or something. Husband and I have taken turns leaving before, but never both at the same time.
OP says
EB0220, where did your 2-year old experience altitude sickness? We are headed to northern New Mexico and this is one of my fears!
EB0220 says
It was at Breckenridge. It was pretty minor and passed after about 24 hours, but we were not expecting it. We live in NC and spent a few hours in Denver before driving up to the ski resort area. In retrospect I maybe would have stayed longer in Denver.
OP says
Great to know, thanks! Going to try to build in time to acclimate.
Anonymous says
Suites work great, though in a single room we have put the pack n’play in the bathroom for naptime. My dad was horrified but it’s good and dark in there:)
Anon says
I figured I’d post what we do at my house about meals in case it would be helpful to someone else. I wasn’t sure where to put it above, so just posting generally.
(In a perfect world/almost weekly), I make a meal plan on Sunday. Our plan is almost always this: Monday cook, Tuesday leftovers, Wednesday cook, Thursday leftovers, Friday something super easy like take and bake pizza or grilled cheese, Saturday out or something last minute involving another trip to the store, Sunday something that usually doesn’t have leftovers.
Nearly every night we have a “main” which is what we have leftover, a vegetable (super easy – raw veggies, frozen veggies), and a cut up fruit or two. Sometimes toast. We always have yogurt if kiddo doesn’t like the meal. I generally cater to her on the fruits and veggies – just serve what I know she’ll eat.
I have a spreadsheet of meals that are easy and we like. I definitely research and try new recipes for the rotation. If they’re a winner, they get added to the spreadsheet. My husband and I share the spreadsheet on Google docs, which is nice. If I need a cooking break or have conflicts, I’ll schedule him to cook. We also kind of play by ear who gets the leftovers ready to go on those nights. But sometimes if I have a busy week and a meal plan doesn’t get done, I’ll tell him it’s all him, and the spreadsheet is really handy then. Hubby is also the exclusive griller. I rely a bunch on my slow cooker so we’re not trying to get home from school/work and cook a lot at the same time.
On the spreadsheet (SC = slow cooker): pasta + sauce, burrito bowls, take and bake pizza, homemade pizza, chili, lasagna, beef stew (SC), waffles, pancakes, tuna casserole, chicken and noodles (SC), salmon, grilled meat + hot dogs (kiddo doesn’t like a ton of meats just on their own like that), grilled cheese, cheese pitas, tacos/quesadillas, hamburger gravy, stir fry, slow cooker stuffed peppers, chicken noodle soup, ham and bean soup (sometimes SC), black bean soup (SC), white chicken chili (SC), goulash, stuffed pepper soup (SC), loaded nachos, chicken and biscuits (SC), shepherd’s pie, chicken pot pie, mini bacon cheeseburger quinoa bites, beef stroganoff (SC), homemade chicken nuggets, salmon cakes, broccoli cheese egg quinoa cups, creamed salmon over biscuits, taverns/sloppy joes, BBQ chicken (SC), salmon salad (like tuna salad but with salmon, not salmon on lettuce).
Also, dishes are a separate chore unrelated to cooking in our house. We typically do every other night, but are flexible based on how the day is going.
Hope that helps someone!
Strategy Mom says
Love it! Thanks!
Anon says
Two thoughts –
1. We’ve done what Anon at 1:44 says and it works pretty well. Note that not all Marriott Residence Inns are created equal. But if it is really important for your child to go to bed early, this really is the best option.
2. How old is toddler? What are you doing during the day? We are a pretty active family so in all honesty we were kind of ready to lay down around 8:45pm in the dark with our kindles. In retrospect, maybe that worked because we were in a time zone 2 hours prior to ours…The older my toddler gets (he’s over 3 now) the longer he can stay up without breaking down. Not that I’m advocating a late bedtime, but its less imperative that we get him to bed before 8pm these days, which makes it a little easier to share one room.
Anonymous says
Not a twin mom but I loved the solly wrap until 5-6 months. Its so pretty and we could do anything with baby wrapped up in that. Easy to throw on dad or someone else too. I never tried k’tan but with how much I was able to customize l/tighten the solly to fit a growing baby I don’t see how the ktans are so popular. The solly wrap really isnt hard! I also use the lillebaby now that mine is older.