Tuesday: Leftovers, Driving Practice & One of Those Mom Days

Today was a very different kind of kitchen day.

Normally I don’t mention this while it’s happening, but Chris has been out of town for work. He’s on his way home now, so I can admit it…

Today was basically a zero-cooking day.

It was one of those days where you lean on leftovers, accept the help that’s offered, and keep everyone fed without making life harder than it needs to be.

Breakfast

I did get one important thing done this morning.

Vacation bacon.

I’m officially in full vacation prep mode, so I made another double batch of bacon—four sheet pans total.

I’m slowly stocking the freezer so that next week, when we’re at the lake house, I can pull out a few slices each morning, warm them up, and have an easy protein ready for breakfast.

Future me will be very thankful.

The kids had bacon along with bagels, toast, and cereal before we got started with the day.

Lunch

Tuesdays during the summer are violin lesson days.

My sweet mom takes one of my daughters to her lesson, and because it’s right next to Chick-fil-A, she always picks up lunch for the kids on the way home.

That means lunch is officially handled.

Easy button.

For myself, I finished off the very last of the pork tenderloin from earlier this week with some vegetables.

Nothing fancy.

Driving Practice

My mom also offered to stay with some of the younger kids so my teen and I could spend the afternoon running errands together.

She drove the entire time so she could get more driving practice.

It worked out perfectly.

We managed to knock out:

• Walgreens
• UPS Store
• Dollar Tree
• Library
• Orthodontist (my third orthodontist trip in one week!)
• Post Office

One of those errands was mailing our annual Notice of Intent to Homeschool.

In Ohio, we submit that to our local superintendent each year.

I always send it Certified Mail with Return Receipt Requested because I like having documentation that it was received.

It always arrives just fine, but it gives me peace of mind.

It was honestly such a nice afternoon together.

Usually, if I want to run errands without the younger kids, I need my teen to babysit.

But if I want her to get driving hours, everyone has to come along.

Today my mom solved both problems.

Afternoon

When we got home, the younger kids wanted to be outside, so I set up the splash pad and handed out popsicles.

Pretty standard summer afternoon. We harvested raspberries and my 4 year old made an odd choice to dump some dirt INTO the splash pad???

Dinner

With Chris still out of town, I had absolutely no interest in making a big dinner.

That’s exactly why I prep ahead.

On Sunday I’d grilled a huge batch of burger patties.

Tonight they became dinner.

Some of the kids just wanted burgers on buns with cheese.

A couple of them—especially my teen—love it when I turn those burgers into what we call burger melts.

Here’s how I do it.

Burger Melts

Place a cooked burger patty into a hot skillet.

Cover it with a lid so the trapped steam reheats the burger quickly without drying it out.

Add a slice of cheese during the last minute.

Once the cheese is melted, transfer it to a bun and gently press everything together on the skillet to crisp up the bun.

They’re simple, but they’re so good.

I served the burgers with chips, fruit, and vegetables.

We used up more than half of the burger patties that were left in the refrigerator.

I made myself a burger bowl with vegetables on the side.

One of Those Mom Days

Truthfully, today reminded me of something I don’t think I’ve ever written down here before.

Some days, especially when Chris is traveling, I realize I don’t actually sit down and eat an entire meal from start to finish.

Not because I’m skipping meals.

Because someone always needs something.

Someone needs another drink.

Someone needs their meat cut up.

Someone finished eating and wants to climb into my lap.

Someone can’t find their fork.

Someone needs help opening something.

It’s just…constant.

that’s okay.

It’s part of this season of life.

But by dinner tonight I realized I hadn’t eaten a single meal all the way through without getting up multiple times.

So I intentionally kept dinner light because I know later tonight, after everyone is asleep and the house is finally quiet, I’m probably going to make myself a snack and actually sit down and enjoy it.

Sometimes that’s exactly what I need.

Looking Ahead

Tomorrow I’ll be back in the kitchen.

I still have chicken thighs from Costco waiting in the refrigerator, so those will definitely be getting cooked tomorrow night.

That will replenish our cooked protein stash and keep my three-day rule in good shape as we get closer to leaving for the lake next week.