Slow Reflections #4 - Recipes

Slow Family Living is knowing you have choices and consciously making decisions that feel right for your family.  As a mom who is home all day with my two boys I find that most days from 4-6 pm I struggle.  The boys are tired, we have been busy or have been home all day, and they don't know what they want or need.  Our anticipation of daddy arriving home puts us all in a spin.  For me, the wife, I am watching the minutes tick- knowing my teammate will be arriving any minute to help with the last few hours of our day together.  For the boys - their anticipation turns into wrestling, bouncing, whining, and indecision.

I strive daily to get us through these hours smoothly.  One of the things that has helped me survive is having a stash of family friendly meals that are either:
a.  already made and in the freezer (thank you Meal coop group)
b.  easy enough to whip together while the boys are distracted by a quick cartoon.
c.  fun and simple enough that the boys can help with.

So here is a recipe we are loving these days in our house.  It freezes wonderfully.  It is super easy.  The kids love it.  And they can help shove the string cheese in the manicotti shells!  Sorry I don't have a picture. 

Cheese Manicotti

1 package. of manicotti shells

1 lb. of ground beef or Italian sausage browned, drained

1 jar (26 oz) of spaghetti sauce

14 string cheese sticks

1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese

1/3 cup water

Pour about 3/4 cup of spaghetti sauce into the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan.  

Spread to cover bottom.  

Place 1 cheese stick into each manicotti shell (uncooked) and arrange on top of spaghetti sauce.  

Sprinkle browned meat over the shells and pour the rest of the spaghetti sauce over the shells.  

Sprinkle mozzeralla cheese on top. 

Carefully pour 1/3 cup of water around the edges of the pan.  

Cover with tin foil. 

To bake:  Thaw overnight, let sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before baking.  

Keep covered with tinfoil - bake about 1 hour at 350 degrees, uncover and bake about 15 minutes longer.

This is linked to Works for Me Wednesday!

Slow Reflections #3 - Family Mealtime

One of the ways that the Slow Family Living Handbook encourages families to slow down is with family mealtime.  I have written on my blog before the importance of this time of the day for our family.  It may not happen 7 nights of the week but it happens more nights than it doesn't.  I recently came across this website called The Power of Family Meals.  On this site it states:

"In study after study, the beneficial impact of family mealtime has been demonstrated for children of all ages. Better grades, healthier eating habits, closer relationships to parents and siblings, ability to resist negative peer pressure, resilience in the face of life's problems — all these are outcomes of simply sharing dinner on a regular basis."

It then goes on to give statistics on why Family Meal time Matters.  

The website gives a number of good resources for recipes, meals and menus, and other meal time tips.

One of the links offers conversation starters.

Do you have a fun tradition, rule, or tip that is an important part of your family mealtime ritual?

P.S.  There is a great giveaway opportunity coming up on my blog- a chance to win a $50 gift-card to any of CSNs 200 online stores...anything from home decor, to shoes, to cookware.  Stay tuned!

Winners - Slow Family Living Handbook

I am sorry that I am late on announcing the winners for the Slow Family Living Handbook!

Rebecca and Crystal - I hope you enjoy the handbook.

And a bonus Handbook goes to.....Niki.

Slow Reflections #2

Part of the Slow Living Handbook (that you can enter to win here) includes a section that asks you questions and has you figure out your own thoughts on slow living.  One of the first questions is:

"What are five things we currently are doing as a family that feel slow?"

So this week I have been paying attention to moments when I feel good about the choices we are making and whether what we are doing feels "slow" to me.  The handbook confidently explains that Slow Family Living is NOT: doing something somebody else's way, doing it the "right way" or because it is what you are "supposed to do".    From reading the handbook I am seeing that for each family and each stage your family is at - Slow living could look differently.

These are  5 moments that I took time and intentionally made time for that felt "slow" to me this week.

1.  Instead of leaving for my parents on Tuesday we hung back and waited until Wednesday.  On Tuesday the boys had picnic lunch up in our swing set.  They hadn't done this yet.  It was quiet.  They talked.  I had quiet.  It is what spring days are all about.

2.  I intentionally make time before we travel to clean the car.  I take it for a carwash, lug the shop vac from the basement, clear out the junk and make it feel calm.  It makes such a difference.  The boys love helping me "clean" the car.  They climb around, pretend to drive, and search for lost toys and crackers.

3.  Travelling to grandma's always slows us down.  Taking 6 hours in the car - just me and the boys gives us time to do not much but look out the window, chat, sing, sleep, and watch a cartoon or two.

4.  When at my parents it is easy to feel relaxed because we aren't surrounded by all the distractions that are at home.  Yesterday afternoon we spent an hour and a half at a simple park in my parent's neighborhood.  The boys played power rangers, space ship, and something with pinecones...not sure what that was.  At one point I laid down on the park bench and shut my eyes and just listened.  It was perfect.  per.fect.

5.  Working out.  I have made time for walks and the Shred video several times this week.  Taking that 20-30 minutes for me has done a number on my mood.  A friend made the point of sharing how changing her attitude to "I deserve to work out." really helped her make it more of a priority in her day.

For me, slow living starts, by giving my boys time to just enjoy each other.  It involves making time with them that isn't distracted by household chores and responsibilities.  It allows me to intentionally make choices that give priority to things that are healthy for our bodies and souls.


Happy Friday friends!  I hope your weekends are filled with fun.  I hope they go slow so you can savor the moments you build as a family.
  
Welcome Friday Follow friends and New Friend Friday pals.

Slow Refections...

Slow Family Living is...

Knowing you have choices

Consciously making decisions

Doing things because it feels right for your family

Continuously asking, "Is this working for us?"

Taken from the Slow Family Living Handbook that you can win here.

This week the boys and I are heading to my parents for a few days. We could have made the 6 hour drive yesterday but there was something tugging at me that ended up keeping us home for another day....I am not sure if it was the beautiful weather, more time with daddy, the avoidance of the longgggg car ride, or the fact that next  two weeks are going to be busy and overwhelming so I was slowing us down.

We all have quirks. One of mine is thinking I can do more than I probably should attempt.  Kind of like taking more on my plate at a buffet but realizng my stomach is smaller than my eyes (how does that saying go?).   I get myself all tied up in knots after I have had these great ideas, shared them, and then realized the impact they will have on our family. They seem like small things but the impact is exhausting. Too many playdates, too much travel, too many visitors, too long of a to do list, too many errands, too many days booked with fun outings, - and all of these things are great.   However, they leave us all wiped out, tired, crabby, and exhausted.  I do it to myself.

Take this trip to my parents. When I go to my parents I have the opportunity to go home and enjoy my parents. But also living within two hours is my brother in law and sister in law and MORGAN, my sister and brother in law and ELI!, many childhood and college friends, my grandpa, Ed's grandma, Great aunts and uncles, and the list goes on. So when I go to my parents my thought is to see all of these people. I suggest staying with them or meeting at various fun locations to hang out and catch up. But within a day or two of getting in the car for the 6 hour drive with my 2 and 5 year old, the reality sets in. By seeing all these people that means I will be putting my boys back in the car for another 2-4 hours each day. And I start to see the possible outcome of exhaustion.

For this trip, one of our outings was going to work around nap schedules, train schedules, drive time, restaurant hours etc. I had myself in a tizzy because the hour we would have at the restautrant would be fun but maybe stressful. We want to see the friends and family that we are meeting there...but the almost 2 1/2 hours in the train could get long - the day before we trek 6 hours home. Just as much as the parents of nappers were working around the nap schedules it is okay that I think about Henry missing his afternoon nap and the race it would be to get from train to restaurant back to train. I could forsee myself dragging the boys and telling them to hurry, hurry, hurry. Eat faster.  Walk faster. Sit stiller. 

So slowing down.

We stayed home yesterday. We played board games in the morning. We played outside in the afternoon. We had pizza with friends. We played with daddy before bedtime. I went to bed early and my boys are sleeping later than they usually do (yes, it is 7:10 and they are still sleeping! WOO HOO!).

Slow family living is stepping back. Thinking about how you intend for things to go.  Slow family living is about making choices. Thinking about what will work for your family and how it will make everyone feel. And I guess I think that today is the day to make the trip in the car.

And the rest of the trip - we will play by ear.

What is a choice you are making today that feels right for your family?

Slow Family Living...sounds good to me!

Recently while blog hopping I came across a blog called Slow Family Living. Upon clicking on their blog you can find many places to explore...they share their manifesto, which begins :

"Slow Family Living is a revolution in the way we think about, embrace and implement family living.

It was born out of our belief that family life is being hijacked by society’s messages that more is better, faster is greater and that you and your children are at risk of being left behind, unless you buy in NOW......"


I got sucked right into some of their daily posts...things that spoke about listening to your children,  enjoying your community, and getting more sleep.

I found posts that seemed to come straight from my own thoughts...I tell my sister and friends that "It is only a phase/stage" when we ponder our children's quirks and issues all the time. 


They have even been featured on ABC news and other places.

Anyways, the blog is one that I will spend a few minutes reading when I need a little inspiration.  Looking closely though I saw a link that would allow me to purchase (for $10) an e-book that I could print off and enjoy called Slow Family Living Handbook.  I took a peek and walked away and enjoyed my Saturday but in the back of my mind I was intrigued by the book.  So I emailed Carrie and asked her if the book would apply to my family (with the ages my boys were at).  She sent me the e-book!  I was so thrilled.  She also said I could share it with you. 

So my plan in the next few weeks is to post some thoughts on Slow Family Living as I tackle slowing down in our house.  And I would love to have anyone interested in Slow Family Living to join me.  So I am going to give you a week or so to check out their blog and decide if it is something that peeks your interest.  Throw a comment below and tell me one time in your day that you would like to approach more slowly, calmly, with more intention.  (For example, getting out the door for preschool drop off...I want to leave the house without rushing my boys and snapping to hurry up.  Or I would also like to slow down our evenings and not be itching to get the boys to bed quicker so I can put my own feet up...this hasn't always been the case...but it is lately and it makes me sad.  I also have noticed lately that we have very few days where we are just home, the two boys and I...without friends, outings, commitments etc.)

So leave a comment below telling me where you would like to slow down or leave a link from Slow family Living that spoke to you.

I will pick 2 people to recieve the e-book on Tuesday, April 27th at 9 pm.

This post is linked to Steady Mom's 30 Minute Blog Challenge.