Domestically Challenged – Parenting Tips from Author Alana Morales

I hate cleaning. Hate.

photo credit: johnsember

But, since it’s a necessary evil, I try to find ways to make it less painful. One way I have found to do this is to clean in spurts. This spreads the pain out over time.

Here’s 20 things you can clean in 10 minutes or less:

1. Load the dishwasher.
2. Empty the dishwasher.
3. Wipe down all the kitchen counters.
4. Sweep the floors.
5. Clean the bathtub.
6. Clean the toilet.
7. Wipe down all the mirrors.
8. Vacuum a room.
9. Dust a room.
10. Mop.
11. Put away a load of laundry.
12. Remove clutter from one room.
13. File your mail.
14. Take all the trash out.
15. Get the trash out of your second home (your car).
16. Clean out the fridge.
17. Clean out your pantry (seriously, when did you last do this?)
18. Clear off bathroom counters.
19. Sweep the walkway.
20. Put all kid stuff in their rooms.

There, see? Here’s 20 quick things you can do to try and keep ahead of the mess in your house.

If you had 20 minutes, what would you clean? And let’s suppose you *had* to clean, instead of doing something fun, like checking Facebook or reading a book.

As always, leave it in the comments.

Hey peeps – Happy Monday!

Since I was diagnosed with food allergies a few years ago, I have gotten more than my fair share of strange looks when people realize that I am not only allergic to wheat, but to dairy and yeast as well.

The convo usually goes a little like this:

“Yes, that means I can’t eat bread.”

“no cake.”

“Yup, no cookies either.”

“No, no ice cream.”

And so on. Does it suck? Only because I am addicted to food. Is it good for me? Heck yes. Never mind the allergic reaction part of it, but knowing that I will get sick if I eat icew cream makes it easier to not eat it.

Which means less calories. Which is a good thing.

Because of this, people often ask what I eat. Here’s a basic list, then check after the list for more resources.

• Oatmeal
• Fruit – lots
• Veggies – not as many as I should (and no lettuce – allergic to that too)
• Meat – meat gets a bad rap, but if you get the right cut of meat (one with less fat) then the protein is really good for you.
• Trail mix – We make our own, with cashews, peanuts, raisins (regular and golden). No almonds (another allergy).
• Life Cereal bars – GREAT source of fiber, helps me keep my blood sugar more stable.
• Cereal – I eat Honey Chex, which are gluten free. I stopped for a while, since they may have traces or almonds, but started back up again with no issue.
• Rice Dream Rice Milk – this is what our son drank until his food allergies went away. I don’t drink it, but cook with it and use it for cereal.

Looking for gluten free resources? Here are some of my faves:

Gluten Free Goddess – Start here, this is a killer getting started with gluten free

Gluten Free Mommy

Jen’s Gluten Free

Celiac at About.com – Even though a wheat allergy doesn’t mean you have celiac, the eating tips are very similar.

Celiac.com

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There are some resources to get you started. What are some food challenges you are facing when you think about how you and your family will eat?

As always, leave it in the comments!

Happy Monday all!

This week the Mamavation weekly topic is to talk about motivation. This is a topic that really hits home for me. It’s not that I lack motivation necessarily. It’s that I have different levels of motivation.

For example – what is motivating me to get healthier? My mom passed away almost 4 years ago. She was babysitting my kids the night before and was gone by lunch the next day. She had been on disability for well over 15 years, was always in pain and was on a metric ton of meds.

I don’t want to be that.

On a smaller scale, my husband motivates me. He lost a bunch of weight and now I need/want to as well.

He helps to keep me motivated. He helps me count calories and keeps my head in the right place.

My kids motivate me. I want to be able to set a good example for them and be able to keep up with them.

I am motivated to look and feel better. I want to be able to jog up the stairs without feeling like I need to have an oxygen tank.

I want to be able to wear clothes and feel more comfortable.

I want to keep my heart healthy. I want to keep my mind happy.

That’s it. That’s my motivation. And I think it’s enough.

What motivates you? As always, leave it in the comments.

FINALLY – it’s Friday!!!

photo credit: kaey

This Friday I wanted to shine the spotlight on a mom who I find very fun to read. Her name is Kristy and she blogs over at Mommy Hates Cooking.

How can you not love that?

Over there, she blogs about her journey into becoming a cooking mama. Now, if it had been me, I would have been blogging about all the things I had screwed up over the past two years, but despite the title, she seems to be one heck of a chef.

I am looking forward to trying the following:

Mini Meatloafs – Perfect for little eaters.

Chocolate Chip Cake – Seriously, what more do I need to say about this?

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup – Mmmmm. I love using the crock pot, so this is a fantastic recipe. The best part is that it’s also gluten free.

Go forth and add this blog to your reader – you won’t be disappointed.

So, what was the best part of your week? Any big plans for your weekend? Me – I’m going to do a little shopping and spend some time exploring with the family this weekend.

As always, leave it in the comments!

photo credit: ajari

This is a topic that I get asked about a lot. I like to call it “comparison parenting.” We all do it (I think it’s in our nature to do so), but do we really need to?

Here’s a scenario: My son said someone made fun of him because his jacket was too puffy. On one hand, I think the jacket’s fine and who cares what others think. On the other hand, he has had trouble socially in the past, so anything we can do to help ease that, we do. So, what did I do?

I asked some people from work for their opinion.

We do this ALL THE TIME as parents, but do we really need to?

Sometimes, we just need to go with our gut feeling. It’s ok if no one else agrees with it. Who cares? We are raising our kids the way we see fit and screw everyone else.

But what about “It takes a village to raise a child”? Sometimes it IS best to get advice from parents who have been there and done that (and let’s face it, that’s what I try to provide, so I completely hope you feel like you can come to me ). Sometimes we need to validate ourselves as parents.

But we also need to have confidence in ourselves too.

Who cares if your best friend, parents, coworker does what you do as a parent? You do what YOU see fit for your child and your family. Period.

Now I want to know – are you a confident parent or comparison parent? If you compare, what are you comparing and what would make you feel more confident? Leave it in the comments!

Thank you for being a reader of Domestically Challenged!

Hey peeps – happy Monday!

Today I have a few ways for you to get dinner on the table when you are desperately busy. This seems to be a really busy time of year for me, though I can’t really pinpoint the reason for it. I also think I am suffering from a little burnout at work and at home, so these are the tips I have been relying on.

photo credit: banditob

1. Pick your go to meal.

As I write this, I am looking at the big bowl of spaghetti sauce that is cooling on my counter. I made this because it was easy, everyone will eat it and the leftovers will save me from thinking about my lunch for at least 2 days. That is GOLDEN to me in this time crunched state.

What meal can you fall back on? If you need help, here’s a quick list of 40 dinner ideas I posted about last week.

2. It’s ok if you have to be a slacker.

My husband has been out of town for the past two weekends. This means a few things, including 1. I didn’t go grocery shopping and 2. I was even more tired than normal.

You know what my kids ate?

Chicken tenders, leftover pizza and appetizers. You know what I ate? Cereal.

And you know what? That’s ok. We don’t eat liek that every night (only every other – LOL). It just so happened that I hurt myself last week and wasn’t too thrilled about cooking or cleaning up after big messes. I gave myself permission to be a slacker, which made it mush less stressful for me. I highly suggest the permission part – it really helps ease the mom guilt a smidge.

3. Pasta is your friend.

Keep some jarred pasta sauces on hand. I like to take some alfredo sauce, mix it with frozen chicken breasts and frozen broccoli for a super quick and easy meal.

4. Take out is a cop out…and that’s ok.

Sometimes, you just need a night (or two) with no dishes, no thought and no mess. If you can afford it, then don’t worry about it. As long as you aren’t feeding your kids Micky D’s 3 nights a week every week, things are probably ok. Our stand bys are Subway and Chipotle. We used to have McDonald’s Mondays in my house, simply because I knew that chances were high that I didn’t get a lot of sleep the night before and would be extra tired. Planning for this made my life SO much easier.

It’s ok to do this. I promise.

5. Look for the bag.

Seriously, if you need a quick meal, walk down the frozen food aisle. Find the meal in a bag and there you go – dinner. Serve with a salad or some bread and you are done.

Before the nutrition police come and burn me at the stake, let me say this – i am not advocating you do this every night of every week. Sometimes we have weeks that are rougher than others and these tips will help with those times. I am very happy for you if you have time to cook everything from scratch and find organic goat’s cheese or whatever. I don’t have that kind of time. So there.

How do you get dinner on the table when life gets insane? Leave it in the comments!

This was an interesting week.

It started out with me having renewed vigor in my workout program. I needed to burn more calories. I needed to work harder. I hadn’t had a loss for almost 2 weeks.

Then I fell down the stairs.

I am VERY lucky that I didn’t break anything. I was trying to be nice and got up late to let the dog out of the basement. One of my offspring had left a board game on the stairs. I didn’t want to turn on the light, you know, so no one woke up. You can fill in what happened next:

After we ascertained that nothing was broken, I limped back to bed. To say I was sore would be an understatement. In fact, I’m *still* sore. The bruise on my butt looks like I got smacked with a 2×4. My back hurt. My arms hurt. I felt like I had gotten hit by a truck, then a 2×4.

So, I had to take time off.

Then, to make matters worse, I had two Pepsi’s this week. Yup. Two. And they tasted damn good, let me tell you.

To confuddle things even further, I decided to torture myself this morning, after having had two Pepsi’s and not working out since Wednesday and guess what?

I lost 3 more pounds.

WTH?

Yup. It makes no sense to me. In fact, it kinda scares me. What if I work out and the weight comes back on? What if I do something and mess things up? I am terrified that the weight loss will stop. Which is why I am so confused.

I’ll take it. I just don’t want it to stop, know what I mean?

So, my total is 17 pounds so far. I’d love this week to be the one that I hit 20 lbs lost. I think I would almost be just as happy with not gaining anything back, even though I’m not doing anything to gain it back (you know, minus the Pepsi’s).

Unfortunately, this just reinforces my desire for Pepsi, but it also has kicked up my motivation level. I can *almost* say that I’ve lost 20 pounds. I’ve never done this in my life, with the exception of pregnancy weight, where I hardly gained anything anyway.

One major thing I discovered this week is that I need to work on my mental health more. I am WAY too stressed and I don’t have the support systems in place like I did before we moved. This needs to change and fast. Between the stress I have, the stress I put on myself to lose weight and the normal life stress, I am freaking myself out on a daily basis. LOL

How is your weight loss going? Are you trying to make small changes to make a difference in your health? Do you still have a health vice? Let me know in the comments!

As you all know, it’s almost time for V Day. No, not vegetarian day. I’m talking about Valentine’s Day.

Rather than give you a gift list, I’m doing one thing better. I’m giving you the domestically challenged list of ways to keep the romance alive in your relationship because if you are anything like the typical mom, you always put the kids first. Then it’s debateable who’s next. It might be your husband, if only you could stay awake long enough.

Know what I mean?

Here’s 5 easy ways to reconnect on more than one level:

1. Turn off the TV.

I know you love to watch The Bachelor/CSI/Jersey Shore etc, etc, but you know what? That could be couple time. Pick one or two nights a week and don’t turn on the TV. Take that time to talk, give each other a back rub or even do the hibbity dibbity.

2. Talk about something other than the kids and work.

What else is there?

If you think hard enough, there has to be something. It may be something from a loooooong time ago, but try it. Work and kid talk often leads to feeling stressed or obligated or feeling like there has to be some sort of higher purpose to the conversation. Why not just talk for the fun of it?

3. Schedule a date night.

I don’t care how you do this, but make it happen. You could find a teen babysitter, find a relative or friend or even swap babysitting with another couple. You and your sig other need time to be together. Just the two of you. If for no other reason that no one will be responsible for tying a shoe or wiping a boogery nose. This can help remind you why you were a couple before you had kids.  Date nights can be cheap too. The important thing is the time spent together.

4. Make sure you can be you sometimes.

Make sure you get time to just be you too. This makes it easier when you hubs wants some… attention. Work out a schedule so that you have the opportunity to just be you, not mom or wife or employee or anything else. Scrapbook, write, get a pedicure – anything that is just for you. Once you feel rejuvenated, you will have more to give to others.

5. Feel good about yourself.

Oftentimes, moms are less intimate due to self confidence issues. A quick and easy way to get over those is to add a small workout into your day, even if it’s only 15 minutes of squats or some push ups. The exercise will release chemicals that will help you feel more frisky, while the simple fact of doing something active will make you feel better about yourself.

What do you do to keep the romance going? My husband and I make sure we have regular date nights and while we still often talk about work and kids, getting away from the house does wonders for us.

Do you have plans for V-Day? Leave it in the comments!

Happy Monday all and welcome to Menu Plan Monday!

This week I had a request to hit on some basic recipes for those of us who are a bit challenged in the kitchen. Since I can completely relate to this, I am happy to oblige.

When I first started this post, my intention was to just offer up some easy recipes that someone with basic cooking skills could conjure up one day without too much stress and mess.

Then I got to thinking.

What would really be helpful would be a list of things to cook so that when you went to menu plan, you could just look at your list and choose, knowing that if it was on the list, you could do it.

This was an AHA moment.

So, here’s a list of possibilities. All of the possibilities are ones that I have either tried or cooked personally, so I can vouch for all of them.

1. Mac and Cheese
2. Grilled Chicken
   • Grill with bbq sauce or marinate it for a fuller flavor.
3. Spaghetti
   • To add variety, make different types of noodles.
4. Ribs
   • These can be cooked in the crock pot, broiler or grill.
5. Turkey Burgers
6. Grilled Turkey Legs
7. Beef Stroganoff
8. Slow Cooker Chicken
9. Slow Cooker French Dip
10. Pot Roast
11. Baked Chicken
12. Chicken Parmesan
13. Albondagas
14. Tacos
15. Enchiladas
16. Tostadas
17. Taco Salad
18. Pork Chops
19. Sausage
20. Bratwurst
21. Red Beans and Rice
22. Fetticinni Alfredo
23. Chili
24. Fajitas
25. Stir Fry
26. Lasagna
27. Tuna Casserole
28. Enchilada Casserole
29. Eggplant Parmesan
30. Ham with Greens
31. Tostada Goop – sooooo yummy! Make extra and you can use it for enchiladas or tostadas or taco salad or…
32. Neat Sloppy Joes
33. Chicken Fried Rice – don’t use oil (I just use water) and save on the fat content.
34. Steak
35. Kabobs – super easy to make
36. Meatballs – add bbq sauce and let the kids eat with toothpicks for extra fun, providing no one gets poked in the eyeball
37. Meatloaf – we make ours with bbq sauce. And bacon. Can’t forget the bacon.
38. Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches
39. Sub sandwiches – use mini rolls and make them custom for everyone
40. Nachos

I have to admit, I was surprised that I was able to generate a list this long of things that I had personally cooked. Pretty cool, if you ask me. Most of what is listed here is something that can easily be cooked after coming home from work.

My suggestion with most of these is to make double and freeze it. Voila! You have a made ahead meal that you can just drop in the freezer.

So, what would be on your menu list? Leave it in the comments, or better yet, do your own post and I will edit this one to add your link!