Over the course of the past couple weeks, things have been a little "off" in our house. Last week, I had to stay late for conferences 2 nights, my husband had many early or late meetings and there were events for my daughter's school. I have also continued to (barely) balance work and home with my graduate classes and we have been trying to prepare for the new baby by converting our guest room into a nursey. Then, this week I became quite sick and we had to put everything else on hold. Needless to say, cooking and family meals have not been the top priority. Luckily, I am feeling better and am looking forward to having Spring Break this coming week. One of my main goals is to get back in the routine of cooking and having dinner together as a family.
To make this a little more exciting, I have decided to call next week my "Family Dinner Challenge." I am not usually a competitive person, but there is something about a "challenge" that makes me a little more motivated to stick with it. My challenge has two parts. First, I am challenging myself to plan and cook 5 dinners at home next week. The second part of the challenge for myself and husband is to not give into our daughter when she asks for something else to eat, but to maintain the expectation that she will at least try a bite of whatever I make before she can have something else. I anticipate that the second part of my challenge will be the most difficult, but I am determined to stick with that!
As I prepare for my challenge next week, I encourage each of you to have your own "Family Dinner Challenge." As always, make it work for you. If you don't regularly eat dinner together, challenge your family to eat together 2 nights or 3 nights. If you find yourself having take-out every night, challenge yourself to cook a meal or two at home. Challenge your family try a new food, challenge yourself to test out a new recipe. Make it your own and have fun!
Throughout next week, I will give you daily updates on how my personal challenge is going and I would love to hear about yours. If you like, please post comments so everyone can hear how you are challenging your family to eat and spend more time together. And, when you have completed your challenge, let us know how it went.
So, what is your challenge going to be?
What a great idea. Life often tends to get in the way and routine becomes a thing of the past.
ReplyDeleteSince my family already eats dinner together 5 days a week I think I our challenge would be to try out some new recipes. We always go for the same tradition meals. I think something different might bring a new excitement to dinner time.