Weekly Ramble 8/17/24

The Roller Coaster of Back to School

This is my 23rd year of back to school as a mom — with about five more years in my future. Life always feels busy this time of year, even with older kids.

This year we have three college students and one high schooler — all living at home. The college kids will be commuting to a state university nearby; our high school junior has online classes that we’ve chosen based on her preferences and what we think will best prepare her for college.

While I’m more of a facilitator than an actual teacher this year, I’ve learned that life goes best when meals are organized and when I’m available for what folks need. Remember, your kids actually need you more not less as they hit the teen and college years — just in a different way.

Organized Meals

As far as meals are concerned, we’ll still be keeping our set summer dinner themes, but make-ahead breakfasts and lunch prep need to get worked into the mix.

So far, our kids have been able to graduate debt-free from college because they live at home, commute with Bryan to school, and pack their meals. Experience teaches me that if I help with the lunch packing, I enjoy my kitchen life more.

Yes, it’s a bit selfishly motivated. lol.

I already do a Saturday prep for Sunday, so my plan is to prep extra for Monday’s lunches and then do a Monday prep for the rest of the week. This is the theory, but I haven’t put it into practice yet.

In past years I’ve prepped several different meals in bulk, divided it into portion-size containers, and then lined them up in the fridge for the kids to grab and go. The kids working/schooling at home can grab from the assortment as well so that their days are smoother, too.

One of my progeny is a mood eater, so having a few different options each week should help that. I hope. If not, it’s on that person to go pay for a different lunch. Should be an interesting learning experience!

Some recipes I’m considering making in these early weeks:

• Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
• Slow Cooker Chili
• Chicken Enchiladas
• Freezer Burritos
• Asian Bowls

These all freeze and reheat well, meaning that what doesn’t get grabbed in the first few days can be stashed in the freezer for a later date. Wasted food is not my friend!

Being Available

I’ve been largely available for the bulk of the summer, however I know that I will need to put in more hours at work coming up (more on this below). That is always a challenge – to be available without dropping the ball on responsibilities that need to get done.

At this time last year I had just finished reading Be Your Future Self Now. One of the activities in the book is to write letters to your future self. I did that and had the emails scheduled to be delivered to my inbox at the assigned intervals: 6 months, 1 year, 3 years, and 5 years.

This week I got the 1 year letter which was really interesting. Not all my hopes and dreams came through, but some of the important things did.

A year ago I told my Today Self, “I hope that you are managing your time well so that there’s room for the big rocks.” I’m pleased to report that I have made huge strides when it comes to time with my family and giving them the priority they deserve.

Having Sunday Dinners together has been a huge part of this. Highly recommend. 😊 I hope that this is a good foundation as we roll into whatever opportunities and challenges the new school year will bring our way.

Frugal Renewal

A few things happened recently to prompt me to reconsider our finances. We’re doing okay, but there are some things that we could do to be better positioned.

We’ve got sinking funds for college, school, Christmas, even a someday wedding. However, our replacement car fund could use a boost, especially as all our cars are 10+ years old and drivers are getting wilder out there.

Do you know how many people need to read this post: Don’t Text and Drive? Most of the ones I pass on the road! Is that a California thing or is it everywhere?

Earning More

Anyway, I’m realizing that while we’re doing okay, I do need to try a little harder when it comes to my online business.

Currently, Google is unrolling another core update. They do these periodically which can have devastating effects on website owners. With almost 5 billion users on google every day, what they decide to display in search can make or break a website.

While some things are out of my control, none of them are out of God’s control. Not sure why He does all that He does, but I’m trying to approach my work prayerfully and to do what I can to bless others while also helping my family.

Thanks for joining me in prayer about this. I have some ideas about how to improve the Good Cheap Eats Club and maybe grow it. I’m working on this year’s Meal Plan Advent Calendar — there’s going to be a print version this year! And I’ve got more recipe development in the works.

So, it’s a question of honing in on the right thing to help everyone concerned.

Spending Less

As I learned many moons ago when we were paying off all that debt, spending less money is often as effective as making more.

So, I’m looking at ways to reduce our expenses. Things like,

• auditing the cell phone bill – We use Ting for 5 lines. They have several “pay for what you use” plans that have often worked well for us. It may be more beneficial to move one line to an unlimited data plan. I just need to take the time to crunch the numbers more closely.
• doing a pantry challenge – As much as I love my summer meal plan themes, I’m veering off a little bit so that I can use up some of the proteins we’ve got in the freezer. I’d like more space for freezer meal prep lunches.
• auditing my grocery spending – Every once in awhile I do a big grocery spending audit. There’s always a little bit of a drift, don’t you think? So periodically making sure I’m on track is helpful. This is on my agenda for the rest of the month.

So, I guess that’s it for the week. I sat down to write this over an hour ago with a fairly heavy heart. Talking with you has helped me make sense of a few things and get my head on straight a little bit.

There is so much to be thankful for! Praise be to God. ❤️

New on Life as Mom

I hope you’ll check out these new posts on the blog:

Back to School Sale

And be sure to check out the Back to School Sale!

If there’s something else you spy in the store, let me know and maybe I’ll include it in the sale!