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October 25, 2015

Day 22 Family Dinner Shminner

We’ve heard it over and over, but Day 22 Family Dinner Shminner is just a peak inside some of the crazy, unorthodox things we do in our family that buck the normal parenting trends.  But the real point is this – the best moms figure out a way to take the “rules” and bend them and mold them to make them actually work for their family.

Day 22 Family Dinner Shminner

“Always sit down to eat dinner as a family”….I’ve heard it since way before I had my own children.  And probably in some far off part of my mind…you know that crazy part that thinks you will raise the kids that are always perfectly behaved, their noses are never snotty and their hair is always combed…well in THAT part of my mind, I thought for sure my husband and 2.5 kids would sit down to a home-cooked meal each night around 5:45 pm.  Followed I’m sure by song and revelry.

And then…that thing called reality set in.  And my husband works long hours and my kids get hangry around 5:30 at night and they have school and bedtimes…and let’s not even talk about that home-cooked thing!

So I threw my hands up and said THIS IS NOT WORKING!

Because I was trying SO hard to keep up this idea of what I thought being a good mom was, and trying to follow this “rule” that someone somewhere thought would be a good idea…

but for our family, it’s not a good idea.  It just didn’t work for us.

So you know what I did? I made a change.  

Because that’s what we do – that’s how moms roll.  We take inventory of what we have, what we don’t, what’s working and what isn’t.  And we adjust…we keep what we can, change what we need to.

So here’s a typical night in our house – around 5 pm, I make sure my girls get baths for the night.  5:3ish the THREE of us all sit around the dinner table and eat.  We pray and thank God for daddy’s job, that, while it may keep him away sometimes, it also provides for us.  We talk about our day – the good, the bad, the ugly.

I clear the table, make up a plate for my husband, clean up the kitchen and head upstairs.  We brush teeth, read books and wait on Bryan to come home.

And he usually makes it here around 6:30.  He to knows to grab his plate,warm it up and head upstairs!

You see – one, my girls still have a sit-down meal with me where we get all the benefits of a “family” dinner.  And two, technically my husband eats dinner with us…we just happen to not be eating!

And this plan works great for us.  On weekends – sure, we ALL sit down as a family because I really do enjoy that time together.

But I didn’t enjoy pushing my kids to eat until 6:30, in hopes Bryan would be home by then (and many times he’s not).  

No one was happy – especially me!  And you know what they say about Mama being happy.

So the point here is not so much about eating dinner as a family but finding what works.

Being a better mom is all about finding what works.  How you spend family time together, when homework gets done, who does the chores, which parent “works”, and on and on and on.

Are you meeting your needs and your family needs just in your own way?  Congrats, you’re a better mom already!

hillary fb

If you have missed any in the series 31 Days & 31 Ways To Be A Better Mom, catch up here:

31 Days and 31 Ways To Be A Better Mom

INTRO TO SERIES:

INTRO TO 31 DAYS & 31 WAYS TO BE A BETTER MOM

DAY 1: OUR BEFORE SCHOOL RULE

DAY 2: UNPLUG AND PLUG IN

DAY 3: STEP AWAY FROM YOUR CHILD

DAY 4: EMBRACE YOUR CRAZY

DAY 5: BE A REBEL

DAY 6: DO AS I SAY

DAY 7: FIND YOUR VILLAGE

DAY 8: DIVIDE & CONQUER

DAY 9: ONE SMART COOKIE

DAY 10: CREATE YOUR OWN FAMILY TRADITIONS

DAY 11: STOP COMPARING YOUR CHILD

DAY 12: TAKE CARE OF #1

DAY 13: DATE YOUR CHILD

DAY 14: THE MEAL TIME RULE WE DON’T BREAK

DAY15: GIVE THEM KISSES LOTS OF KISSES

DAY 16: IN THE MIDST OF THE STORM, BE THEIR CALM

DAY 17: PUT YOURSELF IN THEIR SHOES

DAY 18: QUIT BEATING YOURSELF UP

DAY 19: RELAX…YOU ARE NEVER GOING TO FINISH

DAY 20: NURTURING YOUR MARRIAGE AFTER CHILDREN

DAY 21: WHEN THEY ARE HARD TO LOVE, LOVE THEM HARDER

DAY 22: FAMILY DINNER SHMINNER

DAY 23: REBELLION IS A CRAZY THING

DAY 24: TELL THEM IT WILL GET BETTER

DAY 25: YOU DON’T HAVE TO LOVE YOUR KIDS THE SAME

DAY 26: IT’S OKAY TO WISH TODAY WAS OVER

DAY 27: BE A GOOD DAUGHTER

DAY 28: QUIT TRYING TO BE THAT OTHER MOM

DAY 29: YOU CAN’T BUY THEIR HAPPINESS

DAY 30: TELL YOUR KIDS YOU ARE A FAILURE

DAY 31: LEARNING TO LET GO

 

 

 

 

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Filed Under: Parenting, Uncategorized Tagged With: 31 days, 31 ways to be a better mom, children, family dinner, parenting

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Comments

  1. Karen Patten says

    October 26, 2015 at 11:22 am

    So true!!!! This is how moms roll. We don’t have “traditional” sit down dinner either, for multiple reasons – but take what you have and make it work for you!!!!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Day 2 Unplug And Plug In - The Cole Mines says:
    June 25, 2016 at 10:12 pm

    […] DAY 22: FAMILY DINNER SHMINNER […]

    Reply
  2. Day 4 Embrace Your Crazy - The Cole Mines says:
    July 3, 2016 at 11:29 pm

    […] DAY 22: FAMILY DINNER SHMINNER […]

    Reply
  3. Before School Rule - The Cole Mines says:
    February 1, 2017 at 10:54 am

    […] DAY 22: FAMILY DINNER SHMINNER […]

    Reply

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Hi I'm Hillary! Just a mom trying to raise my kids the best I can in this crazy world. I hope you'll join me as we figure out how to be the best mom, wife and person we can be!

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