what's saving my life right now
to borrow a phrase from one of my favourite podcasters, Kendra Adachi from the Lazy Genius Collective, here are some things that are saving my life right now! I'd absolutely love to hear yours. we can all use some more genius moments in our days!
1) the OXO grape cutter. this was a gift from Cecilia's godparents when Elizabeth was born, and it is such a game-changer for the one- to four-year-old crowd. not only does it quarter 2 grapes and cherry tomatoes in half the time it would take to quarter one using a knife, it's also actually quite fun and satisfying to see the perfect fourths shoot out onto the plate.
2) the Libby app. these days, I'm using my library card predominantly to borrow e-books and digital audiobooks. I used to go to the library website on my phone, search through the catalog, download what I wanted and then follow the links to download books to my Kindle app and audiobooks to Overdrive. now I can do everything directly through Libby, including listening to the audiobooks, and syncing between devices. in the grand scheme of things it's not that much faster, but the streamlined process brings me so much joy!
3) ridiculously easy dinners. I enjoy almost all aspects of cooking, from the planning to the grocery shopping to the physical preparation of food, and of course eating it and having a plethora of leftovers to stock the fridge. but especially during solo parenting stints (Sunday thru Tuesday during the academic year), with the girls involved in afternoon sports and a toddler who's inevitably hangry by 6 pm, I've come to rely on a few new standbys:
- frozen crockpot meatballs with jarred marinara sauce, served with hoagie rolls and shredded mozzarella and/or spaghetti
- build-your-own taco bar
- roast chicken from this recipe (which smells and tastes like it took tons of prep time but it doesn't)!
4) AirPods. I probably would not have splurged on these for myself, so I'm even more appreciative of them! they were a generous gift from Mom two Christmases ago, right after Elizabeth was born. folding laundry, cleaning, cooking, and driving around town are all much more pleasant with a podcast or audiobook playing through one earbud, and I can still hear whatever is going on unless I have the noise-cancelling mode turned on. the only thing I get nervous about is running with them in, as the inevitable sweating sometimes makes them pop out of my ears.
5) requiring the girls to prep their own backpacks. at nine and six, they are definitely capable of doing this with some oversight (or, per the terminology du jour, scaffolding). they have a checklist to follow so they remember to bring me their school folders, pack lunch and snacks for after-school care, fill their water bottles, pack lunch money, and gather the appropriate athletic clothes for soccer, gymnastics, or volleyball depending on the day. it does take them at least twice as long to finish as it would take me, but they're exercising those executive function muscles, plus it allows me to sit on the couch and eat chocolates work alongside them in the kitchen, cleaning up after dinner.
please tell me: what's saving your life right now?
note: the links above are not affiliate, just included for reference!
I wish I had that grape cutter around when my kids were little - the amount of time I spent cutting grapes!! I listen to an audiobook on Libby every day, love it. Also love the easy dinners...we've been doing a lot of shredded meat in the crockpot or instantpot - pulled pork or chicken - and then they make sandwiches or wraps or nachos or tacos or quesadillas with it.
ReplyDeleteRight?!?! When my friend gave it to me, I thanked her but was thinking "how much difference can this really make?" Well, A LOT. :)
DeleteThat's a great idea to cook the meat in bulk and then people can repurpose it however they like!
A grape cutter? Brilliant!
ReplyDeleteI almost never listen to audiobooks. I know it's an untapped resource. The kids listen every day, but I'm not sure if it's just Libby in Canada, but the offerings for kids aren't great. Lots of the classics aren't available or wait times are outrageously long? We use Hoopla which has a much bigger selection (again, at least where we live in rural Canada), but you have a cap of what you can borrow AND a cap for each month so the kids often get to the end of the month and can't download anything else and since they're on loan for 3 weeks (and a month is 4 weeks), there is this week of nothing!
Our go-to easy meal lately is scrambling some eggs and making wraps. So quick, so filling, and utterly delicious. Or we'll get a rotisserie chicken after church on Sunday and make that into wraps. For years we didn't have wraps because I am not a fan of wheat wraps (texture and taste), but I LOVE corn tortillas so I eat those and the kids eat wheat wraps.
For a long time I very rarely listened to audiobooks, and I still prefer to read books in general -- but I do like to listen to lighter, more plot-driven books while I'm in the car or doing things around the house. I definitely don't retain information from nonfiction or heavier, more literary books by listening to them though. That's a bummer about the cap for Hoopla, but great that your kids are into that!!
DeleteThe wraps are a good idea! I do love a breakfast burrito if I'm out at a restaurant and never thought to make my own!