Tuesday Tip: Be a Little Sneaky (Sneaky Chef!)

I have a kid who tends to be a little sneaky.  He often has something he's hiding behind his back and has been been known to act a bit like "Swiper" (that sly fox we've come to know through Dora the Explorer) as he swipes toys from siblings and scurries away with them.

As a mom, I don't like sneaky behavior.  Not one little bit.  But, I have to admit to being a bit sneaky myself at times -- like after dark, when the preschool drawings make their way to the trash bin! Awful, I know... you've never done that, right?

Well, I know one Mom who has sassed up sneaky into nutritious and delicious recipes that even Swiper would enjoy.  Meet the Sneaky Chef.

Missy Chase Lapine has a new cookbook that celebrates sneaky as veggies, fruits and power foods (hello flaxseed!) make their way into muffins, macaroni and even meatballs! Do you have a picky eater?  Do your mealtime mantras include exasperated exclamations like "but you have to eat your vegetables!" or "Just try it!"  If so, this is a book full of solutions for you.

Our kids are pretty good about eating fruits and veggies (most of them, anyway!) but even so, I'm all for getting in more of the good stuff when I can and I've been inspired by Missy's nutritional advice and time-saving, kid-tested recipes.  Perhaps best of all, the book includes many great tips for getting food on the table fast-- from suggestions for pantry stocking to a go-to list for grocery shopping, there are practical tips for alleviating the daily stress associated answering that omnipresent question "Hey Ma, what's for dinner?!"  Or breakfast... or lunch... or a snack!  

I think perhaps Missy put it best when she mused "It's not just about saving time. It's also about making the moments your family sits around the table more meaningful."  Amen to that!  

To try a few Missy's recipes for yourself, check out  The Sneaky Chef... and tell her that Swiper sent you. ;)

A 3 day weekend with 5 tots 7 & under

Tomorrow is a national holiday and I for one am thrilled.  For starters, our five and seven year old actually seem to understand a bit about Martin Luther King and the importance of his role in our society; to see these little people we created start to have some cognizance of the world around them is really pretty cool. Beyond that, like many folks, I'm glad for a day off of work and time to spend with my family.  Although, truth be told, we're only two days in to this three day weekend and I have to say, I'm more tired -- and more broke! -- than ever.

Here's a quick rundown of the events of the past 48 hours...

• Breakfast, breakfast and more breakfast.  Yesterday there was an appetizer course of two boxes of cereal followed by a main course of about a dozen eggs and six bagels, washed down with a half gallon of juice and almost as much milk. What did I get out of the deal?  Coffee and a lot of dirty dishes.  Thank God for coffee!  Today's breakfast was pretty much a repeat, but the eggs and bagels were replaced by dozens of pancakes.  Good news though, I got one before they were gone!  Score one for Mom!
• Costco & Wine.  Our cupboards -- and wine supply -- hit an all-time low this weekend.  So yesterday, my dear hubby took two tykes to the wine store while I took three to Costco.  I didn't realize what a bad deal I got until two of the triplets started crying that the clementines I loaded on top of them were too heavy and I realized I could no longer see my five year old, Ciara, over the top of the cart.  For all I knew, she could have been lingering near the lady giving out PopChips but thankfully, she was still hanging off the end of the cart, doing her best to keep a month's worth of snacks from falling overboard.  Things got worse when I had to navigate the parking lot with a cart that weighed more than I did, three howling kids and gale force winds that were decidedly not at my back.  The upside? An ample supply of wine awaited at home. The downside? A massive dent in our bank account, a back that still aches, four broken nails, a case of possible frostbite and, to add insult to injury, the fact that I arrived home without any milk or paper towels.  And had to go to the grocery store today. Grrrr.
• Accidents.  The triplets, who turned three in October, have been doing pretty well with potty training.  They flaunt their big boy underwear and will show them off whether invited to or not. They are generous in the sharing of their undergarments and the morning chatter often includes things like "Hey KooKoo, wanna wear my Spiderman underwear today?" "Ok MacMac, you can have my red boxers!" I assure you I never thought I'd have a band of brothers swapping skivvies -- just as I never thought my house would be a urinal.  As good as these little fellas are, when they are tired, they get a bit lazy.  So lazy in fact that they forget to go to the potty and free willy -- and all of willy's contents -- wherever they may be. So far this weekend, that has been on the couch, under the table and ON OUR BED! Not good.  Especially since the caffeine has worn off, the wine at this point is unappealing and the reality of several more loads of laundry seems especially daunting given my aching back! 

Looking ahead to tomorrow, the day that we honor this amazing man who had a dream, I realize I have a dream too -- it is nowhere near as noble and is admittedly self serving.  By comparison, it's a downright selfish, small little dream but I bet it's a dream I share with many busy, juggling moms; I dream of a night of uninterrupted sleep that lasts for at least eight hours; I dream of the day the kids will bring me breakfast... or at least share a bit more of theirs; I dream of the day I'm not scrubbing urine, snot, and other bodily fluids out of clothes, furniture and rugs; and, I dream that when those days arrive, I will look back on these days fondly.  Because as long as each day can be, the years most certainly fly by far too fast.  And, aching, tired bod and all, I am so psyched for one more day to play with our little clan. And, when I get to work on Tuesday, I will be grateful for a yogurt to call my own and a chair to sit down on!

Grocery shopping with the kids? Be prepared to get more than you bargained for!

I'm not sure how or why this happened but when I got home from work last night, I ended up grocery shopping with four of our five kids.  Somehow my husband got to stay home and man the grill with Liam, our six year old while I descended upon the local Stop & Shop with a four year old and three overtired, very hungry two year olds. 

My anxiety level was rising as I pulled into the lot.  How would I wrangle them?  What if I lost one?  Why oh why did they end up in the minivan instead of the backyard?!  Then Ciara sighted one of those nifty carts with a "car" upfront and suddenly I knew it would all be ok.  Who needs DisneyLand when you have these kinds of carts at the supermarket?!  You should have heard the squeals of joy.  It was awesome.  Yep, I said it.  Grocery shopping with four kids four and under on a Tuesday evening after a long day at work was awesome.

The only issue was the list.  I am a big believer in lists, grocery and otherwise.  Here's what was on my list last night: 

• Milk (4 gallons/2%, 2 gallons/skim)
• Eggs (2 dozen)
• Bread (2 loaves)
• Crackers
• Cereal
• Fruit

That's it.  Here's what else ended up in my cart, after only the subtlest of urging from my surprisingly pleasant pit crew:

• Fruit snacks (Cars/Toy Story.  Rationale:  on sale 2 for $4)
• Dole Fruit Cups (2 of them.  Rationale: new 'all natural' variety and on sale)
• Applesauce (2 of them.  Again, on sale 2 for $4)
• CheezIts (3 boxes!  THREE boxes!  Rationale:  on sale 3 for $6)
• English muffins (Buy one, get one free!)
• Chobani yogurt (nutritious, delicious, on sale for 10 for $10!)
• M&Ms (admittedly not on sale but, great motivation for the potty trainers in the cart!)

I have to say, I got a lot more than I bargained for on this trip to the supermarket.  In addition to the snacks that I'd usually pass by, I realized that I can tackle pretty much anything with lots of tots in tow.  And, it was a good reminder that taking a few kids along for the ride can make the most mundane of tasks a whole lot more fun.

Tuesday Tip: Time-saving shopping tactics

One of the things I’m often asked is “with that many kids, how do you keep food in the house?"  Followed quickly by, “and what about diapers?! How many diapers do you go through in a day?!” The short answer to the diaper question is that thankfully, our diaper usage has declined from the infancy peak of about 30-35 diapers a day to a diaper/pull up combo of about a dozen a day… possibly a few more or less depending on the day and the success (or lack thereof!) that we’re having with potty training.
 As for keeping food in the house, well, it’s no easy task – especially for our daily staples like milk, fruit. cereal and yogurt. We easily consume seven gallons of milk a week, a box of cereal a day and last week, went through six pints of blueberries in three day.  So, our burn rate on the food front is substantial, which is why I have some time saving shopping tactics that more often than not, keep our cupboards full and diapers stocked.
 First and foremoest, I like to shop online. It’s quick. it's easy and repeat orders are literally as quick as a click of a button. Some of my frequent go-tos include…

• For Groceries: Peapod.com for heavy staples (e.g. those seven gallons of milk, big bottles of apple juice, etc.) and FreshDirect.com for produce and prepared meals
• For Diapers/Wipes and other assorted kid stuff (baby wash, diaper rash cream, sumblock!), nothing beats diapers.com Their prices are competitive, shipping is free when you spend over $50, and your goods arrive in 48 hours or less. Can’t beat that!
• For kids' birthday gifts, amazon.com works wonders for us. I aspire to keep a closet stocked with gifts for all ages but frankly, our closet space is at a premium so, I let the good folks at amazon take care of the storage until 48-72 hours before the party. With amazonPrime, free shipping is included and for us, it’s well worth it… you name it, they have it and if you don’t know what to get, they have recommendations by age and gender. A little online surfing sure beats an afternoon fighting the masses at Toys R Us if you ask me!  
• For kids clothes, Lands End gets it right every time. Shoes, mittens, winter coats, shorts, they’ve got it all. The quality is good, the prices are right and if you time it right, they’ll offer free shipping too. Gap/Old Navy/PiperLime also experience frequent logins from yours truly; the one-stop shopping can’t be beat and if you get one of those Friends & Family coupons, the deals can’t be beat either! I recently filled my virtual shopping cart with Crocs in several colors and sizes, summer pjs for the triplets, flip flops for Ciara and shorts for Liam. All on sale and all arriving with free shipping and free returns. Check!  A few more things are now crossed of my list!

Here's another tip: avoid the big box stores. I admit it, I enjoy a trip to Target as much as the next gal but I can’t seem to get out of that place without spending hundreds of dollars on items I didn’t have on my list or didn’t know I needed… perhaps because I don’t actually need them! In any case, as tempting as these excursions can be, do your best to just say no… especially if you have your little ones in tow because I’ve found that they just drive up your total expenditure in a big way!

Since you can’t completely avoid those big box or club stores, go with a plan -- create a detailed list and do your best to stick to it. A critical componet to keeping our cupboards full is a trip to Costco every 6-8 weeks. I have a standard list I use every time so I don’t need to recreate the wheel with each visit. Our Costco family staples include:

• Laundry detergent/stain lifter/fabric softener/dish & dishwasher detergent
• Windex/Cleaning supplies/Ziploc bags, as needed
• Milk, Yogurt, GoGurt, Cheddar Cheese, Goat Cheese, Mozzarella cheese, OJ
• Cereal, Crackers, Goldfish, School Snacks, Bread, English muffins
• Chicken, Fish, Pork, any other decent looking, reasonably priced meat or fish
• Broccoli, spinach, asparagus, baby carrots
• Bananas, berries, apples, pears, kiwi

In case you didn't notice, I organize my list by store sections so I can be super-efficient as I whiz through the aisles with my oversized cart. I do admit to occasionally straying from the plan and arriving home somewhat confused as to how a Hannah Andersson dress, Carter's pajamas or a value-pack of Nutella got in the cart but, for the most part, it’s a predictable trip that I’ve got down to a science.

So, there you go -- a few insights as to how this family of seven keeps our staples in stock. Frequent online shopping across multiple categories minimizes my visits to the supermarket and big box stores while also ensuring that the kids (usually!) have clothes that fit and (almost always!) arrive at birthday parties with gifts in hand. Carefully calculated trips to Costco keep our pantry full and organized lists of staples make ordering, reordering and shopping a snap. Next up: wag.com – a sister site to Diapers.com that will ensure our sweet pup Finnegan never wakes up without food in his bowl or his favorite biscuits in the treat jar… I think he’s wagging his tail at the very thought! Happy Shopping!