After school routine

A good day.....

School finishes at 310. The kids are normally all out by 320 and we head back to the car. I arrived a few minutes early for pick up, and so I have a great parking space close to school. The means tired legs don't have far to walk. Bags are carefully placed in the boot without squashing anything that is already in the car. The kids calmly decide between them who sits in which space and everybody over the age of 6 buckles themselves in. I buckle in the youngest two and start the car. The radio is playing softly in the background and we drive home. Once home, everybody remembers their bags, shuts the doors behind them and goes calmly into the house. We eat a snack of cheese, crackers and fruit before they go off to play, read, do homework or practise musical instruments. I finish up dinner, which I already prepped earlier and as we eat, we discuss the day and everybody chats quietly and calmly. After dinner, the table is cleared, wiped, dishwasher loaded, floor swept and everybody retires to finish homework, music practice, playing or reading before showers, baths and bed. 

A bad day......

School finishes around 310. I am running later than normal and make it to the gates at 311. On a good day, this is when the gates open. One bad day, they open at 309 and by 311 parents are already walking their children back to the cars. My youngest schoolchild feels like he is the last one left, and wonders where on earth i was. Whilst I wait for the juniors to grace me with their presence on the playground, my preschooler and infant child cause a fracas with a couple of nearby children, resulting in lots of ear piercing screaming, shouting, running about and general hullabaloo. I alternate between casting apologetic glances at parents in the close vicinity, whilst trying to shush them, and staring blankly at the floor in embarrassment. Neither option has the desired affect of restoring peace and order to playground. Eventually my two juniors stroll slowly out, blissfully unaware of the chaos their delay has caused. Burdened down with lunch boxes, school bags and a tired toddler who refuses to walk, we begin the trek back to the car, which is several hundred yards further down the road than it is on a good day, and so the whining begins. I try to open negotiations about carrying their own bags, which are usually successful with the oldest children....not on a bad day....at the car, the door is swung widely open, almost taking out a child on a scooter who happens to be passing at the wrong time. Instead of getting into the car, the children stand in a huddle whilst I strap the toddler in, so with the door open and the huddle of children, it is impossible for anyone to get passed. Despite being able to hear any private conversation between my husband and myself, they appear deaf to my requests to move and shut the door, they are too busy arguing about who will sit where, and who sat where last time. A small group of people has built up behind them. Oblivious to the obstruction they are causing, they continue to argue until I successfully strap the toddler in and can give my full attention to playing referee. I convince them to at least move out of the way and let the crowd pass by (muttering threats about no tv time under my breath) they climb sullenly into the car, throwing bags haphazardly into the boot or footwell, with no regard to anything they may squash or step on.... the bickering continues most of the way home, with the toddler loudly demanding either a change of radio station when she doesn't like the song, or simply screeching to have it turned off completely. With my sanity rapidly evaporating, we arrive home. The kids leave half their bags in the car, and every door or window wide open, and run into the house for a snack. By the time I arrive, they are fighting over a packet of biscuits. I wearily ask them to return to the car to a) collect all their bags and b) shut the doors. They head to the lounge to put in the tv, whilst I hide in the kitchen, under the guise of making dinner, whilst really rifling through cupboards for some chocolate and surfing facebook status' on my phone....surely I can't be the only one to have such a rough ride after school....squeals from the lounge over what program to watch indicate it's going to be a long evening....

Now, having been a school run parent for the last 9 years, I can assure you that unfortunately we most definitely have more elements of the 'bad' after school days than the 'good'....although it is often more a mix of the two. 

Quick and easy dinners.

I love to cook from scratch. I enjoy making pastry, cakes, pizza and watching my children devour it, safe in the knowledge that the meals are virtually additive free and I know exactly what's in them. However, we all have those midweek nights (and let's be honest, sometimes weekends too) when we don't have the time/can't be bothered/don't have the ingredients to whip up a, from scratch, Jamie Oliver worthy meal for our family. Confession- before you ask, yes, sometimes it is just a trip to McDonald's or the chip shop if I really cannot face making anything :)

Other times, I like to have a few quick and easy meals to hand.
Our kids favourite one is 'pasta, cheese and beans' literally what it sounds. Pasta, with baked beans mixed in and sprinkled with grated cheese. Less than ten minutes to prepare, and please, correct me if I'm wrong, more nutritious, and certainly more filling than McDonald's. To make myself feel better, I ocassionally think about using organic whole wheat pasta, organic beans and organic cheddar (I may've actually done this once). I also serve it with carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes and cucumber slices, with a yoghurt or fruit for pudding.

Another easy one is an omelette.
 Whisk up some eggs (I use about a dozen for our family) and a splash of milk in a jug, I add onion salt (the kids complain if I add actual onion to an omelette) and pour into a frying pan, once it's cooked on the bottom, I sprinkle cheese on top and place it under the grill to cook on the top, when I'm in a 'can't-be-bothered-to-cook mood, the last think I want to do is mess about trying to flip or fold an omelette. Voila, another ten minute meal. I serve with oven chips, salad, garlic bread, oven baked baguettes, baked beans...whatever I've got to hand really.

Pasta with a tomato sauce.
My favourite quick and easy meal. Slice up and sauté some onions and peppers, whatever colour and amount I have left in the fridge. Add tinned tomatoes and or passata. Crumble in a stock cube (unless you're vegetarian, it doesn't matter what flavour it is!) add mixed herbs, oregano, salt, pepper and whatever other Mediterranean herbs you fancy. Simmer for a few minutes and serve over the pasta with grated cheese. For my fussy eaters, I whizz in the blender for a few seconds.

Jacket potatoes.
 If you decide early enough in the day that you can't be bothered to cook, then throw some potatoes in the oven for an hour or so. Add beans and cheese, if you really want to go all out, open some tuna or any leftover chicken or ham. Serve with part baked baguette and salad. Easy :)

Mediterranean tart.
Sounds a little fancy, but it's super easy. Use ready rolled puff pastry (can be bought for £1 when on offer) spread with tomato purée or passata, and top with chopped red onion, peppers, ham or any other cooked meat, sprinkle with grated cheese and cook for 15-20 minutes at 160. My 12 year old made this in his food tech class at school, and it reheated really well for dinner too. Serve with whatever side dish you want, corn on the cob, potato salad, regular salad, wedges.

Easy homemade wedges.
 Wash and slice potatoes into wedge shapes. Place on baking tray, drizzle with oil and salt and pepper. Cook for 30-45 minutes at 180-200 depending on how hot your oven is. Turn half way through cooking if necessary. I don't always turn them- I think it makes a difference which kind if potatoes I buy, although I don't remember which ones didn't need turning!

If all else fails, cereal and toast is better than starving, and my guess is it's probably better than McDonald's too, although I'm no nutrional expert...

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The morning routines.....

When people find out I have five children, one of the things they often say (once they have picked their jaws up from the floor) is 'you must be so organised!' Whilst I'm the first to admit this isn't always the case, we do often need a routine to help us get through regular days. We generally have two routines we follow. I like to affectionately call them the Good Routine, and the Bad Routine...

The Good Routine: 

Hubby's alarm goes off just after 6am.

6:15-630 hubby in shower, me snoozing, often with a child who has already woken up.

630-645: somewhere between this time I crawl out of bed (I am NOT a morning person) and jump in the shower. I like to shower before hubby leaves for work, otherwise WW3 tends to break out whilst I am unable to play mediator. Hubby heads downstairs, starts breakfast for the kids that are awake and usually empties dishwasher.

645-7 get dressed, head downstairs, wake anyone who isn't already awake, other than the Toddler. She gets to sleep as long as possible. Teenager goes in the shower (everyone else showers at night) Take school uniform down (keep it in my room so I know where to find it in the mornings)

7-715: hubby leaves for work

7-730: Help with breakfast, tidy away breakfast, encourage kids to get dressed. Finish lunches (try to prepare as much as I can the night before)

730-750: Head back upstairs, wake and dress toddler. Clean my teeth. Ask kids to clean teeth....do a quick room tidy.....get dressed....put dirty clothes in the washing basket.

750-805: Back downstairs, quick breakfast for toddler (we usually eat again after the school run) and chance for second breakfast for early risers. Put on load of washing if I get chance.

805-815: Final calls for teeth cleaning, gather book bags and lunches, put on shoes and coats, head out the door.

820-830: Drive to school.

835: Arrive at school.

840- School bell rings.

The Bad Routine:

6am hubby's alarm goes off.
615:630 hubby in the shower.
615-7am- me asleep, not snoozing, completely asleep.
7am: hubby comes up to kiss me goodbye, having unloaded the dishwasher and breakfasted any awake children.
Somewhere between 715 and 730:  slightly panicked I jump out of bed and into the shower, ignoring any noise that does not sound life threatening.
730-740- get myself dressed, run downstairs (yes, I can shower in two minutes if the need arises)
740-8: frantically throw together 4 lunches. (On a Bad Routine day, I have of course not only overslept, but ALWAYS forgotten to make the lunches the night before) make toast for the toddler and 5 yr old, call (not quite yell, but fairly close) out reminders to clean teeth and hurry up to everyone else.
8am- back upstairs to help 5 yr old dress and toddler dress (on a BR day he can never dress himself, and toddler wears the first outfit I grab from her drawer)
820: meet in the kitchen, dish out lunch boxes, ask for shoes to be on,
825: jump into car.
838: arrive at school
840: school bell rings.
845: breath sigh of relief in car, return home with toddler for breakfast and to tidy up the war zone.

Both Routines have the same end result, everyone still makes it to school on time (I have issues with being on time- the kids always have to be on time, but I don't always manage to be myself, I'll cover why in a later post) but the differences are obvious! 

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Typical weekly menu

We eat mostly home cooked. I enjoy making pastry, cakes, sauces and the like from scratch. (That's not to say we don't sometimes go out or have a takeaway, but the majority of the time we eat at home). I tend to plan a months worth of meals at a time, which I don't always stick to rigidly, but helps me most nights, knowing we always have food for a meal.

A good week might be along the lines of:

Sunday- roast chicken, roast potatoes, vegetables, stuffing and gravy.

Monday- jacket potatoes, beans and cheese and any leftover chicken, plus an omlette and salad.

Tuesday- pesto pasta, with peppers, onions, mushrooms (sometimes a chopped up chicken breast- whatever we have in!)

Wednesday- toad in the hole, potatoes (mash or roast) and veggies.

Thursday- mince meal (spag Bol, shepherds pie, Mexican)

Friday- homemade pizza or soup and baguettes (everyone has a school dinner)

Saturday- pasta for the kids, we eat later.

A bad week is more like:
Roast dinner on Sunday ....... forgot to turn the oven on, so ends up sausages from the freezer with vegetables.
Monday: stick yesterday's chicken that didn't get cooked in the oven before the school run, jacket potatoes in before swimming, listen to everybody moan that they don't want jacket potatoes AGAIN. Honestly, the way some Monday's go, they should just be grateful they're fed....
Tuesday...already loosing the will to live (hey, I said it was a bad week!) pasta with cheese and beans for the kids, give them some fruit for pudding to make up for the lack of veg with dinner.
Wednesday- totally lost the will....whatever is in the freezer. Sometimes this means one child has fish fingers, whilst another has a veggie burger, or some leftover mince something or other (I'm not always great at labelling, so sometimes I just have to wait until it defrosts before I figure out whether it's mexican, spaghetti bolognaise....etc etc)
Thursday- some form of pasta with a jar, yes, I know they already had pasta on Tuesday...fortunately not every week is a bad week...
Friday- frozen pizza, or french bread pizza, or some other high carb dinner.
Saturday- toss up between a third pasta dish or a visit to the local chip shop....

Fortunately not every week is a bad week! Sometimes the week is a combination of the above, some good, some bad. We try to always get some fruit or bpvegan at every meal, so even if the meal is a quick and easy one, there is something healthy served with it. Of course, the ideal is a perfectly balanced meal every day, and that's what we aim for, but we are a normal, busy family, and sometimes we just have to do the best we can for our own survival. 

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Date night

Although we have been married almost 14 years and have 5 children, we still need to spend time together 'dating'. Like most busy parents of active young children, we find that we need to make sure we spend quality time together. We are lucky in that we manage to get away on our own every year, often for a weekend, sometimes just overnight, thanks to parents or siblings. Time like this is precious and important in a marriage. We also manage to average at least once every couple of months going out on our own, although this doesn't always work out!

One thing we try to do is have a weekly date at home. Generally this is Saturday night. The kids go to bed a little earlier, as they're up late at karate training on a Friday night, and we prepare a meal together that's a little bit fancier than we would normally eat, or occasionally we'll order a takeaway. We'll either eat and talk at the kitchen table, or watch a movie together. It's just a chance for us to relax and unwind together after a busy week, and something that we both look forward to.

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Technology time

For our family, the best way for us to manage technology time is by setting limits. Ones that the kids know, and have come to accept. For each family it is different, and this is simply what currently works for our family.

We have a Wii, and during term time it is only played on Friday and Saturday evenings. This allows weeknights to be used for homework, activities, family time, without the constant nagging to play the Wii. The kids know that it is a weekend only treat, and this helps them to appreciate the time they spend playing it (of course it does not mean there are no arguments!! Just that we can limit arguing over the wii to Fridays and Saturdays! ;) we are a little more relaxed during the holidays, but still do our best to ensure that hours aren't wasted on it.

The TV is allowed on during the week, after school. I generally don't allow TV in a school morning as there really isn't time for it, but in the evenings, if homework is done, then the kids get to watch something. They particularly like the Disney Channel, and the programmes so far seem to be family friendly, so we don't have an issue with them. We generally discouraged too much tv watching if it's a summers evening, since I prefer the kids to be outside playing. More often than not the TV only goes on after dinner whilst we are putting the little ones to bed. The older 3 choose a show and will watch it whilst we do stories and baths for the youngest.

One thing we try hard not to do is have TV be the last activity before bed. Our preference is reading, I'm no expert in child development, but reading definitely helps to relax our kids before they fall asleep.

Mobile phones.

Our children (and so far this only applies to the oldest) get a phone when they start secondary school. We personally don't think there is a need for one before this time, but every family is different. They pay for it themselves from their pocket money (hubby found a deal which, after cashback works out to less than £1 a month) and it is a basic phone. This means if it is lost or stolen it is not a huge expense to replace. It also makes it far less likely to be stolen. We do not allow phones or technology in bedrooms. They are to be used during the day when the rest of the family is around, and bed time is for sleeping. This may change as the children get older, but for now we do not see any reason why a 12 year old would need to be calling or texting after 9pm.

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Summer holiday activities

Actually, these activities could be used at any time, I usually find the need for them more in the six week summer holiday.

Homemade playdough, I found this recipe online years ago, so unfortunately am not sure where to quote the source from. It is really quick and easy, and makes great playdough every time. If stored in an airtight bag or tub it keeps for ages.

Baking. Measure out ingredients for a simple sponge cake and leave older kids to make themselves. So much pleasure is gained from a fairly simple activity.

Mix together 4 ounces sugar with 4 ounces butter/margarine. Add 2 eggs, mix together, add 4 ounces of flour, gently mix. Cook for 15-20 mins until firm and cooked through.

Potion making

Place a selection of dry ingredients into the sections in a muffin pan (eg, hot chocolate, gravy, rice, flour, custard powder, whatever you have to hand) give the kids a bowl and a plastic spoon (so as not to scratch the muffin tin!) and let them play. My kids love mixing up 'potions' if I'm feeling exceptionally in form, I allow them to add water at the end! Adding it at the end makes for a lot less mess than giving it to them in the beginning!

Ice/frost cookies. Have on hand a packet of rich tea, or other cheap, plain biscuits. Mix up some icing sugar and water (directions will be on the packet) and let the kids get to work. If you have sweets such as smarties or chocolate buttons, they always go down well. Add food colouring to the icing to make it more fun for the kids.

Create a 'boredom' jar. This is the first year we have done this thanks to a friends facebook post. I wrote activities and chores on slips of paper in a jar, and the kids got to choose any one they wanted, without reading it. They ranged from 'sweep under the table' to 'make a short video' to '15 minutes on the wii/ipad. I was surprised how many times they were willing to risk getting a chore in order to try and get one of the 'golden tickets' as we labelled them- one with a set amount of time on some form of gadget or computer! This helped us on days where we mostly stayed at home.

Scavenger/treasure hunts. Now that the kids are older they enjoy making these up for the little ones. Some simple ones are find something beginning with every letter of the alphabet, or clues that lead from one room to another around the house (such as 'the room you clean your teeth in') ending up with finding a small treat.

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