Works for Me Wednesday, May 17

You know, I had this great WFMW tip all in my head, but didn't immediately write it down. So, of course, I don't remember it now. It wasn't anything to do with natural health, but that doesn't help me, so I'm going to post something different. If I do happen to remember what it was I was going to post, then you'll get 2 for 1 today! LOL!!

Meal-planning helps
HOH has started going with some other men to do prison ministry on Monday nights. He doesn't really have time to eat with us, so I'm officially making Monday "Breakfast for Supper" night. It's quick, delicious, and we get to eat some of our favorites that are usually too time-consuming for me to fix the hungry pirhanas, er, boys in the mornings. Wednesday nights can get hectic, too, so I almost always make that my leftover night - quick, easy, and frugal, too! Another "leftover" time is lunch on Sunday. We live 30 minutes from church, and get back home right at lunch time. To ward off any "let's-just-eat-out-itis" having leftovers planned works, and if the "let's-just-eat-out-itis" does indeed strike, then we can always eat the leftovers another day. If we're going to have company over after church, however, I almost always fix something that can be cooking in my oven while we're worshipping. That way, my family and guests arrive to the wonderful smell of warm food that's ready to go as soon as we set the tables. The other option is to stick something in the crockpot on high, but that is rare.

Part Two
Reading Holy Mama's fast-food-in-the-minivan post sparked the memory of the forgotten tip(s). So, here's two more for today!!!

#1 - We try to keep a few small toys from the dollar section (usually of the local Christian book store) in case the toys in the kid's meals are inappropriate for our children. This works really well when HOH tells the boys they can have a kid's meal and the toy that goes with it, only to find out that the toy is some grotesque thing that we don't want in our house or van.

#1b - Well, along those lines, I often do not get them a kid's meal. They can split a medium drink, medium fries, and get more chicken nuggets for less dinero if I order off of the value menu. The toys are great for cases like this. Yet another thing, I try to keep sippy cups sans the spill-proof part in the van for this purpose, so that they don't think they're sharing a drink.

#2 - When HOH cooks (aka, Chinese takeout), the boys all love fortune cookies. Sometimes I find the sayings to be a bit confusing, or too much like horoscopes, so I will "read" them to the boys and substitute Scripture, an attribute of God/Jesus, or other helpful "tip" for the Christian walk. Not only do they get their "fortune," but they also get a theology lesson! Sneaky, eh? And, I just thought about using some key questions from the Westminster Confession! Like "What is the chief end of man?"