Anyone else feeling overbooked?

After school activities are in full swing and with all of the football, dance, trumpet lessons, math tutoring, sleep overs and Halloween parties going on we wanted to take a minute to talk about how our fall schedules are treating us. 

So many of us run around from the time we wake up until the time we get back to our pillows at night. I wondered if everyone feels as rushed as I do and how you keep from getting too penciled in?  An elementary school teacher (and mom of three) friend of mine jokes, "Being over booked with a lack of sleep is normal, right?  I just feel like we are all walking around exhausted." 

Curious, I checked in with one of my single (and looking) friends and asked her what her weeks look like. Turns out, she's just as packed with happy hours, dates, networking events, dinners with friends and serious gym time. A night strictly dedicated to cable t.v. is considered a, "real treat" and often times riddled with residual work and lingering house work. 

This week I'm going to schedule a week night of hanging out with my family to do something fun-just us. We are talking, pre-dusk fun times that will leave us all happy and tired from laughing so hard. Well, it's worth a try isn't it?

 

Do you limit the amount of sports/play dates/activities your children participate in? Is there a weekly activity that you schedule for yourself or your family? 

Peas Pointers by Melanie Silverman

I love this time of year.  You want to know why?  I love everything about the pumpkin.  I love how it looks. I love how it tastes.  And I love roasted pumpkin seeds.  Not everyone feels the same way.  With pumpkins comes Halloween and with Halloween comes....CANDY!  Because I work in the kid nutrition business parents ask me a lot of questions.  One of the most frequently asked question I hear is, "What do I do with all the candy at Halloween?".  After 15 years in the business, here is a sampling of what some families do.

1.)  Let them eat candy:  Some families let the kids eat the candy for as long as it takes for the supply to dwindle to nothing.

2.)  Let them eat candy...for a few days:  These families allow the kids to eat a good hefty dose of candy on Halloween and a few pieces at snack times or after meals for about 3-5 days and then they throw it out or donate it.

3.)  Let them eat candy...only on Halloween night:  The kids can eat as much as they want only on Halloween night.  After that day, it's over.  The parents take the candy away.

What do I suggest?  I think you have to take a hard look at the whole year and not focus so much on Halloween.  If you do a good job of scheduled meals and snacks that are mostly healthy and delicious, candy will not hurt for a few days. Perhaps allowing the kids to pick 2 or 3 pieces per day is just fine at scheduled meals and snacks until it is gone.  If your kid has gobs and gobs of candy, my advice is to let them have some for a while and then donate the rest.  Some of our fellow Americans could use a few sweets in their lives.  Check out these suggestions:

http://www.coolmompicks.com/2009/11/donating_extra_halloween_candy.php

However you decide to handle Halloween candy, I sincerely hope you think about more ways to utilize the pumpkin for everyone in your family through the season.  I wish you all Happy Halloween! 

Peas, 
Melanie

Shopping for Frozen Foods

Last night, while I was at the grocery store strolling around trying to find inspiration for what to make for dinner I took a turn into the freezer section and started looking for healthy options. I looked around and noticed the frozen section was packed with people searching the cases and wondered about my fellow shoppers' grocery habits. Admittedly, given the products we make here at Peas of Mind I am partial to the frozen section so maybe I'm not the best gauge but generally, as a consumer, I find myself in the frozen section about once a week. There are so many healthy choices to choose from these days in the freezer section that I find it fun to check out new brands, what ingredients they feature and the flavors offered. For me, vegetables, overall ingredient list and convenience  are always my primary concern when choosing something to bring home for my family, what do you look for in a frozen food? How often do you shop in the frozen food section?