Week Night Dinner Planning #FamilyPizzaCombo

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We have officially entered uncharted territory. Since Jonah has officially started Preschool, gone are the days of leaving the house in the mornings half dressed, no delivering him to childcare with no shoes, unbrushed hair, asking NaNa to make sure he brushes his teeth after breakfast (which she feeds him). We have to do all that ourselves. I mean...it's like we are the adults or something... Some days... he even has to take his lunch. I mean. GASP. What is this life I have been thrust into? I actually have to, the night before, be prepared for the next day. 

Seriously though, or maybe not so seriously, I am a procrastinator, I admit it. So, adjusting to this new "life style" is challenging. What will I do when it's every day, school start time is before 8am, and there are consequences and dress codes and homework? Reconsider homeschooling...that's what I'll do. 

I mean this is what my kids look like at 7:30 this morning... 

Why do they look like that? Because they kept me up all night most likely..we like to play musical beds at all hours of the night. 

I will say though, and give us a little credit, when it comes to the things that have to be done every day, we have kind of gotten a routine down that works (most of the time). We alternate days doing drop off and try to plan ahead for weeknight dinners. Here's an example of how we do it.

First, This week I came up with this printable menu, that I hope will help us with this even more! Print it at the bottom of the post! 

 Find a printable color version at the bottom of this post! 

2. "Grocery shop" for meals in the fridge and freezer before you go to the store. When we are really busy, we tend to let fresh food go bad that's right under our noses! 



3. Plan an easy mix of cooked dinners and dinners that can be made without turning the oven on and waiting for it to preheat. It's okay to have sandwiches for dinner. It really is. 

4. Make it even EASIER by finding cost effective dinners that are actually good! Give yourself a break! Friday night, I sent my husband to Sam's Club while I picked up the kids! He walked in to the cafe and ordered the Family Pizza Combo and spent less than $15 on dinner AND we had left overs! 

While he was getting dinner (which is already on his way home) I picked up the kiddos and headed to the house. I fed Ezra and Jonah helped me set the table..and eat an appetizer of fresh fruit as we waited for Daddy to come home! 

of course Daddy gets to be the hero and bring in the Pizza and oh my since it was the weekend, Jonah even got to have a cookie with his dinner! Okay maybe I had one too. This pizza was so good y'all. It was hot, fresh, and the chocolate chips in the cookies melted in my mouth! I might need this again for dinner tonight because my mouth is kind of watering just thinking about it!

The combo pack makes it easy for you to purchase it from the Cafe and go! 

The Sam's Club Cafe Pizza and Coke Bundle includes a 16" Pizza, Cheesy Bread sticks, Cookies and a 2 Liter Coca Cola product! 

Now if getting everybody a well rounded breakfast was this easy...

The number one thing I think we've learned, is to make our busy lives flow a little more smoothly, we have to take turns. Divide and conquer. You get the kids, I'll get the dinner. You clean the kitchen, I'll give the baths. You rock the baby, I'll try to convince the big boy to go to bed. We aren't always successful at this. In fact, last night it took both of us to get the big boy to go to bed...but that's a whole other blog post on it's own. 

open in a new window and save, then print as an 8x10 in landscape

I've shared how we're using the Family Pizza Combo to make the most of our busy week nights! What will you do with the extra time it gives your family?