Reaping the fruits of teenaged drivers (and other random updates)

Last night as I cooked dinner, it dawned on me: I don’t have to drive anywhere tonight.

This is not the first time this has occurred- Asher has been driving now since early December. But we didn’t have separate vehicles for both boys until more recently (January). And swim season had so many other events mixed in that I guess I still felt very busy and didn’t have time to notice.

But OMG is it nice!!!

Honestly, the whole “cooking dinner” thing has been the bane of my existence as a working parent. I basically decided that it is borderline impossible.

I can’t tell you how many times I’d work until 5/5:30 and then need to drive someone somewhere right away by 6 pm. OR have to finish work early to get one kid to a 5:00 practice, and then get another one somewhere by 6:30, in the opposite direction. Etc.

I would come upstairs from working, want to cook dinner, and…. not really have enough time before we’d have to be out the door. We also went through some long phases where the boys played on soccer teams that practiced pretty far away! Asher sometimes swam at a pool 25 min away, or we’d have to drive a full carpool.

Sooooo many times, I’d start cooking dinner, thinking I did have “just” enough time…. only to realize, crap, this “quick meal” I’m trying to make is not actually QUICK ENOUGH and now I have half cooked food on the stove and we need to leave. 😅

I was constantly frustrated. There never felt like enough time!!

Obviously, we made it work. Everyone is still alive, and no one has starved. And poof, just like that, we have now moved on to the era where I no longer need to drive people places! Problem solved. lol. (Follow me for more working mom tips. haha.)

I remember thinking, back in the day, “I think this is one of those things that I’m just never going to really fully figure out until some day, it just won’t matter anymore. I think this is always just going to feel chaotic until it’s done.” Do you have any things like that?? Where you kinda just give up a little bit?

I also remember thinking often, “What is everyone else doing?! What are people eating??!” (because I’d see other moms also in the drop off/ pick up lines, at the same time… ).

Of course everyone’s situation is different, so who knows. Maybe they didn’t work all day. Maybe their husband was at home cooking. Maybe they were just better at it than I was. Maybe they had McDonald’s. I don’t know.

And I am sure there were things I could have done better/ differently. Yes, the whole crock pot thing… (except no one in my family really likes crock pot food). You can meal prep on Sundays. (Bleh). You can make SUPER simple meals like sandwiches and quesadillas. I could have tried to cook more on my lunch hour (except I tried to squeeze in workouts then…). You can eat a lot of leftovers. You can get take out. There are options.

I guess I just never prioritized it ENOUGH to really plan ahead well enough, maybe, to make it not feel problematic. We also tend to eat more Mexican style foods and things that really aren’t as “make ahead” friendly.

All I know is that given Ivan’s work schedule (gets home later) and mine, I am typically the weeknight cook, and I freaking hated (trying, and failing) to constantly manage that around driving people.

And now, I don’t have to anymore!! Last night I worked until almost 5:45, and still had time to finish cooking chicken tinga (for tostadas) with fresh salsa verde and refried beans by 6:30 p.m. (because I didn’t have to drive anywhere at 6:00!)

Asher actually didn’t have school yesterday, and he also drove himself to his morning orthodontist appointment. Ethan drove himself home from his tennis practice and to go buy Ivan a birthday present. (Which is today- Happy 45th Birthday, Ivan!!).

I made it, you guys. 😉 The driving thing- while yes, simultaneously terrifying- is game changer. Having both kids able to drive is probably the single biggest impact on our lives that I can think of right now!

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In other random news:

🔷 Check out my current favorite high protein breakfast option:

• 1 egg
• 2 egg whites
• small handful of spinach or other cooked veg (zucchini, yesterday)
• 2 oz of some kind of meat (just deli turkey yesterday, but I often add shredded chicken if I have on hand)
• about 0.5 oz of shredded cheese melted in
• salt and pepper

As shown it had 29 grams of protein, 4 grams of carbs, and 10 grams of fat, for only 235 calories! And it’s a LOT of food. Can easily pair with fruit, a piece of toast or 1/2 english muffin as desired too for more carbs.

(*I do not like egg whites on their own, but mixed with a regular egg + other stuff, I can’t taste the difference! This drastically increases the protein while keeping fat/calories more reasonable. 1 egg white = 25 calories vs about 72 calories in 1 real egg, but the egg whites and egg have the same amount of protein! (about 5 grams each). I keep a carton of the liquid real egg whites in the fridge.)

🔷How beautiful was this sky the other night, on our 70 degree early March day?!

🔷 I spent my lunch break yesterday doing a MUCH NEEDED spring garage refresh. We had stuff piled up on the cabinets and some freaking leaf bags still sitting around from fall that were driving me insane. I also swept and sort of mopped the floor, and vacuumed the rugs. I might take my laptop out to the garage today just so I can sit and admire how nice it now looks. LOL.

🔷 This is how Charlie lays ALL DAY:

It’s so hilarious!!! 😅😅

Daily Gratitude:

I am grateful for both kids being able to drive!