WOTH moms with kids in activities: how do you get dinner on the table?

[mom2khj]

We do crock pot, or super simple things like spaghetti with jarred sauce. On really hectic weeks, we just pull through somewhere on the way home.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

I have DH cook. We don't have many activities yet (just one weeknight activity -swimming) but even still..i don't usually get home until 6, so everybody waiting till I get home from work to start dinner just makes no sense. DH does do a lot of crockpot stuff during the day. We do a lot of stuff on weekends and make some stuff then, and then maybe cook 2-3 nights a week, then the other nights we reheat leftovers.

[ladysoapmaker]

We do some make ahead meals, crockpot meals, DH cooks. My kids are older so they help cook however when they were younger lots of quick meals, mac & cheese with peas and ham, chicken noodle soup (canned chicken, water, broth, veggies heat to boiling add noodles and cook until noodles are done.) spaghetti from a jar, brown meat add jar of ready made sauce boil noodles and done.

Good luck,
Jen

[bnme]

Are you trying to eat before or after? I found instead of trying to rush and eat before, it was better to wait until after. We do French bread pizza, pasta and sauce with frozen meatballs, pancakes, and of course take out. Also we often do stuff like boxed mac and cheese or sandwiches. Have fresh fruit and veggies on hand and it's not all that bad.

[Momit]

Don't give up on your crock pot! Find a few recipes you like and it could be your new best friend
-crock pot lasagna (only cooks for about 4 hours but is great as leftovers
-salsa chicken (a BBB favorite)
-pulled pork
-split pea soup
-BBQ chicken

I also like the George Foreman grill - cooks things super fast like sausage, hamburger patties, fish filets. Just defrost in the morning.

[ilfaith]

Right now our schedule looks like this...
Monday: Tennis/Baseball
Tuesday: Play rehearsal/Cub Scouts
Wednesday: Hebrew school
Thursday: Baseball
Friday: T-Ball

We dropped soccer because it moved to Monday from Tuesday (we used to have half an hour to go to the Burger King drive-thru...the only place to eat in between the soccer field and the church where scout meetings are held). Now Tuesdays are frequently pizza, because our local pizzeria has a bogo deal on Tuesdays. If I have time during the day, I will cook...although right now DS1 has play rehearsals on Tuesdays after school, so I have an extra pick-up to do.

Now, we have an hour between tennis (DS2&3) and baseball (DS1&2...DS1 had to put tennis on hold since his clinic overlaps baseball practice)...so I can make something quick like sandwiches, or prepare something in advance to quickly heat and serve (I made a casserole this morning since I was home, and microwaved it for dinner).

I try to feed the boys before baseball, because while playing right after dinner might not be ideal, practice runs from 6-7:30, so we don't get home until 8 pm, at which point it is to late to start dinner (as ideal bedtime is 8:30...but lately we've been pushing to 9). We tend to do things that are pretty quick and easy, like simple pasta dishes, sandwiches, or eggs.

When the older boys have Hebrew school, I pack them a dinner, as they break for a meal...usually a bagel with cream cheese or tuna salad, some fruit, and maybe a granola bar or something dessert-like. If DH is around, he and DS3 usually go out to eat together. Otherwise I take DS3 with me and we eat somewhere near our temple (which is 35 minutes from home, so no point in driving back and forth)...we run errands (Target, Whole Foods, and other stores that are close by)...if I am alone, I kill time at the mall or TJ Max.

Fridays I sometimes try to do a nice shabbat dinner after practice (DS3's t-ball practice only runs an hour, from 5:30-6:30, and is five minutes from the house). But sometimes we will go out to dinner (as long as DS3 isn't caked in mud).

I consider myself lucky right now. I was able to get DS1 and DS2 on the same baseball team (by moving DS2 up when he might have benefited from another year at the lower level, and holding DS1 back). I don't know what I would have done if they had been on different teams, as the league holds practices at two fields 20+ minutes away from one another. I am also glad I was able to convince the boys to agree on one sport. If someone had wanted to play soccer or lacrosse this season, I couldn't have managed it.

[jennilynn]

I do as much prep as I can the night before after the kids are in bed. Sometimes that's chopping veggies, cooking rice, making pancakes, whatever. I also make sure the kitchen is clean. And meals are simple (tonight was spaghetti and meatballs, made the meatballs yesterday, tomorrow is nachos with lots of veggies which I'll chop tonight.) we don't even have activities yet but I usually don't get home from work until 7 so it's necessary to have bedtime at a decent hour.