Calling All Soccer Moms (and the Whitney Awards)
by Sariah S. Wilson
I have finally taken the plunge - I have enrolled one of my boys in organized sports - spring baseball (the other son will do football in the fall). I think this makes me crazy, because the coach requires that one parent stay at the practice. My son gets home at 4:30; practice starts at 5:30 and I have to troop all the kids out myself because the husband doesn't get home until 7:00 (practice is over at that point). So besides how much it is NOT EASY to be on the field with three kids while one plays (which is a whole other blog post), I haven't quite figured out the dinner thing yet.
We typically eat dinner between 6:00 and 6:30, which would be in the middle of practice. So...do I feed the kids before we leave? I am trying to save money, so the fast food option is out. Or I suppose I could try to do a Crock Pot sort of thing and eat when we get home, but by 7:00 at night they would be very hungry.
I'm looking for suggestions from moms/dads who have done this before who might have some insight on how best to feed the family around athletic practices.
Also, in case you forgot, the Whitney awards are being given out tonight. To follow the event, go to the website. I'm off to live vicariously because I wasn't able to go this year. Good luck to all the nominees!
I have finally taken the plunge - I have enrolled one of my boys in organized sports - spring baseball (the other son will do football in the fall). I think this makes me crazy, because the coach requires that one parent stay at the practice. My son gets home at 4:30; practice starts at 5:30 and I have to troop all the kids out myself because the husband doesn't get home until 7:00 (practice is over at that point). So besides how much it is NOT EASY to be on the field with three kids while one plays (which is a whole other blog post), I haven't quite figured out the dinner thing yet.
We typically eat dinner between 6:00 and 6:30, which would be in the middle of practice. So...do I feed the kids before we leave? I am trying to save money, so the fast food option is out. Or I suppose I could try to do a Crock Pot sort of thing and eat when we get home, but by 7:00 at night they would be very hungry.
I'm looking for suggestions from moms/dads who have done this before who might have some insight on how best to feed the family around athletic practices.
Also, in case you forgot, the Whitney awards are being given out tonight. To follow the event, go to the website. I'm off to live vicariously because I wasn't able to go this year. Good luck to all the nominees!
Sariah Wilson — 4/25/2009 08:04:00 PM
9 comments
9 Comments:
I'm living vicariously as well. The live blogging is awesome.
I think bring snacks for the kids, maybe one good one (apples or carrots) and one junky one (chips or cookies) and then just eat when you get home at 7:00. Eating before is too hard, but snacks should hold them over until after practice. Plus, the snacks will keep them busy & happy during the practice. Good luck & have fun.
I agree with the snack thing. It doesn't have to be anything big, just something small to tide them over. I would also suggest making meals and then freezing them. Casseroles freeze really well, and you can make them well in advance, take them out the day of practice (he doesn't have practice everyday does he?), put in the oven or microwave before you leave and be ready when you get home. Homemade burritos also freeze well and they can be individually wrapped so if you wanted to feed the kids at practice, they can have their own individually wrapped dinner that is fast-food like.
I am also doing the vicarious awards. Someday..
I agree with the snacks or individual foods. These
(https://www.brothersallnatural.com/view/category_FC-VARIETY-A.htm)
are great. They are freeze dried fruits, carry well and have none of the yucky stuff in them. My picky eater grandson (age 2) loves them because he thinks he is getting a bag of chips from grandma, his mom loves them because he is getting fruits.
You can order them from the link above or Costco has them- just not as many varieties- or many healt food stores have them as well.
Then when you get home you can have a casserole or something that you have thrown in the crock pot so that it is ready when you walk in the door.
Hey, the liveblogging didn't say who won youth fiction! And I am dying to know!....
Congratulations to all the winners!
Emily- It was James Dashner for 13th Reality.
Thanks, Sandra!
So I just heard about your blog at the Storymakers conference and I came to check it out. Snacks are great for soccer moms. My two oldest (7 and 5)have soccer in the fall so we have dinner time practice twice a week for a couple of months and I found that even dragging the 2 year old with me I could feed them at the practice with sandwhiches and fruits or carrots and that left time for baths and bedtime when we get home at 7 pm. Homemade burritos are a great idea also I like to make calzones or homemade stuffed breads like British pasties and just now figured out that those would work for on the go meals for the kids too.
Anyway good luck.
I live life on the road when my kids get home from school. 3 of them are in sports, all on various competition teams which includes quite a bit of travel. After school they'll have a bagel or something mid-sized. Then we take along snacks. Then after games (7 or 8:00) we have another mid-sized meal. Maybe soup and sandwiches or burritos. Crock-pot meals are great too. You can usually eat them at 4:30, or later after 7:00. Or both! I save the bigger dinners when we will all be home together or on the weekends. I also keep a big tote bag in the car with coloring books, etc in it for the younger kids. This bag is for when we are at the games and there is no jungle gym close-by.
I've lived that schedule a few times over. When I tried to feed the kids a real dinner as they walked in the door from school (they get home at 4) they weren't hungry enough to eat well, plus we're in a hurry to find all the right equipment, check who has what kind of homework and notes to be signed etc. So then I started the light snack and have dinner waiting in the oven (time bake is a wonderful feature) or slow cooker. That worked until the fatal fall when 3 children played soccer and my husband and I each coached a team. (Did I mention I was nursing a 4 month old baby, too?) That year I made dinner to go: sandwich, fruit, cookie. Whoever was on the sidelines ate. It was never at the same time, but it worked. And whoever was still hungry when we got home had a glass of chocolate milk before baths, stories, and bed and Mom collapsed.
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