Many of you may know my oldest child started kindergarten this September. In one short month, my life has completely changed, going from being home with my kids and setting my own schedule to being inundated with new timelines, requirements, and to-do lists, all before my son even gets to class.

Our fridge is covered with calendars, all highlighted with dates of classroom parties, field-trips, or in-class activities that require my help, presence, or some kind of extra attention. One day, it’s tennis, the next, computers, there is a show-and-tell, another child’s birthday, crafts, science experiments, picture day, and a whole other slew of ongoing events that have me scrambling to get things ready. A friend of mine who has three kids aged 4 – 11 laughed at my exasperation and said that the first year is the hardest to adjust. With so many things to do for him, my normal routine is floundering.

Luckily, a timely e-mail message from everythingmom.com arrived in my inbox. They have a new, free, weekly meal plan that they send directly to people like me, who are running out of steam by the end of the day, and need some direction on (or just haven’t even given a thought to) what to serve for dinner. Every week, Karen, their Meal Planning Editor, will provide readers with a Free Weekly Meal Plan, which will offer up recipes and how-to’s on great meals to enjoy. She philosophy is to create healthy, delicious and easy-to-make meals at home that your family will love to eat. You’ll find that she tends to make a lot of things that can be frozen, or prepped ahead, with lots of variety and tons of fresh veggies. I’m making their lasagna tonight, and have already signed up for the weekly meal plan. I thought I would share it with you, in case you may be experiencing the same mommy rushing around that I am. To help with your meal planning, you can also download their templates: Printable Weekly Meal Plan, and Printable Grocery List.

Standing on my Soapbox

JB