April's One Small Change & Update

I'm behind (so it goes) posting about how March's change went. The PAM is gone from my baking cabinet and I've not missed it.

One thing I observed: With the new energy of Spring and the kids' after school activities that start up again our rhythm changed. And I noticed that we bought more prepared food (i.e. chicken breasts, rather than the weekly roasting of a whole chicken; store bought bread rather than my homemade everyday). Which meant that I was not cooking from scratch as much and my whole meal planning made a subtle change. I no longer had leftover chicken, broth or even the paper (see March's change) from a whole stick of butter. And my menu shifted from the more frugal/organic "what can I make with what I have?" to "which recipe sounds good tonight?"

Maybe not a big sounding difference, but big enough that my own mindset shifted. Meal planning was more of a panicked chore rather than a nurturing part of my day. Okay, so a lot of that was the time constraints. What to serve that's quick and easy and will be ready when my family needs it?

So, what's a Mama to do? Well, I patted myself on the back for noticing the change at all (that means I was really on to something before) and then decided that a relaxed and forgiving make-do Mama does the best that she can and is happy with that. Can I get a "heck, yeah"?

As for April's change? Well, all that guilt elimination over meals has freed up my energy to focus on only buying second hand clothes for the month of April. This is something I already do for the kids, but now I want to add myself to the list. I've found an upscale re-sale store that has been a great place to start, but obviously it's a bit pricey (though, much cheaper than in the city where I used to shop). So, off to thrift stores I go...maybe I'll even gain some much needed alteration skills in the process.

ps--our diva dishwasher isn't dead yet...