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jhigdon
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| Posted: Feb 18 2009 at 12:51pm | IP Logged
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I haven't been here in a long time, but I am in desperate need of help. We are expecting our fifth child, and I am almost eight weeks along. I have had horrible morning sickness this time around, that started two weeks ago. Needless to say, meal planning has consisted of eating out, which my tummy can't handle and it's just not good and healthy for the family.
Quite honestly, I'm exhausted from sun up until sun down, and just getting through the day requires all my strength. My kids are eight, five, four, and and two. I don't have any help from family, and my husband works long hours.
I saw on Colleen Mitchell's website she had a great menu for Lenten and Spring meal planning. I've also heard a lot about a rotating menu plan. I'd like to incorporate something like this for the next month or so, just to get us through until a few weeks into the second trimester.
Any suggestions? We are very happy about this new little one, but I have to say it has turned our life upside down. I also used to drink coffee everyday, and haven't been since we found out, so I think I'm suffering from a little cafffiene withdrawl.
Thanks, and God Bless,
Jen
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Feb 18 2009 at 1:14pm | IP Logged
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I would start teaching your 8 yr old and the 5 yr old little things at times when you are feeling better. at 8 there are some simple things that they can handle.. making cold sandwiches, hmmm even grilled cheese, oatmeal, pasta though you might have to do the dumping into a colander, scrambled eggs, browning hamburger, baking potatoes that sort of thing.. nothing deep fried or anything that would require lifting pans of food or hard to cut things.. 5 yr old could make cold sandwiches and toast and help with stirring gently and help with getting food to everyone.
But if you have the kids helping.. even if you are supervising.. you can have someone to stir or turn off heat etc if you need to sit for a minute or run for the bathroom or whatever. They can probably handle simple lunches and breakfasts.. and if you concentrate on make ahead meals.. filling a crockpot you can have their help and do it during a time when you're feeling better rather than worse. Or if something in particular bothers you.. perhaps raw meat.. then the 8 yr could do the browning of the hamburger with you further from the smell.. and then help you with the rest of the meal as well.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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jhigdon
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| Posted: Feb 18 2009 at 1:19pm | IP Logged
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I've always wondered what age to let them start with the bigger things in the kitchen. I have to say I'm not thrilled with my cookbooks here, and I can spend some more time online looking for crock pot receipes. Dinner seems to be the biggie that I have trouble with. By the time I've gotten through breakfast and lunch, dinner is just out of the question. My oldest can actually toast bagels and so forth. She can heat up oatmeal (the packaged kind), and she can get drinks and stuff like that. I haven't let the five year old do anything yet. He's a boy, and letting him in the kitchen makes me a bit nervous to tell you the truth.
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crusermom
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| Posted: Feb 18 2009 at 1:46pm | IP Logged
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Hi Jen, Congrats! I am in the same boat right now except I do have older children and what a blessing they can be. I don't know what I would do w/o Costco. My DH can pick up frozen meals and salad in a bag. He is not at all home in the kitchen, but feels confident enough to go pick out stuff he would like and could prepare. It is mostly heat and serve. I just don't have enough energy to worry about nutrition and hope that a two month hiatus from Mom's cooking won't have any long term effects. I did have my husband get a big pack of ground beef and cook it all. He then froze it in 2lb containers. A child can then take that out and dump it into the crockpot to become sloppy joes or taco filling. Hope and pray you are feeling better soon.
Mary
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Mary
Army wife and Crusermom to 8 wonderful children!
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Feb 18 2009 at 1:56pm | IP Logged
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my older boy.. the 10 yr old is actually my preference in the kitchen for some items.. like flipping pancakes, or cooking corn tortillas in oil.. he's less "afraid" and can be more deliberate with it.. which is just what's needed.
But I do know what you mean.. my 6 yr old boy is definately more flightly and moves so quickly at times that it can look jerky.. but he'd still be able to do the things like buttering toast, making pb$j (though that is rather messy)..
but one of the hardest things in making a meal is doing more than one thing at a time.. so f you have the 8 yr old cookign scrambled eggs, and the 5 yr old doing toast.. neither is having to do more than the one thing. And then serve it with juice or canned fruit to make it easy.
Oops, I have to run.. hope that's more clear the type of thing I mean for the 5 yr old.. the simple can't really mess it up stuff.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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Sarah
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| Posted: Feb 18 2009 at 9:53pm | IP Logged
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Congrats Jen!
I know that difficulty well. Can you hint to a fellow homeschool mom about your struggle and she is she can organize someone to bring you meals. With my 6th I had a friend clue in that my family was falling apart with the meal thing and she organized wonderful meals from ladies I know. Now, I'm not saying all the meals were our style or even our usual health standards but it was safe, warm food for my kids each night.
I wish I lived by you, I'd beg for meals for you!
Other than that, it is very difficult and meals should remain simple.
Maybe it was already suggested but could dh cook some stuff in bulk and ahead on this upcoming weekend to heat up throughout the week? If he needs suggestions I would be willing to put some forward.
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Six boys ages 16, 14, 11, 7, 5, 2 and one girl age 9
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Red Cardigan
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| Posted: Feb 18 2009 at 10:37pm | IP Logged
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It's been a long time since I've dealt with this, but morning sickness is no fun! 
I'd suggest trying a very simple meal rotation till the worst is over, maybe something like this:
Day 1: BFD (breakfast for dinner). Have your older two help with simple items like toast or frozen waffles, and serve eggs (baked eggs are easy!) and some fruit.
Day 2: Pasta casserole. Have your DH boil the noodles (leave them al dente) the night before if he can; small pasta works best (and is easiest for the littles). Put the noodles in a casserole dish in the fridge, and just before dinner stir in a jar of sauce (can add veggies or pre-cooked meats). Bake till heated (30 min @ 350 or so) and sprinkle some shredded cheese on top.
Day 3: Soup and sandwiches. Easy, and your oldest can practically do it all!
Day 4: Crockpot meal. Have your DH help assemble the ingredients the night before, or have the kids help. Refrigerate the stoneware overnight, pop it in the unit in the morning (or if you feel awful have DH do that before he leaves for work!) and let it cook all day. There are tons of easy, make ahead crockpot meals out there; one source is this lady's blog.
Day 5: Pizza day. Order out, cook frozen, or buy pre-made crusts (like Boboli), a jar of sauce, and cheese. The kids can add their favorite toppings and help "make" the pizzas.
Day 6: Leftovers, especially from Day 2 or Day 4. Or, if you don't have leftovers or want an alternative for any other night, you could do a simple baked chicken dish; this one is simple, and you can use the leftovers over a salad or in other easy recipes. If you have a rice cooker you can have some rice going while the chicken is cooking, and perhaps a veggie in the microwave or on the stovetop.
Day 7: Mom's night off--eat out or get takeout.
Most of us want a little more variety, fresh produce, etc. most of the time, but when you're in "crisis mode" as anyone with morning sickness is, I think the key is to keep things as simple as possible and have a meal rotation that includes several meals (like BFD and soup/sandwiches and make-at-home pizza) the children can help prepare, or make with minimal supervision.
If this is too much "kiddie food" for you and your DH, I remember when I was expecting my youngest that I would sometimes feed my toddlers something like the pasta casserole, and wait until DH was home to broil a couple of small steaks or lamb chops; he would make a salad and we'd cook a veggie. The good part of this was that he was there to help, and usually by that time I was feeling a bit better and wanting to eat something.
I hope the worst is over soon--God bless! 
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MelissaClaire
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| Posted: Feb 19 2009 at 9:02am | IP Logged
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I'm right there with you. I'm also pregnant with #5 and my kids are 7, 5, 3, and 1. And I'm exhausted all day too. Thankfully this has been my easiest preganancy so far and I haven't needed medications, but I'm still nauseated all day long.
If I use the crockpot I have to plug it in out int he garage because the smell of food cooking all day makes me sick.
Things that I've done that have been of some help. Most of these things make me sick and I can't eat them, but they're stuff my husband can easily prepare.
-Breakfast for dinner. It's something that my husband can make easily when he gets home (the smell of eggs gets me quite sick.)
-frozen pizza
-Orange chicken from Trader Joe's. The smell makes me sick, but the kids and my husband like it.
-Fish sticks and french fries from Trader Joes.
-Soups--I'll make a large batch of chicken noodle or italian pasta or minnestrone and then serve it for dinner, and freeze the rest for another meal.
-rotisserie chicken from Costco. You can use that on baby spinach for salads.
-I made several quiches and keep those in the freezer. For some reason eggs that way don't get me sick.
-Spaghetti
Hopefully you'll be feeling better soon.
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Melissa
Mom to a dd ('02), ds ('03), ds ('05), dd ('07) and baby due 9/01/09
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Topic: Help with meal planning w/morning sicknes
