Moms can’t do it all: 365 Days of Homecooking FAIL

March 15, 2010

in Mom Monday

I have to be honest, that’s just who I am. I have totally failed on the homecooking front. My 365 days of homecooking challenge was too overwhelming with all the other stuff we have going on in our lives. I will say I have a tendency to jump into things with both feet, and think I can make impossible goals happen. Sometimes I do, but I realistically can’t be a freelance writer, write on my blog, cook 3 meals a day, run errands, keep my house clean, play with my kids, keep up with activities..ok I’m getting tired just writing that and I’m not even done!

The point? As a mom I have too much to do at any given time. My part-time work is becoming something larger, and I’m balancing that all with the need and desire to be a great mom, wife and friend.

I spent a few days deeply disappointed in myself, but then I realized an important lesson I can NOT do it all at once, all the time. I can do a lot of things well, and I’m a pretty good multi-tasker, but I have too many things to do, so something needed to be cut out.

We will be sticking to a less is more approach to eating out, and I will be cooking as often as possible, it’s just I have to be okay with giving the kids cereal one night if my littlest guy is sick and needs my full attention, or letting Dad give the kids sandwiches so I can spend an hour working (and earning money) instead of an hour cooking and cleaning up.

My life as it is needs a routine that is more simplified, and when the opportunity arises for me to make a great meal I’ll do it, but not at the expense of my sanity or reading a book with my 6 year old. Those things are just more important to me than meeting a ridiculously high goal I set for myself.

What are you going to let go of this week? What can you do to make your life simpler?

Kelly

© 2010, Whalen Media LLC. All rights reserved. To repost or publish, please email Kelly.

About Kelly


Kelly Whalen is the founder of The Centsible Life, a blog where motherhood and money meet. Her goal is to help readers live well on less. Kelly is a mom to 4, and loves that she can stay at home with her kids, and still pursue her passions for writing, personal finance, and social media. You can often find her on twitter and Facebook talking money and motherhood.

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Tagged as: 365 Days of Homecooking, Mom Monday

  • http://www.moneyrelease.com/ Victorino @ Moneyrelease

    Sometimes we should accept that we cannot do anything. There are things that we sometimes need to outsource. Let us say on foods, sometimes it's just better to call for delivery. I am glad that you know your limitation. Because for me, limitation keeps us in a good position.

  • http://frugalzeitgeist.com Forest

    I think what's important is that you did manage a significant amount of home cooking and are determined to carry this on…. 365 of not eating out is pretty unrealistic and I will be surprised if anyone would ever make that unless genuinely forced too!

    I'm glad you are no longer being too hard on yourself :) .

    • http://twitter.com/centsiblelife @centsiblelife

      Thanks Forest. Iy’s a very new thing for me not to be hard on myself.

  • http://frugalzeitgeist.com/ Forest

    I think what's important is that you did manage a significant amount of home cooking and are determined to carry this on…. 365 of not eating out is pretty unrealistic and I will be surprised if anyone would ever make that unless genuinely forced too!

    I'm glad you are no longer being too hard on yourself :) .

    • http://twitter.com/centsiblelife @centsiblelife

      Thanks Forest. Iy’s a very new thing for me not to be hard on myself.

  • ctreit

    I am always amazed when I get a glimpse of your life and how you keep so many balls in the air. I am very glad to see that you are conscientiously keeping your life centsible despite all that is going on in it. Thanks for sharing!

  • Sheila

    I'm glad you are being honest about what you can and cannot do. No-one should try and be superwoman! What's helped me is to stick to a budget for eating out. For us it's $100 a month (only two of us). I use coupons, get water only and just try to get the best deal possible. So far we've been eating out at least once a week and have been able to stick to the $100 limit.

  • Sheila

    I'm glad you are being honest about what you can and cannot do. No-one should try and be superwoman! What's helped me is to stick to a budget for eating out. For us it's $100 a month (only two of us). I use coupons, get water only and just try to get the best deal possible. So far we've been eating out at least once a week and have been able to stick to the $100 limit.

  • http://www.suburbandollar.com/?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=comment&utm_campaign=site_prmtn Kyle C.

    Kudos to you for even trying. I feel your pain on the lack of time. Don’t get down on yourself about it. Like you said you can’t do it all. Maybe dad will get in on some of the cooking action too, and there is nothing wrong with a bowl of cereal or sandwiches.
    .-= Kyle C.´s last blog ..Wealthy Bloggers – March 2010 =-.

  • http://littlebitthisnthat.blogspot.com/ Jennifer Y.

    Amen, sister!! Just the other day, I was cursing my superwoman complex. Ok, make that every day. Haha. I can never get it all done. Never. And, I don't know where I get these standards for myself. UGH!! I bought a bunch of frozen bagged meals at the grocery store this weekend. It's cheaper than going out and hopefully we'll be eating before 7:00 p.m. this way. Thank you for admitting that you can't do it all either!

  • http://littlebitthisnthat.blogspot.com/ Jennifer Y.

    Amen, sister!! Just the other day, I was cursing my superwoman complex. Ok, make that every day. Haha. I can never get it all done. Never. And, I don't know where I get these standards for myself. UGH!! I bought a bunch of frozen bagged meals at the grocery store this weekend. It's cheaper than going out and hopefully we'll be eating before 7:00 p.m. this way. Thank you for admitting that you can't do it all either!

  • ctreit

    I am always amazed when I get a glimpse of your life and how you keep so many balls in the air. I am very glad to see that you are conscientiously keeping your life centsible despite all that is going on in it. Thanks for sharing!

  • http://deliverawaydebt.com Jeff

    You are right, something has to give with your schedule. Realizing it and making the corrections so you can sleep at night will make all the difference in the world. Good luck, who needs to eat anyways :-) I'm sure if you could clone yourself you would, but that technology just isn't here yet.

  • http://deliverawaydebt.com/ Jeff

    You are right, something has to give with your schedule. Realizing it and making the corrections so you can sleep at night will make all the difference in the world. Good luck, who needs to eat anyways :-) I'm sure if you could clone yourself you would, but that technology just isn't here yet.

  • http://www.starterhouse.typepad.com/ Kristiina

    Hi–new here, but wanted to say I'm with you on this! Congratulations for accepting what you can realistically do on any given day….My mom used to coordinate full meals every night for a family of 10–I really don't know how she did it! But I gave up trying to live up to that standard and work with what I've got. Sometimes grilled cheese and canned tomato soup is as homemade as it gets ;)

    -kristiina

  • http://www.starterhouse.typepad.com/ Kristiina

    Hi–new here, but wanted to say I'm with you on this! Congratulations for accepting what you can realistically do on any given day….My mom used to coordinate full meals every night for a family of 10–I really don't know how she did it! But I gave up trying to live up to that standard and work with what I've got. Sometimes grilled cheese and canned tomato soup is as homemade as it gets ;)

    -kristiina

  • http://www.girlymama.com melissa

    thanks for keepin' it real and being honest about what you CAN'T do! (I'm amazed you made it all the way to march with everything you have on your plate! ;-) but i think your goals are still great and will make a huge difference!

  • http://www.girlymama.com/ melissa

    thanks for keepin' it real and being honest about what you CAN'T do! (I'm amazed you made it all the way to march with everything you have on your plate! ;-) but i think your goals are still great and will make a huge difference!

  • http://www.suburbandollar.com/?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=comment&utm_campaign=site_prmtn Kyle C.

    Kudos to you for even trying. I feel your pain on the lack of time. Don’t get down on yourself about it. Like you said you can’t do it all. Maybe dad will get in on some of the cooking action too, and there is nothing wrong with a bowl of cereal or sandwiches.
    .-= Kyle C.´s last blog ..Wealthy Bloggers – March 2010 =-.

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