Wednesday, September 8, 2010

The Witching Hour

This morning at 6 a.m. I was checking my Google Reader from my iPhone on the couch while 11 month old Mouse played on the floor (much too energetically for 6 a.m.). I came across an article on Simple Mom called "How to Bring Peace to the Witching Hour" - the witching hour, of course, being that hour before dinner when kid neediness is at its peek and adult patience as at its low.

The article was just what I needed after yesterday's very cranky witching hour at our house. I spent way too long in a steamy kitchen (cursing the heat and the never ending summer) making food that it turned out none of us liked, all the while three kids were having meltdowns about various things.

Not good.

I'm realizing that now is not the stage in my life for fancy dinners. I'm realizing that I need to not only plan the meals a week in advance (simple meals at that), but I need to do some of the dinner prep earlier in the day, and I need to spend the witching hour giving my kids the love and attention they need most during that time.

I love food and experimenting in the kitchen, but not at the expense of peace in our home. Hopefully I can find a balance! If you have any tips on what works for you, I'd love to hear them.

P.S. If you're wondering which recipe I made last night, it was the sweet potato ravioli. I liked the filling, and I liked the sauce, but together and with the ravioli, it just didn't work for us!

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