Dinner

Plan (10 minutes)

Scan pantry, fridge & freezer

Decide what dishes to prepare tonight

Select meat and put in fridge to thaw

Prepare (45-60 minutes)

Marinate/tenderize meat

Dice vegetables.

Boil pasta or rice or potatoes.

Put meat on grill or in oven.

Clean dishes and utensils while cooking.

Set the table with plates, cups, forks, napkins, S&P, etc.

Mix up sauce/seasoning for starch.

Dice cooked meat and veggies on kids' plates.

Serve up everything else on plates.

Call "Dinner Time!" down the stairs and corral energetic boys into their seats.

Go over prayer and dinner table etiquette once again.

Pray.

Eat (5-10 minutes)

Daddy scarfs down everything on plate.

Caleb picks at food for a few minutes and then asks to be excused.

Ethan eats quickly and messily.

Mommy takes bites in between trips back into the kitchen to get requested items.

Clean Up (20 minutes)

Clear the table.

Scrape & rinse plates and other dishes.

Load & run dishwasher.

Wipe down table, counters & stovetop.

Hand-wash pans.

Sweep area around kids' chairs with broom and dustpan.

I am very grateful to have the time and means to cook healthy meals from scratch, but I do sometimes get a little discouraged by the very short time we actually spend at the table together, especially in proportion to the hour-and-a-half of prep/clean-up. I hope that our time at the table will be more than 5-10 minutes as the kids get older, but for now, I'll just be glad that we're not Amish.