In a recent post I shared 5 simple meals and included the snacky dinner. The snacky dinner is definitely one of my kids’ favorite options. We don’t have this all the time, but it is an easy occasional option for our family. Search through your cupboards and refrigerator and pull together a simple, tasty plate of food. Pictured above: crackers, slices of cheese, pepperoni, apples with peanut butter, cucumbers, and craisins.
It might be normal to come to the conclusion that if someone is embracing the not so busy life that she is spending a lot of her time doing a whole lot of nothing. A life spent (or not spent) doing a whole lot of nothing, though, is not the life of the not so busy mom. Although I don’t want to live a life marked by running around crazy busy, I do want to embrace this life and live this life with purpose. I have chosen to consider how I might let go of the busy and instead live a full life.
If you take a look at a typical week on my calendar you will see appointments, activities and other commitments. If you look in my notebook you will see to-do lists and cleaning schedules. I have things (and sometimes lots of things) going on in my life. I call it a full life. It’s a life that is lived with intention. It’s a life that I don’t want to waste. It’s a life in which and with which I want to honor God.
Perhaps you have recently wondered where all your time is going. Maybe you sign up for things or make commitments without much consideration. Perhaps you have a hard time saying “no” to people. Perhaps your car time far outweighs your home time. Maybe you’re doing certain things because you think that’s just what everyone else does. Maybe you just want to be done with all the crazy busy.
I would invite you to start evaluating your commitments and activities. Now is the time to start considering what areas of your life are too busy and might need a bit of a makeover. Living a full life without the busy can begin now and continue to be a pattern moving forward.
What about you? Are you looking for ways to live a full life without the busy?
Until next time,
Charissa
Perhaps you are ready to move past a lot of the busy in your life. Maybe you’re tired of running here, there and everywhere, tired of squeezing in just one more thing, tired of feeling like you have to do it all; maybe you’re just plain tired. Life doesn’t have to be (and I don’t believe it needs to be) about being busy. As you consider letting go of the busy life and embracing the full life, reflect on and implement some of the traits and habits of the not so busy mom.
Perfection in this world is unattainable, but how often do we beat ourselves up because we didn’t perform or produce perfectly? I think we do it far too often. Letting go of perfection and allowing ourselves to simply do our best or maybe even fail is good, normal and human. It’s important to put forth our best effort, to make progress, to set goals, to climb those high mountains. It’s even more important to realize that our worth is not tied up in what we do. The not so busy mom knows that striving for perfection will just add to the craziness and the busyness. The not so busy mom lets go of perfection.
We can easily get caught up trying to impress those around us. This desire to impress can eat at us and consume us. We want our extended family to be impressed with our Thanksgiving menu. We want our friends to be impressed with the cleanliness of our home. We want our neighbors to be impressed with our new pool. We want our Facebook friends to be impressed with our family vacations. It goes on and on. It is exhausting. The not so busy mom knows she can’t impress everyone all the time. The not so busy mom knows she shouldn’t try to or want to impress everyone all the time.
When you have considered and named your priorities, you find that your schedule, activities and day to day choices begin to fall into place. So many things call to us begging for our time and energy. Some of these things are good. Some of these things are bad. Some may fall somewhere in between. The not so busy mom considers her priorities, so that her day is not full of the meaningless but the meaningful.
Hours can get away from us. Days can get away from us. Even weeks can get away from us. Planning ahead helps our hours, days and weeks run more smoothly. Planning ahead allows us to make time for people in the midst of the daily, mundane tasks. Planning ahead allows us to live a full life.
As you consider moving past the busy, see if these are 4 traits that you presently exhibit or perhaps they are traits you are looking to develop. The not so busy mom is so much more than these 4 traits, but this is a good starting point.
What about you? Are you exhibiting or developing any of these traits?
Until next time,
Charissa
Continue reading “4 Traits of the Not So Busy Mom”
It’s time for another quick tip! This is one I have been implementing with success for the last few months. The tip?! Use audio books to end car squabbles.
We have often listened to audio books on long car trips, but I recently decided to use them on short drives around town. My children were squabbling a lot, and I wanted to figure out a way to lessen this (often) daily occurrence. Audio books came to mind, and I decided to see if listening to them as we ran errands, drove to church, or headed to our friend’s house would make a difference. Thankfully, it did make a very positive difference. The children are doing a lot less squabbling, and we are all enjoying some great books!
Here are two audio books we have recently listened to and have thoroughly enjoyed:
Henry Huggins
The Mouse and the Motorcycle
What about you? Do you like to listen to audio books in the car?
Until next time,
Charissa
(This post contains affiliate links, so thenotsobusymom receives a very small commission if you make a purchase through these links.)
Sometimes you just need a simple meal. I might even argue that more than sometimes you just need a simple meal. Don’t shy away from meal planning because you think every meal has to be extravagant. A simple meal can still be tasty and enjoyable. I hope the following ideas inspire you to add a simple meal into your weekly menu.
Note: I will not be including serving size and amounts of ingredients needed for each meal. These meals are so simple that you will be able to determine (for example) how many pita pockets your family needs to sufficiently satisfy the rumbling bellies.
Ingredients: pita pockets, pizza sauce, pizza blend shredded cheese, various toppings of your choosing (pepperoni, peppers, onions, etc). Directions: Assemble pizzas and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.
Ingredients: chicken breasts, salsa, black beans, frozen corn, tortilla chips. Directions: Place all the ingredients (except for the chips) in the crock pot and cook on low for 6 hours. Spread tortilla chips on your plate and cover with a large scoop of the chicken from the crock pot.
Ingredients: tortilla wraps, shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, salsa. Directions: Place a large handful of cheese in between two tortilla wraps. Warm/brown tortillas on the griddle or in frying pan on low heat. Turn once to evenly brown both sides. Remove from the griddle and cut into four triangles with a pizza cutter. Garnish with sour cream and salsa.
Ingredients: pasta of your choice, pasta sauce, mozzarella cheese. Directions: Cook pasta according to box leaving it less firm than done. Drain pasta and return to pot. Add pasta sauce to pot and mix with the pasta. Pour pasta and sauce into a 13×9 pan. Cover with mozzarella cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
Ingredients: whatever fruit, veggies, cheese and crackers you have. Directions: Prepare ingredients and place on a plate. Beyond easy!
There you have it, 5 simple meals. Maybe you can choose one tonight! I’m guessing your family will enjoy these easy, tasty options!
For more on meal planning check out these posts:
What about you? What simple meals does your family enjoy? Share your ideas in the comments below!
Until next time,
Charissa
The Not So Busy Mom
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There are plenty of difficult things (both big and small) in life, so I like to make things easier when I can. The other day I was pondering some of the things I do that make my life just a little easier. Here are 7 of them!
What about you? What do you do to make your life a little easier?
Until next time,
Charissa