My 9-year-old often has a very hard time getting out of the house in the morning. Her priorities are cuddling with our cat Tiger and reading “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” preferably while sipping hot chocolate.
You have to admit, the morning routine she set for herself is pretty sweet. Convincing her to focus on brushing teeth, combing hair, putting on shoes, etc…has been an arduous journey.
One thing that has helped is skipping hot cocoa and giving her a single-serve chocolate milk box that she can drink once she gets to school.
The other solution we’ve tried, one that “parenting experts” would be more likely to get behind, is a morning routine checklist. We did everything right according to those parenting experts: She made the list herself and had fun designing and coloring it, the list is laminated, it has check-boxes, it’s visible on the refrigerator, etc, etc.
The list worked great, for about three days. I kept encouraging her to use it, standing ready with a dry-erase marker so she could check off those boxes. Finally, she admitted that she didn’t like the list because it stressed her out.
“There’s so many boxes to check and things to do!”
In other words, the list was having the exact opposite affect it was supposed to. Instead of providing a helpful road map for her morning, it was screaming out, “look at everything you need to accomplish, right now!!”
My husband was standing in the kitchen during this conversation and admitted that he felt the same way. Lists, in general, stress him out.
I, on the other hand, could happily make lists all day long. I love a checkbox! When I have a detailed plan for what I need to do and when I need to do it, life is easier and less stressful.
The truest example of this is Thanksgiving. Without a Thanksgiving game plan, I’d be way too stressed to enjoy the holiday. If you’re a list-lover like me, read the next section. If you’re like my husband and daughter, well, just skip to the recipes.
Thanksgiving Game Plan
My Thanksgiving game plan starts on Tuesday, when I start prepping as many dishes as possible. Wednesday is a big day: any homemade desserts are made, so is the cranberry sauce, a big salad (dressing stays on the side) and appetizer platters are put together and stored in the extra refrigerator.
For Thursday, I write out two timelines in 15 minute increments, working backwards from the time we want to sit down and eat. I have one timeline for cooking tasks and one for the oven.
The cooking task timeline keeps track of everything that needs to be done. It also helps make it easier to delegate when someone asks, “how can I help?” I can look at my timeline, see that potatoes are supposed to be peeled at 2:30, and hand that task off to someone else.
The oven timeline will look something like this:
My timelines help me stay on track, no matter how much chatting or wine drinking I’m doing. I can enjoy the day and also get the big dinner on the table on time.
Also:
The New York Times has a very helpful “Ultimate Guide to Thanksgiving” that walks you through buying, defrosting and prepping your turkey as well as choosing side dishes and making food ahead of time.
The Kitchn has a “Thanksgiving Turkey Timeline” that tells you when to defrost, brine and cook your bird.
Julia Turshen has a Substack newsletter out this week that’s devoted to Thanksgiving and has lots of simple, tasty recipes.
Thanksgiving Side Dishes
A few recipes to help you plan your holiday!
Potatoes & Squash
Salad
Stuffing
I’m skipping the “Dinner Last Week” section in this newsletter, but it will be back after the holidays. A few things that we have been eating and enjoying are Instant Pot chicken parmesan pasta and Crock Pot beef and barley stew.
Reading
The stack of books on my nightstand is getting higher, thanks to a few holds at the library coming in at the same time. Any suggestions for what I should read first?
I pulled my old copy of Emily of New Moon from my bookshelf and plan to finally read it, more than 30 years later. I was such a devoted Anne Shirley fan that I never got into the other series by L.M. Montgomery. But after reading this new article, “What about Emily of New Moon?” I’m feeling inspired to give it a chance.
That’s it for this week, friends! I’ll be taking next week off and skipping my usual Thursday newsletter but I’m looking forward to chatting again at the end of the month. Hope you all have a fun and enjoyable holiday!
Jenny