make your own menus

I absolutely love my kids....thought I would show them in stones :)

Jumeirah came out and squealed " Oh! Its love! Mum you are just the cleverest mum I never knew!" :)

They had a lovely play in it this morning, the girls played together, mixing the two colours together, Jumeirah running stones over Amahlis hands, enjoying time together.then they turned it itn an oasis with palm trees and rocks.

Jared was more taken with playing by himself this morning, having woken up a bit grumpy, so I set him up with his own stones and a fairy glen. ( I had actually planned this for Jumeirah, she loves to sit and have them talk to each other, I am always amazed at how she plays in imaginative play)

Jared absolutely loved this set up. He sat them all in a circle and " chatted" to each of them. It wasnt long before their little circle group was interupted by a digger but still..... it nice to see him enjoying a play area that would typically be played with by girls ( fairies especially). Developing a wonderful well rounded little guy :)

Jumeirah was flicking through the supermarket catalogue, when she asked the eternal question:

"Whats for dinner?"

UGGHHH I hate that question. Often by 5.00 I can barely string a complete sentence together, let alone work out what to cook a hungry tribe! Not long ago, I sorted out a month menu which was fantastic as it meant I didnt have to think each day but just cooked what was on the menu. The meals were much more interesting as I spent a fair bit of time sorting out the menu. It also meant spending less at the supermarket as I only bought the things I needed instead of buying whatever was closest to my hand.

Really, I should just do another one, but time hasnt allowed this to happen. And so, I told Jumeirah she could plan what we had tonight.


" I know Mum! I'll make a menu for the week! And you have to cook whats on the menu!"

Was I game? Why not??
And so she sat up and designed her weekly menu.

We printed out a template on the computer so she had columns to do each meal in. She drew a picture of each meal and wrote out what each meal was ( I helped with the spelling, but she worked out the menu). Once we finished, we ordered the food online and pinned the plan to the fridge.

I think she was a bit surprised that I was going to stick to it, she was really proud of herself and excited that she was trusted enough to work out a whole weeks worth of meals for all of us :) Great for the self esteem :)

For the last few days we have stuck with her menu. She announces in the morning what we are going to cook, gets me to take the meat out of the freezer, and then supervises whilst I cook. Once finished, she ticks it off the planner.

Definitely one to do again. Its something that could be done with younger children as well ( or older). If you wanted to do with this with younger children, go through a food catalogue together and get them to circle or cut out the things they like. You can then work it into weekly menu by writing it up or sticking the pictures from the magazine onto a page.





I have already started next weeks menu with Jared. Trying to encourage him beyond a week of sausages.... :)