A couple of months ago we made a resolution to make Sundays a real day of rest. Sundays used to be filled with projects, laundry, fresh sheets and cleaning – which used to work, pre-Emma. When it was just Mike, Mr. Darcy and me, getting all of those things done on Sunday used to feel good, then we would curl up on the sofa, have a cozy dinner and watch TV. With Emma, trying to accomplish those things all in one day + have a relaxing dinner, is just crazy. The original goal was to get everything fresh and clean ready for the week ahead, but instead we were just wearing ourselves out and feeling overwhelmed at the end of the weekend. When we tried, we would take turns playing with Emma while the other ran around trying to be productive, then we switched. We were exhausted at the end of the day, only about half of our projects were half-started (mostly more messes made), and the worst part of all – Emma didn’t have much fun either. The old method just wasn’t working. It took me a while to realize this… almost 22 months.
So, we’ve changed our ways. Instead of waiting for Sunday to get the house tidy, we do it on Friday (or Saturday morning, if I have to work on Friday). Laundry, cleaning, target trip, etc. We try to have fun with it – Target/Starbucks trip in the morning, then lounge around in the living room and play while we fold laundry, and I do most of the heavy cleaning while she naps in the afternoon. Since we rarely have dinner at home on Friday, there is no dinner to prepare, and I try to have everything done when she wakes up from her nap so we can go on a walk or go to the park. I love that the house is clean and ready for the weekend – leaving us with an open agenda to take fun adventures or just lounge around and play. As a project-aholic, it took me awhile to really get on board and not plan any project for Sunday. It is so tempting to try to get things done that I think will make our house “feel good,” but it was really was going against the true goals I have for our family. With Emma in our lives, we’ve discovered we don’t get as much pleasure from completing those projects as we do spending no-stress, relaxing time with her. 
Now our Sundays are all about family time. No goals, no agendas, no plans, no projects – just real family time. We take walks, we go to church, we drink lots of coffee and hot cider, we cook, we eat, we lounge and we play. It feels so good.
I love to make a big, low maintenance family-style dinner for Sunday night. I know that it is our “day of rest,” but there is nothing I’d rather do than be in the kitchen with Emma and Mike’s help. I try to make low maintenance meals and that will make the house smell good. This Sunday we had Mike’s parents over for dinner – it was a big feast, but it really only took about an hour of hands-on time in the kitchen. Mike’s Dad doesn’t eat meat, so I always try to have lots of vegetable sides he’ll be able to make a meal on. Our Sunday Family Dinner : Pork Tenderloin with Homemade Applesauce Braised Red Cabbage with Goat Cheese Bacon Braised Green Beans Mashed Potatoes Maple Roasted Acorn Squash Salted Sticky Toffee Caramel Spice Cake with Whipped Cream I’ll be sharing all of these recipes this week – mostly tomorrow and Wednesday, then I have more Halloween treats to share!
Happy Monday! I hope you are all rested and ready for the week : ) Right : Emma pre-Church on Sunday morning sporting her new pink cowboy boots.