Sandwich Love

Back for the second (and final) installment of All Things Domestic? I'm hoping the build up didn't ruin it for you.

First and foremost, I did not come up with this idea myself. I'll give credit where credit is due. My friend Emily told me about it and as soon as she did, I realized it would make a huge difference for me.

But first, the front story: I have a classic bell curve when it comes to my productivity each day. I start out veeeeery slowly about 6:40 a.m. (exactly 20 minutes later than I plan. Every. Single. Day.) I am in NO WAY a morning bear. Well, actually, I am a bear in the mornings. Literally. I can't form sentences until about 7:00 a.m., and critical thinking skills don't set in until about 7:40 a.m. (which, incidentally, coincides exactly with the time that I have to start hustling Brother Bear out of the door). If I could change one thing about myself? I'd want to be a morning person. Really, I'd love to be one of those early-rising-productive-before-the-sun-rises kind of Mama Bears. But, alas. I'm not.

By about 9:45-10:00 in the morning, my productivity picks up. By 11:00 a.m. I'm kicking backside and taking names. By 1:00 p.m., most things are accomplished and I can slow down a bit, and by 3:00 p.m., I'm hit by the great train of cub pick up, homework, activities, play dates and dinner prep. By the time dinner is on the table at 6:00 - 6:30 p.m., My critical thinking skills are again at an all time low. By 8:30 p.m., I'm mush-for-brains, and by 10:30 p.m. I'm asleep with a book my Kindle in my hand (when, oh WHEN, did I become a Memaw? Next up, glasses on a chain and a "patio dress").

My productivity curve flies directly in the face of my desire to be efficient with my cubs' lunch prep. One would think making a cub's (or multiple cub's lunches) would be simple. Yes, if I were making it at 11:00 a.m. But here's an idea of what lunch prep looks like at the times I've tried it:

Lunch prep the night before (somewhere between 9:00 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.) - Get peanut butter out of pantry. Walk to beverage fridge and get juice. Realize I need lunch box to make lunch. Retrieve lunch box. Go to pantry to get peanut butter. Realize that it's sitting on counter. Get bread from fridge. Return to fridge for jelly. Get distracted by question from Papa Bear. Go to pantry to get peanut butter. Curse my memory. Spread peanut butter on bread. Return peanut butter to pantry. Get yogurt from freezer. Realize I forgot to put jelly on bread. Spread jelly on bread. Spend 5 minutes figuring out which fruit, chips, dessert combination I served in previous day's lunch. Create a non-used-the-day-before combination. Write semi-witty/loving note (or, picture for Sugar Bear). Zip up bags, put in fridge (Or, worse, accidentally leave on counter overnight). Total time elapsed: +/- 20 minutes.

Lunch prep the morning of (somewhere between 6:40 a.m. - 7:40 a.m.) - Stand in kitchen looking around in a futile attempt to locate pantry. Pour cup of coffee. Stare at empty lunch box and try to remember what it was I was supposed to be doing. Guzzle coffee. Retrieve bread from fridge. Stare at bread willing it to miraculously jump out of bag and dance itself into a sandwich. Pour another cup of coffee. Go back to bed. Total time elapsed: +/- 1 hour.

You can see why, when my friend offered me a simple tip to help increase my lunch making productivity, I was ALL IN.

Here's her MAGIC TIP.

Seriously. I tried it this weekend. Saturday while Papa Bear and the kids were playing, I slapped together 10 sandwiches, wrapped 'em up and stuck 'em in the freezer. The night before, I threw in the juice, chips, dessert, fruit, yogurt and then grabbed a sandwich and threw it in too. Total time elapsed: +/- 3 minutes.

I can't say scientifically WHY it increased my lunch making efficiency so much. BUT I KNOW IT DID.

So very simple! For those of you with nut allergy issues, you'll see the alternate tip my bearfriend suggests. I think you could also change it to a ham or turkey sandwich (without the cheese? I hear it doesn't freeze well...never tried it). My kids ONLY eat PB&J. Sigh.

So there you go. You are welcome.

That now completes my lengthy series on domesticity. We shall return to our regularly scheduled programing after this brief message from our sponsors: Jiffy Peanut Butter & Ginko Supplements (ha ha ha. You know that's a joke, right? No one sponsors this bloggy.)