those pre-dinner moments

What to do when the troops are hungry, the dinner is cooking, and the Momma is busy in the kitchen?  

A few nights ago I scrambled for a quick idea and invited kids to make menus for our Mexican Rice Bowl dinner.  Basically they just listed all the potential toppings for their rice bowl and added appropriate decor.... then we taped them up near the table area :) 

This is my version of homeschool kindergarten :) 

Rice. Beans. Salsa. Taco seasoning....  He didn't get too far through the toppings list, but his sweet little letters are so fun!  [Check out all the many ways to write an S.]

Working at the kitchen bar on a little project keeps people close to Mama (key at this time of day, huh?) and keeps the hands busy and not so focused on the growling tummy.

So a few nights later, Lydia was back at the bar, this time creating sandwich order forms.

As you can tell, it wasn't the fanciest of evenings for sandwiches.  sigh.  Feeding this crew exhausts me, and some nights this (supplemented with baked sweet potatoes, and veggies with hummus) is the best I've got.

I took a quick picture, uploaded to my computer and printed.  Everyone filled out their order and I even kept them by the griddle to keep track of sandwiches, then served with the sandwich slip tucked under the sandwich.

I often feel like a short order chef, this just confirmed it.