preschool

“What am I going to make for dinner tonight?”

It’s the first thing I think about when I wake up, and has been for as long as I can remember. I’ve always been the spontaneous cook who loves to think up something fun for dinner, then I’ll run to the grocery for ingredients. But since having my children, this process quickly lost its luster. It’s hard enough taking your kids to the store once a week with a game plan, but running back for a few extra ingredients every day just got old-not to mention really expensive! What used to be my idea of fun is now my idea of stress.

So after a few years of this ridiculous routine, I decided to listen to some of my sage mom friends and give meal planning a try.

I always thought meal planning would take the creativity out of my cooking, but in reality it has done the opposite. By creating a game plan and sticking to it, it’s like someone came and removed a big piece of stress out of my life. (I never knew how good it could feel to have a refrigerator full of groceries!) And because I take a few minutes each week to come up with some variety, we’ve never eaten better. The best part is that if I’m not around, my husband or a babysitter can run with what I’ve got figured out for dinner. So what am I doing? Here’s my strategy:

1. I write down 5-7 dinner ideas for the week. I like to create a variety between types of foods and price points so I can stick to my budget. I also ask each of my kids to choose a few recipes from my website www.onefamilyonemeal.com so I know they’ll love what we’re having for dinner.
2. I make my shopping list. I write down my dinner ingredients, then I figure out my lunches and breakfasts for the week. If I notice I’ll have leftover ingredients from dinners, I’ll incorporate them into my lunches by making quesadillas, pasta with a simple sauce, or chopped salads. For days where I don’t have lunch ideas, I fill in with my kids’ favorites, like turkey sandwiches, peanut butter and jelly, etc. Then I add any breakfast ingredients and snacks I’ll need.
3. I shop once a week for the bulk of my food. Sometimes I fill in with a lighter load towards the end of the week if I need items that are really perishable like berries or fish. (Tip: If you really want to shop just once a week, you can plan to serve the most perishable foods at the beginning of the week, then save the recipes with dry ingredients and less perishable fruits and veggies for the end of the week. With a little crazy strategizing, you can get your grocery trips down to once a week!)

After a month of this routine, I couldn’t believe how much time and money I was saving. As other moms promised, I have shaved over a hundred dollars a month off of my grocery bill, and I’m no longer throwing away unused food. And now I have extra time to actually hang out with my kids after school instead of running them back to the store for just one more thing. I still wake up dreaming about what’s for dinner, but love knowing that all the choices I need are already in my fridge!

Amanda Haas is a cookbook author, teacher, cooking video host, and the founder of One Family One Meal, a website that helps families menu plan, grocery shop, and cook on a budget. She's also on Twitter and Facebook.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, POPSUGAR.

Like many breastfeeding topics, sustained or extended breastfeeding (defined here as beyond the age of two) is frequently debated on Circle of Moms. The World Heath Organization recommends breastfeeding with complementary foods until two years of age or beyond, and the AAP's stance is that babies should be breastfed for the first year or longer, and breastfed exclusively for the first six months. But if you're considering the question of when and how to wean a child who's nearing or over two, what really matters is what will work best for you and your family.

To help you, here's a round-up of the extended breastfeeding benefits most often cited by our members. (Check back soon for a round-up of the cons.)

1. Comfort and Security

Providing comfort is one of the fundamental reasons many moms continue to nurse beyond age two. The toddler years are full of frustrations and overstimulation, and nursing can be calming and reassuring. As Missouri mother Jessica B. shares, breastfeeding a toddler continues to offer a special bonding experience for mother and child: "We are so comfy and snuggled together... it's a really nice bonding time for mother and child."

2. Letting the Child Decide When to Wean

While many moms certainly enjoy the bonding time that breastfeeding offers, Circle of Moms members who have chosen to breastfeed beyond age two emphasize that they breastfeed for the child's sake, not their own. Liz B., who is breastfeeding a two-year old, explains: "I don't feed her for my own benefit. In fact, I am over it. But, my little girl likes the closeness and the time out for her. I think we can rush our children too much with things. I'm trying to be easygoing with her, and she will stop when she is ready." Like Liz B., moms who breastfeed into the toddler years often decide to let their child self-wean. Karen T. shares: "I'm currently nursing my 23-month-old and will continue to do so until she's ready to stop...I believe it's best to allow the child to make this choice on his/her own."

3. Stronger Immune System

Toddlers are major germ magnets, touching and tasting everything in sight. While experts tend to agree that the most significant health benefits from breast milk occur during in the child's first year, many moms still credit the antibodies in breast milk with helping to combat infections and decrease the severity of illnesses during the toddler years. Celeste C. shares: "While my twin boys did get sick, I credit breastfeeding for the shorter duration (i.e., one of them got RSV and he was only sick for a few days)." Similarly, Mel R., a mother of 3 in Coventry, shared: "My son has only ever been poorly once, and that was only a cold. He never needs the doctor, and he is in the 97th percentile for both his height and weight."

4. Nutritional Boost

While solid foods are usually toddlers' primary source of nutrition, many breastfeeding moms feel that breast milk offers an important nutritional boost to a child's diet, especially since toddlers are notoriously picky eaters. As Cindy M., a mother of one, explains, "My son doesn't always want to eat a lot of table food or enough of the right foods. Continuing to nurse helps me feel confident that he's still getting good nutrition, even on days that he doesn't feel like eating all his veggies or chicken."

Looking for more information on breastfeeding and alternatives?

Whether you're looking for information on pumping, bottles, or introducing cow's milk, Circle of Moms is a great resource. You can ask for advice in communities focused on breastfeeding or formula, or respectfully debate topics with other moms in communities like Debating Mums and Parenting Debates & Hot Topics.

Image Source: Various Brennemans via Flickr/Creative Commons

The preschool brochure may have promised the world, but a New York City mama says it failed to deliver. After spending $19,000 a year for a preschool education, Nicole Imprescia is suing her daughter's Upper East Side nursery school for putting her daughter's future education at risk. According to the lawsuit, at 4-years-old, the tot was forced to learn shapes and colors with younger children, rather than studying for the standardized tests used for private elementary school placement – the thought being that acceptance to an elite NYC elementary school will feed into a top-notch university in the future. The suit seeks a refund for the lil one's tuition and mentions a possible class-action suit on behalf of other parents.

Preschool is meant to be a foundation for a lifetime of learning, but just how much of the future be determined by early education?

Practice makes perfect, but what's a mom to do with the early versions of her lil one's masterpieces? Though there are many ways to display tots' works of art, homes only have so much wall and refrigerator space on which to place it. Parents of preschoolers are drowning in their children's artwork and going to drastic measures to rid themselves of the clutter.

According to yesterday's New York Times, more parents are becoming overwhelmed with the amount of work coming home. They're throwing sentimentality out the door and sneaking pieces into the refuse bin. A child's artistic abilities are certainly a work-in-progress, but who's to say what's worth keeping? At my son's school, the teachers recommend periodically sitting with your child to pick out favorite drawings and paintings. Doing so, they say, will help parents discover what is meaningful to your child and encourage them to talk about ideas. How do you handle your kids' growing art collections?

Does your tot boot up in school? Over Winter break, we were visiting with friends when their pre-K tot turned to mine to ask what his favorite computer game is in school. My lil one turned to me dumbfounded as he thought computers were only for grown-ups.

While my kid is a whiz with Leapster and has figured out my iPhone, our preschool has a no computers in the classroom policy. Some schools turn to the technology to encourage kids to learn their letters and numbers, but our school's philosophy holds that children have a lifetime of computers and technology ahead of them – at home and at school – so there is no need to introduce it to them at this young, formative age. Our friends argued that by not using the devices now, he may be behind when he enters kindergarten.

How do you feel about computers in the preschool classroom?

And their eyes met across the crowded pre-k room. No, it wasn't a couple of 4-year-olds, but their parents. In the Vows column in this past weekend's New York Times, a spotlight shined on a couple who met, vacationed together with their families, fell in love, and eventually left their respective spouses to marry after meeting at school. Though the article says no affair took place, the concept of two married parents striking up a relationship over Play-Doh and graham crackers at preschool has many mamas talking. While some women dress to the nines for school drop-off, others are lucky to put a brush through their hair. Have you seen love bloom in the carpool lane or at PTA meetings?

Sydney popped the question at the park on last night's episode of Parenthood. Joel and Julia fumbled for an answer when the child inquired about her origins, asking if she "came from a vagina." The couple uncomfortably confirmed that they all came from vaginas, but their daughter's probe continued. Kids often initiate the birds and the bees conversation well before their parents anticipate it. To ensure that you aren't caught off guard when your youngster broaches the subject, here are a few tips for keeping the impromptu and G-rated conversation as low-key and comfortable as possible.

• Don't freak out. Your reaction sets the tone for future conversations.
• Ask your tot what she knows and where she got her information. Then go from there. There's no need to break out charts and graphs for a 3-year-old.
• Tell her an age-appropriate version of the truth.
• Don't scare your kids by getting overly serious. Relax!
• Encourage her to come to you in the future as she has further questions and/or thoughts.

Chime in with your own tips in the comments section!

Some kids draw on the walls, mine color their hair. My daughter and son think being blond is "too boring" and took changing things up into their own hands . . . and heads. Since we exhausted wigs and hair pieces and dye has been vetoed, my 6-year-old let a red marker bleed onto a carefully selected clump of her hair (Julia Roberts style), and a few days later my son drew a blue circle on his head. A $3 pack of washable markers made them happy until shampoo washed away their artistic expression.