The Caitlin Moss Blog

I have a little secret. When it comes to dinner, it's okay to think inside the box. I know that goes against all things in this world telling us to be meticulous, extravagant, put-together and picture perfect, but lemme just say, it's okay to throw all that elaborate stuff out the window and eat simply. If you are here, reading this, then you probably are looking for a way to simplify dinner time. You probably have kids that bark orders at you day and night (while inside your head you think, "We are not equals! I am your mother! I am your superior!" ;) ) or you work all day and would like to figure out a way to eat well at night without having to actually cook or really even think about dinner. Enter meal planning. Now your response might be, but I don't like the crock pot because I don't like soup or stew. Oh good! Me neither. I'll eat it here and there but to be completely honest, my kids and I don't really like soup. And if we don't like ...

It started almost a year ago after Isaiah had been going to preschool for a while and one day he asked for a snack. I grabbed him a granola bar or something and started to open it to give to him..."No, wait, mom! I want to do it." "Do what?" "Open it by myself." He wasn't rude, he wasn't demanding, he was letting me know I was encroaching on something he was very much capable of doing. It was a small moment, a nothing moment. But I realized something, I do things for my kids that they are capable of doing. Why do I do it? Because I'm faster, I'm more efficient, and sometimes just impatient. I feel like I'm pretty good at letting my kids be themselves. They can pick out their clothes, Maci picks out her hairstyle every day, I let them run freely at the playground (they know the limits I give them but they are free to do almost whatever). I let them get messy, get hurt, and be wild. But there are some aspects of life I forget to just...

    I get asked what I do for exercise quite often. I, in no way, have the perfect body, but I am in pretty decent shape and I think it is always important to maintain an active and healthy lifestyle whether you're a mom or not. I don't think being a mom is an excuse to not be healthy (and just so y'all know, being healthy doesn't mean we don't have stretch marks or extra cushion. AmIright?) but I do understand dedicating a large quantity of your day to fitness is really difficult. In addition to having a desire to be healthy, I workout because food. I love it. And I don't want to stop eating it. So I workout. I take one kickboxing/insanity class each week at a local church (I LOVE IT!) but other than that I'm on my own for exercise. Running is usually my go-to - it has always been relaxing, calming and therapeutic to me. Then my kids turned 2 and 4 and I was like 'holy cow! Is there an actual COW in this stroller I'm pushing? One that won...