getting dinner together is hard work:cut yourself some slack.

I am writing this post partly to remind myself what I tell my clients: Life gets crazy sometimes. You don't have to cook everything from scratch every night to be a good mom. Give yourself a break, rely on convenience foods, or serve fruit instead of cooked veggies, and drop the guilt. If and when you can, getting back to menu-planning, shopping and cooking will be easier.Case in point, I am working on my final copy-edits for my book. (Just finished part 1, so I figured I need a break.) Dinner last night was fresh fettucini (takes 2 1/2 minutes to cook) with jarred pasta sauce, microwaved broccolini and pork chops that take like, 12 minutes. The night before, M and I were late at the library and we decided to hit up the salad bar at the Seward coop on the way home. Poor Hubby has to "scrounge" for leftovers sometimes when that happens. (Both M and I decided our bodies really wanted a big salad. It still amazes me to watch my 6 year-old pile on a huge salad with all kinds of toppings, gleefully, though she still pesters for popsicles.)So, tonight, I am excited about making pigs in a blanket! I've never made them before, and a neighbor who moved back overseas cleaned out her fridge and gave me crescent rolls. I think they will be delish with our natural casing hotdogs, and I can't wait. I'll serve with a big bowl of fresh fruit (since I don't feel like cooking veggies) and maybe some microwaved peas with homemade pesto our friend gave us. Yum!What do you do when you are busy to get food on the table, do your kids genuinely love big salads as much as the mac-n-cheese (OK, almost as much)? If they do, why do you think that is? Do you enjoy making "appetizers" or other fun-foods for dinner now and then? What is your favorite?Another rambly post of random thoughts about food, feeding and eating. Have a great weekend!