Today I talk work/family balance – and how to keep a divorce amicable – with Brandie Weikle, host of The New Family podcast.
Brandie, who before jumping into her 1000 Families Project blog and The New Family was the editor of Canadian Family magazine and the relationships editor for the great Canadian newspaper, the Toronto Star, experienced firsthand the pain of being a kid whose parents are divorcing un-amicably. She and her former husband – who also experienced that pain growing up – worked really hard to stay true partners when they decided to divorce; to that end they now live right next door to each other in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
During our conversation – an “extra” guest interview that I felt needed to be included in the all-about-food month of March, because Brandie gives such great tips about getting dinner on the table amidst the weeknight chaos – Brandie shares what it was like to go through that process of divorcing amicably, making the transition from working woman to working mom, and a few of the ways she keeps her family’s weeknights from spinning out of control. (Also, we have a fascinating discussion on the differences between maternity leave here in the states and up in Canada; as we get closer to our presidential election, Brandie has graciously agreed to come on the show again specifically to talk maternity leave.)
Click here or go to weturnedoutokay.com/062 for the full show notes for this episode!
Brandie shares a couple of key ways that she reigns in weeknights for herself and her two boys, ages eight and 12:
- take time on the weekend to make a list of meals for the coming week’s dinners; having a plan in place means that you don’t have to think about what’s for dinner as you’re driving between work and daycare, or stopping at the grocery store on your way home after picking up kids from child care
- when possible, try to figure out how to make “rolling meals;” this is where tonight’s mashed potatoes side dish becomes tomorrow night’s shepherd’s-pie-topping
- ask friends “what are you making for dinner tonight?”; often times their ideas will spark ideas for you – and in fact this happens during the recording of this episode, when Brandie brings up BLTs and I realize that we have everything needed to make them tonight for dinner, so we can quickly and easily make tonight’s dinner and still have time to prepare part of tomorrow night’s lasagna
Brandie gives really great advice for parents of young children, who are just trying to get them to eat: calmly, non-judgmentally expose kids to all kinds of foods. She emphasizes that the key is to have the exposures be really nonchalant and repeated frequently; our thinking about food can be so fraught with anxiety, and kids pick right up on that. It’s better to relax, enjoy the family time, and don’t stress about the food. Great advice indeed!
Key Links:
Brandie’s website, thenewfamily click weturnedoutokay.com/contact.com, is where you’ll find The New Family Podcast, the 1000 Families Project (which you are invited to be a part of), recipes by Brandie’s friend and fantastic home cook Michael Forbes, intended just for busy families, and Brandie’s free e-book, 11 Ways to Keep Your Family Weeknights from Spinning Out of Control
To contact me, head to weturnedoutokay.com/contact
To sign up for your free fridge-worthy, anti-tantrum infographic, head to the website for my forthcoming book, positivedisciplineninjatactics.com; signing up for the infographic also means that you’ll be the first to know when Positive Discipline Ninja Tactics: Key Tools to Handle Any Tantrum, Keep Your Cool, and Enjoy Life with Your Young Child goes live in Amazon (April 3 is the planned launch date) – where it will be FREE for three short days!
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