Friday Check-In: Welcome to the Weekend
A Note from Lissa:
There’s something about Friday, isn’t there?
Maybe your week flew by. Maybe it crawled. Maybe you checked everything off your list—or maybe you’re looking at that list thinking, Well…there’s always next week. 😂
Either way, you made it to Friday.
Around Club BMG, Fridays are about shifting gears. Let's leave the week’s hurry behind and turn our attention toward home, good food, the people we love, and finding a little more time to actually enjoy them.
Today, we’re making the weekend—and the week ahead—a little easier.
We’ve got Cook Once, Eat Twice ideas so one night of cooking can do double duty. We’re sharing simple ways to beat the morning rush before it even begins. And we’re pulling up a chair for Meet Me at the Table, where we’ll talk about something I believe matters far more than what’s actually on our plates: the time we spend around the table together.
And because weekends shouldn't be another giant to-do list, we'll have a simple idea for something you can do together—no elaborate planning required.
So before you rush headfirst into the weekend, check in with yourself:
What do you want MORE of this weekend?
More rest?
More laughter?
More time outside?
More good food?
More time with your people?
Maybe just a little more quiet?
You don't have to fit everything into the next two days.
Pick what matters.
The rest can wait.
Welcome to Friday at Club BMG. Pull up a chair. The weekend starts here. 💗
Feature Friday: Cook Once, Eat Twice
What if tonight's dinner could give you a head start on tomorrow's?
Because there's a BIG difference between...
"We're having leftover chicken."
and
"Tonight we're having Chicken Pesto Flatbreads."
Same chicken. Very different reaction.
Cook Once #1: Garlic-Herb Roasted Chicken
Tonight, roast more chicken than you need. Serve it with baby potatoes and green beans for a simple, cozy dinner.
Before everyone comes back for seconds, set aside enough chicken for tomorrow. (That's important. Ask me how quickly "extra chicken" can mysteriously disappear. 😂)
Eat Twice: Creamy Chicken Pesto Flatbreads
Tomorrow, that roasted chicken gets a makeover.
Spread your flatbreads with a thin layer of pesto, then top with chopped chicken, sliced tomatoes and mozzarella. Bake until the edges are crisp and the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Add a simple salad or some fruit and this delicious family friendly dinner is DONE.
Cook Once #2: Maple-Dijon Pork Tenderloin
Roast two pork tenderloins with a simple maple-Dijon glaze and serve with roasted sweet potatoes and broccoli.
Slice what you need for dinner and tuck the extra pork into the refrigerator for tomorrow. While you're at it, make extra rice tonight too. Trust me on this one.
Eat Twice: Pork & Pineapple Fried Rice
The next night, dice that pork and toss it into a hot skillet with your cold leftover rice, frozen peas and carrots, pineapple, scrambled egg, soy sauce and a drizzle of sesame oil.
In minutes, last night's pork has become an entirely different dinner. And one your family is bound to love!
The Cook Once, Eat Twice Formula
Once you start thinking this way, you don't even need a recipe.
When you're cooking chicken, pork, beef, rice, roasted vegetables or another ingredient that keeps well, simply ask:
"Could I make extra of this tonight and turn it into something completely different tomorrow?"
You're not meal prepping an entire week's worth of food. You're just giving Tomorrow You a head start.
And honestly, doesn't Tomorrow You deserve the help? 💗
And because YOU matter, click HERE for the recipes for all four of these incredible recipes!
Beat the Morning Rush
A Calmer Morning Starts the Night Before
School mornings are coming—and in some houses, "running a little behind" may or may not be a hereditary condition. 😂
You know the morning.
Someone can't find a shoe. Someone else just remembered they need something signed. The water bottle is empty, the backpack is mysteriously nowhere near the door, and just as you're finally ready to leave someone announces:
"WAIT! TODAY IS SPIRIT DAY!"
Here's the secret: You don't necessarily need to move faster in the morning.
You need fewer things to do in the morning.
A little preparation the night before can take dozens of tiny decisions out of that already-busy hour—and sometimes five minutes tonight really can buy you ten minutes of peace tomorrow.
So before school mornings kick into high gear, let's take a few things OFF tomorrow morning's plate.
It starts with you!
A Calmer Morning Starts the Night Before
School mornings are here—and in some houses, "running a little behind" may or may not be a hereditary condition. 😂
You know the morning.
Someone can't find a shoe. Someone else just remembered they need something signed. The water bottle is empty, the backpack is mysteriously nowhere near the door, and just as you're finally ready to leave someone announces:
"WAIT! TODAY IS SPIRIT DAY!"
Here's the secret: You don't necessarily need to move faster in the morning.
You need fewer things to do in the morning.
A little preparation the night before can take dozens of tiny decisions out of that already-busy hour. Sometimes five minutes tonight really can buy you ten minutes of peace tomorrow.
Here are a few ways to make that happen.
1. Give Everything a "Launch Pad"
Pick one spot near the door where everything that needs to leave the house tomorrow goes tonight.
Backpacks. Shoes. Jackets. Sports bags. Instruments. Library books. Work bags.
If it needs to leave with you, it goes to the launch pad.
Bonus rule: Keys live there, too. Because searching for your keys while yelling, "EVERYBODY GET IN THE CAR!" is nobody's idea of a peaceful morning.
2. Check Tomorrow Before You Go to Bed
Take two minutes to look at the family calendar.
Is tomorrow PE day? Picture day? Soccer practice? Library day? A field trip? Does someone need lunch packed instead of buying?
Those two minutes can prevent an awful lot of 7 a.m. surprises.
3. Set Out Tomorrow's Clothes Tonight
Have everyone choose their clothes—including socks and shoes—the night before.
For younger kids, you can even use a hanging organizer with five outfits chosen on Sunday.
And yes, socks count. (Because I don't know about your house be here, socks have the ability to disappear precisely when you're already six minutes late!)
4. Build a Grab-and-Go Breakfast Zone
Not every school morning needs a cooked breakfast.
Choose one refrigerator area and one pantry basket for easy breakfast choices: yogurt, fruit, cheese sticks, overnight oats, muffins, granola, breakfast bars or whatever your family will actually eat.
Older kids can grab their own. Younger kids can choose from two or three parent-approved options.
Breakfast becomes a choice instead of a production. Saves time and emotions!
5. Pack 80% of Lunch Tonight
Sandwiches aren't the only thing that can go into a lunchbox.
Wash the fruit. Portion the snacks. Fill the little containers. If you can make the sandwiches or Main Menu Options in advance, do that too! Put napkins and utensils in the bag. Refrigerate everything that needs to stay cold together.
In the morning, you're simply assembling—not starting from scratch.
6. Fill the Bottles
Fill everyone's water bottle at night and put it in the refrigerator. That's it.
It takes about a minute, but it's one less faucet-running, ice-flying, lid-missing activity happening while everyone is trying to get out the door.
7. Reset the Kitchen Before Bed
This one may not sound like a morning tip, but it absolutely is. Run the dishwasher. Clear the counters. Wipe the table. Set up the coffee maker. Put breakfast items where they'll be easy to reach. You don't need a spotless kitchen. You're simply giving Morning You somewhere to begin. (Personally it does something emotionally when I walk into a clean kitchen rather than one still suffering last night's pots and pans...)
8. Set a "WE LEAVE" Alarm
Here's one especially for those of us who tend to believe we have "plenty of time." 😂
Set an alarm for 10 minutes before you actually need to leave.
When it goes off, everybody stops whatever they're doing. Shoes on. Bathroom trip. Grab the bags. Head toward the door. Don't call it the "hurry up" alarm. It's the WE LEAVE alarm.
And here's the sneaky part: If you need to be driving away at 7:30, your family's target isn't 7:30. It's 7:20.
Those ten minutes become your buffer for the missing permission slip, the forgotten lunchbox and the child who suddenly needs to tell you a VERY IMPORTANT story while wearing only one shoe.
One More Thing...
Don't try all eight of these things tomorrow. You need to work yourself into this smooth routine. Build the habit. Pick one or two things that would remove the biggest source of stress from YOUR morning.
Maybe it's putting everything by the door. Maybe it's packing lunches at night. Maybe it's finally admitting that "I'll remember in the morning" has betrayed you enough times. A peaceful morning isn't about having a perfectly organized home or becoming a different kind of person.
It's about removing a few decisions from the busiest part of your day. Five minutes tonight can buy you ten minutes of peace tomorrow. And ten peaceful minutes on a school morning?
We'll take every single one we can get.
Last but not least, let's remember who sets the pace here.
Meet Me at the Table
It Was Never Really About the Food
Some of the most important conversations in a family don't begin with, "We need to talk."
They begin with:
"How was your day?"
And sometimes the answer is "Fine."
But then somebody tells a story.
Someone remembers something funny that happened at school. Someone complains about a coworker. Somebody brings up a problem they've been carrying around all day. One story leads to another, someone starts laughing, and suddenly everyone is talking.
That's the magic of the table.
And here's what I want you to know:
The food doesn't have to be homemade for the moment to matter.
It can be a beautiful roast you've cooked all afternoon. It can be spaghetti. It can be sandwiches. It can be pizza delivered to your front door. It can even be cereal because this particular Tuesday absolutely kicked your behind. 😂
The meal isn't the point - being together is.
The Table Gives Us Somewhere to Land
Life pulls families in a hundred different directions. Work. School. Practices. Homework. Activities. Phones. Appointments. Chores. Sometimes we're all living under the same roof but moving on completely different tracks. The table gives us somewhere to meet.
Even twenty minutes says:
For right now, we're here. We're looking at each other. We're hearing each other's stories. We're noticing who is unusually quiet. We're celebrating the little win someone almost forgot to mention. We're laughing at something ridiculous that won't be funny to anyone outside this family.
We're learning each other.
Don't Wait for the Perfect Family Dinner
Maybe everyone can't be together every night. That's okay. Maybe dinner doesn't work for your family at all. Breakfast counts. Saturday lunch counts. Pizza after the soccer game counts. Coffee and muffins with your grown child count. Ice cream around the kitchen table at 9:00 at night absolutely counts.
Don't let the picture of what a family meal is "supposed" to look like keep you from creating the one that works for yours.
Try One Question
If "How was your day?" keeps getting you a one-word answer, try something different.
Ask:
What made you laugh today?
What was the best part of your day?
What was the hardest part?
What is something you learned today that you didn't know yesterday?
Or my personal favorite: Tell me something I don't know.
Then listen. You might be surprised where the conversation goes. (You know, the whole one mouth two ears thing is absolutely key here! 😉 )
Meet Me at the Table
Years from now, nobody is going to remember whether the chicken was a little dry. They probably won't remember what plates you used or whether the kitchen was clean. But they may remember the stories. The laughter. The ridiculous inside jokes. The nights somebody stayed at the table long after the plates were empty because the conversation wasn't finished yet.
A table doesn't need to be beautiful to become a gathering place. It just needs people willing to sit down. So sometime this weekend, forget about making the perfect meal. Order the pizza if you need to. Put something simple on the table. Then sit down with your people and stay awhile.
The food brings us to the table. The people are what make us want to stay. 💗
Protect Your Peace. Set the Pace. 💗
Moms (well, any parent or caregiver responsible for the morning routines) are really good at making sure everyone else has what they need.
Lunch packed? Check.
Backpack ready? Check.
Water bottle filled? Check.
Homework/Permission slip signed? Check.
But there's one person who has a funny way of disappearing from that list.
You.
Protecting your peace doesn't require a perfect morning routine or an extra hour you don't have. Maybe it's ten quiet minutes with your coffee before everyone wakes up. Maybe it's music while you're getting ready, a few minutes outside, a hot shower without someone yelling through the door, or simply deciding that everything does not have to be perfect before you leave the house.
Whatever helps you feel grounded, give yourself permission to protect a little of it. Not because everyone else needs you to be calm.
Because you need you, too.
And when you start the day from a place of peace instead of panic, something else often happens: the whole morning begins to feel a little different.
Protect your peace. Set the pace.
Something to Do Together
Take the $5 Adventure
You don't need reservations, matching outfits, a complicated craft or a three-hour itinerary to make a memory together. Sometimes you just need five dollars and a ridiculous assignment. This weekend, take the family on a $5 Adventure.
Give everyone a $5 budget and head somewhere you can wander around together—a dollar store, thrift shop, farmers market, convenience store or anywhere else that fits your crew. Then give everyone the same mission.
Try one of these:
Find something that reminds you of another family member.
Find the funniest thing you can buy for $5.
Choose a snack nobody in the family has ever tried.
Find something you think another person would LOVE.
Find the weirdest thing you can possibly find.
Or, let everyone secretly choose something for another person.
Set a time limit, split up if the kids are old enough, and meet back at the register.
Then comes the best part:
Everybody has to explain their choice. That's where the stories—and probably the teasing—begin. Take your treasures home, put some snacks on the table and keep the fun going.
The Club BMG Rule
This isn't about buying stuff. It's about having a reason to wander around together, be silly, talk and pay attention to each other. And if spending $5 per person isn't in the budget this weekend?
Don't spend anything.
Go to a thrift store and photograph your finds instead. Take a walk and find the strangest mailbox. Go to the library and each choose a book for someone else. Walk through your own neighborhood and have everyone find something they've never noticed before. Because here's our Friday reminder:
You don't have to spend a lot of money to make a really good memory.
Sometimes you just need to decide to go make one. 💗 Happy Friday and happy weekend!
