Family and Meal Times

Let me just say up front that I am NO expert in this area, I wouldn't even say that I'm really qualified to talk about these subject other than being a mom, having a family and the one that makes dinner in our house. Keep that in mind when reading this - my experience is limited. 

I in our regular morning tradition we were watching the Today show, and the guest that I was really interested in was Laurie David's book on the family dinner and keeping it sacred.

I grew up w/ always eating as a family, my mom - or one of us - always made dinner, rarely did we eat out. So now that I have little girls of my own, dinner time I feel like should be our time. No phones, no tv, no craziness of up down, up down from the table, but gathering as a family sitting down as a family and sharing about our day - a time to connect. B/c Kaia is still young and Olivia isn't eating yet, its been a little harder than I would like to institute this routine. Work schedules sometimes get in the way, and sometimes its just not possible to all sit down together. Seeing, and knowing, the segment today really had me thinking I have to start doing a better job at protecting and keeping that time. This should be apart of our everyday - like brushing our teeth, or taking a nap. 

In the same breath I also know that I have to do a better job at planing and preparing meals to have something to sit down for! There are so many areas I know I need to be better organized and together in, but looking @ all of them seem a little over whelming. Have little ones is hard, and being a mom and doing all the things that need to be done . . . I feel like I have all this time, and then its time to put babies to bed. Where do the days go?

How do you do it? How do you keep dinner time sacred - for those of you who do this? I want to be a good mom, and raise little ones w/ great self awareness, and good habits w/ manners. I just hope that I don't miss that window to really make a difference in their lives. 

Here's to Family!