Manic: My memories of those first days when I brought my new babies home.
My first baby in 1997, a bouncing baby boy who brought me so much joy! I was also exhausted from carrying a 9 pound baby and having an emergency C-section. So when people brought cooked meals over, I rejoiced!
Four years later, we brought a baby girl home (girls get the fancy border pic I guess) and having two was triple the work, so receiving home cooked meals those first few weeks was priceless!
I was ecstatic, overwhelmed and exhausted all in one.
Managed: When friends and family members brought us meals! That was the best gift ever and I think that may be true for all kinds of situations like illness, loss and more. So I was happy to accept a guest post from Lisa Shepherd, co-founder of the awesome Food Tidings organization that organizes meal planning and gift giving online to make the process easy and streamlined. And this service is free. Read on to see how easy it is organize meals to be prepared and delivered the next time you have a family member or a friend in need of this extremely valuable gift. I have used it and I love this free service that helps you to help others.
Lisa says:
From Manic to Managed “Tidings”
I am one of those manic, aiming-to-be-managed, moms who is often trying to help friends. A while back, I was setting up “meal schedules” for friends who had new babies. However, asking everyone to sign up and remember to hit “reply all” just wasn’t cutting the mustard and my friends were receiving lots of lasagna and chicken & rice casseroles!
Alas, my husband and I were determined to solve this (a husband’s initiative to help his wife stop complaining knows no bounds!). Together, with great friends of ours who had the technical know-how, we made our idea a reality. Thus, Food Tidings was born. My email madness was solved and no more duplicate meals means everybody wins!
Food Tidings, our free online tool, serves as a hub where people sign up to support a friend or family member by taking them a meal or having one delivered.
How it works:
Sign up at www.foodtidings.com with your email address (no spam, promise!).
Create a meal schedule (easy steps walk you through it).
Invite family & friends to participate through email or Facebook.
Food Tidings adds ‘managed’ in the midst of our ‘manic’ lives. Life brings news; some good, some bad. We don’t get to plan when we get it, it just comes. But even small gestures count. So go ahead, send a ‘Tiding’ and discover what a difference you can make in their family and yours.
About our guest writer, Lisa Shepherd:
Lisa Shepherd is co-founder of Foodtidings.com. Lisa has been married to her best friend and husband Zach Shepherd for 11 years, and they have 4 children ages 8, 7, 5, and 3. When she does have spare time (which is rare), she loves Pinterest, blogging, frozen yogurt, and watching Burn Notice and Downton Abbey with her hubby.
