A Civilized Meal? Am I Dreaming?

Sara here:
As Erika and I prepare to embark on this new regime of meal planning, I am thinking about supper at my house and how crazy it can be. Most days, I am rushing to prepare the food; the kids are happy to be home from daycare and do not want to leave their toys/television shows to come to the table; and my husband (who works from home) is a little overwhelmed with the noise and chaos that has invaded his quiet space. This all leads to a crescendo of stress at the table as I find myself yelling "Stop saying penis! Eat your carrots!"

One trick I have found helps is giving a countdown to mealtime so the kids know they soon have to stop what they are doing. Also, during supper, asking questions around the table calms things down. Our ritual is "good thing, bad thing". Each person has to tell us the best and worst thing that happened in their day. The kids love it, and we find out some pretty interesting stuff! Most times, it allows for some calmer space for us all to eat.

I found a great article that gives some other suggestions for a stress-free mealtime. Have a gander http://fit.webmd.com/jr/parents/article/parents-family-mealtime-stress and share any ideas with us you have for keeping mealtime sane.
Happy eating!
Sara