Two kids, dinner somewhere around 5:40 if I'm lucky, and a counter that turns into a museum of half-eaten crusts. My real leak was the after-school window, roughly 3:15 to 4, when I'd finish whatever they left behind while standing at the sink. It never felt like a meal, so in my head it never counted.
The fix was stupidly small. I pack their snack containers the night before, and I pack a fourth one for me with the same stuff — cheese, cucumber, a few crackers. Same food, except mine goes on a plate at the table instead of off their plates over the garbage. That's it. That's the whole trick.
Dinner is still loud and half of it ends up on the floor. I just don't walk into the 5 p.m. scramble already full of somebody else's leftovers.
Curious if anyone else has one specific time window that was doing more damage than the actual meals.