The Family Dinner...Urban Myth?

Okay, help me out people. Give me some tips. How do I make a family dinner happen during the week? 'Cause it ain't happening around these parts.

At the very earliest, I get home with the Laineybug at 5:45pm, but usually closer to 6pm. If I really stretch her and she's in a particularly good mood, I can hold off feeding her until 6:30pm. Maybe, just maybe, that will be the one night of the week Mark makes it home before 7pm. So, you might be thinking, "hey, 30 minutes is enough to toss a quick meal together." And I agree. Except Lainey has mommy static cling in the evenings and that makes it hard to get much cooking accomplished. I know I could ignore her whines and tugs at my legs and force her to play on her own, but I don't want to. I'm gone from her all day, so if she wants to hang out and play or cuddle with her mom, then that's what we're gonna' do!

Of course play time means sacrifice at meal time. I'm thankful she gets a hot, balanced meal at daycare, because I'm usually throwing whatever I can make quickly with no real thought to a cohesive meal...some mixed veggies here, a slice of cheese there, a fruit cup to top things off. Still hungry? Uh, here have a peanut butter sandwich. She eats a lot of avocado and tofu, because they're easy to dice and toss on her tray before she has a total metldown. I'm feeding her nutritious stuff and try to hit multiple food groups--although I won't lie, there have been nights she's had just cheerios and milk for dinner--but I still feel bad that I haven't planned a "meal." (QUICK TIP: The Safeway brand of multi-grain Os actually have BETTER nutritionals than Cheerios--so go ahead, save a few bucks. But, I'll admit they don't taste as good.)

So, do I just have to make a choice? Either spend quality 1:1 time with Lainey after work or give up that time, so we can dine as a family? I know there's got to be a way to find a balance...I'm just struggling on how to get there.