Today I found out there is a position - fulltime- where I work with the mentally challenged. It would be evenings and mornings and 8 hours a day, but I wouldn't work when dh is working. So that's a plus. Question is, is it worth it to have healthcare and a full-time position to miss seeing my school kids during the week.
I have lots of cleaning to do and laundry to hang up. After the in-laws leave it's usually rushing trying to get ourselves back to the normal chaos and clutter. Yesterday, I went through the younger four's clothes and pitch, pitch, pitched. I think I took out four bags. That will help. I saved conservatively because aunt and g'ma love to shop for clothes. So we may not need all we have even now.
Today it's trying to get the schoolroom back in order. I think we'll be sending our kids to private school next year. So the schoolroom may become the sewing room. Woohoo!!!
I was able to get quite a bit of piecing done this weekend, because of travelling and visiting the zoo. I can hand piece in the car and got quite a bit done. Now I just hope that the quilt shop will be open soon, so I can go and ask some questions. :)
Friday, May 29, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
We got home yesterday from a day-trip to a town 3 hours away, family reunion. Though I didn't want to we cleaned out the van and then took care of everything when we got home. It's so nice to not have to get that cleaned up before family gets here. DH's parents are coming back from there today and his sister is a half hour away. So laundry and vacuuming, sweep & mop and bathroom need to be done before then. Also the babies (2 youngest) seem to be stomach-sick, so I'll be cleaning their beds and their rooms. We'll see if it gets done. I'll have to prioritize. I don't mind doing laundry while they are here so that will be last. The rooms are a must, first thing after the kids wake up, and the bathroom is high priority. Sweeping and mopping will be after that and then vacuuming. The children can help me with the floors easy enough.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Well, the in-laws are coming and I've been busy getting ready. My dh got a steam cleaner for me, so I've been using that on the carpets. They were desperately needing it. With 5 boys and 2 girls and the creek not far, there was sand and stains all over. It cleaned up fairly well though. So that was nice. No matter how hard I try, the house never seems neat, at least not for long. I'm told we need to enjoy this phase, but it does get frustrating at times.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Today will be a day of a bit of change. My dh thinks that the kids need a bit of summer, especially the older boys who are "bucking" Mom's system. So I'll set up a list of things that need to be finished before their free to do whatever. With a continued time of reading right after lunch and of course, dishes after every meal. We'll try it and see how it works for us. He suggested trying this for a couple of weeks. So I worked up a chart for the rest of the month. My in-laws are coming and that will make things look different, but hopefully this will help them.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Schedules and meal planning
Today was a bit but not much different.
Breakfast was french toast - all homemade even the syrup. About a dozen and a half eggs at 98 cents per dozen is $1.50 plus the bread is $1.50. That's approximate since we ate a bit more than a loaf. So that's $3 and then I made syrup, so that was probably another dollar. 9 people eating for 4 dollars isn't too bad.
We usually try to eat early enough that my dh can go to work at 8:00. And he likes a real breakfast since he does physical labor, so we all sit down to breakfast usually.
8-9 was clean-up and we ran a bit overtime, that was upstairs and down
9-10 was some math and language, even though we ran over on the cleaning we still were finished by 10
10 -11 was supposed to be Sesame Street and Health for the oldest two, but we finished health early and I needed to make a bank run so we did that. I had cooked rice while we were doing our math and language so the rest was easy.
11-12 We got back from the bank and I started the hamburger cooking, talked to one of my good friends in another state, and hung up two loads of laundry. It's funny that hanging it outside really helps me to get it done and not have huge piles of laundry to fold or to wash.
12-1 Lunch and clean-up: For lunch we had: rice with hamburger and greens from the garden. With a little bit of mustard in the hamburger, it tasted good over rice. 4 cups of rice is about $1.00 and 2 lbs of hamburger at $2/pound is $4 and the greens did cost time. But $5 for a main meal isn't too bad when there are 10 of us eating my dh's teen-age worker ate with us for lunch.
So at a goal of $.50 per person per meal that is still within my budget and I have some room to breathe because breakfast was less than that.
1-1:30 will be reading after we clean up the kitchen
1:30-2:30 will be gardening with the kids only doing a half hour and then for them it will be free time mostly outside until 5:00.
At 5:00, they will need baths and I'll need to set out supper things, probably sandwiches and salad. With supper being say 2 loaves of bread, PB and J, a bit of meat and cheese and salad. I think the bread would be $2.50, the toppings probably not more than 2 dollars. The salad stuff is free because it's from the garden. So $4.50 for 9 people. Still within budget and some leftover veggies and dip will be for snack today. I'd taken it to quilt guild. So I don't count leftovers, since they've already been counted once. :) I will have to take something to Bible study, maybe cinnamon rolls which may cost about $2.
So breakfast was $4, lunch $5, supper $4.50 and dessert $2. Total is 15.50 for the day for 9 people. We can't even eat at McDonalds one meal for that.
At 5:30 we'll eat and at 6:00 we need to do the dishes
At 6:30 we'll pick up a little girl, I think, I'll have to call and check. and head to church for Bible study.
At about 9:30 we'll probably be home and head to bed. Yeah!
Breakfast was french toast - all homemade even the syrup. About a dozen and a half eggs at 98 cents per dozen is $1.50 plus the bread is $1.50. That's approximate since we ate a bit more than a loaf. So that's $3 and then I made syrup, so that was probably another dollar. 9 people eating for 4 dollars isn't too bad.
We usually try to eat early enough that my dh can go to work at 8:00. And he likes a real breakfast since he does physical labor, so we all sit down to breakfast usually.
8-9 was clean-up and we ran a bit overtime, that was upstairs and down
9-10 was some math and language, even though we ran over on the cleaning we still were finished by 10
10 -11 was supposed to be Sesame Street and Health for the oldest two, but we finished health early and I needed to make a bank run so we did that. I had cooked rice while we were doing our math and language so the rest was easy.
11-12 We got back from the bank and I started the hamburger cooking, talked to one of my good friends in another state, and hung up two loads of laundry. It's funny that hanging it outside really helps me to get it done and not have huge piles of laundry to fold or to wash.
12-1 Lunch and clean-up: For lunch we had: rice with hamburger and greens from the garden. With a little bit of mustard in the hamburger, it tasted good over rice. 4 cups of rice is about $1.00 and 2 lbs of hamburger at $2/pound is $4 and the greens did cost time. But $5 for a main meal isn't too bad when there are 10 of us eating my dh's teen-age worker ate with us for lunch.
So at a goal of $.50 per person per meal that is still within my budget and I have some room to breathe because breakfast was less than that.
1-1:30 will be reading after we clean up the kitchen
1:30-2:30 will be gardening with the kids only doing a half hour and then for them it will be free time mostly outside until 5:00.
At 5:00, they will need baths and I'll need to set out supper things, probably sandwiches and salad. With supper being say 2 loaves of bread, PB and J, a bit of meat and cheese and salad. I think the bread would be $2.50, the toppings probably not more than 2 dollars. The salad stuff is free because it's from the garden. So $4.50 for 9 people. Still within budget and some leftover veggies and dip will be for snack today. I'd taken it to quilt guild. So I don't count leftovers, since they've already been counted once. :) I will have to take something to Bible study, maybe cinnamon rolls which may cost about $2.
So breakfast was $4, lunch $5, supper $4.50 and dessert $2. Total is 15.50 for the day for 9 people. We can't even eat at McDonalds one meal for that.
At 5:30 we'll eat and at 6:00 we need to do the dishes
At 6:30 we'll pick up a little girl, I think, I'll have to call and check. and head to church for Bible study.
At about 9:30 we'll probably be home and head to bed. Yeah!
Schedules
So, I'm keeping up with this a bit much since it's new. Mostly this is for my own personal record of how I'm doing. I want to be faithful to do the things I need to do, so that when I have my personal time, I can think, "Yep, I've been working hard to get things done and taking my break is just fine." Just doing my best. I didn't get the kitchen cleaned like I wanted it today, but tomorrow we'll work again, and more will get done. I don't have any outside work during the day, so that helps. We aren't paying for daycare for all the kids, so I work nights when my dh (dear husband) is home. Read a chapter in Little Britches while the kids sat nearby on rugs outside. They are free to do things while I read, but they just need to be within earshot of the story. They love reading time and beg for it quite a bit.
I don't want anyone to think that they should have a schedule that looks like mine or that I follow my schedule all the time. Interruptions come at time when I least expect it and it takes work to "roll with the punches". Things happen and it's just easier on everyone if I walk in the Spirit and respond appropriately to the children. Schedules have to be flexible and fit our needs, we shouldn't have to fit them.
I don't want anyone to think that they should have a schedule that looks like mine or that I follow my schedule all the time. Interruptions come at time when I least expect it and it takes work to "roll with the punches". Things happen and it's just easier on everyone if I walk in the Spirit and respond appropriately to the children. Schedules have to be flexible and fit our needs, we shouldn't have to fit them.
Schedules
Today, I'm cleaning house after a very busy weekend. I thought it was only going to be graduation parties, etc. Because my husband and I are youth leaders, we really need to be there for our group of teens, so we were planning on attending the five or more events going on. Then I got called to work. I'm a sub, so I never know what my hours will be unless the person I'm subbing for knows in advance. Suffice it to say, I worked from 1:30 on Sunday afternoon till 5:00 Monday afternoon. This is all new to me because I've only worked at home and helped my husband with his business, being away from the kids for that long was a new experience.
So, as I said, I'm, actually we're, cleaning the house and weeding and trying to finish up those last two subjects in school. For me, a schedule is a neccesity. With the kids, chaos reigns when I just let them do. That means that we need some consistency and organization, but in summer it looks different than during the school year. Today, my schedule looks like this:
8-9 Everyone cleans their room; gum is the reward for being done first; and my four-year old won. He and his little brother share a room, so until I can help him, he works alone. He finished before I got there. I know one hour is a long time, but that helps me not be stressed about not getting done - and not everyone finished, but tomorrow, we'll probably work a half hour in our rooms so it's not a huge deal
9-10 Everyone works on the room they chose to clean downstairs, again this is way longer than we need, but we'll clean a bit deeper today and tomorrow it will be 1/2 hour or less
10-11 Little ones without school watch Sesame Street, while I help the older two study for their health exam, we'll probably work outside, since Sesame Street is a distraction.
11-12 Short reviews of math and language for everyone who is school-age, and making a bigger lunch as my husband is working across the street and it's hot today. He'll need more sustenance to help him get through. Also we'll read from "Little Britches", if we get done early.
12-12:30 Lunch
12:30 - 1 Dishes
1-1:30 Everyone reads (school-age) while I lay down with the pre-schoolers for their nap
1:30-2:30 Gardening, but that will probably need more time
2:30 - 4:30 Outside time; it's beautiful out today so we'll probably keep the house clean by staying outside.
4:30-5:30 I'll get supper ready - sandwiches or salad and give baths if necessary, unless we'll be outside for longer
6:00 I'll get ready to go to quilt guild while my husband and the kids watch a movie or do whatever they decide.
9:30 or so I'll get home and crash, so I can get up and start over again
So, as I said, I'm, actually we're, cleaning the house and weeding and trying to finish up those last two subjects in school. For me, a schedule is a neccesity. With the kids, chaos reigns when I just let them do. That means that we need some consistency and organization, but in summer it looks different than during the school year. Today, my schedule looks like this:
8-9 Everyone cleans their room; gum is the reward for being done first; and my four-year old won. He and his little brother share a room, so until I can help him, he works alone. He finished before I got there. I know one hour is a long time, but that helps me not be stressed about not getting done - and not everyone finished, but tomorrow, we'll probably work a half hour in our rooms so it's not a huge deal
9-10 Everyone works on the room they chose to clean downstairs, again this is way longer than we need, but we'll clean a bit deeper today and tomorrow it will be 1/2 hour or less
10-11 Little ones without school watch Sesame Street, while I help the older two study for their health exam, we'll probably work outside, since Sesame Street is a distraction.
11-12 Short reviews of math and language for everyone who is school-age, and making a bigger lunch as my husband is working across the street and it's hot today. He'll need more sustenance to help him get through. Also we'll read from "Little Britches", if we get done early.
12-12:30 Lunch
12:30 - 1 Dishes
1-1:30 Everyone reads (school-age) while I lay down with the pre-schoolers for their nap
1:30-2:30 Gardening, but that will probably need more time
2:30 - 4:30 Outside time; it's beautiful out today so we'll probably keep the house clean by staying outside.
4:30-5:30 I'll get supper ready - sandwiches or salad and give baths if necessary, unless we'll be outside for longer
6:00 I'll get ready to go to quilt guild while my husband and the kids watch a movie or do whatever they decide.
9:30 or so I'll get home and crash, so I can get up and start over again
About me
Hi, I'm a mother to seven, five boys and two girls, and I just started working outside the home. I also teach them at home, at least for this last year. I guess whether or not we are teaching school to our children we should really be teaching them all the time anyway. My husband and I were missionaries overseas and now are home and he is self-employed, while I work away from home. I love my new job, but it takes a lot away from home as well. So I thought this would be a great way to "give and take" - to share with each other about new ways to do things.
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