Life In a Shoe

4 Moms 35 Kids: we go live!

kimc — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:30:00 +0000

Last updated: 9:45 PM. Links to other participants have been fixed.

Scroll to the bottom for most recent updates.

I've live-blogged 2 labors in the past 3.5 years (The Boy and Bethany, and another due in 10 weeks), but never a "regular" day. I'll freely admit that I'm very curious how this day will go. If it goes perfectly according to our schedule which I shared last week, that would be beautiful - but also undeniably boring. I'm not concerned, though. How often do you think that really happens?

I also can't help but think it would be really fun if things went horribly, hilariously wrong. Not just badly, but bad enough in such expected ways that we (and spectators) can't help but wonder, "What next?" That's always when I start blogging in my head. It's very therapeutic, and both my husband and my children have learned to recognize the glassy-eyed grin.

It might happen. There's a reason for the tagline in our blog: methods and madness.

So here it begins: a live-blogged day, right here in the Shoe. Look below for updates as often as we can muster, and feel free to comment. We want to know if it looks anything like your family's brand of madness, or are we alone in our world?

Don't forget to drop in on the other 3 moms and 25 remaining children to see how their day is shaping up:

Headmistress (The Common Room)

Connie (Smockity Frocks)

Kimberly (Raising Olives)

Thanks to The Happy Housewife for calling us all crazy linking to the 4 of us today.

10:50 PM, Wednesday night: I set up this post and schedule for bright and early Thursday morning, since I might not be up before you. See? You're winning the Good Mom contest already.

6:45 AM - Dad, Mom and the big children rise. He decides to take Deanna (16), Megan (11) and The Boy (3) to work with him today, so we get The Boy out of bed too. He is thrilled. So are those who will stay home, since this means a quiet day. It may mean a boring day, but they're not thinking of this at the moment.

The big girls work on preparing breakfast and packing lunch for those who are leaving. Dad and Mom shower, and Dad flirts shamelessly with Mom after they are dressed. The kids carefully ignore them. Mom wonders if she should blog the entire day in the third person. That could get old and awkward since she's not at all used to doing so.

7:30 AM - I take the workbound crew to the park & ride to meet Uncle Justin so that I can use the van later today for a midwife appointment. While I linger at the park & ride to read my Bible in the quiet, empty van, those left at home exercise and read their Bibles over a cup of tea or cocoa. Ahem. Don't they?

8:40 AM - I arrive home to find one industrious child and two freshly showered sloths. The rest are still sleeping. I think that probably leaves 3, since 3 went to work with hubby, but it's early and I haven't had my coffee yet. Wait, I don't drink coffee.

Chores commence in earnest while I update our blog and peek at the other moms to see if their children are better than mine. Breakfast will be served when chores are done. Is that clear? And it is not your turn to be sick today!

9:15 AM - The house begins to look neater and a pleasant hum emerges as children really wake up and begin to move about. The 5yo is still asleep. The 8yo is in bed, reading to the baby. I'm ok with this because she's the child who tells me she doesn't like to read, and who can resist a snuggly baby first thing in the morning?

Usually when older children are at work with their dad I divide their chores among the other children. Today, because I know the world is watching, I do them myself. I'm easily motivated that way.

Breakfast still hasn't happened in a formal way, but it's becoming apparent that most of us have already eaten at some point this morning.

9:35 - The little ones are eating (gasp!) Raisin Bran. 10yo Natalie reads Martha Washington (Childhood of Famous Americans) as she eats. I realize that I am going to spend way too much time reading the updates of the other 3 moms today. Kaitlyn is having a photo shoot with huge, gorgeous moth she rescued from the chickens.

In a typical homeschooler moment, we all abandon what we were doing to identify it: a polyphemus moth. We look up some more info. This one is a male, judging by the bushy antennae, and has vestigial mouth parts: he doesn't eat as an adult and has an adult lifespan of less than one week.

10:00 - I brush the little girls' hair and send them off to get dressed. Kait edits her moth photos in Photoshop and the others start school, beginning with Bible since they didn't do that first thing this morning. I wonder if I should have somebody grind wheat so I can start bread this morning; we're down to 1/2 loaf. I begin to think about dinner, too, since Deanna is gone today - she requested the daily chore of making dinner, but today I have to take her place. Yes, my life is full of drudgery. ;)

10:30 - I work on Frugal Hacks (behind the scenes and a new post based on an email from H&R Block). The little ones watch The Letter Factory while the big ones continue their school. Becca can't find her math book.

11:10 - Bread dough is rising in the mixer. I had Becca grind the wheat for me. We always end up with a bit of extra whole wheat flour, which I surreptitiously stir into the 25lb. bag of white flour. Do you have any idea how hard that word is to spell? My spell checker was no help at all. 5yo Rachael usually helps me with bread, but today she is watching The Letter Factorywith Bethany. Wait, what am I saying? She got all the ingredients out of the much-too-low cabinets for me. I check my kefir, but it's not quite done. I'll try to remember to put it in the fridge later today.

Becca still can't find her math book. I walk into the library and spot it immediately. In her defense, it's not in its proper place, although it is in plain sight.

I sit down to update this post, and before I know it the clock says 11:30. How did that happen?!

11:30 - The girls celebrate the end of math by using a magnifying glass to set fire to their completed and corrected lessons. I make a mini-book for Rachael at her request. She writes in it, asking how to spell words. Instead of telling her how to spell each word, I encourage her to sound out the easy ones. We call this phonics the cheapskate way. We enjoy a cantaloupe snack, although we really should be preparing lunch.

Oh, and dinner - what's for dinner? I have beans soaking, but they won't be ready in time for dinner. Tonight is potluck, so we should do something big and good. We take turns hosting, but this week is my parents' turn so we don't have to worry about having the house "company clean."

Bread dough is peeking out of the top of the mixer bowl. That's my cue to shape the loaves.

12:30 - Lunch is served and nearly finished: leftovers for all! The baby will be ready for her nap soon. When The Boy is here they both nap at 2, but without him to keep things interesting she is ready for a nap much sooner.

The older girls joined me as we shaped the bread into 3 loaves, and we had a casual conversation about why they might have a pain in their lower left or right abdomen at certain times of the month exactly opposite to other times of the month. Teachable moments, these.

The younger girls made mini-books of a sheet of paper and are now exercising, doing the new routine that hubby laid out for the family earlier this week.

Ground beef is defrosting on the kitchen counter for taco salad tonight. We're excited about this, as it always goes over well. And today I have avocados to go on it!

1:20 - Bread just came out of the oven, and it's beautiful. We just finished a bucket of hard red wheat and started a bucket of hard white wheat. White makes a much higher, softer, lighter loaf! We're so thrilled with the results, 3 of us take pictures.

Kaitlyn is drawing and Lydia is loafing, but both will back on school shortly; Natalie and Becca have some chores to finish and then they will do some quiet reading. The baby and Rachael will lie down and I might do the same in a few minutes, though I have to leave for my prenatal appointment in about an hour.

Right now I am looking at the wedding registry for my brother and his wife-to-be. After my appointment I need to get them a gift for the bridal shower this Saturday, and for the wedding on the following Saturday. I'm hoping to discuss the choice with hubby before I go shopping - or I might just meet up with him on his way home and we can shop together.

2:00 - The little ones are falling asleep in my bed as I type. This is the part of the day where I would go read to them, give a brief reading lesson, practice catechism...but instead I'm here typing an update.

I'm also putting on makeup and giving instructions before I leave for town. I still have a few minutes but this part always takes longer than I expect.

Kaitlyn: Dinner. Taco salad, with homemade catalina dressing combined with salsa. Layer it prettily on the big platter. This is relatively easy but she also takes care of general supervision, since she has been an adult since the age of 3.

Lydia: Rip 12 CDs and convert to MP3 format for Dad, as directed. Backup copies are essential in our house, where the expected lifespan of a CD or DVD is about 3 uses. Keep the laundry running.

Natalie and Becca: Finish afternoon chores; do your non-fiction reading and write a brief summary of the chapter. Do your work before you play.

All: Update the blog if anything noteworthy happens, like empty laundry bins or the dog giving birth. Hitch a ride to Grandpa and Grandma's house to start potluck festivities without us if Dad and I aren't back by 6. You know we won't be.

3:55 - Just got out of the midwife's office and called the kids for an update. It went something like this:

Me: Hi. I'm done at the midwife. Are you all doing the things I told you to do before I left?

Child: No.

Me: (Nice show of honesty there. Work ethic needs improvement.) Well...get on it! I love you. Let me talk to someone else...

Repeat 3 times. I ended with an admonition to update this post by telling what everyone is doing or has done over the last half hour. Mental note to self: check blog in 30 minutes.

Called hubby and left a message to tell him that the appointment went well. Baby is currently breech, but no worries. This uterus has plenty of room for a baby to turn. There's probably room for a 5yo to turn around. Amazingly, people are telling me I look small for 30 weeks. Maybe because baby is camped out in my diaphragm rather than where she belongs?

Yes, she. I'm assuming "she" until I learn otherwise. So far, no crazy Asian ladies have grabbed my belly in WalMart and declared breathlessly that I'm carrying a boy. Apparently that only happens when I'm carrying a boy. Yes, this really happened to me. Virtual hug and a high-five to the reader who can dig up that post for me, because I can't find it.

a-ha. Now I feel like a dork, because I have to give myself a high five and a hug in public. I found the crazy Asian lady post: Differences in Pregnancy

4:20 (posted by Kaitlyn) - Hi, I'm Dory. uh, I don't think I've ever eaten a fish...

Right now we're all cleaning the house to some loud lively music. Since there are so many people missing we're just puttering around, no one is taking care of any particular room (especially not me I'm on the computer!).

Lydia hasn't ripped all those CD's yet because the computer won't recognize them. I tried to help her and even with all my budding nerdyness (yes I know it's not a word but I'm so budding-ly nerdy that I make up my own words. ) I couldn't help her.

Now I need to go crack a whip over the heads of all my little slaves (shhh!).

Over and out!

5:43

Dinner is almost ready, but I need a recipe for Catalina salad dressing... MOM!!? Natalie and Becca have short-term memory loss so they are both just starting there writing but they have the motivation of going to Grandma's house so that should go quick. Rachael is getting ready: brushing her hair and making a style (aka. getting dressed ).

5:55: Natalie is done writing and getting Bessie ready now that she's awake from her nap. Lydia and I are getting ready.

6:45 - Met up with hubby and the 3 children who went to work with him today. Bought a gift, and we're now heading in a homeward direction. Depending on whether the other children finished what they needed to do and hit up Grandma for a ride, we may just head straight over the hill to their house. If that's the case, blogging is done for most of the evening since there will be very little going on in our house. Do you really want to hear that the dog scratched herself, or the cat gave her dirty looks for doing so?

9:45 - Home again, home again, jiggety-jig. Potluck was fun, crowded and loud, with about 45 people in and about the premises. We're home now and the kids are doing some exercises. We're all very ready for bed, though we don't usually go to bed until 11 or later.

Let me be more specific: everyone but the baby is ready for bed. She's in her bed throwing an uncharacteristic tantrum. She was clingy and out of sorts at Grandpa's house tonight, either intimidated by the noise level or coming down with a bug. Anyone care to wager a guess?

10:13- Deanna speaking. Today I went to work and packaged CDs. It was pretty boring, but potluck made up for it. All of the people who don't usually come were there all at the same time! Pretty awesome. In that time, I switched hats with my Uncle William, threw pebbles at people for no apparent reason, fought a poke war, and had to use sheer force to batter open the front door so I could get to dessert. I jumped on the trampoline with my best friend/dear auntie Briana, ate a huge fajita for dinner, and when we got home I had to do exercise >:P, and as soon as I wash dishes I shall go to bed. G'nite!

Dolls for sale!

Meg — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:39:58 +0000

By Megan.

I have three dolls for sale. Since I've been getting tired of borrowing Lydia's boots, the money will go towards a pair of cowboy boots I've been wanting for a while. When I brought these dolls home Rachael asked me what they were for, I told her they were for selling. She sighed sadly "Oh. I thought they were a secret birthday present for me."

This 18" Evangeline Doll has hand rooted hair that can be brushed and styled like real hair. She has a cloth torso, and her arms and legs can move up and down. She can stand on her own, her eyes open and close when she lies down. She is wearing a beautiful green checked dress, and has long blond hair. She retailed for $89.00 but is now discontinued.

Doll #1 Made in Germany!

These beautiful dolls are in perfect gift-giving condition condition.

Doll #2 is a new style Liberty. She has a pink checked dress and brown hair.She retails for $75.00

Doll #2

Doll #3 is a new style Jubilee. She has a green dress and blond hair. She retails for $75.00

Doll #3

Up for grabs!

They are $50 each, including shipping.

I’m so glad I’m not live-blogging the day.

kimc — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:30:26 +0000

You'll have to come back tomorrow to see me and 3 other moms live-blog a real day for this week's edition of 4 Moms, 35 Kids.

Hopefully that won't include any firsts, like when The Boy tried to flush his sister's doll today. Well, some firsts would be nice - like today, when the girls were actually doing school when I arrived home from dropping hubby at the park-n-ride.

But mostly, I'm hoping the day somehow resembles the daily schedule I posted last Thursday. Don't laugh. Hope springs eternal.

Princess Adelina

kimc — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:06:59 +0000

Ok, I promise not to bombard you with announcements of Vision Forum's huge Spring Savings Sale, but did I mention that for the 5 remaining days of this sale, their customary Deal of the Day will be discounted much more than the usual 50%?

Just check the left sidebar of the Vision Forum website any time to see today's deal.

Yesterday, it was Jonathan Park: The Adventure Begins (4 CDs) for just $4! The special price is gone, but it's still a fantastic set. If you haven't introduced your children to Jonathan Park yet, do it! You won't be sorry. You'll probably find yourself sucked into the stories as well, and your kids will recite creation factoids for years to come. This is fun stuff, well done and educational - that's a hard balance to strike, but the Jonathan Park series does it.

Today's Deal of the Day is even closer to our heart: Princess Adelina is just $2.70 for a beautiful hardback book. This story of a 7th century missionary daughter who married a heathen leader and helped spread the gospel in early Germany was our family project last year. We found an old copy and prepared a new updated manuscript which Vision Forum published for us. We think it's like a Henty for girls - a wonderful story of a brave, strong, virtuous young woman who made a real difference in history while working inside the role of a godly woman.

Now you understand why I had to plug it today, right? Princess Adelina is ours. After this, I'll just keep putting the Deal of the Day in the sidebar if I think it's really exciting.

Winner of the Marie Madeline giveaway

kimc — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:13:53 +0000

We had nearly 400 entries, an all-time record for us! Thank you to everyone who participated, and let me remind you once again that even if you didn't win, the number of entries is sure to encourage future sponsors of giveaways. Keep entering and eventually you're sure to win!

Our winner this time is Heidi Roach, who said:

wow, what a great website! I think I’d have to go for the messenger bag… so useful and cute.

Thanks for all you helpful material you post here. I love reading!

~Heidi

Heidi,

Congratulations! I'll forward your name and email address to the ladies at Marie Madeline so you should hear from them soon!

Granola, homeschooler style

kimc — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 21:34:52 +0000

Now that the weather is warmer we're beginning to crave cold cereal again. It's a summertime tradition in our house, and summer lasts a loooong time here in south Texas.

But we're also eating much healthier and cheaper these days, and I find myself choking a bit even on the very cheapest prepared cereals. Besides, they just don't keep a person full. We find ourselves needing a second breakfast an hour later, and there's nothing cheap about eating the same meal twice.

And so I'm trying my hand again at granola. In typical homeschooler style, I can't just find and follow a recipe. I have to find 10 recipes and study the proportions of oats to other dry ingredients, dry ingredients to moist, oil to sweetener, etc. Then I combine them to suit our taste, budget, pantry and whims.

Here is the recipe for what is now in my oven, preserved here for either repetition or mockery, depending upon the results.

Granola

8 cups oats
2 cups nuts (slivered almonds)
1 cup flax seed (the first flax seed I've ever owned, bought just for granola)
1 cup TVP (bought on a whim at the bulk food store because it's cheap, high in protein and looks a lot like the sort of thing you'd expect to find in granola)
1 cup raw wheat germ
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup honey (do you really think I measured this?)
1 cup oil (see question above)
raisins or other dried fruit if desired (add after cooking & cooling)

Stir together dry ingredients. Heat honey and oil together and add to dry ingredients, stirring to combine thoroughly.

Divide onto 2 large cookie sheets and cook 20-30 minutes at 325 degrees, stirring once or twice. Cool on sheets, add dried fruit if desired, and store in an airtight container.

What do you think, granola makers of the world? Will it work? Smells good, looks good, tasted good before it went in the oven...but my kids still remember our last homemade granola. It was hard as a rock, and I have no clue what recipe I used.

Spring Savings Sale at Vision Forum!

kimc — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:49:42 +0000

It's been a while since I posted about a Vision Forum sale, just in case everyone in the world doesn't like their stuff as much as we do, but you might be mad if I didn't mention this one.

Today they kicked off their 6 day Spring Savings Sale, with 50-70% off over 350 products. This includes some of our personal favorites - the real cream of the crop!

So Much More for $6 - Not just for grown daughters who live at home. I learned a lot about the history and influence of feminism from this amazingly well-researched book written by 2 teens.
Princess Adelina for $6.30 - our family project last year! We discovered this old gem and prepared an updated manuscript for Vision Forum to republish. Our daughters created a new map, glossary, and helped with the overall project.
Passionate Housewives Desperate for God for $5.60 - encouragement for discouraged or overwhelmed wives
The Widow's Might DVD for $10 - a shining example of what Christian film-making should be.
How to Disciple Your Family for $38.25
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed DVD for $13.50 - not from a Christian perspective, but a devastating expose' of the evolutionary bias inside the science community.
The Birkenhead Drill for $2.40 - a precursor the Titanic tragedy. Every boy used to know the story of the sinking of the Birkenhead and the selfless sacrifices of the men on board for the sake of women and children.

Those are just a few of the deals that caught my eye from the first couple of pages. There are far, far more. This would be a great time to set aside some gifts for future occasions...

Oops. I really need a calendar.

kimc — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:32:55 +0000

Remember when I logged everything I ate for one day, and I mentioned that my midwife wants a 5 day food log before my next appointment?

I forgot that I'm already down to appointments every 2 weeks. My next appointment is this Thursday! I only have 3 full days left before my next appointment, and I need to log 4 more days of eating.

Fortunately yesterday was Sunday, and I don't do my usual all-day grazing on Sundays. Instead of 3 meals and 17 snacks, I ate in increments that I can remember. We'll overlook the fact that my evening meal consisted of 2 scoops of ice cream, a slice of angel food cake, 1/2 cup of strawberries and half a can of redi-whip. At least I can remember what I ate, and maybe my midwife will just skim quickly and praise me for having plenty of dairy that evening. I wonder how many servings of dairy were in that redi-whip?

My Mom is Spoiled

Deanna — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:31:29 +0000

Posted By: Deanna

Need I say more?

Did you notice the footstool? Look at the woman! She's living in the lap of luxury.

This is a picture of a woman for whom mandatory dish washing, laundry washing/folding, dinner cooking, bed making etc. are a thing of the far past. The main part of her duties consists of shopping (not for long) blog maintenance, and general parental oversight.

She's been promoted to management.

Not that I mind. When we gave her the Netbook for Christmas she said "Wow, I like having rich kids." But she's been getting foot/hand massages, not to mention all of the cocoa, cocoa-mocha, frappucinos, chocolate milk, snacks, shoulder rubs, hair brushings, etc that she's been getting for years.

Again, I'm not complaining. She's earned it. Just today though I made her a ready made cocoa-mocha first thing in the morning (first thing for her. It was 10:30), and for brunch I think it was Megan that made her a cheese and bean chimichanga.

The late rising isn't normal, but the rest of it is. Far cry from the old days, eh Mom?

On a complete side note, here is a look at what we were doing while she slept.

When we say "yardwork", it generally means that we take clippers, saws, rakes, and elbow grease and turn this:

Into this.

Let me tell you, this picture makes all of the sweat, scratches, tiredness, blisters, and everything else completely and totally worth it.

4 Moms, 35 Kids: the schedule

kimc — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:00:34 +0000

I was half-kidding when I asked my rhetorical question about instituting a new schedule before this post, but not because I wanted to impress you with our superior levels of productivity.

It's because this mom of nearly-10 has become shockingly undisciplined. After those early years of madcap panic trying to get through the days and weeks and months with all the members of the family receiving at least a meal a day and a bath a week, now I'm surrounded by helpers with able bodies and sound minds. I have 7 children who can tie their own shoes, and what's more they can find and tie shoes for those who can't.

I'm not telling you this in a show of false humility. There is some real humility, because I know we could make much better use of our time. But my main purpose in explaining this is to encourage mothers whose children are all or mostly below the age of shoe-tying. Your days will get easier. You will, someday, struggle more with the temptation to laziness than the temptation to fall into a teary heap on the kitchen floor because there's just not enough time in the day to do the absolute bare necessities.

The four of us promised to tell you about our schedules. Here's mine. We don't have strict times attached to each event because we don't usually watch the clock except at the beginning and end of the day. We just have a progression of events that will be done. Well, in theory at least. On a good day.

This is what our typical day looks like:

7:00 - Rise time. Help with Dad's coffee, breakfast and lunch, if necessary.

7:30 - Dad leaves. Other stuff starts:

Shower/dress - only those who rise early are allowed a morning shower. This doesn't stop the late risers from asking for an exception every single morning. When I say no, they typically make up for their laziness by spending an hour getting dressed, not realizing that it will therefore be an hour later in the day before they have free time to take a shower.

Bible - private reading for all. I usually read in my bedroom. If little ones join me, I read aloud with an admonition that they must be still and quiet or leave the room.

Jobs - clean up the house. Everyone has assigned areas and chores. This includes bedrooms, laundry, living areas, animals, etc. Most jobs get done and re-done throughout the day as necessary.

Breakfast - usually prepared by a volunteer or assigned to somebody who looks idle.

School - there is no time attached to this; it's simply the next thing on the list. But I will confess that it rarely starts before 10:00 and continues after lunch.

Lunch - some people eat lunch at noon. We scoff at such predictable behavior. We eat when we get hungry, or when we see somebody with a particularly appealing snack, or when the little kids get whiny.

2:00 - also known as the Hallelujah hour. A general shout goes up (Guess what time it is? Two o'clock!!!) and naps commence for the wee ones, quiet time for the bigger small people. "Quiet time" really means nap time for those who don't necessarily fall asleep but still get tired or cranky after a long day. Yes, that may include me. Quit snickering. You know you're just jealous.

Quiet Timers are allowed to choose one or two books and are required to be still and quiet for 60-90 minutes. I sometimes lie down with one of the littles while the big girls finish up their school.

Afternoon projects - This includes 1 hour of yard work. Right now we're working on clearing the woods around the house, and making beautiful progress in areas that we couldn't even walk through before. I rarely take part in this. The kids are probably going to either laugh or seethe at the term, "rarely" which indicates that I do, indeed, help on occasion.

Free time - Do you really need an explanation here? This is for those productive individuals who are done with jobs, Bible and school before dinner. Don't feel bad for them. Anyone who wants free time generally has it - the question is whether they are good little children who finish their work first, or bad little children who goof off all day and find themselves scrambling to finish their work before dinner.

6:30 - Our officially scheduled time for dinner, though we love to wait for Dad if he expects to be home any time before 7:30.

Dishes for the big ones, baths for the little people.

Family time - this often includes surfing the internet as a team event, and wild-eyed herds of children stampeding toward the sound of youtube. It sometimes includes Dad or Mom swatting at 6 or 8 people at a time and muttering, "Get off me! Let me breathe, people! I'll call you when the video is loaded!"

Family worship

Bed - The little ones are usually in bed by 9:30 or 10, while the big people in the house (11 and up) try to have lights out by 11 or so. I can hear the collective gasp out there. That's just what works for us these days. When all the kids were little and Dad came home every night at 5:15, bedtime was 8:00. If we did that now, some of them might not see him for days on end.

See the schedules for the other 3 moms and 25 kids:

This post is also part of the Carnival of Homeschooling.

Guess who else is blogging about a daily schedule? Simple Mom is re-running her classic post called 20 Tips for Finding your Routine with Kids.