Large Family Homeschool Life – Week 23 of 2024

A fun week with visits from my son and his wife, our local library’s Summer Reading Kickoff, and our wedding anniversary!

Read all of the Large Family Homeschool Life posts!

MONDAY

Some of the girls and I spent the weekend with my Mom, and the traveling made me quite tired. I woke up at 7:30 am and took Winston (my mini poodle) out, then came home and made breakfast, which I ate on the deck – my favorite place to be in the mornings.

It’s been too warm and humid overnight to open up the house lately, so I guess Summer is truly here. Bleh.

I planted a batch of tall phlox I dug up at my Mom’s. Over the years, we’ve been transplanting from her little garden to a section of our yard that was prone to washing away. The phlox have kept the soil in place, and they look pretty! I always look to them to signal the end of summer since they don’t bloom their pretty purple blooms until August.

For Morning Time, we finished up Leviticus in PictureSmart. Then, we discussed Ancient India and Hinduism and how to best witness to Hindus. We also added the Himalayas to our India maps.

Then, Ty called to have me look over some things on the HMMWV in our garage that will eventually be going to the mountains so we can take the 4×4 trails. Talking to him cut short our Morning Time, but it’s Summer and that seems to be the way things have been going this Summer!

For lunch, I made myself nachos with lime chips we bought at Aldi and my homemade salsa. I haven’t had nachos in a long time, and they were quite tasty!

Then, the 13 year old and I went on post to take Winston to the vet for his rabies shot. On our way back home, we stopped at the library to pick up Black Ships Before Troy – a retelling of The Iliad. I’ll probably end up assigning the book to my 13 year old when he’s finished with his Ancient Egypt book. I like to help the kids understand the storyline of more difficult books before trying to read the original text.

Once home, I started working on my grocery list. I was so tired I took a short nap so that I wouldn’t be dragging the rest of the day. Then, I went grocery shopping at Aldi with my 19 year old and 9 year old. The total was just under $300 and my cart was overflowing!

When we got back home the kids unloaded the van and my 19 year old and I quickly put together the meatloaf and potatoes for my daughter-in-law’s birthday meal. I popped the meatloaf in the oven and put the potatoes on low while we headed to Walmart to finish the shopping. While we were there, we also bought a strawberry crunch ice cream cake for her birthday celebration.

After dinner, presents, and cake, the 13 year old and I put up a hose holder in the backyard near the phlox. I also harvested the lemon balm from the side yard, washed it, and hung it to dry along my kitchen window.

We did a lot of laundry today too! I helped the 11 year old wash and hang to dry 3 loads of towels, my son and his family did a load of their laundry, I did a load of my laundry, and my 23 year old also did a load so she’d have what she needs for her job interview tomorrow.

Then, she and I finished watching Murder is Easy on Britbox while giving the little girls a bath. I just run their water for them and keep an ear out, so not too big of a deal. As far as the movie goes, I didn’t really like it, but it wasn’t terrible.

TUESDAY

Early this morning, our 23 year old headed out to a job interview in a neighboring state. Praying it goes well!

I went to Weight Watchers and stayed until 11am chatting with a friend. When I got home, I realized I didn’t really have time to do Morning Time because of a promise I’d made to my husband to work on a HMMWV project with the boys. We cleaned the soft-top and I buffed the plastic window several times, then we laid them out to dry.

Once they are completely dry, I’ll fold them up and take them to a friend who is going to do some repairs.

While we were working, the neighbor kids showed up to see what the kids were doing. Once they were done working, the neighbor kids came in the house to watch a movie and pop popcorn.

I had been meaning to give Winston a bath and groom him, so I figured now was as good a time as any. Some of the neighbor kids kept coming into the kitchen where I groom him to check on my progress. One of the little girls from down the street suggested I groom her dog too! (um…no. It’s a very long process, and I have no desire to do this for a living!)

When I was finished, I took a shower and got ready to meet my 26 year old and his wife for dinner. Right before I left to head to the city, the 23 year old got home from her interview, and I took her with me so we could discuss how it went! It sounds like she did a great job and should know something next week!

We met up with my son and his wife at a Mexican restaurant he really likes. I ordered shrimp fajitas and we shared some yummy cheese dip. Then, we all headed back to the house.

My son and his wife have a concert they are going to in the city tomorrow, so they are staying with us tonight – yay! When we got home, my son requested Puppy Chow – something he likes to have when he comes home, so the 19 year old (who is the official Puppy Chow maker) whipped him up a batch. We had a great evening of conversation and stayed up talking until 3 am!

WEDNESDAY

It rained last night, so this morning was absolutely beautiful! I sat on the deck with my older kids and drank coffee and got some sun on my head.

Then, I took my son and his wife on post to pick up a grill plate for a Pampered Chef grill thingy they bought at the post-wide garage sale last month. The military family (who are also a large homeschooling family!) were getting ready to move (it’s called PCSing) and as they were packing, they found the extra pieces and called my daughter-in-law to let her know.

That afternoon, I took the 2 little girls to the Summer Reading Program Kickoff at the library and my son and his wife tagged along. The girls brought their stuffed animals for a Stuffie Sleepover. While there, we helped them design a tent and sleeping bag and then they put their stuffies to bed in the tents.

When we got home, we got a call that our 9 year old daughter had won the library’s Elementary prize of a Family Pool Pass! How exciting! The only issue is that a “family” pass if only 4 people. Ugh. We’ll figure it out!

We said our goodbyes to my oldest son and his wife, and then I started dinner – Mennonite Sandwich Loaf and Pasta Salad – both from Mennonite Family Recipes.

After dinner, the older girls and I headed to our church’s Women’s Group for a nice evening of sharing our blessings and prayer requests.

THURSDAY

Have you ever lived with something that was incredibly inefficient and while it drives you crazy, you don’t do anything about it? I often find myself in this position. I’m trying to notice more and more when something isn’t working and fix it, but sometimes you just get used to things and despite the annoyance, you continue to do it that way. Well, today, I chose to fix something that was bothersome to not just me, but our poor doggie, Kip!

Read on…

Ever since I got my little breakfast table at the Catholic Charities Sale, people have been gathering in the kitchen much to my heart’s delight, BUT, all the people and the very presence of the table and chairs themselves block Kip’s bed, and because of his hunting training, when we let him in the back door, he is required to go to his bed first before we call him off to roam the house. He struggles to navigate around all the people and chair legs and table legs, so I decided to make it easier on him and move his bed to right beside the back door (why in the world did I not do this when we first moved in 5 years ago?!).

The boys helped me move the antique ice box and cookbook shelf and get everything set up. I really like how it turned out!

Once that project was complete, I started Morning Time with my 5 school-aged children. We only managed to do Morning Time twice this week (we don’t school on Fridays at all). More confirmation it’s Summer!

Today, we finished our study of Ancient India – most of our reading came from Story of the World. We talked more about Hinduism and Buddhism, and then finished by reading a chapter in The Long Winter.

Then, I took the 3 youngest kids to the library to pick up the stuffies from their sleepover and they did some more activities at the library. Our library has some really great children’s activities and crafts that change out each month.

Then, we stopped at the bank to cash in a savings bond I won at my Junior Prom! It stopped accruing interest last month at the 30 year mark (how in the world has it been 30 years?!).

When we got home, I helped Aspen with her independent school. Then, I made myself a late lunch and had the 13 and 15 year old boys join me at the dining room table to discuss a bit more about Hinduism and Buddhism. I wanted to have a more in-depth conversation with them and help them to understand how our worldview differs and how worldview affects cultures as well. The discussion questions I used came from our curriculum – Tapestry of Grace.

Then, the kids went out to play with the neighbors while the 15 year old did his typing and game time. He’s not a fan of Summer. Actually, none of my kids enjoy the heat and sun. My 26 year old will tell you he’s at war with the sun. He always has been! When he was little, he would hang his blankie in the window of the car to keep the sun off of him and exclaim, “Sunny bright!” while shaking his head and squinting his eyes.

By the way, if you are curious about how we manage screen time with all these varying ages of kids, check out my latest podcast. You can listen or watch below:

While the kids played, I looked over some books for school and made plans for next week’s trek to Robotics Camp. I’ll be taking the 2 younger boys and everyone else will stay home for the 4 days we’ll be away. The camp is in a city we used to live in, so we are hoping to see friends while there. I also plan on getting some work done with the blog while there.

I made Caramel Custard from the Mennonite cookbook I mentioned above, and also got the chicken thighs ready for a chicken fajita recipe from the same cookbook. Then, I took the little girls swimming with the new pool pass Aspen won! When I got home, I made rice and cooked up the chicken fajitas.

That evening, I felt like I needed to tidy up my end table which has been overflowing with books for quite some time. I decided to finish the Day in the Life of the Amish book I’ve been reading, so it could be put away, and then tidied up the other books and even got rid of a few!

I also went to the kitchen and got the cookbook shelf tidied up as well. I seriously have a cookbook problem. I do so love cookbooks!

Before going to bed, I tried to teach my little grandbaby how to go down the stairs, but he was having none of it. He’s learned how to shake the gate until it finally gives way and then he scrambles up the stairs. However, he has some rather bad ideas about how to get back down! We finally gave up and his daddy put him to bed.

FRIDAY

I was able to open up the house in the middle of the night when I woke up. It was 61°! But, it’s going to be nearly 90° today, so having the house open will be short-lived. But, any opportunity to cut our electric bill, I’ll take!

We closed up the house around 9am and I had my breakfast on the deck while listening to an interview with Abigail Shrier. (Be aware, it’s Joe Rogan, so there is some language in one small section), but still worth the listen.

Then, I watered my plants and planted some chocolate mint a friend gave me. I put it in a planter my father-in-law welded many years ago. A family friend recently redid the planter for me and added a place for 2 pots instead of 1. It’s adorable!

Then, I helped the kids reset the house for Home Blessing. While they cleaned, I decorated for Independence Day. The little girls helped once their chores were complete. Here’s a little bit of what we did…

I made myself my usual lunch of broccoli salad with Greek yogurt, shredded cheese, grapes, and bacon and started watching a movie. Then, I put together photos of Ty and I for a project the Army is doing for our anniversary on Saturday. Here are a few from the early years: Prom, our Wedding, and Ty’s college graduation!

I started supper early again, because I’m finding that getting a lot of the prep work out of the way earlier in the afternoon makes it easier on me come supper time. I started the Chicken Tortilla Soup and Cornbread from yep, you guessed it…the Mennonite cookbook!

Then, I left the 19 year old in charge and took the boys to the pool for an hour. When we got home, I quickly pulled the towels off the line because it looked like rain, and I’m pretty sure it is supposed to storm tonight. Then, we had supper and everyone did their Table Chores.

I ran myself a bath with epsom salts, turned on Enya Radio on Pandora and grabbed a book to read in the tub, but it was all cut short when the little kids frantically banged on the door to inform me Winston had escaped! However, by the time I got dried off and dressed, the 13 year old had nabbed him. Figures!

I could definitely tell I needed to take some down time. I was feeling a little peopled out. So rather than invite my older daughters to watch something in my room, I told them I wasn’t feeling very friendly tonight. The little kids all went downstairs to “camp out” and listen to Adventures in Odyssey, and I enjoyed some peace and quiet before bed.