Large Family Homeschool Life – Week 8 of 2024

It was an odd sort of week with Morning Time often being Afternoon Time because of appointments and visits from friends.

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MONDAY

It was a lovely morning at 32° and sunny! I’d had a rough night, but thankfully, I wasn’t groggy, so I could enjoy walking the dog, rather than grumbling about it.

I made bacon and eggs for the kids. I like to add spinach and green onions to mine, plus some hot sauce:

A friend stayed over last night because she had some business in town and we don’t get to spend nearly enough time together these days. She and I will meet for lunch today as well, after she’s taken care of her business this morning. In the meantime, I did school with the kids.

For Morning Time, we read about the 12 Disciples in Stories of the Resurrection and then worked on a Bible Study called PictureSmart Bible. Then, we did a Pooh Bear craft and started reading in Oak Tree.

Part way through the book, I realized I needed to stop reading so I could make it to the restaurant in the city where I was meeting my friend for lunch. So, I got the kids going on their independent school work and had a nice, long lunch with my friend.

Once I was settled back in at home, I worked on my Bible Study for tomorrow’s Titus 2 meeting – The Power of a Woman’s Words.

Then, I walked 2 miles before taking the dog (and Mercy!) for his nightly walk. Mercy did well with the nearly 1 mile walk we took! I’m always encouraged to see her stamina growing when it comes to exercise. She has a condition called Stickler Syndrome that means she has less collagen in her body, causing her to potentially hurt, but so far, she’s doing really well!

The 13 year old made rice to put under the chicken dish I made for dinner. I sautéed some spinach to put under mine. Thankfully, I had put the ingredients in the crock pot before heading out to have lunch with my friend. So helpful on days like this! The recipe is Buttah Chicken from the Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook. I doubt we make it again because it wasn’t a huge hit. Too tomato-ey.

That evening, I watched a Bible Study video and discussed it with my husband, and then read to the little girls and did a Mad Lib with them. Rarely do they get to do a Mad Lib by themselves, so they had a blast getting to choose so many of the words!

TUESDAY

For breakfast, I made the kids some breakfast meatballs I bought at Aldi last week. They weren’t supposed to be sweet, but I could taste a maple flavoring in them. The kids liked them, but I am not a fan of my sausage tasting (or smelling) like maple syrup! Sausage should be savory, not sweet!

I spent the morning catching up with a friend about some important things going on with our church (both of our husbands are elders) while the kids did their independent school work. 2 days in a row of friends doesn’t happen very often in my world!

I made spaghetti squash for lunch, and then because the weather was so beautiful, the kids played outside with the dogs and I spent time on my beloved deck. From my back deck, I have a lovely view of the woods and the creek. It’s my happy place!

Tonight is our Titus 2 group, so I worked on my Bible Study for that, and then we did Morning Time (in the afternoon).

I finished Oak Tree and let the kids make “bee balloons” from yellow balloons marked with sharpie markers. You can see the bee rocks from last week and the Winnie the Pooh craft I mentioned earlier in the background. I wish I had half the creativity my kids have!

Our Titus 2 group is a carry-in dinner, so I made something I’ve been wanting to make for a long time – a fancy chicken salad that resembles potato salad in its ingredients. I air-fried Tyson Oven Roasted Chicken, added cubes of cheese, cut up baby dills, a couple of hard boiled eggs and a dressing of mustard, mayonnaise, pickle juice, and salt and pepper. It was delicious and the kids are begging me to make it for them some time. It was a hit at Titus 2 as well, with several people asking for the recipe!

My 19 year old made saltine cracker toffee for the group as well, but I stayed away from that dangerous and oh-so-good stuff! There was enough to bring home for the kids to have on Sunday when they can have sugar. (We gave up sugar for Lent, but they can have it on Sundays.)

Our group was super fun tonight, but super squirrely! We were all quite talkative, and it was very difficult to keep us under control and on topic!

WEDNESDAY

I had an early morning with Mercy crawling in and out of my bed and my puppy pawing at me because he took his cues from her that it must be time to get up. I drug myself out of bed for a brisk walk with Winston, and then headed to the kitchen.

Our 13 year old is on dish duty this month and he had not loaded the dishwasher last night, so I was greeted with a messy kitchen. Ugh. I tidied it up a bit (he will still have to do his job!) and made some bacon for the kids when they get up. Then, I settled into my chair in the living room to read a bit and promptly fell asleep!

I recently started the 3rd book in the Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy – The Cross. And that’s what I fell asleep to, but not because it was boring! I was just that tired from the early morning.

I helped the boys with their piano lessons and then took them to the dentist for a filling each. I forgot this appointment was for fillings and not a routine cleaning! Boy, were we all surprised! I guess it made it less stressful for everyone! 2 of the boys had never had a filling before, so their reaction to the numbed gums and cheek was rather hilarious!

Afterward, we went to the PX (a military store like Target or Walmart) and got shoes for the 15 year old because his feet have been hurting. He is now in a size 13!

We also ran over to the Commissary (a military grocery store) for more Tyson oven roasted chicken so I can make the fancy chicken salad for the kids.

When we got home, the boys were still a little numb and sore, so they had a late lunch of ramen noodles, then they finished their school work. The 19 year old had done school with the little girls unasked – so thankful for that!

That afternoon, the high was 66°! I walked the dog and took myself for a 2 mile walk.

For dinner, we had the fancy chicken salad and Caesar salad. The kids LOVED it!

That night, the 19 year old and I went to our church’s women’s group. There were 15 of us there and the discussion was on Genesis 3 and Eve. It was a wonderful conversation and study, and I am so thankful for the women who spoke out last time about diving deeper and not staying so shallow in our lessons!

THURSDAY

This morning, I booked a hotel for our 23 year old daughter’s college graduation. We’ve stayed at this hotel multiple times, but since Covid, the service and everything about the hotel has gone downhill, yet the price has gone up. I decided I’d only stay one night and only get one room and only take the girls with me to the graduation. Not ideal, but I just can’t stomach the cost knowing how poor the breakfast and service are now.

It was much warmer out this morning when I walked Winston – 48°. I should not have worn my puffer jacket! I think I wasn’t aware of how much warmer it was outside because I accidentally left the heat off in the house last night and it was in the upper 50’s in the house, making me think it was colder than usual outside.

I helped the 7 year old pick out her clothes for the day. If it were up to her, she’d wear pajamas all day every day! My 11 year old son is the same way!

For Morning Time, we read in Stories of the Resurrection and did a lesson from PictureSmart Bible. Then, we did balloon experiments, which the kids really enjoyed!

To finish Morning Time, we read from The Long Winter.

I decided to wait to eat lunch and bathe and groom Winston instead. It took me 2 hours, and I was starving by the time I got finished! But, he looks amazing! My husband texted to ask what I was doing halfway through the process, so I sent him the following pic…

When I was finished, I sent him this pic…

While I was eating my lunch, Ty’s uncle called me to practice using FaceTime on his phone. He’s 81 years old and I’m pretty proud of him for trying it out! He did really well with it!

That afternoon, we tidied up so I could run the Roborock vacuum. The boys chatted with friends while it vacuumed, and I edited and published a video. I’ve really enjoyed having this vacuum!

We had Asian Bowls for dinner – air fried won tons, rice, wonton strips, veggies, and Asian sauces from Aldi. Most of the kids really like the won tons I get in the freezer section of Walmart. Occasionally, Aldi has them too.

That evening, our church’s Young Adult group was at our house, so I gathered all the kids (except our 19 year old who attends Young Adults) and we hung out in the upstairs bedroom watching TV. After the group had left, the leaders asked if the kids wanted to play a round of Story Cubes with them. It’s a super cute game and all ages can play!

FRIDAY

This morning, we cleaned house and then I headed to our local Kroger store to buy steaks and asparagus to celebrate our son and daughter-in-law’s 1st anniversary. They are coming over to get their cake and I thought it would be nice to have supper for them too. I made a simple marinade for the steaks from olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.

During the afternoon hours, a friend and her daughter came over to play with the girls. She and I walked a couple of miles together while we chatted.

Then, I got a call from my son saying they were sick with a stomach virus and wouldn’t be coming after all. ICK! I decided to go ahead with the steaks because our 19 year old had a friend in for overnight. Everyone enjoyed the steaks, and the asparagus was out of this world! I just roasted it in the oven with olive oil and salt and pepper. Everyone raved over it!

That evening, I decided to change my weekend plans and put myself to bed early. I was going to watch our little grandson while the anniversary couple celebrated on Saturday, but since they weren’t feeling well, I decided instead to drive the several hours to be with my oldest daughter on her Senior Night at college. I don’t often get to go to her events, so while I’m not happy my son’s wife isn’t feeling well, it gave me a chance to be there for my daughter. She was so happy I could make it, and I was even able to take her to dinner before heading back home that night. It’s a bit of a drive, but I can do it in one day if I’m feeling up to it.

And that was my week!