And now for the lunch list. Lunches, too, are no fun to dream up every single day, so we go with the list and try to keep it simple most days.
quesadillas
taquitos
leftovers
macaroni and cheese
cheesy bread (pizza dough baked with cheese instead of sauce)
bagels
smoothies
apples with peanut butter
crackers and cheese
pb and j
tuna sandwiches
grilled cheese sandwiches
egg salad sandwiches
hot dogs
peanut butter tortillas
hummus and veggies
crockpot spaghetti
soup and crackers
Raman noodles
1, 2, 3 (or, How to Use Up Odds and Ends):
1 piece of deli meat
2 pieces of cheese
3 carrot sticks
4 apple slices
5 tortilla chips
6 almonds
etc.
Read More
Nikolay Okhitin, photoxpress.com I'm not a breakfast girl. I generally like breakfast foods, but I never feel like eating until 10, at the earliest, and it's certainly not something I'd get out of bed for. Thankfully, I do have a nice group of older kids who are happy to prepare breakfast one day a week each- these are the 17, 15, 12, 10, and 8-year-olds. See how that works out? One for each school day. Score! Years ago when I was the only weekday breakfast producer, I made a list so that at the very least, I didn't have to think about it. Feel free to copy and paste, and certainly feel free to add your favorites in the comments. We can always use new ideas :) Cereal Granola Bagels Toast and Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cream of Wheat Baked Oatmeal Crockpot Oatmeal Dutch Babies Pancakes Waffles French Toast Yogurt Parfaits (yogurt, fruit and granola) Fried Eggs Scrambled Eggs Poached Eggs Omelets Biscuits Banana Bread Pumpkin Bread Quiche Make-Ahead French Toast Breakfast Cookies Sausage Rice Pudding Cornmeal with Melted Butter Cinnamon Rolls Coffee Cake Scones Muffins Cinnamon Biscuits
"Look at all the clutter falling off the shelves behind me!"
Andi writes: "I saw a post earlier where you said you lived in a smaller house when you had 5 kids (and did school in the garage. I think we are there– we have 6 kids, 1,600 square foot, 3 bedroom house and the garage is our playroom/school room.) HELP! I know it is possible to do this, but the STUFF and STUFF management is honestly killing me. I believe I have some great systems in place and am a fairly organized person. I am thankful that many people give us clothing and other items, but keeping up with going through it all is hard. Just keeping track of 8 people’s things is hard. I feel like I am on a never ending quest to simplify. I want quality time with my kids and every time I am “dealing with stuff” it makes me a little mad, like it is robbing me of time with my family. What can I do better? Do you have any nuggets of wisdom?" ♥ Andi- I know exactly what you're saying. As you pointed out, we too turned our garage into our schoolroom and though we had one less child than you, we were in about 1600 square feet, three bedrooms, too! It sounds as if a lack of organization isn't the problem. I could tell you little tricks that worked for us (under-bed boxes, industrial shelving in the garage, clothing stored by size and season, etc.) but I don't think that's what you're asking. What you're really asking is, how do I get my life back? How do I release myself from all this stuff management? Short of selling it all and moving to The Mosquito Coast, I don't know that I have an answer for you. It frustrates me to no end, too. Honestly, when I feel like I spend more time managing stuff than children, I know it's time to declutter with a vengeance. We've done a couple of practical things: 1. Clutter basket. Top of the stairs. I toss everything that is left out into the basket and it's the kids' responsibility during chore time to clean it out daily. If they don't, I have the right to throw it away. 2. Massive decluttering about once a year. Last time we told them that if they collected 100 things, we'd have ice cream after dinner. 200 and we'd take them out for ice cream. 500 and we'd take them for ice cream and a movie. Trash didn't count. Amongst the 10 of us, we managed to find 500 things to get rid of. Astounding. And this is a home where cleaners come in once a week! 3. No new pieces. My husband, in his wisdom, put a moratorium on any toys that came in pieces. Legos and Brio trains are the exception, but this means we don't buy marble sets (that one gives me a headache just looking at it), or anything that says "120 pieces". Oy. Other than that, Andi, I have no great secrets to share. I have learned to live with more kid clutter than I care to, and I look forward with relish to having a home that stays tidy except when the grandkids are there. I love my teens and don't look forward to them leaving, except for the absence of their stuff. I can't wait for their stuff to go!
It's true- there are days I don't know what to do...
Annie posted the following comment under "When Mama Has Limited Energy": "Especially like the part about "if you know someone who. . ." --which I do. And yet, I feel like I'm "failing" in my housekeeping and home schooling, not enough time to do all that I'm needing (wanting?) to do anyway. Where do I find the extra time to help someone with their laundry, ie, when mine is piling up?" ♥ I hear you. We have so much on our plates, but there are still ways to encourage and help others. The best thing to do is to continue what needs doing at your house but then think how you can double your efforts for a friend. For example, when my best friend and I lived in different cities and all our kids were under 10 or so, we often visited each other's homes and spent the night or a few. Lisa said, "We ought to help each other with projects every time we get together." So from then on we would grab all the laundry and fold it together, or she would wash all the dishes after a big meal (she still does- love that girl!), or I would help her organize a cupboard. Pooling efforts is a great way to get some school work accomplished, too. Maybe your strengths are different than a friend's strengths. Maybe you can lift that burden for her and vice versa. I've written on that a while back. And then again. I love to take meals to people, and God has allowed me to continue this in the most creative ways. Just last week our piano teacher posted on Facebook that she was seriously down with the flu. I thought about what I had available and recalled that I had just enough leftover turkey tetrazzini from the night before for her small family. I put it in a disposable dish, added a salad from what I had, threw in some cheesy muffins we were going to have for dinner, and pulled a little loaf of pumpkin bread out of the freezer. It was really very little effort (love how God does that!) and she didn't have to pull together dinner for her family. Do your kiddos like to draw? How about asking them to write a simple note that says, "I love you" or "I'm praying for you" and popping it in the mail for a friend who needs a little pick-me-up? Years ago when pregnant with our third, I was craving Diet Coke and a sweet friend doorbell-ditched me and left a two-liter on my front porch. It made my day!You can find Living and Schooling in Small Spaces, Part I here. Living and Schooling in Small Spaces, Part II here. Dana's little piece of blogdom can be found here, at The Sunny Side of the Room.
♥
Read More
Dana's Part One of Living and Schooling in Small Spaces can be found here.
♥
Read More
