Raising Arrows
Large Family Homeschool Life – Week 41 of 2022
This week was full of ups and downs in temperature, fun birthday celebrations, and a Fall Break for the college student.
Read all of the Large Family Homeschool Life!
MONDAY
I tried to hold out, but had to finally turn the heat on this morning. It was 57° in the house, and I didn’t want to get out of bed, let alone do any work around the house!
I turned on the heat, turned on Vintage Autumn Music on YouTube, and made breakfast and coffee. Feels like Fall for sure!
Ty and I sat and had coffee and made up stories about the photos from the YouTube video – what the people were talking about, where they were going, and what they were thinking. It was hilarious!
I also did my Bible Study and made a to-do list for the day. I am super busy this week, so it is really going to require me making lots of lists and keeping track of it all. I really hope I don’t miss anything!
For Morning Time, we read from Hurlbut’s Story of the Bible (for fun, that link shows exactly what my old copy looks like and they are asking over $100 for it!) and then read in Story of the World about the Mexican Revolution and WW1. We also finished Age of Extremes (I highly recommend trying to get your hands on the entire set!) and read in Butter in the Well (almost finished with this one!).
I helped the little girls with their school work while my 18 year old started searing meat and cutting vegetables for our Hearty Oven Stew. I am so thankful she is able to help out around the house so much!
Our 21 year old is back on college Fall Break, so I took her and little Mercy to the PX to get Mercy’s glasses adjusted. She has new glasses with nose pads to help them stay on her tiny nose. They fit her nicely, but we do have to go in on occasion to have them adjusted.
While on post, I ran by the Commissary to pick up some $1.99 chicken breast, and then ran home to pull the cheesy potatoes (often called Funeral Potatoes) from the convection oven for lunch. This was a dish the college student requested to have. She really likes them! It’s a dish Ty’s mom always made, but we tweaked it a bit by using tater tots instead of hashbrowns and we don’t put any cornflakes on top.
That afternoon, I ran to Aldi. I have a smaller list because I made a menu plan based on food we already have on hand. The bill was $150. And something I ought to note here is that we pay nearly 10% sales tax where we live. *sigh*
After unloading the Aldi groceries, I took the 12 year old with me to pick out donuts for his Special Night tonight.
For his drink he wanted Russian Tea – something we just started making last year during the holidays. I usually make my Hot Spiced Punch (I actually prefer this), but the kids enjoy having the Russian Tea as well. I learned about it via the video below; however, I use about half the sugar she recommends in the recipe!
TUESDAY
This morning, I made a pot of oatmeal. Personally, I’ve learned to eat it without sugar as long as I put cinnamon and fruit in it.
We did Morning Time and the rest of our schooling, but I didn’t write down any specifics. Basically, we are finishing up our study of WW1.
We were going to take Meg back to college today, but Ty will be getting back from work late and we don’t want to get a hotel, and frankly, I don’t want to make the drive alone again. So, we’ll wait until tomorrow and enjoy a little more time with her!
The 3 of us being home changed up my dinner plans a bit. I thawed leftover Parmesan Soup I had made several months back, but some of us had nachos since the soup wouldn’t stretch to feed that many people.
That evening, I read Railway Children to the kids and we enjoyed a fire in the fireplace!
WEDNESDAY
Ty, Meg, and I got up VERY early to take her back to college. She had an American Sign Language Interpreting class this morning and we wanted to make sure she got back in time.
If you are interested in how she got started in ASL and what resources she used, check out my post on American Sign Language Classes for Homeschoolers!
On the way home, Ty and I stopped at a Bass Pro Shop and had lunch at Olive Garden. We almost always do the Soup, Salad, and Breadsticks. I only eat the Zuppa Toscana soup, but Ty likes to try them all (except the gnocchi since lately it seems like he has to strain his eyes to find the gnocchi!).
When I got home, I did Autumn School with the littles. We read more apple books and did the devotionals, but I didn’t have time (or energy) for much else. I feel WAY behind on my Autumn School plans!
READ >> Autumn Homeschooling Ideas
A friend of Ty’s dad who lives in our area stopped by for coffee and dropped off some produce from his garden since we had a freeze last night. He had green tomatoes and fingerling sweet potatoes. I do so love free food!
Speaking of free food…I put several butternut squashes I got from a friend in the crock pot. We’ll freeze them and use them like we do pumpkin.
For dinner tonight, my 18 year old daughter made Chicken Noodle Veggie Pot for the family since I would be away at Women’s Group for our church. This is basically egg noodles boiled in a pot and then you drain and add a can of chicken, a can of mixed veggies, a can of cream of chicken, and some shredded cheese. It’s a quick, easy meal to get a lot of people fed!
I had made Scotcheroos earlier in the day to take to the Women’s Groups. We had a nice evening of fellowship, and ALL of the Scotcheroos went home with someone other than me!
Tomorrow is supposed to be near 80° then 90° this weekend, so I turned the heat off. We’ve gone from 20’s to 80’s in less than a week! What a wild swing in temperatures!
THURSDAY
Weighed this morning, and realized I’ve put on a few pounds. I really want to get that weight off. I just don’t feel comfortable at this weight! My life has been so hectic lately that meal planning has not been a priority.
So, to start off the morning, I made myself a couple of over hard eggs, spinach and 1 slice of bacon crumbled over the top. Then, I took our 16 year old son to the military installation to fill out some paperwork to be a Bagger at the Commissary. They make really good tips there!
For Morning Time, we read in Hurlbut’s, studied Cubism artwork, and listened to Stravinsky, and finished Butter in the Well!
While the kids did their independent school work, I took a 2 mile walk with the 16 year old. It’s a nice way for us to connect.
I have so much to do still between the house and the blog. I feel overwhelmed by it all, but I took some time to sit down and make a bunch of lists to help me stay on track and knock everything out. It is so much easier to get things done when the list is out of your head and on paper!
My sweet 18 year old daughter asked if I needed any help with things before she headed out to spend time with a friend. I had her scoop out the butternut squashes from yesterday, blend with a stick blender, and then measure them in 15 ounce bags, and freeze them flat in the freezer.
While she did that, I steamed the fingerling sweet potatoes and put them in the refrigerator to use throughout the week. I also got the smothered steak going in the electric skillet. We have had this cubed steak in the freezer for quite some time, so I decided to use it up. We aren’t even sure where we got it since it is from a butcher we don’t typically use.
Next, I bottled kombucha and fed my sourdough. I usually take my sourdough out of the refrigerator every couple of weeks, feed it up all week, and then make bread or pancakes or some such thing before putting a little bit back in the refrigerator for next time.
Later in the afternoon, I recorded a podcast on bedtime and got it scheduled for release. You can listen to it below:
After dinner, I drove the 16 year old into the city to man a table at a political meeting. It’s a good opportunity for him to meet and greet and get paid to work with the public.
While he was there, I stayed in the car and used the hot spot on my phone to work on all of the blog stuff I needed to do. It gave me a chance to catch up with what would otherwise be wasted time driving in and out of the city or sitting at a meeting I wasn’t actually invited to. It was time well spent! I got so many things accomplished and checked off my list!
FRIDAY
Today is Mercy’s 6th birthday! I spent a little time remembering her birth and shedding a few tears over the trauma and God’s gracious mercy throughout the entire event. Her name is a testament to this fact.
For breakfast, she chose pancakes with sprinkles. Then, she opened 1 present, which she said was the “jackpot” because it contained 2 presents in one box!
For lunch, she had egg sandwiches and Cheetos, and for dinner she wanted spaghetti and meatballs. We also had fried green tomatoes.
The grandparents and our older children called Mercy to wish her a happy birthday. I also got to talk to them for a while.
That evening, Mercy had 2 friends over. She opened some more presents and we all had her choice of “cake” – brownies with chocolate chips inside and M&M’s on top!
Happy Birthday, my babiest baby!
