Summer Schedule Stuff

We have been on summer vacation for over three weeks now, and I think that we are finally getting into the summer groove. There is so much that I wanted to do and be sure that it happens that is not going to happen. I had to give up on a few things in order to get the kids to bed before 11pm and me to bed before 2 am. The first week was insane. Everyday I found myself cleaning the house around 11:30 and John pining for time with me after midnight. So I knew that I could not do all that I wanted. I have found a few ways to sneak some things back in. I basically had to give up on doing a lot of extra math and school work with the kids, and I had to give up the notion of a lot of 3 to 6 mile walks. I am trying to include long walks once a week. I have managed to put school work back in a bit. Instead of me being there teaching the kids I have them do work while I do the morning chores. Mostly, I have them read, but I give them math and writing to do independently when I can. That is why I have Ruth and Kate blogging. It is easy for me to sit down to the computer for a minute or two and help them edit their work, and make suggestions to help them learn to write. I try to remember to ask Kate and Johnny their multiplication facts while I make meals or drive in the car. The things we have done everyday are outside play, reading, chores, meals and day trips to the library, zoo, and museum, rest time and friends over. I need to explain a bit why so few things can keep us up so late. It is just the amount of people. Making a meal and cleaning up after a meal for 7 people just takes more time. I can get the dishes done and the counters and table washed in about 20 minutes, if I do it after every meal. But that used to take me 10. The laundry takes the most amount of time. I think I spend a good 2 hours a day, washing, folding, and putting away clothes. Since Anya only nurses, I have to sit down and feed her every two hours for 10 to 20 minutes all day everyday. That really adds up too. I pretty much have to wash a toilet or a floor everyday even if I don't intend to do so. Some one is sure to miss and some one else eventually comes in with a disgusted face saying there is urine on the toilet or floor. I expect I spend 10 minutes daily cleaning the bathrooms. Since Rachel needs a lot of help in the bathroom, Adam still needs a bit, and Anya is in diapers. I would have to say that I spend a good half an hour or more wiping bottoms, and changing messy clothes. The reading takes a lot of time too. I read kid books to Adam and Rachel once or twice a day. They get 20 to 30minutes of reading time depending on their attention spans. I then read to Ruth and Kate, and then something else to Johnny. So it probably takes 1 to 2 hours to read to my kids. But I think that the reading is pleasant, and I can often combine it with nursing the baby. I do half of my non laundry and food related chores in the morning and the other half after I put the kids to bed. Tonight, for example, I will scrub the floors. Tomorrow night I will wash the bathtubs. By doing this, I can get in more time with my kids. So with all the stuff, life is a lot busier with the kids out of school.

I have to add a couple of things. First, we all love the day trips. I had to buy a zoo pass and a kid museum pass, but they have been worth it. When we go out for long periods of time, the house stays a lot cleaner. That is awesome, but the main thing is I get more time just hanging around and talking to my kids. We usually come home pretty tired and hungry, but the house is clean and the kids are willing to sit and listen to a book, eat a late dinner, and they go to bed tired.

Second, I have to mention how good all of my kids are generally. Ruth is always helping me, and does so everyday without being asked. She is very conscientious about how she is treating other members of the family. She rarely fights with anyone. Kate is good at coming up with games and fun things for the kids to do together that often include the younger children. She had a hard time learning to read, and does not like reading to herself for very long, but I have been very pleased that she has been reading independently without fighting me. I think she is even starting to enjoy it. Kate, too, is a big help, especially with the younger children. Johnny has gotten a lot better at not fighting with Adam so very much. He also has learned to do his chores quickly and without complaining. I have been very pleased with his reading too. He is only 6 and a half, but he goes off and reads in his spare time. I think that he has finished four books that are over one hundred pages in two weeks. Adam does not scream so much. He has become more of a playmate and less of a tormentor to Rachel. He is always getting old costumes for him and Rachel to dress up in, or the little people out to play with Rachel. That actually makes my life a lot easier. At the beginning of the summer Rachel whined all day long. If she was not whining to me, she would be screaming about something else. Adam choosing Rachel as a playmate has made a world of difference. Rachel has had to spend a lot of time in time out, but she is learning that she can not whine all of the time, and when I say no, any amounting of crying and whining will not change that. I have heard a few nightmare stories from a couple women in church about their kids this summer. I feel very blessed to have the good kids that I have. My long hard days are not due to my kids behavior as much as the amount of kids I have and I think that is wonderful. My life is good and I am enjoying the summer with all of my six kids.