Questions, Questions, Questions

A few questions answered-just for you, Jen. Well, really for everyone I guess. Maybe people do just really wonder what it is like to have so many kids?



I do 4-5 loads of laundry everyday. If I miss a day, I will pay dearly for it later. Now, since we haven't been leaving the house much recently, I have only been doing 3-4. It doesn't help that Abby and Emery are little fashionistas who change their clothes and throw the other clothes down the laundry chute causing me to play the fun game "Is this really dirty or was it just tried on?"



I do at least 4 loads of dishes everyday and we eat off paper plates and bowls. I do cook most meals so the dishes are lots of pots and pans and utensils.



How much is our grocery bill? This, I get asked ALL of the time. I can almost guarantee our total is less than just about anyone elses. During the summer, we eat from the garden/farmer's market. I only buy meat, milk, cheese, eggs, yogurt, occasionally grains, and paper products from the grocery store so our summer total at the grocery store was around 30 dollars a week plus an extra 30 for the farmer's market. So, 60 a week to feed our family of 7 (Avery doesn't count yet because she doesn't eat). During the winter, when there is no farmer's market, we spend around 150 for 2 weeks worth of groceries. This summer, I have canned close to 300 jars of fruits and veggies so I can't wait to see how all of our hard work lowers the grocery bill. Last year, we were able to get a great deal on 1/4 of a cow. That fed us for a long time. I also stretch the meat that we buy. Like last week, I bought 2 giant packs of chicken breasts for 88 cents a pound. I think there were 12 breasts and it was about 10 dollars. I baked them all on Monday and used them throughout the week in meals. We ended up having chicken all week but that's ok-we like chicken. This week, I bought a ham from Food City for 20 dollars (it was on sale from 40 so it's a good deal). We will eat ham steaks, mac and cheese with ham, ham sandwiches, and dice it up to go on top of a salad-so when you see that it will be used to make 8 or 10 meals-it makes it not so bad. We aren't having ham tonight though. Some hunter friends killed a deer behind our house-so tonight we are having deer steaks. Another hunter gave us some ground deer so we might have that next week.

Diapers, Diapers, Diapers-We use cloth diapers at home. I love Bum Genius 3.0's. We have used them since Weston was a baby and they are still in great shape. We use disposables when we go out and I got an awesome deal off Amazon. If you signed up for auto ship, you got 30 percent off and I had a 20 percent coupon on top of that. I did the same deal for wipes. It made the diapers and wipes so cheap AND they were shipped to our door for freeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! I will have to post a pic of how stocked up we are now with diapers and wipes. I don't even think Adam realized it til he went into the little room in the basement =)

Homeschool Curriculum-We use A LOT of different things. Thankfully, the homeschool community here is very tight so you can always borrow something to look at before you buy it. Some stuff I have loved, some I have hated. Currently, I am doing a sort of "block" schedule for Easton. From August until December, we will focus mainly on Reading, Handwriting, and Math. From January until May, we will focus on Spanish, Social Studies, and Science. My theory on this is that once he can read well, he will enjoy reading stories in SS and Science. My favorite curriculum so far are Hooked on Phonics (wonderful, wonderful, great, program), Explode the Code, Handwriting Without Tears, and Abeka Phonics. He is using Saxon for math and while I have heard other people rave about how wonderful it is, I think it is a weird curriculum and oddly put together. The manipulatives have been good and Easton really is enjoying it.

How do you bathe 6 kids? It takes around 45 minutes to an hour. I usually put the boys in 1 bath and the girls in a 2nd one-then give Avery a dip in whichever bath is cleaner. During the summer, I would give 2 sets of baths, 1 set before nap because they were so dirty from playing in the yard, and 1 set before bed. That was a job!

We do take the kids out to eat a few times a month. The kids always love this special treat and I always love not having to cook. We love to go to Earthfare on Thursday nights. Kids eat free and the adult food is rather yummy too. The kids meals are big and very filling. The kids get a turkey rollup with carrots, spinach, and tomatoes, a blueberry yogurt, a fruit cup, and an organic milk box. I always get the jerk chicken panini and Adam gets pizza. By the time we checkout, with drinks, our total is about 15 dollars. 15 dollars to feed 7 people out =) I LOOOOVE it.

And what do they wear? Gymboree. We buy a few things from other stores but their clothes come mainly from Gymboree. We pass down clothes from 1 child to the next and Gymboree always holds up great. For jeans, I love Crazy 8 and Childrens Place. I do 1-2 Old Navy orders a year for odds and ends. I shop the sales, use gymbucks/c8 cash, buy during circle of friends, and use a coupon. I never, ever pay full price. We do get the kids new, matching, Halloween and Christmas Pajamas but always with a coupon or on sale.