I haven't posted in a while because the busyness of the holidays took over. Well, that's not exactly true. The boys did their Sandy Hook fundraiser that ended up being a huge hit! Someone notified the newspaper about it and that sparked more interest, resulting in them baking, cutting snowflakes, and me shopping for supplies. The final tally was 5 dozen banana-chocolate chip muffins, 12 loaves of Amish Friendship bread, 3 dozen cookies, and over 100 paper snowflake ornaments. They collected a total of $241.02 and mailed a cashier's check (donated to them by Family Trust Credit Union) on New Year's Day. They enjoyed every minute of their efforts, and I am so proud of them!
Since then, we are back into the routine of school and such. I was able to get caught up on paperwork and am researching options for next year. I am considering doing year-round school simply to afford us more breaks throughout the year instead of all during the summer. The breaks would give the boys a brief respite, but also allow me to get caught up on grading/recording scores and filing their schoolwork. We could also take field trips during the summer that would otherwise not count as a school day. Finally, it would provide more of a routine to the kids all year round and help curb boredom towards the middle and end of summer.
The last project I have been working on is researching chickens and how to raise them. We eat eggs on a weekly basis, whether it be a big Saturday morning meal or dinner one evening. We easily consume between 24-30 eggs each week, and I just cannot keep them stocked in our house! Hopefully by raising our own chickens, we can gather enough eggs to feed our family (plus I know what the chickens will be eating and there will be no other additives or hormones to the chick feed). The kids are really excited, especially Tanner. He has been helping a neighbor care for their chickens this past year, so he will be the one in charge of cleaning the coop and gathering the chickens when they are free-ranging. He has asked for his own chicken that he could name for his birthday- how sweet! :)
TJ has been doing some electrical work as well as construction in our kitchen/dining/living room. He has done a fabulous job and is almost finished with drywall. I love the way it turned out and the wiring alone makes me feel so much safer. He has basically rewired the entire main floor, along with adding lights and a switch to the attic and crawl space.
As usual, lots going on with so many in one household...
Since then, we are back into the routine of school and such. I was able to get caught up on paperwork and am researching options for next year. I am considering doing year-round school simply to afford us more breaks throughout the year instead of all during the summer. The breaks would give the boys a brief respite, but also allow me to get caught up on grading/recording scores and filing their schoolwork. We could also take field trips during the summer that would otherwise not count as a school day. Finally, it would provide more of a routine to the kids all year round and help curb boredom towards the middle and end of summer.
The last project I have been working on is researching chickens and how to raise them. We eat eggs on a weekly basis, whether it be a big Saturday morning meal or dinner one evening. We easily consume between 24-30 eggs each week, and I just cannot keep them stocked in our house! Hopefully by raising our own chickens, we can gather enough eggs to feed our family (plus I know what the chickens will be eating and there will be no other additives or hormones to the chick feed). The kids are really excited, especially Tanner. He has been helping a neighbor care for their chickens this past year, so he will be the one in charge of cleaning the coop and gathering the chickens when they are free-ranging. He has asked for his own chicken that he could name for his birthday- how sweet! :)
TJ has been doing some electrical work as well as construction in our kitchen/dining/living room. He has done a fabulous job and is almost finished with drywall. I love the way it turned out and the wiring alone makes me feel so much safer. He has basically rewired the entire main floor, along with adding lights and a switch to the attic and crawl space.
As usual, lots going on with so many in one household...
Comments