If I thought I couldn’t keep up before with all that must be done each day, somehow I am finding it even harder now that our lives are so full of teenage activities. Throw in the fact that our oldest is a senior, and all that goes along with making decisions for next year, applying for scholarships, and taking college level classes. I officially surrender. I am beat.
Except that I’m not, because God is in control (not me!), my family is awesome, and if all else fails, I can buy a pizza.
If you haven’t already, or if you need a reminder about what’s really important,
you should read this post.
This weekend, I find myself with only one kid at home (the rest are enjoying time with Christian friends at a youth rally). No school to teach, barely anyone to feed – I will be using this time to catch up and try to prepare for next week! I’m thankful God is giving me this little window of “down time.” Next weekend, basketball travel begins, then Thanksgiving, then more games, then Christmas…
We have much to be thankful for! Life is never boring, and what would we do without these amazing kids who keep us so busy? (Sleep, maybe? No, no. That was rhetorical.)
I’m writing down my weekend plan here to share with you. On Sunday, I’ll try to share an update on what I’ve accomplished.
Friday after school is (mostly) wrapped up:
- Grocery shop to stock up on fresh produce for this week, plus to get remaining food needed to feed 30 teens at Sunday Night Huddle
- Finish the Menu Planning Notebook – and upload it to my Shop – finally!
- Make Chicken Broth
- Clean out the fridge (wow, does it ever need to be wiped out!)
- Enjoy one-on-one time with Malachi, the lone child at home this weekend
Saturday:
- Make Coconut Fudge Bars to have on hand for snacking
- Make 2 Creamy Chicken and Rice Casseroles – one to eat next week, and one for the freezer
- Make a big batch of Chili
Doing those tasks, along with getting some writing done and maybe tackling my email inbox (yikes!) should help me keep my head above water next week.
How about you? What will you be doing this weekend?
My daughter is spending the day at friends house. Hubby at deer camp. I will be baking and cleaning . Menu plan inventory the freezer and pantry. Tomorrow church hopeful grocery shopping.
WellI went grocery shopping with a list. It out of the way and I will get creative by end of week.
I smile because I can totally relate. I just THOUGHT life was busy when they were small…Now we have 3 adult children – whom we work hard to keep in contact with and keep up with what’s going on in their lives – 2 teenagers, and 3 elementary aged rascals that keep me feeling forever young! It’s crazy busy, and I love (most) every minute of it. I’m getting a little break this morning – only 4 of them at home – and trying to figure out how to best use the time… Enjoy your weekend, and snuggle close to that one lone child for a while. :)
As my 3 boys are getting older, they have more homework and more activities. I have also returned to work part time, so I am giving myself grace in this season of our lives. We eat store bought pizza once a week on our crazy busy night, and other meals aren’t as elaborate as they used to be. I’d rather spend my time sharing in their lives than stuck in the kitchen for hours. I still make plenty of homemade things and avoid processed food as much as I can, but some days my priority is my time, and home made just doesn’t work. My husband and kids don’t see me as a homemaking failure, and their opinion is what matters most to me!
I had to laugh when I saw that pizza because we had pizza for dinner last night as well! My son had asked and we set the date for last night because I had a meeting with the new mom’s group from our homeschool group. It was an incredible night of fellowship and refreshment and I can’t wait to go again in January! I have to say I regret the pizza though. I have a stomachache and a sore neck (symptom I get when I have large amounts of sodium) and my son has a bad attitude this morning. This weekend I’m helping my inlaws flea, going our for sushi tonight (two nights in a row with no cooking!), cleaning the windows, laundry, church, football, and crocheting! I hope you have an amazing, productive weekend!
That should say I am helping my inlaws CLEAN, not FLEA!! LOL!
We are going finish winterizing our yard, before we get hit with true winter weather! We need to move our patio table and chairs to the garage, mulch our garlic, and put away all the flower pots and planters until next year.
My boys are still little (3 and 6), and wow, is it hard to get things done some days… especially cleaning! We will be travelling for Thanksgiving, and I would really like to have a clean home to come back to, all ready for Christmas decorating. I can’t believe Thanksgiving is less than 2 weeks away, so I am making a plan to go room by room and get some deep cleaning and de-cluttering done.
I finally took your advice to make a meal for the freezer while preparing dinner, Laura. We had cheesy beef and rice the other night, and I doubled the batch and put one in the freezer. Yay for homemade “convenience food”! :)
Love the concept of buying a pizza from time to time! Grace. Even grace with pizza. ;)
I wanted to make tamales this weekend, and I’m thankful to say that they are steaming now! I usually avoid such complicated things in the kitchen, but with farm fresh pork and chicken in the freezer, they were calling my name!
We also got firewood moved closer to the house (about a month supply) and spent some time as a family playing Super Mario World. Still have a few small things we are hoping to tackle today, but the major ones are wrapped up.