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If you ever wondered how we moms of many do it, here’s your chance to peek into 4 of our homes every Thursday. gulp…wait…whose idea was this?
Please join us at each of our blogs (including here!) every Thursday. Try not to laugh too hard when we post about our daily schedules next week. And if I should happen to institute a new daily schedule on the Tuesday before that post, would you want to know or do you want to labor under the delusion that our household is always run in an orderly and efficient manner? It’s just a hypothetical question, of course…
Contributors:
Connie is a Christian homeschooling mom to 8 rowdy children, wife for 25 years to one hunky golf pro, wiper of noses, writer of stories. She blogs regularly at Smockity Frocks.
Kimberly is a second generation homeschooling mom to her 10 children. She is married to an amazingly patient husband, who also happens to be a magnificent father. Their family’s primary goal is to glorify God and to raise children who will do the same. For that reason they attempt to examine every decision that they make in the light of God’s word. Many of their decisions may seem strange to the world and they’re good with that. Kimberly blogs at Raising Olives.
The Deputy Headmistress is is shy and blogs behind a pseudonym which she intended to be amusing and somewhat self-depreciatory. She and the Headmaster locked eyes in a high school Sunday School class in 1979 when she was 17, and they have been merrily married since 1982, in spite of the fact that at 17 the DHM nearly got the HM beaten up by her other boyfriend, and at 20 she nearly got him arrested by a cop from church. Happily God helped her grow up, and He is gracious and forgiving, and so is the Headmaster.
They have seven wonderful Progeny both by birth and adoption, two handsome sons-in-law, one adorable grandson, and two precious unofficial foster sons, ages 5 and 3, who live with them about half the time. They have been homeschooling since 1988. The DHM, and
occasionally some of the Progeny, blog regularly about politics, family life, living in the country, books, music, cabbages, kings, and living the countercultural Christian life at The Common Room.
KimC (that’s me) is a Christian, a wife, big sister to 13 sibs, and the slightly-crunchy homeschooling mom of 10 children. She lives with her very large family in a very small house in south Texas and finds peace in chocolate and blogging at Life in a Shoe: the methods and madness of one family of 12.
Her family shares their little house on the hill with dogs, gerbils, snakes, and tarantulas, and an 11 year old cat named Tim. The chickens stay outside. Usually.
4 Moms posts by KimC:
2012
- February 21 - 4 Moms Q&A: bedrooms and bedtime
- February 14 - 4 Moms: Valentine’s Day recipes and a story {linky}
- February 7 - 4 Moms: the daily schedule
- January 31 - 4 Moms: the daily schedule
- January 24 - Q&A with the 4 Moms: lies, jealous toddlers, and why doesn’t anyone invite you to dinner?
- January 17 - 4 Moms: What do you do for your children, and what do they do for themselves?
- December 13 - 4 Moms share Quick and Easy Holiday Recipes {linky}
- December 6 - 4 Moms Talk About Quick and Easy Holiday Crafts
- November 29 - 4 Moms Q&A: Christmas in the Coghlan house, etc.
- November 15 - 4 Moms give food as gifts {linky}
- November 8 - 4 Moms on Helping Kids Keep Up With Technology (?!)
- November 1 - Q&A with the 4 Moms: competitiveness, pregnancy and newborns, Bible for little ones
- October 25 - 4 Moms: How do you keep the car clean?
- October 18 - 4 Moms on Food Preservation
- October 11 - 4 Moms: Introducing kids to technology
- October 4 - Q&A with the 4 Moms
- September 27 - 4 Moms address biblical femininity and modesty in girls
- September 20 - Large Family Gift Guide by the 4 Moms
- September 13 - 4 Moms: Handling different standards between you and your husband
- September 6 - 4 Moms Q&A: shepherding a baby’s heart, dealing with overly emotional children, differences in raising boys vs. girls
- August 30 - 4 Moms: First weeks with a new baby
- August 23 - 4 Moms’ favorite fruit recipes {linky}
- August 16 - 4 Moms: teaching kids the difference between telling and tattling
- August 9 - 4 Moms Q&A: pottytraining, bedtime, and how to get a private moment in the bathroom
- August 2 - 4 Moms on bossy big sisters (and brothers)
- July 26 - 4 Moms: What do you do when the children need to learn subjects you can’t teach?
- July 19 - 4 Moms: Our early years of homeschooling
- July 12 - 4 Moms Q&A on breastfeeding
- July 5 - 4 Moms on dating & courtship
- June 28 - 4 Moms share favorite freezer meal recipes {linky}
- June 21 - 4 Moms share the secret to keeping your energy up
- June 14 - 4 Moms Q&A: teaching boys to respect girls; quick snacks; disciplining a hot-tempered toddler
- June 7 - 4 Moms: How did you know you wanted/could handle a large family?
- May 31 - 4 Moms: teaching children to cook {linky!}
- May 24 - 4 Moms: Homeschooling in a rotten mood
- May 17 - Q&A with the 4 Moms: dealing with comments on your big family, weaning babies, going from 1 child to 2 – and beyond!
- May 10 - 4 Moms: Favorite frugal tips
- May 3 - 4 Moms: Cooking with leftovers {linky}
- April 26 - 4 Moms: Homeschooling through pregnancy or chronic illness
- April 19 - 4 Moms Q&A: courtship, dental bills, and 40,000 diapers
- April 12 - 4 Moms: Tithing and saving on one income
- April 5 - 4 Moms: finding time/ideas for blogging
- March 29 - 4 Moms: Making Time to Manage the Budget
- March 22 - 4 Moms Q&A: Shoes for 12, snack rules, doing it all
- March 15 - 4 Moms try to save keepsakes without being killed in an avalanche
- March 8 - 4 Moms serve dinner for 50 cents/person {linky}
- March 1 - 4 Moms: teaching our children to write
- February 23 - 4 Moms Q&A: babies, discipline, purity and teens getting jobs
- February 16 - 4 Moms on sibling relationships: bullying, arguing, bickering
- February 9 – 4 Moms eat too many sweets {dessert linky}
- February 2 – 4 Moms share encouraging verses and stories
- January 26 – 4 Moms Q&A: Life with littles, dating, happy helpers
- January 19 – 4 Moms on buying and storing all those clothes {linky}
- January 12 – 4 Moms: snacks and appetizers for a crowd {linky}
- January 7 -4 Moms: Teaching grammar
2011
- December 15 - 4 Moms: Gift shopping for a crowd
- December 8 - 4 Moms’ favorite holiday recipes {linky
- December 1 - 4 Moms: preparing children to share holidays with unbelieving family
- November 24 – 4 Moms: A round-up of Thankful posts from the past
- November 17 – 4 Moms: Vehicles for the large family
- November 10 - 4 Moms: Large Family Food Storage
- November 3 - 4 Moms: Getting started on homeschooling
- October 27 - 4 Moms: Big family Q&A
- October 20 - 4 Moms find time for projects
- October 13 - 4 Moms: Keeping the food budget down as the prices go up {linky}
- October 6 – 4 Moms: keeping up with housework in the midst of homeschooling
- September 29 -4 Moms talk about memorization {and 2 giveaways!}
- September 22 – 4 Moms Q&A: the attack of the shoe monster, socialized homeschoolers and more
- September 15 – 4 Moms talk style (parenting style, that is)
- September 8 – 4 Moms make lunch for the menfolk {linky}
- September 1 – 4 Moms practice patience in the midst of chaos
- August 25 - Large Family Logistics linky (appendices)
- August 18 – 4 Moms: Large Family Logistics, part 2b (daily routines)
- August 11 - 4 Moms: Large Family Logistics linky, part 2 (managing your week)
- August 4 - 4 Moms: Large Family Logistics linky, part 1 (laying the foundation)
- July 28 – 4 Moms Q&A: Author of Large Family Logistics answers questions!
- July 21 – 4 Moms: 3 smoothie recipes and lunch linky
- July 14 -4 Moms crack the whip: Teaching Children to be Diligent
- July 7 -4 Moms giveaway: Large Family Logistics
- June 30 -4 Moms have a picnic (linky!)
- June 23 – 4 Moms Q&A: homeschooling, meal times
- June 16 -4 Moms: homeschooling the challenging child
- June 9 -4 Moms Naptime linky
- June 2 – 4 Moms talk about church
- May 26 – 4 Moms Q&A: toothbrushes, internet filters, taming the stuff monster
- May 19 -4 Moms try to lose the baby weight
- May 12 – 4 Moms practice hospitality, and YOU are invited!
- May 5 -4 Moms talk about you-know-what
- April 28 - 4 Moms Q&A: sleep, exercise, and making do with one bathroom
- April 21 – Large families & church, part 2: keeping them quiet
- April 14 – Eating inexpensively on the road
- April 7 - 4 Moms teach history
- March 24 – Large families & church, part 1: getting there on time
- March 17 – Bread baking linky
- March 10 – Spring cleaning
- March 3 - Books for early readers
- February 24 - 4 Moms Q&A: my first audio blog on potty training and more
- February 17 – Individual time with children: scary stuff here. Just kidding. Let go of the guilt.
- February 10 -Cooking with little ones without losing your sanity
- February 3 -Teaching reading, because it’s so much easier than teaching them to use the toilet. Do not request a 4 Moms post about potty training, do you hear me?
- January 27 – Q&A: Must-have baby equipment and other nitty gritty stuff
- January 20 – Top 10 Books for Preschoolers
- January 13 – Soups and Stews
- January 6 – Teaching Bible
2010
- December 30 - Thursday? It’s Thursday? (5 Steps to Teach Your Child to do Chores)
- December 23 - 4 Moms Q&A: breastfeeding, anatomy, Calgon days, and clothes storage
- December 16 - 4 Moms entertain guests
- December 9 - 4 Moms manage toys the Mean Mom way
- December 2 - 4 Moms make cookies (a linky!)
- November 25 - 4 Moms present a Thanksgiving Story
- November 18 -4 Moms plan for Thanksgiving: 3 recipes
- November 11 - 4 Moms talk about family traditions
- November 4 -4 Moms Do Crafts With the Kids – a linky!
- October 28 -4 Moms answer questions: Why skirts? and more
- October 21 -4 Moms talk about Germ Warfare
- October 14 - 4 Moms talk food: my top 10 breakfast list
- October 7 - 4 Moms: husbands and homeschooling
- September 30 - 4 Moms: How to spend time with your husband without spending money
- September 23 - 4 Moms take questions from the audience
- September 16 - 4 Moms share the secrets of storage
- September 9 4 Moms air dirty laundry
- September 2 - 4 Moms Open House linky: Bedrooms, part 2
- August 26 - 4 Moms Open House linky: Master Bedroom
- August 19 - 4 Moms 35 Kids: Living areas link-up
- August 12 – 4 Moms 35 Kids: Kitchen/Dining Room linkup
- August 5 – 4 Moms 35 Kids: Open House linky
- June 3 – 4 Moms 35 Kids:Putting it all together
- May 27 – 4 Moms 35 Kids: I, er, uh…
- May 20 – 4 Moms 35 Kids: teaching little ones
- May 13 – 4 Moms 35 Kids: homeschooling in real life
- May 6 – 4 Moms 35 Kids: homeschooling methods
- April 29 – 4 Moms 35 Kids: Extreme Homeschooling
- April 22 – 4 Moms 35 Kids: Cooking for a Crowd
- April 15 – Cooking from scratch: 4 Moms 35 Kids
- April 8 – Menu planning: 4 Moms, 35 Kids
- April 1 – 4 Moms 35 Kids: a baker’s dozen for managing the food budget
- March 25 – 4 Moms 35 Kids: outings with only little ones
- March 18 – 4 Moms 35 Kids: we go live! (live blog day for the 4 Moms)
- March 11 – 4 Moms, 35 Kids: the schedule
Buy the book: 4 Moms of 35+ Kids Answer Your Parenting Questions!
Sounds fun! Can’t wait to read!
I will definitely come back to read more. I feel overwhelmed with my three I cannot imagine how you do it with ten.
Looking forward to this venture with you, and I love your hypothetical!!
Yay! I’m a fan of all the blogs already, so it’ll be fun to see you collaborate!
funny, after following your blog almost 2 years, I don’t recall hearing about your 10 year old cat named Tim. dogs, yep. tarantulas, yep. gerbils, yep. chickens, yep. deer…on the deck?, yep. snakes, both invited and uninvited, yep. 10 year old cat named Tim, nope… doesn’t ring a bell. poor overlooked Tim. or maybe you did write about him; then that means I forgot him, so he’s poor forgotten Tim.
will look forward to the new Thursday posts… no trying to sparkle up the image. we want the real deal. no delusion that it’s always orderly and efficient around there… we don’t need that kind of pressure!
From this “1 mom, 7 kids” I look forward to hearing your collective adventures, ahem, wisdom. : )
I’m way ahead of you, we started our schedule last Monday.
I second the old cat named Tim conundrum…
I was not going to say anything, for fear that I had in fact forgotten Tim and I would be responded to with “How on earth could you forget the most lovable Tim!??!” However, since Melanie was brave enough to say something… I will too…
Poor Tim….
Melanie and Dalas,
I think we neglect to name Tim among our pets because he’s not *really* a pet. He comes and goes as he pleases, but hangs around because we feed him. He sits on the couch and watches movies with us. He enjoys the kids’ company, but gets annoyed by them sometimes.
He’s more like a brother-in-law.
I hope you share what the ideal plan was and then the reality, just to prove your are in fact human.
I look forward to it. I dont mind copying the good ideas for my family, even if I am down to one at home.
A very persistent brother in law.
Woke me up this morning by patting my head and mewing in my ear because the laundry room door was closed and he was hungry…
What a great idea, I will definitely be back to see these.
How about a picture of Tim? For us cat lovers…
1 mom, 17 kids. I am glad I found your site and look forward to reading!
Yay! Sounds good.