(updated to add: Silas’ shoes are Livie and Luca–the elephants are particularly good for fat baby feet)
Our busy season is over. Phew. Outside of music lessons, we have no regularly scheduled activities this summer. We are transitioning into our new school year, and our second year of schooling “year round.” I prefer taking our longer breaks during the spring and fall rather than taking the summer off. I’ll be doing lots of planning over the next couple of weeks and attempting to come up with an on paper family schedule. Nothing extreme, but we sure do need some structure around here. My sister finally convinced me to buy Managers of their Homes. It seems like a program for the highly scheduled, but I am planning to use it in my own way to come up with more of a rhythm. So, we’ll see how this goes.
This stomach funk is lingering. Keats ended up getting sick late last week, but was well enough to play in his first violin recital on Saturday. He is my shyest child by far, but didn’t have any problems getting up to play. I am looking forward to some new music in the house now that the recital is past. I have had one of Keats’ pieces stuck in my head for many, many weeks now.
I found an old outfit that was Seth’s when he was a baby and I dressed Silas in it all weekend. It barely fits so I want him to get as much wear as possible out of it before I tuck it away again. There is something so sweet about hand me downs.
I spent hours and hours in the garden this weekend. I dug up all the garlic and I am pretty happy about how well it did this year. I guess I planted elephant garlic last fall, because it’s awfully big. Right on the heels of all that excitement though was the discovery that a pair of groundhogs ate the entire row of cucumber plants that Beatrix and I planted a couple of weeks ago and nearly destroyed all the Amish paste tomato plants that I so carefully raised from seed. Oh, well. Gardening isn’t always that great.
Oh, and do you see our chicks? They are looking a lot like chickens these days-not babies anymore.
I hope you all had a great weekend!
Liesl says
Your garlic looks awesome! I’m hoping to try my hand at growing garlic next year.
liz says
When work gets crazy I often drift from my routines a little too far and fall into chaos. I’ve found that a small amount of planning with an attitude of flexibility has worked well for me. Sometimes the up-front schedule planning saves so much in reducing confusion and everyone knows what to expect. Kids like knowing what’s coming and I end up being able to move through the day without over-thinking it, worrying that I’m forgetting something or not allowing enough time for something. I haven’t read Managers, but I can highly recommend A Mother’s Rule of Life- It takes a Catholic perspective on things and the first part is just an interesting read. For me it hit the right amount of heart and nuts and bolts how-to-do-it. I’ve found it is time to review the schedule again with summer starting. This winter I was able to implement a menu plan that doesn’t vary much week-to-week … and a grocery list that includes the menu item ingredients as check boxes and essential pantry items so I don’t waste so much time running around with my narrow handwritten lists that drop to the bottom of the bag or get co-opted by the wild 4 year old for art projects. There has been such a freedom in routine even with just the meal plan and grocery list. I feel I’m spending more time doing the things that matter more to me and less time stressing out solutions on the fly. You have inspired me to put some time into reviewing the schedule and upgrading the meal plan to a true 2 week cycle 🙂 I’m just going to leave some wiggle room for spontaneous picnics and trips to the river when the weather is good!
Erin says
Have been visiting your blog for a couple of months now and thought I should say hello! Love reading about your family. I’ll be checking back for sure!
Elisabeth says
Congratulations to Keats! His violin set-up looks so good! Your garden is off to an astounding start, minus the woodchuck… I will link to your Saturday garden posts again as my summer gets organized. Thanks for hosting so many fun link-alongs!
Noeh says
Ginny, what kind of chickens do you have? Noeh
Ginny says
Hi Noeh, We have a combination of Ameraucanas, Silver Lace Wyandottes, Rhode Island Reds, and Columbian Rock Crosses. This is our second flock and so far the Columbian Rock Crosses seem to be the friendliest.
Sarah says
We have Managers of their Chores and LOVE it. I will probably never go back to my “old” way of doing chores again. 🙂 I bet MOTH is good, especially if you use it in a way that fits your own family dynamics.
Happy summer, Ginny!
Ginny says
I am realizing that what I REALLY need is Managers of their Chores!!
Donna says
That’s how we feel in our house right about now – travel chorus is over, so is the musical at school. We can kind of take a breath for a while. I have heard great things about Managers of Their Homes. I’m anxious to see what you think.
vicki says
wow that is a very busy season, spring always is with children. I’ve left a sunshine award on my blog for you. have a knitty tuesday xxx
Leanne says
I despise ground hogs. We have soooo many here and they love my garden. Grrrrr!
Have to ask about Sila’s shoes. So cute. Where did you get them? Brand?
Ginny says
His shoes are by Livie and Luca. I searched and searched for a comfortable shoe that would fit his big fat feet and these are great (although pricey!)
Tori - 2 plus 1 says
those chicks have grown fast and i love the outfit silas is wearing, so sweet – and those little sandals too! great garlic too – i’m itching to get started on our gardening soon….
Jenn says
Silas looks so cute! And congrats on the garden. Well, most of the garden anyway. 😉
Wendy says
How do you prep your garlic for storage and/or store it? I stored my first garlic this past year and found lots of conflicting info on it–we were able to use ours through the winter, but once temperatures began to warm, it started molding. It looks like you wash yours (?) I didn’t wash mine–just left the dirt on it, let them dry out, and then stored them.
I think “year-round” school is the way to go, with breaks during every season. Hope your planning/new rhythm goes well!
Sarah says
Continuing through the summer seems such a good idea. It would be great to know how your schedule works out. We have MOTH but don’t use it in the way it is written. We have an order to our schooling time which helps. I’ve tried to schedule evenings but it hasn’t ever really worked!
little macaroon says
Your garlic looks marvellous. As does Silas… and Keats. Oh, and the chicks – oh, it all looks just magical! Wishing you a happy summer!
Olivia says
We have MOTHs as well. I have taken many great lessons from it although we do not have a strict schedule like the author. I am thinking of having my two oldest (only 4 and 6 years old but very capable) fill out their own schedule. We can talk about the coming week an don Sunday we all sit down and talk about what has to be done, so they own it more and know what is expected, rather than me just posting a schedule and saying “follow it.” They babies will just do what we do. Plans, sometimes even very detailed plans just make our days go more smoothly and seamlessly from schooling to work and back to schooling, and we also school through the summer (or will be once we move)
Sorry about your plants. That stinks. I have no idea how we will keep the little rascals out of our gardens…fences? Who knows.
I am wondering what you do with the littlest ones while you are gardening? My husband and I are always juggling our Saturday time to get things done and taking care of the kids. Do they just follow along or do you have the older ones help out?
Ginny says
Beatrix always helps me in the garden. It makes the work slower, but it is worth it. Silas does a combination of things–including nap. We try to take advantage of his naptime on the weekend to work in the garden. When he is awake sometimes he plays near us, sometimes he is pulled around in the wagon by the older kids, and sometimes he rides on Jonny’s back.
Joy says
The garlic looks great! My shyest plays violin as well. He hides behind the others on stage though. 🙂 Silas’s outfit is adorable. I know what you mean about hand-me-downs. I love seeing my youngest wear clothes that his brothers’ wore.
Katrina says
Managers of the home is such a great program! So easy to use! Good luck!
grace says
Are you still worried about your Silver Laced Wyandotte being a rooster? Our other girls seem to have caught up to ours which was definitely a relief.
Ginny says
Yes, we have six of them and one is definitely a rooster!!
grace says
What are you going to do?
Ginny says
kill him. no, I am kidding. I really don’t know. The boys all want a rooster so they are happy. The second he starts causing problems as in attacks one of the small kids he will have to go. I have a neighbor who would probably take him. Otherwise…..
barbara says
Love that baby in seersucker. My boys had some of those when they were little. So sweet.
Yeah Keats!
I plan to do some school this summer — a first for me. It’s hard with some in school (high school) and some at home. But with the last boy in school and just the girl at home I feel less pressure to maintain a school schedule. Besides summer is miserable at some points.
Sabrina says
I bought the Managers book….took notes and sold it to a friend. It was information over-load. However, if I don’t make my children get out of bed, feed the chickens, do their morning routines etc, they will sleep till 9, let the animals starve and run outside to escape and play before I can catch them. If I’m not consistent with these routines (they’ve had for years, you’d think they’d just do them) they will take advantage of the morning and I get frustrated, and it seems to throw the whole day off. I’m in the process of redoing my Managers chart. The only boxes I fill in are morning routines, school block, meals, and bible study. Most of the chart looks like wasted time, because it’s blank. I feel too restricted when on a strict schedule. I guess I use it more as a “rhythm”.
Managers of their Chores was helpful too. I didn’t go through all the steps that the book suggested, however, the chore packs were nice for the little ones. I made my own cards to slide into the pockets. Keep us posted as to how it goes.
Aimee says
So funny that I JUST bought Manager of Their Homes last week too!! And am waiting for them to receive my registration so that I can use the software! I have BALKED at using something like that for years now, but like you, I have six children and can’t just “wing it” anymore right now. I am so mentally and emotionally tired from “reminding” and reinventing the wheel each morning. Plus I think that I will actually get some good quality time with each child if I have the other children scheduled to do something else. I am verrryy relaxed so I will just schedule the mornings and leave the afternoons free. Also coming up with cleaning lists that surround the mealtimes. Cheering you on!!!!
Ginny says
yes–mentally and emotionally tired here as well….but feeling hopeful that this might work!
Heather says
We had a pesky groundhog eat a lot of our desert plants one year two. He was busy and quite persistent. Glad life will be slowing a bit for you. Sorry the bug is hanging on, but glad Keats was able to play. I recall when my kiddos played violin hearing Twinkle variations all the time!
Tracey says
I have been trying to get a chance to dig up my garlic and see how it did, but the rains just keep coming…along with the weeds.
Congratulations to Keats on the music recital. One of my son’s played the violin at about the same age and enjoyed it.
Nadja says
So much to comment on, I ought to just email you!
We school year-round, too, and I think we have to to get things done, as we take a good chunk of time off during Advent (so much baking and making going on) and in the spring (going fishing and playing in the spring sunshine after winter takes precedence). But I have gotten less structured over the years.
Best of luck with the Keepers thing…I found the whole process too daunting (someone loaned it to me) and really something in me balked at compartmentalizing my life into little colored boxes. I was VERY, neurotically into structure in my teens (I think I had some OCD issues back then!), and now, although I do crave at least some structure, seem to rebel against schedules. We have a routine rather than a schedule.
Keats looks gorgeous on the violin. I hope when we move to KY to be able to get lessons for Adrian. He really loves the violin, and I would really love to have a child who can play my favorite instrument!
Una and Gemma are 10 years apart, and I did save just a few things of Una’s which Gemma now wears. It is very sweet. Silas is such a beautiful boy…
Ouch! My tomato plants looked like that a couple of weeks ago. A few recovered and are looking odd, but I think they’ll bear fruit.
I love all your photos. As always, Ginny…
Ginny says
Nadja, I know what you mean about compartmentalizing life into colored boxes…but I won’t go to extremes with it and I am finding that we have to do something or I am going to become one of those moms who is angry all the time. I need my kids (the boys especially) to have a visual reminder of what needs to be done so that I am not constantly telling them, “do this, and do that.” I like the idea of there being an order to things–you do this before you do this (work before play.) I am hoping to use this to create a rhythm less than a strict “you do this at this set time” sort of thing. Also, there is software with this program–which was really appealing to me. I don’t want to have to make my own chart! Anyway, I updated the post a bit to explain better how I want to use the program. Let’s see if I can follow through!! 🙂