Practicalities

I thought I would share a favorite family recipe this morning and also jot down our daily schedule as it stands right now.  God has blessed me with being very organized and I like schedules (as do the children).  I have to be careful not to be hyper about the schedule but to be flexible as life changes daily.  Anyway, a recipe first:

Peanut butter granola

Mix in large shallow pan-

12 cups of oats
2 cups of raisins
3 cups of coconut chips

Melt in sauce pan together:

1 lb of butter
2 cups of peanut butter
2 cups of sugar (we use sucanat)

Drizzle melted butter/peanut butter mixture over oat mixture.  We then leave in the pan overnight and I bake it in the morning at 270 degrees for about 45 minutes because my kids like it warm.  If you are not the warm granola type, bake for about 45 minutes to an hour and store.  This is my kids favorite granola by far.  This amount feeds my crew of 17 for one meal- most others it should last awhile.  If there are leftovers, we store them in the refrigerator.

Now on to the schedule.  Here is what our day looks like:
 
5:00 a.m. - Steve and I wake.  He gets ready for work, I have some coffee, write my blog, check other blogs, emails and facebook and make Steve his breakfast.

5:30 - Steve leaves for work, shower for me

6:00 - Older kids wake (older than 5 yrs old).  They clean their rooms, get ready for the day, and get started on their education.

6:30 - Breakfast, usually.

6:30 - 8:30 - Chores, school work, etc...  Little ones usually wake around 7:30

8:30 - 9:00 - Reading to the little ones

9:00 - 10:00 - Read aloud to all the kids

10:00 - 12:00 - Cooking chores, kids continue with their studies, little ones play

12:00 - 12:30 - Lunch

12:30-1:00 - Farm check for me, little ones outside, exercise for some of the older kids

1:00 - 3:00 - Mandatory rest time.  All kids are in their rooms.  Little ones nap, olders read, this is my personal bible and classic study time.

3:00 - 5:00 - Read aloud to little ones again, chores, dinner prep, studying for older kids, sewing time for me.

5:00 - 5:30 - Room time for kids while one assigned kid gets the house in order.  I get myself ready for Steve, get our room ready and then check school.

5:30 - 7:00 - Dinner, family sing and bible study

7:00 - 8:00 - Baths for littles, Steve does music lessons and bible study cards with kids, free time for most. 

8:00 - Bedtime/reading in bed.  Lights out usually at 9:00.

That's it - more on schedules tomorrow.