Large Family Living

Twenty years ago if someone would have told me that I'd have ten children
I NEVER would have believed them!
 There was a point in time when I wasn't even sure if I would ever have children,
let alone be a mom to many.
Over the years I've welcomed my role as a stay at home/homeschooling mom
 and have become passionate about my family, schooling them, loving them, and our lives.
I'm often asked, although I still have many questions myself, how I do what I do.
Well...
Trial and error.
Really.
I make mistakes, even after being a mom for over twenty years.
I wish I were one of "those" moms that gave countless words of advice and could educate you on how to raise the perfect family.
That's not us.
I'm still learning - everyday.
Here are some of the things I've learned along the way.
 Cooking dinner every night for my crew can seem like cooking Thanksgiving dinner. There can be lots of prep, cooking, serving, and clean up.
I don't have time for that everyday!
I've learned along the way how to make dinner time become a little more effective for our busy lives.

FIRST - Delegate!
With five teenagers in the house there is no reason one person - me - is doing all the work. I encourage you to have your children help, even the younger ones can set the table and do simple cooking tasks.
I've set up a meal chore list and rotate who is helping to cook, set up, and clean up.
And now that my children are getting older I have nights where I leave it all totally to them!
Count it as home ect, let them plan the entire meal, shop, set up, cook, serve, and clean.
I've found that my kids have enjoyed this more then I thought they would.

Some easier recipes that don't keep me in the kitchen for hours, can easily be made by teens, and are good to feed an army -

Quesadillas -
  Flour tortillas
Shredded cheese (we like taco flavored)
You can add beef, chicken, mushrooms, or just cheese
  Salsa and sour cream for dipping
 We butter the back of the soft tortilla, lay a row across or large griddle, fill them up, put another buttered tortilla the top, let them cook up!
We use a pizza cutter to cut them and serve.


More coming soon!