I am exhausted

[Mama Lynx]

This teaching four kids thing, this is tiring. Especially when the youngest has his will dead set against you.

It's 11:30, and I have: Made four loaves of bread, plus cinnamon rolls; taught Greek to one, Latin to another; math, handwriting and copywork to two more; supervised work for an outside class, supervised assigned reading, supervised math, supervised breakfast, and struggled, struggled, struggled with the six year old. No wonder I'm tired!

My dh's brakes are broken, and he just took the car into the shop.

My parents come over tonight, for the first time.

I would like to take a nap now, please. Still have one math and one Latin lesson to teach, and read-alouds to do. I should teach another Greek lesson, but will likely let it slide. I told them we'd do cookie-dough maps today.

I wonder how my parents would feel about take-out for dinner?

[Michelle in MO]

been Wonder Woman today, and I give you full permission to lie down and take a nap! Your plate is full, and you need a break.

Definitely do take-out for dinner, if you can. I hope the brakes on your car get fixed, too.

:grouphug: to you, and I'm hoping tomorrow goes more smoothly. Homeschooling is exhausting!

[Tammyla]

:grouphug:
You've done a lot today. I can only imagine juggling four. :grouphug:

I can't even bring myself to start school (early) this year.

[JFS in IL]

You are having a nice, full life right now. Someday when the kids are older and do not need you so much you may look back on these days with longing.

Been there, done that, kinda miss it at times. My kids are now 16, 16, 14, 12.

[Snickerdoodle]

:drool5:

Did someone say fresh bread?

You are my hero.

[Mama Lynx]

You are having a nice, full life right now. Someday when the kids are older and do not need you so much you may look back on these days with longing.

Been there, done that, kinda miss it at times. My kids are now 16, 16, 14, 12.

Oh, I'm not complaining :) I just wish I weren't so tired by lunchtime!

[laylamcb]

Wow. And I thought I was so progressive: We just played Sum Swamp and called it math. Four loaves of homemade bread? Are you TRYING to shame me?! (Because it's working.) ;) You go, woman!

[Mama Lynx]

Wow. And I thought I was so progressive: We just played Sum Swamp and called it math. Four loaves of homemade bread? Are you TRYING to shame me?! (Because it's working.) ;) You go, woman!

LOL, now I'm thinking I shouldn't have mentioned the bread.

Really, it's no big deal. I mix up the dough at night, in my mixer. That takes all of 15 minutes. I set it to rise in the fridge overnight. In the morning, it takes another 15 minutes to shape it into loaves and put it in pans. I stick it somewhere to rise again, and then bake it. I've got it down to a routine, and it really takes very little time. I bake four loaves at a time, and then it's 3-4 days before I have to bake again. My kids eat a loaf a day. The problem is, they eat a loaf of storebought bread a day too, and since I only buy bread w/o hfcs and whole grain, those get pricey.

[Mama Lynx]

... and I wish that so much activity was not squeezed into such a small amount of time. That's it, really.

[Crissy]

... and I wish that so much activity was not squeezed into such a small amount of time. That's it, really.

That is the thing that would make me insane. A full schedule like that is nearly always more than I can handle.

Go for the take-out and enjoy your parents' company.

[kristavws]

This teaching four kids thing, this is tiring. Especially when the youngest has his will dead set against you.

We actually had a really great first day, although my 5-year old decided to test his boundaries. I pretty much decided I was not going to start the year off that way, and marched him immediately upstairs to the "principal's office." After a long talk with dh, he was good to go. This is my youngest dh's first year of actually being required to do anything. I couldn't believe how much more work adding one student could be - Hats off to you for schooling 4!!

Would you mind sharing that bread recipe :D

Krista

[Staci in MO]

I just added in my six-year-old this year. I'm tired, too. I can't imagine teaching four.

Hang in there.

[Mama Lynx]

Would you mind sharing that bread recipe :D

Krista

I snitched this from the former WTM board, ages ago. It was posted by Jeni in OR. It is a *very* forgiving recipe. I use 1 TBSP of yeast and 1 TBSP of salt, and it works fine. In my KA I usually end up with a total of 6 cups of white and 6 cups of wheat:

4 cups warm water
2 TBSP Yeast
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup oil
1 1/2 TBSP salt
4 cups whole wheat flour **
4-8 cups unbleached white flour**

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add honey, oil, and salt. Let sit until foamy (about 15-20 minutes). Add wheat flour then white flour (as many cups as it takes to reach kneading consistency). Knead until smooth and elastic. Cover and place in a warm area to rise. Let rise until doubled (about and hour). Punch down and let rise again. Punch down, separate into four loaves and place in loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled once again. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30-35 minutes. Butter top and sides while warm.

** These flour amounts are great for beginners because the white flour makes it easier to knead. As you become experienced you can decrease the amount of white flour and increase the wheat. You can even omit the white. It just takes a lot more kneading to break down the gluten and get that smooth elastic dough. The more you knead the lighter the bread will be. This recipe also works with other kinds of flour. I like to just experiment.

[DIY-DY]

This teaching four kids thing, this is tiring. Especially when the youngest has his will dead set against you.

It's 11:30, and I have: Made four loaves of bread, plus cinnamon rolls; taught Greek to one, Latin to another; math, handwriting and copywork to two more; supervised work for an outside class, supervised assigned reading, supervised math, supervised breakfast, and struggled, struggled, struggled with the six year old. No wonder I'm tired!

My dh's brakes are broken, and he just took the car into the shop.

My parents come over tonight, for the first time.

I would like to take a nap now, please. Still have one math and one Latin lesson to teach, and read-alouds to do. I should teach another Greek lesson, but will likely let it slide. I told them we'd do cookie-dough maps today.

I wonder how my parents would feel about take-out for dinner?

Seriously, it's not the baking, the laundry, or even the teaching that gets me. It's the constant, unending, streaming redirection. I'm pooped by lunch. So, if anything is going to get done, it needs to be done by lunch or odds are good that I'll fall asleep in the middle of it.

So, where'd ya take the parents for dinner? ;)

And the routine of teaching four? It'll come. It will. (I have to believe it will, and so, I am going to share my vision with you! LMK if it works, k?)

Hey, when did you go off WF cooking? How are you all feeling?
Dy

[eaglei]

LOL, now I'm thinking I shouldn't have mentioned the bread.

Really, it's no big deal. I mix up the dough at night, in my mixer. That takes all of 15 minutes. I set it to rise in the fridge overnight. In the morning, it takes another 15 minutes to shape it into loaves and put it in pans. I stick it somewhere to rise again, and then bake it. I've got it down to a routine, and it really takes very little time. I bake four loaves at a time, and then it's 3-4 days before I have to bake again. My kids eat a loaf a day. The problem is, they eat a loaf of storebought bread a day too, and since I only buy bread w/o hfcs and whole grain, those get pricey.

I have NEVER heard of raising bread dough in the fridge! So what exactly do you do? You mix it and refrigerate it overnight? In the morning, you shape the loaves withOUT raising first? Does the dough REALLY rise in the FRIDGE??? On occasion I've had trouble with dough rising on an extra cold day while sitting in a warm kitchen!!! You've got to explain this to me, please! The recipe sounds delicious and I love the idea of starting it at night - but I'm dubious about it really rising!!!
:confused:

[Mama Lynx]

I have NEVER heard of raising bread dough in the fridge! So what exactly do you do? You mix it and refrigerate it overnight? In the morning, you shape the loaves withOUT raising first? Does the dough REALLY rise in the FRIDGE??? On occasion I've had trouble with dough rising on an extra cold day while sitting in a warm kitchen!!! You've got to explain this to me, please! The recipe sounds delicious and I love the idea of starting it at night - but I'm dubious about it really rising!!!
:confused:

Yes! It really rises in the fridge! It's a little stiffer to work with in the morning, but it's still fine. It takes longer to rise in the fridge, but that's fine because I'm giving it 12 hours or so to work. It works!

[Mama Lynx]

Seriously, it's not the baking, the laundry, or even the teaching that gets me. It's the constant, unending, streaming redirection. I'm pooped by lunch. So, if anything is going to get done, it needs to be done by lunch or odds are good that I'll fall asleep in the middle of it.

So, where'd ya take the parents for dinner? ;)

And the routine of teaching four? It'll come. It will. (I have to believe it will, and so, I am going to share my vision with you! LMK if it works, k?)

Hey, when did you go off WF cooking? How are you all feeling?
Dy

Weeelll, I went off it in, I think, June. But it's very apparent I need to go back on it. I am very sad. I am still making bread for the boys, though, and hope that I can just not eat gluten myself but still make bread for them. I'm not celiac, I'm pretty darned sure of that; so I hope this will suffice.

But it is HARD to make bread and not eat it :glare:

As it turned out, we did get take-out. And my parents had the wrong night, and didn't show :lol: But my house is clean. And check out my blog!!

[Amy in Orlando]

Like Dy said, you'll find your rhythm teaching four - it's exhausting and tough, but do-able.

For me, I feed the kids (I used to call them the short people, but all but one is far taller than me lol) lunch. Then I get an hour on the couch. I don't sleep a lot at night, so I nap. But, this time is invaluable to all of us. The older boys mostly read during this hour, my younger son uses this time for audio books. You just have to make it a priority. For me, I have to say the nap/quiet time hour is the key to how successfully our homeschooling has gone so far. More than anything else we do, that one hour is KEY. I nap, the boys wind down. We're all nice again at 2 pm. And, we're all ready to finish the day without arguing or whining.

LOL on your parents not showing up - sounds like my parents. The clean house is a nice benefit, though.

[Mama Lynx]

Like Dy said, you'll find your rhythm teaching four - it's exhausting and tough, but do-able.

For me, I feed the kids (I used to call them the short people, but all but one is far taller than me lol) lunch. Then I get an hour on the couch. I don't sleep a lot at night, so I nap. But, this time is invaluable to all of us. The older boys mostly read during this hour, my younger son uses this time for audio books. You just have to make it a priority. For me, I have to say the nap/quiet time hour is the key to how successfully our homeschooling has gone so far. More than anything else we do, that one hour is KEY. I nap, the boys wind down. We're all nice again at 2 pm. And, we're all ready to finish the day without arguing or whining.

LOL on your parents not showing up - sounds like my parents. The clean house is a nice benefit, though.

We've never had a quiet time, but yeah, I can see how that will be beneficial. After that much intense interaction in the mornings, I need downtime. Especially as my oldest has taken to getting up when I get up. I am the type that needs things to be QUIET in the mornings. Leave me alone. I'll let you know when I'm ready for social interaction. And my darling oldest son wakes up talking, goes through the day talking, falls asleep talking, and probably talks in his sleep. :willy_nilly:

My parents are now coming over today. And somehow my house is no longer clean again. :glare: And we're completely out of cat food.

[dragons in the flower bed]

It's 11:30, and I have: Made four loaves of bread, plus cinnamon rolls; taught Greek to one, Latin to another; math, handwriting and copywork to two more; supervised work for an outside class, supervised assigned reading, supervised math, supervised breakfast, and struggled, struggled, struggled with the six year old.

. . . and you earned the title 'Homeschool Goddess.'

[Jennifer3141]

Hey, another bread baker!!

I hope today is more restful for you. And get the takeout!!

Jen