Right now we are in the thick of planning for life with 4 kids, so I'd welcome any tips, hints, revelations you've had about managing life with many kids (and I do realize what constitutes "many kids" is different for everyone -- we can have fun debating that in a different blog post).
One thing that is a challenge for moms with many kids is feeding everybody. I've already seen this with having 3 kids. Just the logistics of keeping enough food in the house can be tricky. For example, right now with the kids we currently have, we go through 6 gallon size jugs of milk EVERY WEEK! My kids love milk, which is great, I think, for their health. They drink it with every meal and my 8 year old often asks for refills. I like to limit my grocery shopping to once a week so I get a lot of comments from the checkers with my 6 gallons of milk, but at least I've figured out a way for all of them to fit in my fridge at the same time! Although, I'm not sure how it's going to work when we add another child to the household. Perhaps we just need our own cow!
Also consumed with the milk, we go through a lot of cereal. I'm not too proud to admit that my kids only get a home-cooked breakfast once a week, on Saturday, and the other 6 mornings it's cereal! At least they get home-cooked dinners 6 nights per week, and the cereals I buy are fairly healthy -- Cracklin Oat Bran, Life, Multigrain Cheerios -- are all regulars at our house. For me, I like the Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal (both the kind with almonds and without, actually I mix the two kinds for the perfect ratio of almonds to not -- too much information?), eat it every day and never get tired of it! So, I was thrilled to learn a while back that Amazon.com had Kashi cereal in their grocery that they could ship right to my door with no shipping cost and I could even get a discount on the cereal if I subscribed to get the delivery on a regular basis! The contents of a delivery:
For me this works great. I pay less per box than at the store (or at least it priced out at less when I last compared), I don't ever have to worry about running out because I have deliveries scheduled periodically, and it's one less item for my grocery shopping trip every week! (And one less item, especially something bulky like cereal, is key when your cart is already full of children with little room for groceries -- which happened to me every week during the summer, and yes my kids are all 3 big enough to walk, but the trip goes quicker if only 1 walks and 2 ride.)
Since discovering the Kashi cereal, I've set up some more things in Amazon's subscribe and save. I only do items that are cheaper or the same price as at the regular grocery and things we use regularly. So far, my daughter's non-prescription allergy medicine, our bath soap, my husband's razor refills, and Clif bars are all on our list. And I'd love to add more, but so far our other frequently used products are either not there or they are more expensive than the grocery, so I'd rather just stockpile a bunch when I make a store run.
**** Disclaimer: I am an Amazon.com affiliate and will get a small portion of the proceeds should you make a purchase after using a link on my blog, but I assure you I would not recommend something if I was not happy with it after using it myself for months! ****
Find more Works for Me Wednesday here.
We stopped eating cereal because of its lack of nutrition plus the amount of milk it took. Instead of SIX gallons a week, we now buy FOUR gallons a week. Just because we stopped eating cold cereal. We now eat muffins, homemade granola, oatmeal, baked oatmeal, pancakes, etc. It doesn't take as much milk as cold cereal. All of that can be made and put in the freezer. That is TMI, but I thought I would share anyway...
ReplyDeleteMy four kids are grown now, but two still live at home. We love our cereal! One thing I found through the years is that there was always that 'last forgotten bowlful' in the bottom of a box that went stale. (Yeah, we have several open boxes at a time--I pick my battles and that ain't one of 'em.) If you don't already have a vacuum sealer, you really need to get one, with the jar attachment. This morning I took out five small, vacuum-sealed jars for the boys (young men, I mean) to open this week. They will be as fresh as the day the box was opened.
ReplyDeleteOh, and here's another tip for having four kids. If at all possible, dedicate one Saturday morning a month to one child. It isn't a day to do just what he/she wants, but a day 'off' from chores and to have lunch or breakfast alone with mom or dad. My kids ran errands with me, hit garage sales, and got to pick anyplace they wanted to eat. My oldest will be 29 in October and I still cherish our lunches at a favorite Chinese restaurant! And don't even get me started on how cool it is to have a 'girl's day out' with your daughter.(BTW, I have 3 boys and one girl, all in their 20s.)