Kids and the Farm

Last week we put up a question box in our stories, and so many of the questions we received had to do with raising kids while farming. One asked us how we have had time to grow the farm these past couple of years while raising a family, another question was about making time to homeschool while farming full time, and another was about my favorite meals to serve my family. And then a number of questions were about general organization. I have a feeling that some of those people know enough about me to know that I am always eager to share my latest thoughts on organization! Like the show, The Home Edit (have you all been watching it and desperately trying to get your homes in color-coded Heaven too?) There is something about an organized life that makes everything easier.

I don’t think raising kids while farming is probably much different than doing it while working other jobs except that since we are often in the barns 24/7 and through the night during lambing and calving seasons, I’ve found that it helps to be organized so that the house can run on it’s own. Also, full disclosure, I don’t really think I’m qualified to give advice on this since I have my fair share of moments when I’m ready to pull my own hair out, but because it’s sink or swim around here I have come up with a few tricks to make things run a little bit smoother. I know that I love getting helpful advice from other moms, so hopefully you will find something helpful here. And if you have even better advice, please share it! Parenting is never easy, but it is always worth the effort.

Plan once and don’t think about it again

I personally think being organized is the easiest way to stay sane and to get everything done. I spend two hours on Saturday mornings planning for the following week. This includes the to-do list for each day (both for the house and kids, and for the farm), the meal plan for each day, and I also set out the kids’ and my clothes for each day. Once the plans are written down I don’t have to think about it again. It’s amazing the amount of time that is wasted deciding what needs to be done or trying to figure out what to make for dinner. The to-do list goes on a large chalkboard where Brandon and the kids can see it. Everyone know what will get done each day, and everyone knows who will do it.

Have a “brain-dump” list

If there is one thing I can be sure of with 4 kids, it is that there will always be someone talking to me or needing my attention. And at the same time, there are always a hundred things that I’m thinking about, planning, and responsible for on the farm. I used to get so frustrated when my attention would be interrupted, or I would forget every third thought I had. So, I now have what I call a brain dump list. Mine is on my phone because it’s always in my back pocket. Every single thing that I think about that I don’t want to forget, I put on that list. I know that it is safe there, and I can continue to focus on my kids and deal with the list later. By the end of the day, that list is usually pretty long - some of the things have sorted themselves out organically and can be deleted, but the ones that haven’t I add to my to-do list. 
Involve the kids in everything

The more involved the kids can be in every aspect of our lives, the more independent and helpful they are. We start involving them in every activity as soon as they can walk, and so now our kids are actually a really big help with everything from chores around the house to weaning lambs and moving animals. At first it seems like it’s more work to involve kids in a lot of jobs, but I guarantee that they will catch on faster than you ever imagined, and it won’t be long before they are a real help. The best part about including them in everything we do is that they start to naturally jump in and help without being asked. They see where they could be needed, or they see where someone needs some help, and they do it without being asked. That is the most helpful thing- having someone who notices a need and meets it. They also have set jobs that they do each morning (unloading the dishwasher, feeding the dogs, collecting the eggs and feeding the chickens, feeding any bottle animals, and cleaning up their play room). It doesn’t take the kids very much time to do those jobs together, but boy does it save me a lot of time just having those jobs taken care of first thing each morning...and starting with an emptied dishwasher each morning is key with 4 kids who never seem to stop eating! 

Food

There is NOTHING that takes up more time with kids than food. Like I said before, I now plan all meals on Saturday morning for the following week. I have a list of 30 crockpot meals that I choose from for the weekdays..and 2 more “interesting” meals for the weekends when we have more time. I chop all vegetables for the meals on Sundays and pack them in large ziplock bags. I pick 2 lunches and the kids eat these same lunches every day that week. It isn’t exciting, but it’s easy and there isn’t any thinking about food after I make the plan. The kids have 4 bins in the kitchen pantry with apples, bananas, Bobs Red Mill granola Bars, and mixed nuts packets that they can pick from for snacks. It’s easy, and simple.

Separate Work and Family Time

Since we can’t leave our work at the office in the evening, and we work from early morning until night, Brandon and I often end up discussing work all day and night. We were finding that the kids would get increasingly needy the more distracted we were. So, the best change we have made in the last two years is to make a conscious effort to make family time only about our family. We put our computers and phones aside when we are with our kids, we really listen to them, we look them in the eye, we communicate with them, and we spend time doing fun things with them. We let them know that we are interested in what they have to say and what they are interested in. This in turn really helps when it is time for us to work. The kids are more willing to play and let us put our full attention on our work. They know that during my work hours I need to concentrate, but they also know that I will be ready to play and have fun later without being distracted by work during their time. Before, I would spend the entire day working while also parenting through it. I was only half engaged in my work and half engaged with the kids. Now, when it’s work time, it gets 100% of my attention, and during family time, the kids get 100% of my time. I think the saying “you can’t do it all” should be changed to “you can do it all...just not at the same time.” 

The Golden Nuggets of Advice

And my last bits of advice are my favorites - to delegate and to use technology to make your life easier. I order our groceries for the week, and I have them delivered on Sunday. We have the absolute best helpers (Hi Morgan, Mason, Sara, and Leah!) who work for us on our farm. I use Amazon’s Subscribe and Save to have the products we use regularly delivered on a schedule. Alexa barks reminders through the house all day long so that I don’t forget anything, I have our Roomba on a set schedule so that he keeps our home vacuumed, and I have all of the kids’ video games and our tv’s on smart plugs so they can only play and watch them for a little bit each day without me having to monitor them. I’m sure some of these aren’t for everyone, but these are the things that really help by giving us back time. In fact, I believe that we get more back in time and money by using these services than we would by not using them. 

What other tips and suggestions do you all have?