::Families of 7 or more::

[Oakblossoms]

Anyone want to chat about random issues? I will start:D

 

What are your favorite board/card games? My kids like to play crazy 8's. We even have a Habba cat version for the little kids. They like Risk a lot, as well. I just picked up rummikub for .50 at the thrift store. So we will give that a try soon.

[Tenaj]

I picked up Sequence for Kids at the homeschool conference this year so my littles are enjoying that. The middles like the regular sequence and the "Ten Days in. . . " games. For larger groups we usually go back to the old standby of Uno and Skipbo. Settlers of Catan and Killer Bunnies are the most popular among the teens.

[blondeviolin]

I come from a big family that loves games! Pit, Phase 10, Phase 10 Twist, Encore, Scattegories, Catan (have to have the expansion, but lots of fun!), MadGab, The Game of Things...

 

There are more, but that's all I can name without looking in my game closet.

[NancyNellen]

Killer Bunnies is a favorite here!

[jentancalann]

Some of us like Farkle. Others of us think their mom is a cheater! I played yesterday with ds11 and dd7. Ds11 was winning the whole time, and sooo cocky about it, till mom came from behind and beat his tail. I told them it was just luck, that I couldn't roll a 1500 again- till I tried, and promptly did. They were both crying by the end. I'm fun like that.:D

[jentancalann]

Dutch Blitz, Pit, Phase 10, Spoons, and Sorry are all favorites over here as well. :-)

[wendybird]

Settlers of Catan, card games like Magic and Pokemon, Apples to Apples is a fave, Harry Potter Scene It,Madgab, Farkle, Boggle, and Guess Who. I have never heard of Killer Bunnies, I am going to look that up. I love thrift store games! If I ever find a Settlers or epansion at a thrift store it will be a dream. I did find a bin of Pokemon and Yugioh cards at the local store last week for a nickle a piece and snagged a ton.

[paceofnature]

Our faves have been Apples to Apples, Uno, and a recent thrift store find ~ Harry Potter Trivia :D

[GAPeachie]

:001_huh:

 

The Quiet Game?????

 

:lol:;)

[2squared]

:001_huh:

 

The Quiet Game?????

 

:lol:;)

 

This sounds like a fab game! My favorite game is when we try to see how long everyone can be quiet at the same time. We usually play this in the van, and it's a heavenly minute or two. :001_smile:

 

Any other random chat out there? I would love to randomly chat with other moms of larger families.

[2squared]

Apples-to-Apples Jr is a huge hit here, both for our family and for the kids who come over to play.

[anneofalamo]

Mom to 7 (from 4 to 16) here, and we do a version of the quiet game my dad would do, with a little chant:

 

Quakers meeting has begun,

no more laughing no more fun

if you show your teeth or tongue

you will have to pay a

forfeit!

 

This is really a fun way to finish dinner! We wind up in hysterics at the table!

 

Charades with partners and Pictionary (we mixed a pictionary jr. game in for littles) is another fun evening.

 

Yatzee is a good one, but we pair up again and use more dice or it gets boring to quick.

Dominos and matching game, along with different versions of speed with cards can go for hours.

Cootie bug with dice is very fun too!

 

Random chat? What is a favorite meal to serve your brood, and how do you get everyone to the table, do you buffet, or serve?

Edited September 20, 2012 by anneofalamo

[wapiti]

:001_huh:

 

The Quiet Game?????

 

:lol:;)

:lol:

 

Yes. In the car.

[mom2scouts]

:001_huh:

 

The Quiet Game?????

 

:lol:;)

 

:lol::lol::lol::lol:Somebody in our family will yell, "Hey, let's play the Quiet Game and I'll get to enjoy a few short minutes, errrr seconds, of quiet."

[Amber in SJ]

Card games?

 

Poo has been a big hit. Fluxx was so-so, but I think we might try it again. Crazy-Old-Fish-War was huge this summer.

 

Amber in SJ

[Tenaj]

Mom to 7 (from 4 to 16) here, and we do a version of the quiet game my dad would do, with a little chant:

 

Quakers meeting has begun,

no more laughing no more fun

if you show your teeth or tongue

you will have to pay a

forfeit!

 

This is really a fun way to finish dinner! We wind up in hysterics at the table!

 

Charades with partners and Pictionary (we mixed a pictionary jr. game in for littles) is another fun evening.

 

Yatzee is a good one, but we pair up again and use more dice or it gets boring to quick.

Dominos and matching game, along with different versions of speed with cards can go for hours.

Cootie bug with dice is very fun too!

 

Random chat? What is a favorite meal to serve your brood, and how do you get everyone to the table, do you buffet, or serve?

 

Our chant is a bit different - from my family:

Quaker's meeting has begun,

no laughing, talking, or chewing gum,

if you should dare to crack a smile,

you have to walk a hundred mile

 

 

Favorite meal around here lately is homemade pizza - always served buffet style on pizza night because we usually watch something on Netflix while we're eating that night.

 

Other favs: hamburgers on the grill, baked potato soup, macaroni and cheese. I have a bunch of picky eaters (how does that happen in a large family?) and these are the meals that please everyone.

 

We usually serve sit-down around the table if it's just us but when we add anyone in as guests we always do a buffet because it's just too much passing. I thought my f-i-l was going to have heart failure the first time I served T-giving as a buffet because his family is very much the formal - Dad carves the turkey - type. My poor f-i-l has had to learn some new traditions with our brood. In my dh's family we've counted three or four generations back where there were only two children, one boy and one girl and the girl either never married or married later in life with no children so that side of the family is rather small :) When we were married I told my new in-laws that it was my goal to shake up that statistic a bit :)

[mommy5]

Uno Roboto is a favorite here ...

[Excelsior! Academy]

9 children, ages 1-15

 

Hmm...favorite games? We rotate between chess, checkers and mancala as our favorites. They are all two player games, but we have these really big chess and checkers pieces that are fun to watch. Even the younger children are pretty good at all three.

 

My favorite for them to play is Twister Moves. We break it out on bad weather days. I came across 8 mats at Goodwill, so now we have 10 or 12. We throw them out across both of our living rooms. They are exhausted by the time it is over and starts to get hard. Then they will play quietly or at least settle for a movie.

 

Meals...we try to make plates ahead of time. It just seems easier that way. When we do buffet style the older children usually make their plate plus one more. I usually double my plate and then separate it at the table. It is easier than balancing two.

 

Random chat...how do you do coops or outside class days? We just started a class day one day a week. I am tired!

 

Also how do you rotate through wii?

[GAPeachie]

This sounds like a fab game! My favorite game is when we try to see how long everyone can be quiet at the same time. We usually play this in the van, and it's a heavenly minute or two. :001_smile:

 

Any other random chat out there? I would love to randomly chat with other moms of larger families.

 

:lol:

 

Yes. In the car.

 

:lol::lol::lol::lol:Somebody in our family will yell, "Hey, let's play the Quiet Game and I'll get to enjoy a few short minutes, errrr seconds, of quiet."

 

Yeah, it is a REALLY short time here too.

 

Since I have a pile o' littles and my DH is currently not home for dinner I line up plates from oldest to youngest on the counter and dish it out.

 

We do NOT attend a co-op, though I do plan to look around a little harder once we get a second car (commuter for DH.)

[wendybird]

Meals: I line the plates up and dish them. Brian isn't home to eat with us so it is usually rather casual. Some of our favorites are haluski(cabbage and noodles), lasagna, soup...lol...basically food. We all really enjoy food. Actually, every single one of us would probably pick sushi as our fave, but we don't get to indulge very often due to $$$.

Co-op: We are not in a group or co-op anymore and I am so glad. I totally miss the friendship oppurtunities I thought would be there, but honestly they never materialized and it was never worth it.

The quiet game: The bigger kids went6 hours without talking one time. It was very, very odd. They are stubborn beasties and probably would have gone longer had Gavin not fallen asleep and then woke up and asked what time it was, having forgotten the game.

[Murphy101]

Catan, poker, Blink, heroclix...we have tons....

 

Meals...

My current favorite thing to do is print off a couple new recipes to try each week. See I actually DO the stuff on Pinterest, so that justifies my being up nursing at 1am and looking through it.:tongue_smilie:

 

So far we are loving oriental food. Hibachi soup, spicy thai noodle, and sweet and sour chicken. Oh and carb/gluten free bread!!! Yummy!

 

Wii: weekends and holidays only. Mostly team games, so they want/need to play with others. They self regulate mostly okay these days. A refreshing change from many years previous. Not sure why.

[Oakblossoms]

We eat in the kitchen. I try to dirty as little as possible. We usually dish up at the stove and toss it towards the person closest to the table:D. My kids love all things Mexican. We do wet burritos where you make them and then pour hot enchilada sauce or salsa over the top. Chili, stirfy, veggie burgers are pretty routine. They all like pasta and sauce, but I think the last time I was pregnant just did pasta in for me. I always throw up pasta when pregnant:tongue_smilie: they love breakfast, too. Sometimes we just eat a really big breakfasts lunchy type meal and then snack later at night. Daddy isn't here for dinner, so no worries.

 

I find they eat better if I dish up for them.

 

How many loads of laundry did you ladies do today? I did 5 today because I was catching up after camping, plus I wanted my sheets down. After bath for my two youngest I realize the master hamper was full again. That is two loads all by itself:lol:

[Oakblossoms]

And, last month the favorite food was the fresh spring rolls. They are a little strange to get used to. But, my kids totally loved them. I made 12 at a time and wrapped them in plastic. I made a cilantro peanut sauce to dip them in. Kids are surprising some times. I would Have eaten that as a child. I didn't even know what cilantro was:001_huh:

[besroma]

We love fresh spring rolls, but I have not made them in so long.

 

We make quesadillas with beans often.

 

I loved playing Spoons when I was younger, but I had totally forgotten about the game. I am so glad to be reminded of it so that I can teach my children.

 

We enjoy putting large puzzles together, and playing Uno, War, and Double Solitaire.

[lotsofpumpkins]

How many loads of laundry did you ladies do today? I did 5 today because I was catching up after camping, plus I wanted my sheets down. After bath for my two youngest I realize the master hamper was full again. That is two loads all by itself:lol:

 

Well, I haven't done any laundry yet today, but yesterday I did 3 or 4 loads. Once I kept track, and we do about 15 loads per week for 8 people.

[2squared]

We are 7 people who average about 2 loads of laundry/day, not including bedding. I wash everything every day otherwise it is impossible to get caught up.

 

My meals have evolved to putting the components on the table and letting everyone figure out their favorite combination. For tacos, I put tortillas, tortilla chips, meat, refried beans, sour cream, cheese, taco sauce, etc on the table and everyone figures out how to eat it. Most people make a dip of some sort and eat it with the chips.

 

I do the same mix & match with pasta -- noodles, red sauce, ground beef, chicken, white sauce & pesto.

[Murphy101]

Ug. Counting loads of laundry would just be depressing. Like counting how many hours of sleep missed or diapers changed. I just do what needs done and try not to think about the numbers. :)

[jentancalann]

Usually about two loads of laundry a day. I stopped sorting a long time ago, and now when I take the clothes out of the dryer I quickly sort by person. It makes folding seem to go by faster when I can knock out all of one person's really fast. I also have a dresser in my room that holds the youngest three's clothes. I love getting 5 out of 7 people's clothes put up in one room!

[anneofalamo]

laundry used to be insane, and we hit upon something that works for us, and maybe it might be a help to ya'll:

 

Each bedroom has a basket and their day to have laundry done.

Mon-the littles (boys 4, 5 and 7) two loads boys sort, boys reboot to dryer and carry to room. They match socks and talk to mom as she folds and hands pile of shirts to go into drawer and pants to drawer. Underwear is stacked and put away.

Tues-Teen boys (14-16)

They each have a basket, and do their own, sometimes one or two loads.

Wed-Hubby's and mine

Usually two loads

Thurs-Twin girls (13) two loads, and they do their own

Fri-bedding first in first out! lol

Sat-towels and misc

Sun - not one load! ♥

The key to this is having enough socks and underwear to get thru a week! It really is a huge help and makes folding so much easier to fold in the room the clothes belong in!

 

Food: We do a cafeteria style, they hold plate, I slap food on and then they head to dining room! No thank you portions are always placed in small amounts to try.

 

What about clean up for meals? Do you rotate chores or keep them the same for a while?

 

Do you have an extra fridge or freezer? How often do you shop?

[Excelsior! Academy]

Spoons? The only way I have played this was as a drinking game. I can't even figure out how you would do it otherwise. Someone enlighten me.

 

We try to keep the chores the same. We are currently revamping after a year of staying the same.

 

Extra freezer, but we NEED an extra refrigerator just for eggs, meats, and condiments. We shop every two weeks, period. In between we make do or do without.

 

 

New question...How much milk do you go through a week? We go through a gallon or two every two weeks, but are not milk drinkers.

Edited September 21, 2012 by Excelsior! Academy

[Murphy101]

6 gallons of milk a week here. If I don't bake much. With 2 boys needing driven about town in opposite directions before 7:30 am every day of the week, I finally called defeat on making breakfast every morning and started cold cereal for breakfast.

[VeritasMama]

I do two laundry loads a day. My kids share rooms, so we only have one dresser in each room to save space, I hang up their pants and shirts and the dresser drawers are for underwear, socks and pjs. Each child has a different color hanger, so when I take the clothes out of the dryer I put them into piles for each person and then hang them up in the closet in our laundry room. I put them away sometimes, but I'm working on having the kids put them away themselves. I throw all the underwear in a laundry basket, and the kids grab it themselves and put it away. I try to pair the socks right there at the dryer to and put them in a sock basket, and then have the kids collect their own sock and put them away as well. Each child has a different brand/ color of socks, so they can pick out their socks easily. I do fold the pjs and put them in piles for the children to put away as well. Of course, I am speaking about the oldest four, the youngest two aren't able to do any of this yet.

 

Even with this new "system," I still end up with one or two perpetually filled laundry baskets with clothes sitting in my bedroom that I just haven't had time to get to, usually they are my own clothes or my husbands :tongue_smilie:.

 

We have an extra freezer, but it is pretty empty right now. I was hoping we could buy some meat from a local farmer this fall before prices really go up, but we'll see if we can get the money together. We used to buy a side of beef from our in laws who ranch and put it in the freezer every year, but we moved too far away for that now.

[Murphy101]

I shop once a week for milk and fresh produce.

 

Twice a week for anything I can't buy in once a month bulk. I buy meats in bulk every other month, unless something I can't normally get, like turkey, whole roasting hens, lamb...

 

We have a huge freezer and a second small refrigerator in the garage. Tho the second frig is usually full of dh's home brew.

[Oakblossoms]

I do the same mix & match with pasta -- noodles, red sauce, ground beef, chicken, white sauce & pesto.

 

I often do that with Mexican stuff or salad stuff. But, I never thought of doing it with pasta. I am adding pasta bar to our menu for next month.

[Oakblossoms]

Our house is a little strange. It is multi-generational. My parents and grandma are upstairs. We are downstairs. We have our kitchen and all. But, we technically only have two bedrooms. The master is huge though but it has the only closet to hang clothes. I have a place to hang clothes in the laundry room. The older three have their own color hanger. I have one dresser in my room for some of the little ones clothes and my stuff. Everything else is in the closet. I need to move a new dresser in here and strap it to the wall. My youngest scales everything.

 

We drink almond milk. I think we go through 3-4 cartons a week. So, maybe a 1 1/2 to 2 gallons a week. I try not to think about it. I just wish they sold it by the gallon.

 

Tell us about the spoons people.

[Mom-2-7]

We do 2 loads of laundry per day, not counting linens and towels. The kids each have a chore that they must do before breakfast. One of those chores is always laundry. They gather up all the clothes, sort it to the best of their ability and get the first load going.

 

Each kid has a small white basket. When the laundry comes out, I sort the clothes into each person's basket. Then they fold and put their own clothes away.

 

We go through about 5 gallons of milk per week. I don't let anyone have glasses of milk so it's mostly just for cereal. If I could get rid of the expensive and very unhealthy cereal, our milk usage would be almost nothing.

 

So, here's my question: What do you do for breakfast?

[lotsofpumpkins]

laundry used to be insane, and we hit upon something that works for us, and maybe it might be a help to ya'll:

 

Each bedroom has a basket and their day to have laundry done.

Mon-the littles (boys 4, 5 and 7) two loads boys sort, boys reboot to dryer and carry to room. They match socks and talk to mom as she folds and hands pile of shirts to go into drawer and pants to drawer. Underwear is stacked and put away.

Tues-Teen boys (14-16)

They each have a basket, and do their own, sometimes one or two loads.

Wed-Hubby's and mine

Usually two loads

Thurs-Twin girls (13) two loads, and they do their own

Fri-bedding first in first out! lol

Sat-towels and misc

Sun - not one load! ♥

The key to this is having enough socks and underwear to get thru a week! It really is a huge help and makes folding so much easier to fold in the room the clothes belong in!

 

Food: We do a cafeteria style, they hold plate, I slap food on and then they head to dining room! No thank you portions are always placed in small amounts to try.

 

What about clean up for meals? Do you rotate chores or keep them the same for a while?

 

Do you have an extra fridge or freezer? How often do you shop?

 

 

Thanks for the laundry tips! I don't know that I'd be real good about sticking to a schedule like that though. We do have a policy that once the dc reach 10 years old they do their own. So, I have 1 child doing her own laundry now! Next year my oldest ds will turn 10, so he'll get his own hamper at that point.

 

As for your other questions:

We rotate chores weekly. The "kitchen helper" helps me cook, set the table, clear the table, load the dishwasher, and clean the counters. The older the child, the more help they are, but everyone (except the toddler) has a turn. The other chores that rotate weekly are: clean up living room and hallway, clean up playroom and mudroom, wipe off bathroom counters, and sweep the kitchen and dining area. (I don't have the kitchen helper do the sweeping too because they've already had to do quite a bit!). Wiping the bathroom counters is the easiest job, so whoever has that one has to go help a sibling after the counters are clean. Basically, if they finish their chore and a sibling is still trying to get the playroom cleaned up, for example, they have to go help.

 

We have an upright deep freeze. We live in a rural area where there's lots of gardening and hunting. Dh is a pastor, so people bring us food pretty frequently.

 

We grocery shop once per week. We try to get everything we'll need for the whole week because it's 25 miles each way to the store; there is a small grocery store about 7 miles away but it's more expensive.

Edited September 21, 2012 by lotsofpumpkins

[Murphy101]

Chores are assigned at start of each school year and or before I have a baby. Because laundry and dishes have become such bears, those have 3 people each and they decide whose turn it is. I don't care as long as it's done. Everyone usually has one "heavy" chore and 2 "light" chores. Most are done right after breakfast. Then general maintenance stuff before other meals and bedtime.

[jentancalann]

Spoons? The only way I have played this was as a drinking game. I can't even figure out how you would do it otherwise. Someone enlighten me.

 

We try to keep the chores the same. We are currently revamping after a year of staying the same.

 

Extra freezer, but we NEED an extra refrigerator just for eggs, meats, and condiments. We shop every two weeks, period. In between we make do or do without.

 

 

New question...How much milk do you go through a week? We go through a gallon or two every two weeks, but are not milk drinkers.

 

It's just for fun- three cards of one kind, two of another. whoever doesn't get the spoon once someone goes for one is the loser. I think it works cause we are all super competitive.

 

Milk- about two or three, but we eat a lot of cereal. I'm trying to change that.

Edited September 21, 2012 by jentancalann

[Oakblossoms]

Breakfast...

 

We are late risers. I have a bunch of options. Cold cereal, oatmeal, muffins, pancakes, waffles, frozen hash browns, baked beans, toast, smoothies. Sometimes breakfast is quick. Other days we draw it out for at least an hour. I love having a long drawn out breakfast that flows into school work. I am not a morning person so it just makes everything feel good.

[Murphy101]

Our mornings m thru f are nuts. I'm in the road for 2 hours before the school buses even come around to pick up the neighborhood kids. I just had to accept that the breakfasts we have made for years aren't practical right now. So cold cereal it is. :(

 

However our preferred breakfast standbys are:

 

Dragon eyes (an egg surrounded by bacon baked for about 10 min in muffin cups)

 

Cold oatmeal (yogurt and oatmeal set in the frig over night) topped with choice of fruits and granola

 

Banana sundaes (bananas topped with yogurt and granola, maybe choc chips and whip cream if I'm feeling decadent)

 

Pancakes

 

Frenchtoast

 

Peanutbutter banana burritos

 

Bagels

 

Oatmeal, banana, apple spice, or pumpkin muffins

[anneofalamo]

we are cereal peeps (kids)

I eat a power bar (clifs etc) and fruit and steel cut oatmeal (make a ton in rice cooker at beginning of week) yUmmY!!!

sometimes they (kids) are inspired to make omelets or egg burritos

yogurt and fruit or cheese sticks are popular here too.

 

We go thru 4-5 gallons of milk a week, and I have to regulate my teen boys, as they would have chugging contests daily!

 

I love that idea of assigning chores with the beginning of school year!

We too have an upright freezer and have been blessed so much with Elk and Venison and 39cent bread sales! lol

 

WE had an extra fridge long ago, and it was mainly for milk and the industrial mayo, ranch, pickles and other condiments. I am not sure I want to go that route again.

 

This is something we have tried and failed miserably, perhaps ya'll have some insight? one kid teaming up with a younger for the day, week, month? To be the helper for them....seems to be a torment for all involved. Any success stories at this???????

[2squared]

I am slowly realizing that either I need to get up earlier or I need to spend less time making breakfast. In our breakfast rotation:

 

pancakes with various toppings (syrup, mixed berries, applesauce, sweetened sour cream)

french toast - regular and sticks with various toppings (syrup, mixed berries, cream cheese)

muffins - apple struedle, pumpkin, banana chocolate chip, blueberry, poppyseed

eggs - omelettes, scrambled w/cheese, crepes

egg bake

baked oatmeal

granola - bars & cereal

yogurt - w/granola or w/mixed berries

fruit

 

We go through 4-5 gallons of milk/week.

 

I try not to cook breakfast on the weekend. They have cereal or pop tarts or something equally unhealthy.

[besroma]

We go through six gallons of milk in a week.

 

We eat pancakes, oatmeal, grits and eggs for breakfast. I occasionally make French toast, but rarely make waffles.

 

We have cereal occasionally for mid-morning snacks, but not for breakfast. If they do, they are hungry again in an hour.

 

When the post said, "Tell me about spoons," I was going to reply that we don't have as many spoons as we do forks and knives. :tongue_smilie: I think the spoons are off somewhere with the extra socks!

[anneofalamo]

yes yes yes to the spoons, I buy them all the time, because the kid scrap out the end of their cereal in the morning and bam....drop the spoon in garbage.....never to be seen again!

[razorbackmama]

We go through about 5-6 gallons of milk per week. I don't drink it (blech), and my 12yo is allergic.

 

For breakfast it's every man for himself. Someone fixes the 2yo and 5yo's breakfast, but everyone else has to fix his/her own. My oldest usually makes himself eggs. My 2nd is Mr. Cereal. We joke that when he's on his own the only food in the house will be cereal and milk, and his only dishes will be bowls and spoons. The other kids eat more of a variety - bagels, frozen waffles, frozen french toast sticks, sometimes cereal, toast, smoothies, oatmeal every once in a blue moon.

[Mommy to monkeys]

:001_huh:

 

The Quiet Game?????

 

:lol:;)

 

Oh my gosh! That is my FAVORITE game! I LOVE games, but it's really challenging to play with so many little ones.

[Mommy to monkeys]

7 people- 6 kids and me. Much laundry. Atleast 2 loads a day.

 

We like puzzles. =) You can quit and come back to them when a 2 year old isn't spraying the kitchen down with Pam or a 4 year old dumping out the caterpillar (droppings and all) or the babies aren't crawling and getting stuck under the couch.:D

 

We do lots of soups. Love the crockpot. . .and the electric fry pan. Would die without these appliances.

 

Breakfast is simple: cereal with fruit or yogurt or a granola bar, while I feed babies (and drink coffee)

 

HAVE to go grocery shopping weekly. One big kid pushes double stroller with babies. Other big kid pushes cart with 2 year old. I hold the hand of the very wiggly 4 year old. If I go more than a week, I have to take a second cart and then putting everything home when I get home is depressing.

 

It will be easier when they get older, right?;)

[Oakblossoms]

Is everyday the same for your family? Are you scheduled or fly by the seat of your pants?

[Tammi K]

My kids love SET. Even the young ones (5ish and up) could play - sometimes better than the adults. Another game my kids love is a Ravensburger game called Greif Zu. It's a game intended for little ones (roll a die find a token that matches) but even the big kids got into the act. Unfortunately, sometimes the big kids got so involved the little kids would run in fear.