Menu Plan Monday & Chaos Schedule on the Farm

On the farm, everybody works

One of my dearest friends I "met" online at a time when I was struggling to find a way to "get it all done."  Amy is younger than me, has more children than I, and way more critters - and it was from her that I have learned a lot about how to manage life and a large family on the farm.



Summer is an absolutely crazy time for us and with this incredible heatwave, our schedule is even more wild than usual.  With early mornings a necessity (to beat the heat) and late nights seeming to have become the norm, I have had to implement stricter schedules than usual.  I have yet to have a day where I have actually stuck to them even close to 100%, but they do work as a good guideline to keep me on track especially as it seems that every day holds a surprise (I believe some call these "divine appointments" - and that's truly how we try to see them) that gets my day off schedule in a hurry.

Chaos Schedule

My daily schedule is very packed with farm tasks.  After morning and evening chores, meal preparation & eating, (very) basic home maintenance, and allotting for 6-7 hours of sleep a night, I find that I have roughly 3 hours of the day left for what I term "projects."  Here are how my "project days" shake out:

Sunday:  The Lord's Day.  
We try to do minimal chores, and maximize praising, worshiping and fellowshiping in the Lord!

Monday:  Home Blessing Day
Because I pretty much take Sunday "off," the house is in dire need of my attention on Monday.  The house gets tidied, bathrooms and bedrooms get special attention, and the common areas get attention.  I also try to catch up on piled up laundry on Mondays.

Tuesday:  Garden Catch Up Day
On this day I use my "project time" to catch up on weeding our multitude of poorly laid out gardens.  We have 2 large gardens, 3 medium sized gardens, a tomato bed with 20 plants, a strawberry bed, and 2 herb beds.  Unfortunately, those gardens are spread out all over an area of about 6 acres!  The gardens get watered once or twice a day in this heatwave and we will do a bit of weeding here and there, but Tuesday is my day to really focus on the gardens.

Wednesday:  Farm Blessing Day
As you might guess, this day is similar to our Home Blessing Day - only for the farm.  While all the animals get their water tubs filled as needed, on Wednesdays the horses in training and the 3 pens of chickens get their water tubs dumped, scrubbed, and refilled.  Any pens that need extra attention (aside from their daily manure pick up) get that attention on Mondays, as does the one stationary chicken house we have.  We have recently discovered a marvelous way to wash the milk cow, and at least during the summer, she'll get her bath on Wednesdays as well.  We also tidy up the odds and ends that get left out throughout the week and I tend bees on this day as well.

Thursday: Laundry and Food Prep Day
This is the day that often gets hijacked for other needed work because the tasks can be squeezed in on any day if need be.  Ideally, laundry is not just caught up, but ironing is done as well.  As we use the clothesline to dry clothes every chance we get, there are often a few pieces in every load that require ironing.  Also, it's a blessing to have some meals stashed away in the freezer or prepared ahead (like chicken salad for sandwiches, etc..).

Friday: Town Day
This is the day that I run into town for groceries, animal feed, and any other errands I have.  Here lately I have very much enjoyed the time in the air conditioned car and air conditioned stores!

Saturday:  Odds & Ends and Family Day
Saturday we work on those projects that have fallen through the cracks - or that we need more than one adult for.  We also try to put a bit of time aside on Saturday to do something (in addition to work) as a family.

Menu Plan

I plan my menu around what my work day looks like, here is what it looks like this week:

Sunday
Breakfast:
Fruit & yogurt

Lunch: 
Sandwiches & fruit

Dinner:
Crackers, cheese & fruit


Monday
Breakfast:
Sausage Breakfast Burritos & Fruit

Lunch:
Egg Salad Sandwiches

Dinner:
Jo Mama's World Famous Spaghetti
Fried Potatoes
Garden Salad


Tuesday
Breakfast:  
Blueberry Pancakes

Lunch:
Grilled Chicken Salad

Dinner:
Crock Pot Chuck Roast w/ Roast Veggies
Tomato, Mozarella & Basil Salad
French Bread


Wednesday
Breakfast:
Roast Beef Hash (leftover roast, potatoes, eggs, and herbs in a cast iron skillet)

Lunch:
Copycat Chik Fil-A Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Fruit

Dinner:
Pork Chops (Grilling a couple of extra for tomorrow's breakfast)
Brown Rice (making extra for Thursday's lunch)
Green Beans w Bacon


Thursday
Breakfast:
Leftover Pork Chops
Eggs
Biscuits

Lunch:
Fried Rice

Dinner (potluck with The Cowboy's class):
Hamburgers w/fixins (including Jowl Bacon - YUM!)
Salads brought by clients


Friday
Breakfast:
Hot Cereal with Raisins

Lunch:
Mandarin Chicken Pasta Salad

Dinner:
Leftover burgers (patties made the night before)
Cucumber Salad


Saturday
Breakast:
Overnight Blueberry French Toast

Lunch:
Leftover Pasta Salad

Dinner:
Slow Cooker Carnitas
Cabbage Salsa
Mexican Rice


What's on your menu plan this week?

*******************************************************************

Shared on:
Homemade Mondays
Organized Junkie's Menu Plan Monday
Homestead Barn Hop
Maple Hill Hop
Tuesdays with a Twist
Backyard Farming Connection