Dinner Commences
Notes from a mother’s ongoing adventure in feeding everyone and finding somewhere to sit.
I cook for nine people.
That seems like a reasonable place to begin, because eventually, no matter what else happens in this house, someone is going to ask what’s for dinner.
There could be an argument in progress, a mountain of laundry awaiting attention, or a garage that appears to have established its own government. Someone will still open the refrigerator, stare into it, and announce that there is nothing to eat.
Usually while standing directly in front of food.
Welcome to Dinner Commences.
I’m Nichole: a mother, wife, writer, designer, homeschool parent, and frequent participant in conversations that begin with someone calling my name from another room.
My husband, Patrick, and I have two daughters. Killiana, usually called Killi, is thirteen. Keelyn is six and has earned the title of the Wild Card through a sustained commitment to keeping us guessing.
We currently share a home with my mother, Erica; my stepdad, Greg; and my sister’s three children: Evin, Kaida, and Zane.
That makes nine people, ranging from a six-year-old with urgent requests to play to adults who would occasionally like to finish a thought.
The five kids have largely grown up together. We’ve shared households before, so when we came back under one roof, I thought we had a fairly good idea of what to expect.
I had overlooked the fact that the children had leveled up.
We now have teens and a young adult with opinions, schedules, appetites, and very specific ideas about personal space. Keelyn mostly wants someone to play with her. The rest of us are trying to work out how everyone fits.
People still need meals. Clothes still need washing. Schoolwork still needs attention. The garage, meanwhile, waits patiently for us to return.
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So do its spiders, although I suspect their patience comes from believing they own the place.
This is the season of life I’m writing from.
It’s crowded. Sometimes it’s frustrating. It’s also full of moments I want to remember: the things the kids say, the dinners that work, the outings we almost don’t take, and the laughter that interrupts an otherwise exhausting afternoon.
I wanted somewhere to put those moments before they disappeared into the next load of laundry.
I also happen to love fantasy.
Give me dragons, unfamiliar kingdoms, complicated alliances, and a heroine who would really appreciate five uninterrupted minutes to understand what is happening.
That last part feels familiar.
Fantasy has given me a language for finding a little humor in ordinary life. Sometimes cleaning the garage feels like reclaiming occupied territory. Sometimes getting everyone into the car requires the coordination of a traveling party. Sometimes dinner is simply dinner, and I’m pleased that everyone ate it.
Here, you’ll find family journal entries, kitchen adventures, homeschool moments, occasional outings, and reflections from inside a mind that rarely goes quiet. There will be illustrations inspired by our real photos, too — a slightly more whimsical way to preserve the scenes unfolding around us.
Some entries will be funny. Others will be more personal. I want room for both, because a difficult day can still contain something worth laughing about, and a happy family memory can happen in the middle of a complicated season.
The people in these stories are people I love. I’ll share our adventures while keeping some parts of our lives to ourselves. Everyone deserves a little privacy, even in a house where finding a quiet corner takes strategy.
I don’t have a flawless household system to teach you. I’m still figuring out what works for us, often while someone asks where their shoes are.
What I do have is a full house, a running internal commentary, and the growing suspicion that I should be writing some of this down.
So, pull up a chair.
You may need to move a laundry basket first.
Dinner commences.
