Hi!I'm Kirby Hoberg. I'm from Dallas, Texas, spent almost a decade in the SF Bay Area, and just passed two years in the Twin Cities of Minnesota! I've been married to my husband Matt for 8 years this summer and we are raising 3 kids (almost 7, 4.5, and 1.5). I'm a second generation homeschooler, and I pursue my own acting/dancing/singing by night. I write at Under Thy Roof where I talk about Catholicism, womanhood, parenting, and the performing arts.
1. Cradle Catholic, Convert or Revert?
Cradle Catholic but my mom converted when I was about 2, so I was raised with convert fever.
2. Tell us how you met your hubby.
Online! Back in the day, catholicsingles.com was free for college aged people. I went to an all women college, and he had just moved to the Bay Area for grad school. Without the internet, I'm not sure our paths would have crossed!
3. On your IG profile, you mention you're fixing up an 1875 farmhouse (#ameliahillhouse). Walk us through the lead up to that and the present situation with 3 little ones under foot.
When we found this house, it had not been lived in for a good few years. The owner was a much older woman who had been living out in California recently. The information on the deed said the house dated from 1901. It needed a lot of work (new electric, insulation improvements, a kitchen and downstairs bath remodel) but it was cheap enough to be possible. My husband found a letter in the house from the family of the original owners. That gave me enough information to history sleuth the house. I've found it on old maps as far back as 1873, but it was likely built during the Civil War years - making more specific dating difficult to impossible.
We had a small fire in the kitchen electric box this winter due to a melting ice dam, but being out of the house led me to accidentally meet the great-granddaughter of the original builder! She's 90 years old, and we go to the same Y. Through her I'm learning a lot about the original family and the evolution of the house. Hopefully we'll also have many decades to enjoy this beautiful farmhouse!
4. You homeschool, could you tell us what a typical homeschool day looks like for your family?
This year I just have a 1st grader, preschooler, and tag along toddler. We get most of our sit down schooling done during toddler naps. We use Mother of Divine Grace to provide the structure, and I've thoroughly enjoyed their read aloud booklists and the emphasis on the good, true, and beautiful. I include a lot of nature time, exploration, experimentation, and movement in our day. The kids take ballet lessons starting at 3 or 4 years old, and I include that as part of our schooling.
5. You are also a performing artist, can you tell us how you balance life as working artist and motherhood?
It is a challenge! It is difficult to be in a field that likes to pretend everyone is perpetually single and has no lives off stage.
When I'm in an auditioning season (which is most of the time), the challenge is keeping up morale. The performing arts involve a LOT of rejection.
When I'm in production, the challenge is keeping up energy! It is hard to be scheduled for rehearsals until 10:30pm and then get up with the kids in the morning. I've had to be serious about making myself take a midday rest. My non-nappers know the selection of things they can choose to do from when the toddler goes down at noon-something to 2pm. Unless someone is bleeding, they are self sufficient.
6.What skill do you struggle with the most?
Realistic calls on my limits. There are many tasks and situations that I CAN handle, however I struggle to remember to ask if I should. I don't HAVE to run all the things or bring every project idea to fruition.
7. What are some things you avoid, as a family or otherwise?
Wasting time on things that aren't working. I'm allowed to quit reading a book if it can't grab me by page 50. I can re-evaluate using a something in our homeschool that is just resulting in frustration. Adaptability to the realities of my life today is more important than checking boxes.
8. What book(s) are you currently reading (for yourself and to your kids)?
Well I like to read many books at once, so currently: The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis, Something Other Than God by Jennifer Fulwiler, the fourth Harry Potter, A Landscape with Dragons by Michael O'Brian, and I just finished The Seven Story Mountain by Thomas Merton.
The kids and I loving the Mitchell Family books (Canadian Summer, Friendly Gables, etc.) Probably our favorite read alouds this year, up there with All-of-a-Kind Family.
9. What's your favorite product?
Toe tape, my Ergo baby carrier, and my crockpot are what make my daily life possible.
10. Who inspires you?
So many people on a daily basis! I'm one of those people who loves social media because I love to see other people doing well. I love to know how you did that thing you're proud of, and to see what is possible. Even if I'm not good at that thing at all, I'm jazzed by other's beautiful!
THANK YOU KIRBY!!
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