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9/25/12
9/17/12
Large Family Ramblings
Hey, guess what? We have a large family. There is even one website that defines us a a "Mega-family"! Isn't that a hoot!?
I guess when our last two kids joined our family and we had to sell my beloved Toyota Sienna and buy the big, ugly van (aka Monstro), I figured we had crossed over. But. like anything, you get used to it and it becomes normal. The only time we feel large is when we are all traipsing through the supermarket or Walmart. People do tend to stare.
People are fascinated, and will often ask how we do things. We do have to do things a little differently than smaller families. For example, counting is a huge part of my parenting day. I never, ever, ever start the car until I've counted heads. I'm totally paranoid of leaving someone behind! When we're out at a park, I count constantly 1 - 7 (or 1 - 8 if my grand daughter is with us).
Spontaneity doesn't really happen anymore. It takes too much preparation! Seriously - "Hey mom! Lets have lunch at the park" is followed by roughly an hour of making and packing lunch for 9 or 10 people plus water and wipes.
Extracurricular activities are on a rotation basis. Right now we have 2 in baseball. Three more are in a running club. This is the first time we've done more than one sport at a time. We'll see how it works out.
Screen time is severely limited. Each child gets 30 minutes of video game time. Siblings are not allowed to watch each other. I've been accused of being a control freak over this. But when you stop to think that if each watches the other play games, that's 3 1/2 hours of staring at a computer/tv screen each day. Then, they want to watch a movie on top of that.
We've actually been asked by El Pollo Loco to call ahead with our order. Ha! We now go to KFC instead.
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Laundry must be done every day. Usually 2 loads. Unless there are towels and bedding. Then there are more.
I insist the kids pick up after themselves. If each person left one toy on the floor, I would be tripping over them constantly. Legos really hurt too!
Only one cup per person, per day. As it is, we wash one load in the dishwasher every day. Sometimes it's more depending on what we've been cooking.
Organization is key though. Some of my friends laugh and call me OCD because of the way we live. But without the schedules and routines, chaos would reign in my home. Okay, it still does. But to a lesser extent.
Sometimes I look at friends who have fewer kids and I wonder if my kids are missing out. My friends can easily go on trips or buy cool things for their kids. My kids do look with longing on those things that their friends have.
But in the end, the stuff will end up broken and discarded or at a yard sale. The really valuable things are the relationships they have with each other. One day the kids will realize that too. We are richer by far than almost anyone else I know!
I guess when our last two kids joined our family and we had to sell my beloved Toyota Sienna and buy the big, ugly van (aka Monstro), I figured we had crossed over. But. like anything, you get used to it and it becomes normal. The only time we feel large is when we are all traipsing through the supermarket or Walmart. People do tend to stare.
People are fascinated, and will often ask how we do things. We do have to do things a little differently than smaller families. For example, counting is a huge part of my parenting day. I never, ever, ever start the car until I've counted heads. I'm totally paranoid of leaving someone behind! When we're out at a park, I count constantly 1 - 7 (or 1 - 8 if my grand daughter is with us).
Spontaneity doesn't really happen anymore. It takes too much preparation! Seriously - "Hey mom! Lets have lunch at the park" is followed by roughly an hour of making and packing lunch for 9 or 10 people plus water and wipes.
Extracurricular activities are on a rotation basis. Right now we have 2 in baseball. Three more are in a running club. This is the first time we've done more than one sport at a time. We'll see how it works out.
Screen time is severely limited. Each child gets 30 minutes of video game time. Siblings are not allowed to watch each other. I've been accused of being a control freak over this. But when you stop to think that if each watches the other play games, that's 3 1/2 hours of staring at a computer/tv screen each day. Then, they want to watch a movie on top of that.
We've actually been asked by El Pollo Loco to call ahead with our order. Ha! We now go to KFC instead.
.jpg)
Laundry must be done every day. Usually 2 loads. Unless there are towels and bedding. Then there are more.
I insist the kids pick up after themselves. If each person left one toy on the floor, I would be tripping over them constantly. Legos really hurt too!
Only one cup per person, per day. As it is, we wash one load in the dishwasher every day. Sometimes it's more depending on what we've been cooking.
Organization is key though. Some of my friends laugh and call me OCD because of the way we live. But without the schedules and routines, chaos would reign in my home. Okay, it still does. But to a lesser extent.
Sometimes I look at friends who have fewer kids and I wonder if my kids are missing out. My friends can easily go on trips or buy cool things for their kids. My kids do look with longing on those things that their friends have.
But in the end, the stuff will end up broken and discarded or at a yard sale. The really valuable things are the relationships they have with each other. One day the kids will realize that too. We are richer by far than almost anyone else I know!
9/3/12
Oregon Nature
Here are a few of the nature pictures that I took on our vacation.
Technically, these all weren't taken in Oregon. The clouds were taken on the drive. Somewhere in Utah probably.
The pink flower and the plums were taken at my parents house in Idaho. So many beautiful things!
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I cannot remember the name of this place. We hung out here while the boys (adults) went on a quad adventure. We hiked down a trail and couldn't find any place worth looking at so we went back to the car to wait. I wandered off and found this place. It was so much more beautiful than the pictures show.
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This little guy is a bat. We stopped at a convenience store on our way home and he was hanging out behind the garbage can right outside the main door! I wanted so much to take him home!
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One Thousand Gifts (111 - 120)
111. Ladybug, who jumped up from the show she was watching and ran over to give me a hug and kiss. :)
112. Coming out of a very long and very dry spiritual place. I feel alive again!
113. My son's birth mother. Her selfless act 10 years ago has brought so much joy to our lives.
114. Taking my kids out for ice cream.
115. My kids, who are so comfortable with each other.
116. My husband who treats me like a queen.
117. Books. I love to read.
118. Freshly mowed grass. It looks and smells so nice.
119. No school tomorrow!
120. Total silence.
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