# Moms of Many August support thread



## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

July thread

MoM GD thread

Life here is so quiet I'm almost- almost, please note- not aware that I have children. This is partly because one is asleep, one is outside playing and the third is upstairs playing on the computer, of course, and is a complete contrast to the spectacle we presented in ASDA this morning. Still, who am I to complain? Hostilities will probably resume at 3pm, or whenever the little one wakes up.


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## User101 (Mar 3, 2002)

Subbing. Thanks for linking to the GD thread!


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## Kidzaplenty (Jun 17, 2006)

I'm here!









Today I have a very SMALL family! I ONLY have THREE!







My oldest is in Mexico on a mission trip, and my two other daughters are with Grandma. So that leaves me with my three boys. And boy! My house seems so empty!


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## mommajb (Mar 4, 2005)

I'm here and still agitated by the chaos and noise levels.









We went to visit a friend that had moved yesterday. She also has 4 children and everyone gets along though they are all different ages. Other than wanting to see her my main motivation was the car ride during which everyone would be safely and securely restrained in individual seats. I am not sure how it will work when I have 3 across the back of the van very shortly here.


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## phathui5 (Jan 8, 2002)

Today was my first outing with all four kids. I was very grouchy this morning and little things were bugging the crap out of me. When I realized I was about to lose it over ice cream bowls from yesterday being left outside, I decided we needed to leave the house (it's harder to yell at them in public). We went to the weekly AP playgroup. I hadn't been planning to go anywhere yet, but we had to get out, for their sakes.

We got home around one and I put on The Wizard of Oz. So the big two are watching that, the baby is sleeping and ds2 is walking around the house.


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## ~*max*~ (Dec 23, 2002)

Subbing. I was not very active in last month's thread, but I tried to follow along when I could. I hope to join you all more this round.

I was talking to an older woman (grandmotherly) at the beach yesterday. She was asking about my 4 kids, then she told me she had 7 kids. I responded w/"You had 7 kids?! That is so great." And we went on to talk some more about the joys of big families. Later it hit me that this was the first time I had ever had a really positive discussion w/anyone IRL about big families. Most people respond to my four w/the better you than me type comments. How sad is that? I am glad we have these threads to chat & support each other.


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## BabyBugsMom (Jun 10, 2005)

I've been on MDC for some time, but haven't been posting at all regularly. But I belong on this thread!


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## hippiemum21580 (Jul 14, 2007)

Hello all! I am teh mama of 4 boys plus 6 days a week I babysit full time for an infant and a three year old. The controlled chaos I don't mind. The more teh merrier and i love it......USUALLY. The last few nights have been hell with my youngest going through what appears to be colic. Being a single mum on practically NO sleep (7 hours in the past three days combined) really makes my outlook poor. Been feeling pretty frazzled and down on myself and my own capabilities to pull this off. Don't we all have days like that, though?


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## GinaRae (Mar 27, 2007)

Subbing


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Tonia, I think your bad day has transferred itself over here. We've all (except dh) been up since 5am, and I have another 11 hours before bedtime tonight. (Kids bedtime, not mine.) Hopefully, I can get a nap at some point







:


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## momuveight2B (Mar 17, 2006)

Giving birth to #8 in the next few weeks.

We have been very busy all summer. Today I am taking the three youngest to the hospital for the sibling baby care class. Then we are going shopping at ToysRUs so they can buy their new brother a present. They are excited about it.

My oldest is 27, then 17, 15, 14, 10 year old twins and a four year old.


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## hippiemum21580 (Jul 14, 2007)

Helen, hope you got that nap!!!!
Best of luck to you momuveight2b! Thats so cool your younger ones are so active in preperations of the newest arrival!


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## caricandothis (May 24, 2006)

Hey all! I saw the thread last month but never got around to posting to it...I'll try better this month!









I guess I'll do an intro although you can pretty much see it all in my sig, lol. I'm Cari, 28, SAHM to Alex 12, Emily 8, Cailyn *almost* 4, and Matthew 10 months. Some days I feel like I've got a "big" family, some days I don't, lol. I myself come from a fam of 4 kids (I've got 3 brothers) and my Mom was one of 10 so "big" families run...well, in the family, I guess, lol. My dh is only one of 2 so he thinks 4 is a HUGE family.









Anyway, looking forward to getting to know all of you and your families!


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## golfmom1233 (Aug 2, 2007)

Thanks for the link to GD


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## rmzbm (Jul 8, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *momuveight2B* 
Giving birth to #8 in the next few weeks.

How wonderful!







Congrats!


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## Kidzaplenty (Jun 17, 2006)

Momuveight2B, Congratulations on number eight!







That is a lovely number!

Welcome to all the new faces here.







This is getting to be a really good tribe!









I am having a birthday today for my number 5! He is SEVEN today!







:

It is almost as bad as when my oldest turned 17 a few months ago! (But not quite!)







Of course, her getting her permit recently also made me nuts!







Where does the time go with them?







:


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## phathui5 (Jan 8, 2002)

Anyone else having fun on the new Duggar thread?


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## TripMom (Aug 26, 2005)

OK - DH took DS1 and one of the boy triplets with him to visit his brother this weekend. I have been home alone with the 2 other triplets -- it has been like a vacation!

I can't believe how easy it is with just 2. My kids play nicely - much less fighting, crying - my house stays clean - they nap longer - everything is so much more mellow . . . . yesterday I - get this - laid on the couch and watched a movie while they napped? I didn't have to run around cleaning the whole time, or cooking dinner - it was all done!

We miss DH and the others . . . . but this weekend has been a good battery recharge!


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

There's a new Duggar thread? I don't keep up with them much...

I didn't get my nap, but it's good practice for me. I'd forgotten how -erm, much fun- non-sleeping toddlers could be









Welcome to momuv82be (sp?) and caricandothis!


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## GinaRae (Mar 27, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Kidzaplenty* 
I am having a birthday today for my number 5! He is SEVEN today!

My baby turned 6 on Saturday! I cannot believe it. But there's another baby baking to take the "baby" slot.


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## GinaRae (Mar 27, 2007)

I wouldn't know where to look for the new Duggar thread...


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## Kidzaplenty (Jun 17, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *GinaRae* 
I wouldn't know where to look for the new Duggar thread...

Well, I am guessing this is the one, as I don't know of any other. But beware! It is ONLY 17 PAGES long and ONLY has over 500 posts!









Michelle Duggar has 17th Child


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

I wouldn't bother, ladies. Page one has lots of dizzy smileys, page 33 (the last one as of the time of my post) is about racism at BJU or somewhere







:

Which does, however, raise an interesting question. I was told by a mother of nine (big age gaps- there's twenty-odd years between the oldest and youngest) that she tries to actively discourage her toddler from visiting and playing with his older siblings when they come home after school because they've been working hard all day and she doesn't want them to feel responsible for him. Am I out of line for not actively directing Skye more at this time? Generally, she does what she feels like doing just like she does the rest of the day







: Sometimes it's with me, sometimes it's with her brothers or grandad, sometimes it's by herself. Problem?


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## ~*max*~ (Dec 23, 2002)

Flapjack, I don't see it as a problem at all. My "little ones" miss the "big ones" when they are at school. They all seem happy to see each other when they come home. I wouldn't put the older kids in charge of the little ones, or anything like that, but I think it is nice if they want to play together, talk about their day, share a snack, etc. My kids are all close in age though - 7,6,3, and 1 so perhaps that makes a difference.


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## AngelBee (Sep 8, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *phathui5* 
Anyone else having fun on the new Duggar thread?

A blast







:


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## User101 (Mar 3, 2002)

Please remember not to link to or negatively reference other threads. /mod hat off


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## momuveight2B (Mar 17, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *flapjack* 
Generally, she does what she feels like doing just like she does the rest of the day







: Sometimes it's with me, sometimes it's with her brothers or grandad, sometimes it's by herself. Problem?

My four year old does what she wants most of the day. I am so bad I don't even make her clean up after herself. I used to be a lot better about this but as I have gotten older I guess I am lazy. She does have minor chores like feeding the fish and I do try to get some homeschool and reading in with her each day but it is not really scheduled. She is a super easy child though who can stay busy for hours playing games that she has made up. She likes to play with her sibs too or go places with other kids. She just seems to do fine without a lot of structure. Some of my other kids couldn't have done this at her age.


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## party_of_seven (May 10, 2004)

I wanted to join all of you. I subbed to the last thread but never posted. Baby #5 just joined our family 2 weeks ago. Everyone seems to be adjusting quite well. My dds are just smitten with their new little sister. My boys are more into making sure that *I* am taken care of(they are big mama's boys







: )

I sure can't complain!


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## Kidzaplenty (Jun 17, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *AngelBee* 
A blast







:

It really is, isn't it?


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## Kidzaplenty (Jun 17, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *party_of_seven* 
I wanted to join all of you. I subbed to the last thread but never posted. Baby #5 just joined our family 2 weeks ago. Everyone seems to be adjusting quite well. My dds are just smitten with their new little sister. My boys are more into making sure that *I* am taken care of(they are big mama's boys







: )

I sure can't complain!

Congratulations on your newest baby!







Take a big whiff for me! They smell SO SWEET at that age. Nothing else seems to smell so sweet.







:


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## prairiemommy (Sep 25, 2003)

Subbing here too. I saw last month's thread but never got a chance to read much or respond as we were on vacation most of the month. So I guess I'm "new" here







Our stats are in my sig.

The only thing hard about doing a 3+ week road trip with many kids is the amount of looks/comments on how we must "be better" people than the rest of society for even attempting it.







: It went well and we had lots of fun otherwise.

The best comment we got was from a good friend of mine who we went to visit: "I'm so glad you guys took the big trip and came out here. It is pretty inspiring too because I have one friend here who freaks out when she has to take her baby on a 1 hour drive. Makes it sound like a huge ordeal...".

Congrats to all the new babies being born. That's the best thing thing about groups of big families - there's always new babies to love!


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## ~*max*~ (Dec 23, 2002)

I've been meaning to ask, what do you all do about birthdays for your kids? We have gotten into the routine of having a family dinner celebration (inviting the grandparents) and a friend party. With 4 kids, and birthdays that are spread out, it seems like I am constantly going nuts organizing parties. Also, since we have 4 in attendance already, that limits the number of kids we can invite (to save my sanity & financially). Any ideas?


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## Kidzaplenty (Jun 17, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *~*max*~* 
I've been meaning to ask, what do you all do about birthdays for your kids? We have gotten into the routine of having a family dinner celebration (inviting the grandparents) and a friend party. With 4 kids, and birthdays that are spread out, it seems like I am constantly going nuts organizing parties. Also, since we have 4 in attendance already, that limits the number of kids we can invite (to save my sanity & financially). Any ideas?

We have 'Birthday Seasons'. Mid-March to Mid-April we have four birthdays and from late October to late November we have four birthdays, with two odds, on in June and one in August.

We do not have big 'invite everyone over' birthdays as they would all be within days or weeks of each other.

So, for our birthdays, we have a family celebrations that routinely includes decorations (but not always), a special cake, and gifts. The Birthday person does not have to do chores that day, they get to pick out their favorite meals for lunch and supper, and they get to pick out a family game or movie for the night. So it kinda lasts all day long.


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## User101 (Mar 3, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Kidzaplenty* 
We have 'Birthday Seasons'. Mid-March to Mid-April we have four birthdays and from late October to late November we have four birthdays, with two odds, on in June and one in August.

That sounds like a great idea!

Birthdays here are fairly low-key. They get a say in dinner, they get the birthday plate, we bake a cake (we also bake cakes for namedays and baptismal anniversaries. There's a whole lotta cake eating going on here, LOL!) and we have a couple presents.

So far, we have only done parties for the first and seventh birthday. Probably we'll do them for the 13th (welcome to the teens!), 16th (sweet 16), and 18th birthdays, too.


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## prairiemommy (Sep 25, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *~*max*~* 
I've been meaning to ask, what do you all do about birthdays for your kids? We have gotten into the routine of having a family dinner celebration (inviting the grandparents) and a friend party. With 4 kids, and birthdays that are spread out, it seems like I am constantly going nuts organizing parties. Also, since we have 4 in attendance already, that limits the number of kids we can invite (to save my sanity & financially). Any ideas?

We alternate the big friends-included birthday celebrations. As you can see in my sig, I have three in Feb and one in May so something has to be done to lighten the Feb load. So the Feb 3 and Feb 28 kids get a party one year and the Feb 10 and May 9 kids get a party the next year. I've also limited big friend-included birthdays for 12 and under so eventually I can phase them out. I think after 12 I'd allow a friend or two to sleep over or go to the movies on the "party" year. But that is purely hypothesis at this point. We'll see what happens when we get there!

On off years, the birthday kid gets to pick the meal and special birthday activity to be done by family only (such as bowling, mini golf, movie, game etc).

I hear you about siblings at the party. Who needs to have friends over, really - we've got our own party in a box!


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Isaac's never had a proper birthday party







His first, I was living in the womans refuge, got the keys to a flat of my own and broke my foot. His second, we all had hand foot and mouth and had to cancel, and all subsequent years I've been too disorganised to get the invitations out before the end of term







This year, we have almost no money for the month but he's desperate for a party, so he has to wait until September.

I feel like a really bad mummy admitting this







:

I don't think Alex is getting a proper birthday party this year, but we are planning on taking the whole family up to Alton Towers for the weekend of the birthdays. I have two within three days, and seven years apart, so this is going to be interesting for a few years.


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## orangefoot (Oct 8, 2004)

Aaargh I had a similarly poor birthday post for you then the baby pressed a key and its gone!

Me and 3 are off to lunch with a friend (and taking food with us so as not to eat her out of house and home!) so I'll re-post it later.


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## AngieB (Oct 25, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *orangefoot* 
Me and 3 are off to lunch with a friend (and taking food with us so as not to eat her out of house and home!) so I'll re-post it later.

This made me think of a question. Do you feel guilty going to friends or families houses for things like BBQ's and parties and bringing all your kids? Everyone else in our family has one or two kids and then we show up with our 4 (who feel like 12) and they seem to take over. I think about all the food they are eating and just the space and attention they are taking up and wondering of others are bothered by it.


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## party_of_seven (May 10, 2004)

It doesn't bother me....if it bothers other people then they just shouldn't invite us. I find that we end up doing a lot of entertaining for this reason though....people would rather my kids mess up my house than theirs. I enjoy myself more at parties at my house anyway because I'm more relaxed about the kids.

As far at b-day parties go I'm really going to be in a fix next year. The new baby was born in July, and we already had 2 other children born in July. Its going to be chaos next year.

Normally we have a special dinner and the birthday child gets to pick an activity. Most of them usually want to go to Chuck E. Cheese which works really well. Our extended family usually wants to join us and everyone just buys their own pizza. The kids get to have a great time and there isn't a big mess to clean up.


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## mommajb (Mar 4, 2005)

I do think about the food issue but also the "take over the place issue".

My mil actually asked us not to come visit this spring when others did so that she could visit with them and not be so consumed by the children wanting her attention. I totally understood, we didn't go but we also haven't rescheduled yet. (It is over 11 hours by car w/o stops.)

Funny thing is everyone else (DH's sister and brother) both came here son after to visit with us and talk about how w/o us there they were really put to work.









As to food, I usually bring some with when we go somewhere. I intend to share it with everyone, others do the same. In my circle it seems most families have 4 so it isn't such a big deal. It does however mean that having 2 other moms over for a morning off of the usual or what ever can mean quite the houseful.

In re-reading this it seems my friends understand but my family is another can of worms.


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## GinaRae (Mar 27, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *~*max*~* 
Flapjack, I don't see it as a problem at all. My "little ones" miss the "big ones" when they are at school. They all seem happy to see each other when they come home. I wouldn't put the older kids in charge of the little ones, or anything like that, but I think it is nice if they want to play together, talk about their day, share a snack, etc. My kids are all close in age though - 7,6,3, and 1 so perhaps that makes a difference.


I completely agree. If your kids start to feel overwhelmed or annoyed, I would step in. But I have a feeling it will be a joy for everyone when the older boys get home after the new baby is born and hits the toddler years, etc.


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## GinaRae (Mar 27, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *AngieB* 
This made me think of a question. Do you feel guilty going to friends or families houses for things like BBQ's and parties and bringing all your kids? Everyone else in our family has one or two kids and then we show up with our 4 (who feel like 12) and they seem to take over. I think about all the food they are eating and just the space and attention they are taking up and wondering of others are bothered by it.

I don't worry so much about the space and attention. I do worry about the food and if they're getting rowdy. I try to bring something to share or otherwise pay people back with generosity.

I do feel like hubby's family makes us feel like a bit of a burden when we invite THEM over to celebrate birthdays. The three boys weren't born here, we moved here, and now we're having #4. I feel like (and maybe I am wrong) they find it a burden to now have to celebrate and attend things for so many more kids.


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## User101 (Mar 3, 2002)

It's funny, because I don't feel that way at church functions or when friends have us over, but I am starting to feel that way around family, like my crew is taking more than their fair share of attention.


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## GinaRae (Mar 27, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *party_of_seven* 
As far at b-day parties go I'm really going to be in a fix next year. The new baby was born in July, and we already had 2 other children born in July. Its going to be chaos next year.

This goes along with my last post. I have the hubster's b-day in June, a son in July and two more in August. It's a big cluster of birthdays.

His mom has been telling him she's too poor, but when I told her just grab a card and $10 for each, she didn't listen and instead she gets them $25 gift cards and sometimes a small gift more. Actually, she gets her biological grandchild more, the others just get the gift card







:

Now we're having one in late Nov/early Dec and she's made it CLEAR that's too close to Christmas. SO sorry I didn't plan better for her







:

I mean, she only has 365 days to plan the next birthday and if she is going to get $25 gift cards, she can plan ahead. I would rather she act like a loving GRANDMA over gifts any day!!!!! But that's not in the cards







:


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## Kidzaplenty (Jun 17, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *AngieB* 
This made me think of a question. Do you feel guilty going to friends or families houses for things like BBQ's and parties and bringing all your kids? Everyone else in our family has one or two kids and then we show up with our 4 (who feel like 12) and they seem to take over. I think about all the food they are eating and just the space and attention they are taking up and wondering of others are bothered by it.

I don't worry about the food. But then again I usually bring our own food to contribute. And I usually make it something I am sure my children will eat because at times they will not have something that is child friendly. And when we do bring food, I always bring enough to fee us and more, so they can never say we ate all their food.







When we go to church pot lucks, I usually make two large casserole dishes of something and it is usually the first things gone.









I do feel the space issue when it is in small area, like when my Mom insisted that we all come to her place for a Christmas party.







: She had a small one bedroom apartment. And of course it was freezing rain outside, so I would not be able to send the children out for a while. AND she invited my three brothers with their combined six children, my uncle, and her friend.

Talk about us taking up space! I tried to warn her that it was not a good idea to have the party there, but she insisted. So we just planned to stay a very short time. If there is outside space, I don't even usually think about it because my children love outside.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *GinaRae* 
I would rather she act like a loving GRANDMA over gifts any day!!!!! But that's not in the cards







:

This is what I can not bet my Mom or my MIL to understand. Sure children love gifts, but simple dollar store gifts or something hand made, even a candy bar would be just as good as something that costs a lot. AND if they would just be the 'Fuzzy Loving Grandmas' that are all warm and cozy like a snuggly bear and smell like fresh baked apple pies and always had a warm smile and soft heart, that is all the children really want.

What they usually get is a lecture on everything Mom and Dad are not teaching them right, a comment or two (or three) on how expensive it is to buy them gifts and how many grandchildren they have to buy for and how much of their money is having to go to us because we have such a large family, and how much they are not learning because they are homeschooled.







:


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## Jessica17 (Aug 7, 2007)

I guess this would be my first post on mothering.com ever, and I have to say, I love this site! You guys are so cool. There's not many people around me that really live the way we do, with a bigger family or with naturalistic ideas of life. Everything is so about machines and fast-paced lifestyles, we kind of get left in the dust a lot.

Okay, now that my goofy philosophy is over, I just wanted to say that going with your discussion, my four boys are born fairly close together as well, and I also feel kind of strange when we're all at those gatherings. Luckily I'm blessed with a church that has a lot of large families in it, so that's never a problem. My family is pretty cool about it, too. The birthday thing is annoying because a lot of times people just forget when they are but remember my brother's kids or other kids in the family. I've got one in Feb, number 5 due for homebirth in Feb, two the last two days of April, and one in June.

My mom did decide to do something different this year though. She picked kind of a median date between all of them and took them all to spend the weekend at her house and ordered pizza and other things. I told them that was their birthday present and they loved it. Us too, because it was our first date in like 4 years.

Glad to meet you! I hope I make a lot of friends here!


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## mommajb (Mar 4, 2005)

Welcome, Jessica17! Always nice to meet another mdc momma.









We are in Indiana also.


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## momuveight2B (Mar 17, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Kidzaplenty* 
So, for our birthdays, we have a family celebrations that routinely includes decorations (but not always), a special cake, and gifts. The Birthday person does not have to do chores that day, they get to pick out their favorite meals for lunch and supper, and they get to pick out a family game or movie for the night. So it kinda lasts all day long.

OK, I never get around to the decorations but I used to. The birthday person is usually a star for the day and they get to plan the day's events/meals within reason. We are having a birthday today and since he wanted a new bike he is at the store with Dad picking out his bike, some Pokeman cards, the cake and ice cream. After lunch he wants to go bowling so we will do that. We don't even buy the themed partyware anymore but use whatever I have on hand.

Well he is home from the store and very, very happy to have done his own birthday shopping. I had two for him to open, a set of new clothes and a set of legos, bought on clearance of course.

Family does small gifts but because they are out of town it doesn't always come at the same time. One grandpa always sends a $1 for every year of age and they love this.

We have done big parties and those are fun too. We have rented movie theaters, swimming pools, gone to the park, roller skating ect. My budget tends to stay the same though and they know if they want a big party like that then they will get less expensive gifts from me.

We have done days at Disneyland too and then they pick out their own present while they are there.

We have just been really fortunate that we can spoil our kids. Other than birthdays and Christmas though they rarely get anything new. The rest of the year things are handmedowns or garage sale finds.


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## Kidzaplenty (Jun 17, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *momuveight2B* 
Other than birthdays and Christmas though they rarely get anything new. The rest of the year things are handmedowns or garage sale finds.

That's us.

My children even consider garage sale and thrift store finds 'new' and are just as pleased, so I am grateful for that. And that I have not had one that has ever been 'into' fashions or something so that they just HAD to have a certain name brand. I figure, they can buy their own when they have their own money.









When we go garage saling, the moment we come home (because we usually just have a Mommy & Daddy day that day) we are converged upon to find out what we brought!







It is such a funny sight!


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## momuveight2B (Mar 17, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Kidzaplenty* 
My children even consider garage sale and thrift store finds 'new' and are just as pleased, so I am grateful for that. !


My kids too. They love to go to garage sales and if they didn't get to go that day then they are very eager to see what all we've found. When it comes time to spend their own money they would much rather garage sale where it really goes a long way then go to a store.

People always ask how we can afford our kids and honestly it is because we shop this way. My kids are always decked out in mall name brands from stores we have never been inside of. They have tons of cool toys too.


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## GinaRae (Mar 27, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Kidzaplenty* 
What they usually get is a lecture on everything Mom and Dad are not teaching them right, a comment or two (or three) on how expensive it is to buy them gifts and how many grandchildren they have to buy for and how much of their money is having to go to us because we have such a large family, and how much they are not learning because they are homeschooled.







:

My MIL sticks around only long enough to make some not-so-nice comments, eat, shower the dog with attention, and leave. Luckily the kids usually get sick of her and just go outside to play while she's here.

My mom insists on sending money in the mail and while that's nice, it would be nice to see her hand-pick something small and send it. But at least (around her moods) she's nice and loving and grandma-ish to the boys when she is able to visit.


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## GinaRae (Mar 27, 2007)

The boys keep dirty clothes in a small pile on the floor of their closet in a basket. Today I found out my six year old has (at least twice) peed on the dirty clothes. I was floored. WHY?!









I thought only kids with anger or mental issues did something like that and he has neither. He was so innocently telling me that he figured he could go there because it would dry. He even gave me tips on doing the laundry without getting wet!

Apparently he was just being too lazy to leave his room where he was happily playing. And this is the "clean" kid who hates baby spit and other fluids and is horrified if he wets the bed.









My 9 year old had told me a week or so, when I asked him to gather their dirties, that the clothes were wet with pee and though it didn't make sense, we thought of the dog or cats. It didn't smell like animal though, but never did I think one of my kids!

I just cannot tell you how this disturbs me and how, in 12 years of parenting and parenting a child who actually has a mental disorder... I cannot tell you how this was nowhere on my parenting radar and I was nearly speechless. I mean, what do you say to this child?

Oy!! Boys kill me.


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

GinaRae. It sounds like you did a phenomenal job on keeping your temper in the face of extreme adversity- I'm not sure I could have done as well. At least he gave a reason why he did it, and didn't whine "I don't knowwwwww" at you, like two small gentlemen sitting fairly close to me would have done...


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## AngieB (Oct 25, 2003)

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, boys!!!

My ds went through a stage where he wouldn't flush the toilet. Finally one day I got mad and wanted to know why he wouldn't flush. He told me that if he didn't flush or wipe then he didn't have to wash his hands.














: . Where do they come up with this stuff?

I would say that almost daily I hear myself saying things to my ds that never in my wildest nightmares did I think I would ever say.


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## orangefoot (Oct 8, 2004)

Having a penis just makes it so easy to wee anywhere doesn't it?









I'm sorry to laugh; I do feel your pain. Why do they do this stuff? I have no idea but laziness is at least an honest response from him.

My ds once mistook the washing basket for the toilet when he got up in the night to wee and that was an unpleasant surprise when I sorted the washing next day but at least he was in the bathroom!


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

: Penises.







: I have a 20mo dd who is showing every sign of readiness for PL except one: she refuses to wee sitting down, because her brothers do it standing up







:







:







: I have to say, I'm fairly jealous myself.


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## AngelBee (Sep 8, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *flapjack* 







: Penises.







: I have a 20mo dd who is showing every sign of readiness for PL except one: she refuses to wee sitting down, because her brothers do it standing up







:







:







: I have to say, I'm fairly jealous myself.

Oh no!


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## AngelBee (Sep 8, 2004)

Maybe you could get her a funnel


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## User101 (Mar 3, 2002)

You all will appreciate this. I slung Daniel and took Katie Grace with me yardsaling thing morning and got two bags of size 6 clothes for $6. It's going to mostly be her winter wardrobe. I also got her a beautiful Easter dress for $1. It won't fit her for a couple years, but that's OK, as it is sleeveless and Easter is in March this year. Oh, and a Hanna Anderson turtleneck that the boys will be able to wear after her for fifty cents. I got another bag of stuff for Michael for $1, but it's a mix of church and school clothes. I always feel very blessed when I find deals like this.

I found tons of baby clothes too, but I mostly didn't buy them. Daniel is still wearing clothes from Michael, since they don't really wear them out, and breastmilk doesn't stain. I did grab one of two little things though, because it's always nice to have something new (to me) for a change.

Poor Nicholas rarely ends up getting clothes. He's the second boy, so most of Michael's stuff still works for him. He did get a car and a book though.


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## User101 (Mar 3, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *AngelBee* 
Maybe you could get her a funnel


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## GinaRae (Mar 27, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *flapjack* 
It sounds like you did a phenomenal job on keeping your temper in the face of extreme adversity- I'm not sure I could have done as well. At least he gave a reason why he did it, and didn't whine "I don't knowwwwww" at you, like two small gentlemen sitting fairly close to me would have done...

I can't say that I didn't lose my temper!







But I guess it wasn't bad either. I think it was because I was speechless and this is the baby. He tends to get the most of my patience, even though I don't like to say it. I have more patience for the young ones, but once they hit age 7 or so, look out!

Oh and for an excuse, I did ask him a few times WHY and he stood there and said, "I'm thinking of something, just a minute." He knows we HATE the "I don't knoooooowwww" we usually get from the boys.


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## GinaRae (Mar 27, 2007)

I do love those yard sales! $1 Easter dress is GREAT! I found a pair of 2T jammies I left behind, but will probably go back to get Monday.

I went out today and hit a thrift store, consignment shop and yard sales. The consignments here are pretty expensive, so I wasn't sure I would find much, but at the two stores, everything I picked up was 50% to 75% off (to my surprise), so several baby sleepers, a pair of boy's shorts and a shirt were just 50-75 cents a piece.

I got one of those stand-up kickboxing bags for the boys and my hubby for $1 because the family at the yard sale couldn't get rid of the thing and offered it to me for $1.

I also got a $200 BRU cradle for $20. It had been through 2-3 kids, but was well taken care of. As much as I like new things, I know that after several years, this cradle won't be all chemically and yucky. The pad may need replacing, I haven't looked as close to that yet.

I just need somewhere to lay baby down when s/he isn't in a sling or can't be in arms, but refuse to buy something expensive or get a crib as our babies are always with me. So $20 works for me!

Now let's see if I use it or if it ends up being a catch all for baby stuff


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## mclisa (Jul 26, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *flapjack* 







: Penises.







: I have a 20mo dd who is showing every sign of readiness for PL except one: she refuses to wee sitting down, because her brothers do it standing up







:







:







: I have to say, I'm fairly jealous myself.

Maybe you could let her sit on the potty facing backwards? So she's looking at the tank just at the boys do?

That is just a thought if the the funnel thing doesn't pan out for her. I think that is how female astronauts pee. Except it's hooked up to a vacuum.


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## momuveight2B (Mar 17, 2006)

Do any of you Freecycle? There are groups all over the country hosted through Yahoo but you can put Freecycle into your search engine to find your local group.

You post things you want to give away and others do the same. All sorts of things get posted and it is a great way to declutter the house and pass things on. I have never recieved much but that is only because we are already overflowing with most of what we need.


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## GinaRae (Mar 27, 2007)

I am getting an older model Brother sewing machine this Friday from Freecycle (hope it works well!!) and when we moved from NY to CA we gave away 99% of what we owned to Freecycle members.

It's amazing how fast stuff accrues, because we had gotten rid of SO much before the move and yet even when we got here I found more we could live without and since have gotten rid of several things in the past 16 months... lots of plus size clothes, kids clothes and shoes, kids winter jackets, sports equipment, kitchen stuff.

Right now my friend and I are conserving our stash to host a yardsale for some extra funds because I am SO POOR right now it's not funny. But normally I just give it all away.


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## Kidzaplenty (Jun 17, 2006)

I freecycle all the time. I love it.









I have gotten two sewing machines as well as dishes and many schooling books from there. I have also passed on tons of stuff that I would just throw away because it was of no more use to me and not worthy of selling. Like homemade VHSs, and chests of drawers with a drawer missing. Someone can always use it in some way or another. Just the other week I passed on a broken crib and the springs from a mattress, just trash to me, but the guy collects scrap metal and then sells the lot to make a bit of extra money for his family. So I did not have to pay for dumping it and he got a good deal.


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## party_of_seven (May 10, 2004)

I used to do freecycle a LOT, but I just don't have time for the emails now. I still belong and post stuff to give away when I have it.

Some of my greatest finds were.....

- a KitchenAid dishwasher with a stainless steel tub. The lady said it was broke and needed a new circuit board. Dh looked it over and found a plastic contact switch that had melted a little and wasn't making contact. He heated it up and straightened it out and it has worked like a champ ever since.....its super quiet too and it looks brandnew.

- My kids have a gigantic play fort from freecycle. (we had to disassemble and move it ourselves).

- Several boxes of canning jars.

- Large collections of books that we have read and passed on.

I have received many other nice things, but that's the really good stuff.


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## AngelBee (Sep 8, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *annettemarie* 
You all will appreciate this. I slung Daniel and took Katie Grace with me yardsaling thing morning and got two bags of size 6 clothes for $6. It's going to mostly be her winter wardrobe. I also got her a beautiful Easter dress for $1. It won't fit her for a couple years, but that's OK, as it is sleeveless and Easter is in March this year. Oh, and a Hanna Anderson turtleneck that the boys will be able to wear after her for fifty cents. I got another bag of stuff for Michael for $1, but it's a mix of church and school clothes. I always feel very blessed when I find deals like this.

I found tons of baby clothes too, but I mostly didn't buy them. Daniel is still wearing clothes from Michael, since they don't really wear them out, and breastmilk doesn't stain. I did grab one of two little things though, because it's always nice to have something new (to me) for a change.

Poor Nicholas rarely ends up getting clothes. He's the second boy, so most of Michael's stuff still works for him. He did get a car and a book though.









I LOVE deals like this!


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## AngelBee (Sep 8, 2004)

I have yet to post to freecycle cuz I am kinda creeped out at people coming to my house.







:

Any advice? Am I just being silly


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## Kidzaplenty (Jun 17, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *AngelBee* 
I have yet to post to freecycle cuz I am kinda creeped out at people coming to my house.







:

Any advice? Am I just being silly









Don't know if you mean just 'to' your house or 'in' your house. When I freecycle, I usually leave it outside the door with a name on it the day of the scheduled pickup. So I rarely see them. When I have gotten something, usually it was done the same way. Though I have not done much lately with us being so busy and moving and all. But it is good for getting rid of things that I don't want to move.


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## GinaRae (Mar 27, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *AngelBee* 
I have yet to post to freecycle cuz I am kinda creeped out at people coming to my house. Any advice? Am I just being silly

Okay, this also seriously freaks me out. So what I usually do is lie. I tell them my husband will be home, but I will just leave the stuff outside on the driveway by the front gate. hehehe

I have major anxiety about this kind of thing and don't really feel safe ever.


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## momuveight2B (Mar 17, 2006)

I have only met the nicest people through Freecycle but we live in a smallish farming town. You could meet in a parking lot of a shopping center and exchange items there.


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## CheapPearls (Aug 7, 2007)

Does 3 count as many? I guess it would since many to me means you have more kids then hands.









I haven't done freecycle but I have done a few exchanges (usually pets) and I've always met the person in a parking lot of a more crowded store, like Petsmart and Walmart. Usually works better then trying to give directions too. It would creep me out a bit having people come to my house.


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## phathui5 (Jan 8, 2002)

We got a nice treadmill from freecycle last week. I've always wanted one. And on that note, here's my question for the MOMs:

*How do you make/find time to exercise? When do you do it? What kind of stuff do you do?*


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## AngelBee (Sep 8, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *phathui5* 

*How do you make/find time to exercise? When do you do it? What kind of stuff do you do?*

I was going to be doing The Firm tapes/DVD's but I am now having severe joint issues and need to do abunch of testing to find out what is going on with my body.....so no exercise really for me.

I am still trying to work in 15 mins or so of stretching everyday.


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## CheapPearls (Aug 7, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *phathui5* 
*How do you make/find time to exercise? When do you do it? What kind of stuff do you do?*

I don't.







Okay, I try to anyway. A few days a week when the boys are taking nap/quiet time, I get in a little bit of yoga. It really helps the back problems I have.

When I can exercise after this baby, Dh plans on really working me out as long as it doesn't effect me being able to BF. He needs to stay in shape anyway (He's in the Army now and going into police force in January) so he wants me to be in shape with him. He knows I'll feel better about myself if I was in better shape.


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## momuveight2B (Mar 17, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *phathui5* 
*How do you make/find time to exercise? When do you do it? What kind of stuff do you do?*


Until I got pregnant I was working at the gym here in town. My older children were in school and I only had my youngest at home in the daytime. Part time preschool is too expensive for us so this gave her an opportunity to play with kids her own age. In exchange for the few times I worked during the month I got a free family membership and a small hourly salary. That allowed all of us to benefit. I would try to go every morning and spend time on the free weights, machines and treadmill or bike and then I would get to take a shower all by myself!

Occassionally we would put the kids in the day care and dh and I would have a workout date. This doesn't happen often enough because he works out at a greater intensity than I do. He also prefers to go at five in the morning. I would really like it if he would do some training with me but haven't been able to convince him.

So once the baby gets here I will start walks in our neighbourhood and then join back at the gym since they are doing a special on September 15. I will most likely only be there thirty minutes at a time in the beginning and that may just be to get a shower.

The other thing I used to do is meet other moms at the school bus stop in the morning and we would all walk afterwards.


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## party_of_seven (May 10, 2004)

I run to keep in shape. I used to use a treadmill that I had here at home, and I would do long runs on the weekend when dh was home...early in the am.

Now that the baby is here I am training for a marathon in January. I am involving all of the kiddos. I put the baby in the jogging stroller, and the rest of the kids either run with me or ride bikes. Again, I save my long runs for the weekend and I plan to leave the baby with dh and some pumped milk. (haven't done a long run yet since baby is only 4 weeks old.)

I find that the excersise really helps me deal with stress well, and itfeels good to do something for ME that is not baby/kid related. I really believe that its invaluable for my children to see me taking good care of myself

Before I picked up running as a hobby I used to do workout videos. It was hard to get started, but the kids learned to respect my time and got used to the idea that they needed to play quietly while I got my workout done.


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## AngieB (Oct 25, 2003)

Oh man, I really need to start exercising again. I was really good about getting back into shape after the first 3 babies but I've done nothing after #4 and she's already 5 months old. Yikes!!







: .


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## Kidzaplenty (Jun 17, 2006)

Exercise? You mean running after six children all day long doesn't count?







:

Actually, I want to start working out, but have not have much time or ways to do it. I do better when I am on a stationary machine than when I walk outside. I like to work out with some movie or show playing on the TV because I forget that I am working out and the time just flies by. If I concentrate on working out, I tend to work out less as the time just stretches out so long.

With my large crew, walking outside is not really do-able, as I would have to round them up, dress them all, get the stroller out, take them with me, take potty breaks, take snacks, and so on.







(And leaving them at home would not really work either).

So working out while watching Stargate or Colombo is my best bet, and I really enjoy that. At our new house we will have the stepper machine in the living room near the TV so I can do it much more often.


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## Jessica17 (Aug 7, 2007)

Reasons why I can't/won't/don't exercise:

1. I have three boys who laugh hysterically at me.

2. Can't deal with questions from the four year old such as "Why are you trying to fly?" while he is laughing at me.

3. A two year old who sits on my head during yoga.

4. I have to stop to: wipe someone's butt, break up a fight, get someone lunch.

5. They want to join me, and I can't quit laughing either.

If I could tie them all down with rope, put on some muzzles, and make them count the cracks in the ceiling as they face OPPOSITE me, then that fat roll might turn into flat bread.

Oh wait, nevermind. Number five is on the INSIDE. I can't win.


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## Kidzaplenty (Jun 17, 2006)

:

I just have to say, I thought I was the only one to have to try and excercise with someone sitting on my head!


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## crittersmom (Mar 24, 2005)

Hi!I think I posted to some of the moms of many threads.We just added a fourth to our family and had to buy a bigger car.Its so funny,neither one of us thought we would be having a big family but the decision was made for us and it was so quick.







I do love the noise and chaos but also really enjoy the rare times when 2 out of 4 are asleep at the same time.Bliss!
What I do for exercise?I'm a walker,I will walk for miles and miles.I usually park far from stores (especially now that I am learning to park The Beast),walk to pick DS from school and if I can get dinner on the table in time I can get out with the dog and one or two kids.I also usually am wearing or carrying someone all day long (and you feel every lb on my kids) so thats gotta count for something.I haven't noticed a change in my size but at least I can carry my kids without complaining of achey arms and back like some of my more svelte friends.







I got real world strength!







:


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## Caroline248 (Nov 22, 2003)

Hello! I think I may have posted before, or at least I was planning on it. I am mom to 5....I think we will add one more and be done though.

My DH and I were just talkingabout how 5 doesn't really seem like many, but people act like we are raising a small village by ourselves.

I would really love to find some other large familes in our area, there are a few, but not many.

Anyone live in PA???


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## AngieB (Oct 25, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Jessica17* 
Reasons why I can't/won't/don't exercise:

1. I have three boys who laugh hysterically at me.

2. Can't deal with questions from the four year old such as "Why are you trying to fly?" while he is laughing at me.

3. A two year old who sits on my head during yoga.

4. I have to stop to: wipe someone's butt, break up a fight, get someone lunch.

5. They want to join me, and I can't quit laughing either.

If I could tie them all down with rope, put on some muzzles, and make them count the cracks in the ceiling as they face OPPOSITE me, then that fat roll might turn into flat bread.










laughup









Yep, that pretty much sums up why I don't exercise!


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## GinaRae (Mar 27, 2007)

I haven't been able to work out since I worked outside the home. If I did join a gym or class, it would be Sundays only probably!


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## phathui5 (Jan 8, 2002)

Caroline,

Depending on where in PA you are, you could come hang with us in MD.


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## AngelBee (Sep 8, 2004)

So right now:

Angelo (2) is playing some horrifying song on the organ while standing naked on the arm off our living room chair.

Abby (5) is asking me to help her with her workbook......after I just freaked out because they are not listening.

Dom (7) randomly walking around....I guess he put a new dipe on Mylee

Mylee (8 months) is whining unless she is pulling out what has already been picked up.

Me.....trying to read to them from online books (THEY chose their curriculum!) They will not listen to me!









I just want to crawl in a hole and sleep......for years.









My body (having major health issues) hurts. I can not walk well and can barely pick up Mylee or Angelo.

And the kids are crazy!









(also posted on Moms of Many GD thread)


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## mysticmomma (Feb 8, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *AngelBee* 

Angelo (2) is playing some horrifying song on the organ while standing naked on the arm off our living room chair.
















: Hope your day gets better.


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## phathui5 (Jan 8, 2002)

Oh my. We have days like that a lot lately, it seems.

BTW- What curriculum did they pick?


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## AngelBee (Sep 8, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *phathui5* 
Oh my. We have days like that a lot lately, it seems.

BTW- What curriculum did they pick?

We are doing Charlotte Mason / www.oldfashionededucation.com mixture....plus a unit study here and there.







:

We also have Math U See, but we have not started them.


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## phathui5 (Jan 8, 2002)

Back to pick your big hulkin' brains.

*What are some tips for making getting out of the house with the mob of them go more smoothly?*


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## AngelBee (Sep 8, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *phathui5* 

*What are some tips for making getting out of the house with the mob of them go more smoothly?*

What we try to do:

1) Line up clothes the night before. Also pack any bags needed for the next day.

2) Have planned out meals/snacks to make leaving easier. (EX: if leaving early, we have muffins for breakfast and travel cups for milk)

3) We have buddies







Dominick is in charge of putting Angelo's shoes and jacket on. He also assists Angelo and Abigail in getting buckled. Abigail gets Mylee's shoes, jacket, and a blanket.

That is all we are doing now. It gets better and better.

We still do not have it fully down.


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## GinaRae (Mar 27, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *AngelBee* 
My body (having major health issues) hurts. I can not walk well and can barely pick up Mylee or Angelo.

Have you been evaluated for Fibromyalgia? I have lots of experience with that. All this stress can trigger the symptoms and it HURTS. Take care of yourself!


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## GinaRae (Mar 27, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *phathui5* 
*What are some tips for making getting out of the house with the mob of them go more smoothly?*

Is there something in particular that's bugging you?

I pack a small cooler with waters and healthy raw food like carrots, apples, etc. that travels easily and keeps for a while so that I am never stuck without foods/drinks.

It's tough if you have a couple that are still in the napping ages. The babe can be in a sling but the older child can't also nap on you.

I guess it depends on where you need to go and why, you know? Is that worth going or can you go with half the kids later when your partner's home. Or if it's really important, can you go when the baby is napping on you... hard to balance, I know.

See if you can get them to hold hands when they're out so they all naturally stick together.

Perhaps a favored toy for each that they're only aloud to play with when you're out.


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## AngelBee (Sep 8, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *GinaRae* 
Have you been evaluated for Fibromyalgia? I have lots of experience with that. All this stress can trigger the symptoms and it HURTS. Take care of yourself!

Right now, it seems to be more joint related. We are leaning more towards Rheumatoid Arthritis (sp?)









I still will ot know for a while. Have an appointment Sept 4? (tues after Labor Day)


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## mclisa (Jul 26, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *phathui5* 
Back to pick your big hulkin' brains.

*What are some tips for making getting out of the house with the mob of them go more smoothly?*

I was just wondering about that myself this weekend. It took us almost an hour to pack up stuff once we decided to get out of the house.

For the girls' actitivies, each one has a bag that contains all that they need for that activity (ex: ballet shoes, tap shoes, leotard, tights, pony tail ring). Then that bag is off limits to play with (ie: is not availalbe as dress up clothes!)


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## Jessica17 (Aug 7, 2007)

Angel Bee, we also use math u see. I went for a different big ol' curriculum this year and tried something new for my oldest who's in fourth now. The company is Winter Promise and I bought the 'Adventures in Sea and Sky.' It's kind of like Five in a Row for older kids, which we used for three years. So far we love it!


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## phathui5 (Jan 8, 2002)

Quote:

3) We have buddies
Oooh, I'm going to send the anti-Duggar patrol to your house.


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## Kidzaplenty (Jun 17, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *phathui5* 
Oooh, I'm going to send the anti-Duggar patrol to your house.









That is funny!

Actually, we loosely use the buddy system, too. I really like the idea of buddies. And it does help when you have more children than you have hands for. We began our system, but with all our upheaval, things have never really gotten going well. But it works out basically that my oldest boy is the buddy for the middle boy, my oldest daughter is buddy for my youngest, and my second daughter is buddy for my third daughter.

Their 'responsibilities' are not very specific at this moment, but I am working on that. However, it is basically, "Everyone, make sure yours and your buddy's dishes are finished." or "Count heads, is everyone and their buddy here?"







I plan to make more detailed responsibilities.

The reason why? Not because I want my children to raise my children. But because it builds a closer bond with each one. And I have a bit of responsibility removed from my shoulders so that I am more capable of being the mother than I need to be for all of them. This also teaches them responsibility, as I think children should learn that early in life. Because being an adult is a lot of responsibility and I think it is better to gradually learn that from babyhood rather than have that thrust upon them suddenly when they turn 18.

My children are actually very close. And I want that. I am not close to my brothers. We never did anything together. They never helped me and I never helped them as children. We always had our own things to do. I want a close family network built into my children from the beginning. And they have that. They fight, of course, but they trust each other and love each other and spend way more time together than I ever did with my brothers.

And I guess I am just not of the thinking that all the work of the house belongs squarely on my shoulders alone. So it works for us.









I know, 'Responsibility' and 'Children' are a bad combination here.







:


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## GinaRae (Mar 27, 2007)

We don't have enough kids the right ages to really use buddies, and if I did, we wouldn't use buddies per say anyway. I think the kids should help out to learn responsibility, empathy, helping, etc.

So the kids (as they do now) would be helping with certain things that I ask like grabbing a diaper, taking clothes out to the washer, helping someone with their shoes, getting a bandaid for a younger one, etc.

But the Duggar buddies thing bugs me. And I am not going to make my kids have to take care of my responsibilities because I am having more kids.. yada yada. They're all my own responsibility. Guess that's why I should stick with the four huh? Hubby SO agrees


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

We sort of do buddies- whoever's closest gets handed Skye's shoes and asked for help to put them on. To be honest, the toddler is my biggest ally in getting people out of the house.
We're on a tight morning schedule- we have an hour to get everyone up, dressed and out of the house for school. Boys have morning baths (bedwetting issues), dressed, breakfast- porridge in the slow cooker for six months of the year, shoes on, lunchboxes out of the fridge and straight out of the door. Skye has breakfast first (messy eater) dressed and out. Lunches get made the night before, breakfast dishes get done by the person who uses them and I do the slow cooker. Oh, and everyone has to be done with the bathroom before my FIL's carer arrives at 8am or so.

I had the coolest moment yesterday- 3 small children strapped in the back seat of a small car, the toddler getting restless and hit her oldest brother on the nose. While I was counting to ten, I heard "ooh, Alex, are you OK? That looked like it really hurt. Skye, Alex is really sad that you hit him and his nose is hurting."








I love my kids sometimes.


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## orangefoot (Oct 8, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *flapjack* 
I had the coolest moment yesterday- 3 small children strapped in the back seat of a small car, the toddler getting restless and hit her oldest brother on the nose. While I was counting to ten, I heard "ooh, Alex, are you OK? That looked like it really hurt. Skye, Alex is really sad that you hit him and his nose is hurting."








I love my kids sometimes.

I'm smiling at that! You must be so proud


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## AngelBee (Sep 8, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *phathui5* 
Oooh, I'm going to send the anti-Duggar patrol to your house.









I....can't......breath....


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## User101 (Mar 3, 2002)

I just finished the best book ever. Seriously, I think it's life changing, and I don't say that easily. It's called A Mother's Rule of Life by Holly Pierlot. She has five kids. It's a little scheduling, a little time management, a lot of spirituality. Very, very helpful.

I've been seriously curtailing my computer time AND I've been trying to go to bed earlier. Which means by the time I get online I feel like all I have time for is mod stuff. Which sort of sucks.


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Annettemarie. That (the lack of 48 usable hours in one day) sucks, but the book sounds like it really hit a chord with you.


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## orangefoot (Oct 8, 2004)

Where is the vomiting smiley? Oh I don't think I couldn't look at it now....

We have caught a bug that is going around and dd2 was the first with sick and runny poo the day before yesterday but yesterday afternoon ds1 was sick at a friend's house and it all went downhill from there. By 3.30am I had dh, ds2 and dd1 all sick at once and only one bathroom.

Dd2 woke up started wandering about because everyone was out of bed and the lights were on so she thought it was time to get up.

It all seemed so ridiculous that I just couldn't stop laughing in between using the fish slice to clean the carpet, stripping beds and going into the garden to get the plastic bowl the children play with in the sand pit. Honestly I have never seen anything like it and I used up my whole stash of terry squares in an hour.

By 5am eveyone was asleep again but they have all continued to be sick and its nearly 3pm. I feel ver queasy but have uised mind over matter to reist the vomiting but I feel terrible.

Any tips on cleaning a hessian doormat?


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

I'd just soak it in the bath with some bicarb overnight and throw it in the washing machine







I'm sorry your family have come down with this bug, and may you get the nurturing you need.


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## orangefoot (Oct 8, 2004)

Thanks Helen. I've been sick now too so its a good thing that ds1 is beginning to recover and has been able to watch the girls while dh and I just lie in bed shivering and sweating. I've ventured downstairs to check the business email and chop some veg for a clear broth and see if anyone wants any.

We have never all been ill like this togther before and its a bit of a shock: I wish my mum was closer to us









I'm back off to bed now but thank you for your kind thoughts

Rachel


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## prairiemommy (Sep 25, 2003)

Not sure if this is the right way to do this but...

Just popping in here to say that a fellow MoM could use our support. momuveight2b had her little one - details here:

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=736091


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Oh no







Anne and Nathaniel


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## User101 (Mar 3, 2002)

Praying for Nathaniel (and Anne and the whole family!)


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## User101 (Mar 3, 2002)

Hilarious ebay link
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=130144061675


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## phathui5 (Jan 8, 2002)

That is funny. What makes it funny is that it describes our grocery shopping trips almost perfectly.


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## JBaxter (May 1, 2005)

Just curious we only have 3 currently but are in the process to foster/adopt at least one more that is if my social worker ever finishes home study







: is that enough for this thread?







:


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## prairiemommy (Sep 25, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *annettemarie* 
Hilarious ebay link
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=130144061675

I saw this in TAO a few days ago and while I think it's hilarious, there's one thing I want to know: how come when I go to the grocery store with my kids, mine are the only ones I *ever* see behaving that way? Everyone has posted that their trips are similar but I never get to see those people at the store. I would love to see another family with crazy kids like mine - we'd be like kindred spirits or something.


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## prairiemommy (Sep 25, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *JBaxter* 
Just curious we only have 3 currently but are in the process to foster/adopt at least one more that is if my social worker ever finishes home study







: is that enough for this thread?







:

Welcome! I hope 4 is enough b/c I've been hanging out here







I hope the paperwork gets finished soon so that you can move forwards - how awesome that you guys are adopting!


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Yeah, I don't even have the fourth yet. OTOH, I do all of my shopping via the internet and organic box schemes, apart from the meat. Occasionally, I feel the need to tell my kids to put their shoes on, I'm taking them to the butchers







: It's amazing how quickly it can calm down one of THOSE days


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## Kidzaplenty (Jun 17, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *prairiemommy* 
I saw this in TAO a few days ago and while I think it's hilarious, there's one thing I want to know: how come when I go to the grocery store with my kids, mine are the only ones I *ever* see behaving that way? Everyone has posted that their trips are similar but I never get to see those people at the store. I would love to see another family with crazy kids like mine - we'd be like kindred spirits or something.









Have you seen the movies, such as "You've Got Mail" and Hanks is knocking at the door, the place is a mess and she is running around cleaning up the mess looking like a lunatic? Like a second before opening the door she flips her hair back, puts her hands on her hip and the tosses the door open like she does not have care in the world and looks to Hanks like she has everything under control.

This is how my shopping experiences go. The kids go NUTS







: down the isles, but as soon as someone appears at the corner they miraculously turn into perfect little children!







So they are there, you just can't catch them in the act!


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## phathui5 (Jan 8, 2002)

flapjack,

What are organic box schemes?


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

You call them CSA boxes, I think. Pay ten (or in our case, twenty) pounds per week and a lovely chap turns up on your doorstep clutching boxes of fresh farm-grown and mostly local organic vegetables. The next week they take away your empties and bring you more vegetables







It makes life a lot easier, even if I do spend four months a year cooking celeriac and red cabbage for every meal


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## JBaxter (May 1, 2005)

Does anyone else here buy through a food co op? My 15yr old is eating me out of house and home so Ive started to buy in bulk. Ive also been finding some great deals on amazon.com for their organic foods.


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## orangefoot (Oct 8, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *flapjack* 
It makes life a lot easier, even if I do spend four months a year cooking celeriac and red cabbage for every meal









What no chard?







We have had to develop a love of that stuff this year as well as ordinary cabbage but we can't get enough of celeriac grated with carrot then mashed with mayo - yum.

We had a box from Coleshill near you for about a year now along with about 20 other people in Abingdon and when the 'root' monotony was getting me down I borrowed the New Covent Garden Soup for All Seasons book from the library and we have a good lot of new favourites from it.

Some other mums at school get the box too so we swap solutions for emptying the box of the wierd stuff every week! This month we've mostly been having trouble eating enough potatoes. I've got 4 paper bags of them in the bottom of the fridge


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## EStraiton (Sep 6, 2005)

Subbing!
Mom to four girls here!
xoxoxo


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## phathui5 (Jan 8, 2002)

Welcome EStraiton!


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Hey, that's weird, our box comes from Coleshill too







I'm planning on switching to Riverford or Abel and Cole though, I just can't handle lagging pounds of vegetables around the countryside without a car. You're right, how could I forget the chard?







: It's nearly that time of year again, isn't it?









What on earth made me think another baby was a good idea? I've just spent the last 4 hours fumigating, tidying and disinfecting the boys room- and seriously, that room is BAD







All I need to do is put the mattress covers back on and make the beds, but I just can't get the smells out





















Someone's had a few asthma attacks and a few wet beds recently, and he seems to have completely bypassed the bed protector







Ick. Any bright ideas?


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## orangefoot (Oct 8, 2004)

It's been baking hot here today and I've washed and aired a load of stuff that had been sicked on last week. Can you leave the matresses out all day tomorrow and maybe the next day? Direct sunlight will help a bit then you could sprinkle with bicarb when you bring them back in then hoover off and repeat as necessary.....

I helped the boys clear out their fetid pit again at the beginning of last week and I'm glad we did other wise there would have been sick on a lot more stuff.

In fact the clearing out thing is a question I wanted to ask here

Is having a lot of stuff (as in the kind that can easily be put in to a black sack and got rid of without anyone shedding a tear over) absolutely essential to a large-ish family?

I have sent countless bags of clothes to the charity shop over the last year and I still feel like we are drowning under the clothes, books and papers of 6 people.

Do I just keep on clearing out so that our basic stuff level is low and we can cop with the daily addition of stuff or am I doing something very badly wrong here?

Something which I feel hinders us is that we live in a 2 bedroom house and we really lack storage space but I may be making excuses.


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## orangefoot (Oct 8, 2004)

Oh and here's a soup recipe to get rid of your greens

2oz butter
1 medium potato diced small
1/2 a leek
1 onion

Sweat all this together for 10 minutes

Add a pint of veg stock and a good handful of red (split) lentils simmer for 15 mins.

7oz greens (thats about the whole bag of chard







) wash and cut out stems then chop.

Add greens to pan and simmer for 3 mins

Whizz it til chunky and flecked with green then add

9fl oz milk

It is quite filling especially with a pan cooked soda bread


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Ooh, yum.

I think the answer to the "lot of stuff" question is yes. Families have children, children attract clutter the way that strawberry plants attract ants.
The mattresses are from IKEA, so have removable covers. In the end, what I did was put the covers through the wash, the bases out in the garden with a huge quantity of bicarb over the foam layer and the springs and then put the whole thing back together in the evening. I also threw out three binbags full of disassembled and broken toys , one recycling box full of paper and cardboard, and there are three binbags full of toys in the loft, awaiting decisions. (If nobody has asked for them by October 2nd, they're going to the Nearly New Sale.) And you know what really stinks? It's one year and one week since we moved, and I really purged everything when we did









My neighbours are gossiping though- I put the rubbish straight out by the back gate so I wouldn't get small boys going through the bags trying to reclaim something, and I've had three people trying to find out what's going on and why we have so much rubbish this week







(I'm the local recycling queen, we normally put one half-empty bag out a week.)

The best thing? Isaac slept through the night last night with no wheeziness







: It looks like there was something in the mattress that was setting him off.


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## orangefoot (Oct 8, 2004)

We had a similar tally of rubbish to recycling for their room too! Fortunately we have 2 green boxes and a big brown bin for cardboard and garden waste so not much went into a bin bag.

The mess thing is madness when, as you say, it has only been a year since you thought you were all purged and minimalist







: I can empty the boys small room of bags of stuff every couple of months and they don't even play with toys as such anymore. I usually start thinking about it when you can't close their door and I don't seem to have washed many socks or pants in the last week







:

A wheeze-free night is a realy tangible result and long may it last!


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## waiting4it2snow (Apr 3, 2005)

I am in such a funky, bad mood. I don't THINK I get crazy moody when I'm pregnant, but maybe I do and don't realize it, or maybe this pregnancy is different... ? But I do know that my source of my bad mood is the fact that my FIL was here visiting and I thought the visit went nicely but I guess I'm niave because my MIL called my hubby yesterday "angry" but he "calmed her down" by the end of the conversation. I just don't even want to rehash it, it makes me so mad.

Weirdly, both my MIL AND my mother are nurses, in their 50s, have been divorced 3 times each and live about 20 minutes from each other. And have _issues_. My hubby and I moved our family from South Florida to Michigan for numerous reasons, but I can say that not having to deal with these two on a regular basis is a huge bonus.

Apparently, my mother said to her that my hubby had to get himself fixed and my MIL said I needed to get my tubes tied, so my MIL was angry over their conversation.

First of all, in my dad's family, the people who marry into the family aren't treated as second class citizens, but members of the family. It pisses me off that the two of them were each acting like, oh, MY precious child shouldn't have to be the one snipped; MY child is better than YOURS. Secondly, of course, moreso than that, is just the whole, WTH







: of their conversation in the first place. When my hubby said neither of us were going to do such a thing, she's like "well how are you going to prevent the next one??" Also, apparently they both started getting each other worked up about the upcoming homebirth, so my MIL had to make sure she bitched about that one more time to hubby too.

I wish the two of them (the grandmas) had never met sometimes.

And I hate all the money issues. They make SO much money and have nothing to show for it because they blow through it like it's melting (both my mom and MIL).

And, to me, the money stuff on my hubby's side is this weirdly manuevered minefield of psychological issues - his dad was bragging the whole time about how much money they have and how he is coming into money and money, money, money, and how my hubby's mom writes checks for everyone she knows right and left constantly and how we need to do this and do that and take this vacation and don't worry, they'll pay for everything, and when we talk about how we can't live like that, or we have a budget or we shop at Goodwill, it's like, I don't know, they think we are deprived or something? Like we have too many children already and we suck because we aren't giving the kids we do have a fabulous privileged lifestyle. My in-laws were millionares when their kids were little, they only had two kids and a nanny and went away on trips to Europe without them... they lost all their money since then so they've had to work their way back up I guess, but they still make way more than we do and they just don't. get. things.

Like, hubby's dad was telling me he wanted us to fly to Florida in the fall to go to Walt Disney World for a vacation. Don't worry, he'd pay for everything! OH, can I say SQUEEEEEEE!!!! REally???? Let's just dump all that money into something like that, can we really? With a two-year-old and an infant in tow??? Like, literally, I am giving birth at the beginning of October. When exactly are we supposed to do this? He said January would be too late. And all next year would be too busy for him, but he was trying desperately to convince me it would be good fun for everyone to drag our asses and our three-week-old around Walt Disney World. With the amount of money that would cost for the plane trips and hotels and food and admission, shoot, just give it to us and we'll pay off our car for pete's sake. I wasn't so unclassy as to say that, I just got tired of trying to make him understand why that wouldn't really be fun. That's what I mean by not getting things. I don't think they really raised their kids and they don't understand that you can't just put kids in a box and put them away when you get tired of them, or when they get tired and crabby.

And, of course, my MIL was asking my hubby if he "was happy." And if I bossed him around (which is completely laughable if you knew us IRL, hubby is such an alpha male type and I am so laid back). AND that makes me wonder what exactly my FIL reported when he went back.

I am so lucky, because my hubby could care less what they have to say about anything, none of this bothers him in the least. He has absolutely no need to suck up to them in the least. I'm sure 30 seconds after he told me about the conversation, he wasn't even thinking about it in the least.

I don't know why any of their opinions are getting to me but it all just really bothers me. I don't want to talk to anyone until I give birth because I swear I will just hang up on them if I have to hear one word about homebirth dangers and having too many children.

I guess the problem is that hubby told me about the conversation at all. He probably shouldn't have. I think I'll have to ask him not to share with me in the future because it gets me so worked up. I think he thinks it's funny, and I already know and have known that his mother (and my mother for that matter) are real jackasses so WHY am I even thinking about it?

I swear when did having FOUR children become a LOT? Seriously? I always imagined us having 5 or 6, and that really isn't that many in my mind. WHAT is with people? WHY would ANY grandparent not be excited about more grandkids???? *muttering* Telling us we need to get snipped or tied.... SO. RUDE.

Sorry this was so long. Thanks for listening.

Would anyone like me to post a recipe for pumpkin pie with tofu I just came across yesterday?


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## User101 (Mar 3, 2002)

*waiting4it2snow*, that sounds awful. I'm sorry.









My life is insane:

Tuesdays:
5:00-5:45 Katie Grace has ballet
5:30-7:00 Michael has soccer
6:30-7:30 Katie Grace has Brownies

So the plan is:
I always make some sort of all-in-one crockpot meal on Tuesdays. I take Katie Grace to ballet with the baby while Chip slops the boys. Then he takes Michael to soccer and then comes back. I bring Katie Grace home, shovel food in her, and Chip drops her off at Brownies on his way to church for meetings. I take the two baby boys to go pick up Michael, we kick around the playground for ten minutes to kill time, then we go pick up Katie Grace. I will then collapse in a heap.


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Wow, Annettemarie, that's a full day. Here's sending you safe landing vibes for when you collapse









Waiting4it2snow, there are no words. Just


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## User101 (Mar 3, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *flapjack* 







Wow, Annettemarie, that's a full day. Here's sending you safe landing vibes for when you collapse









Blessedly, it's a day all squished into two-and-a-half hours. Also, I remembered that Katie Grace only has Brownies every other week, so that will cut down on some of the chaos.


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## prairiemommy (Sep 25, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *waiting4it2snow* 
I swear when did having FOUR children become a LOT? Seriously? I always imagined us having 5 or 6, and that really isn't that many in my mind. WHAT is with people? *WHY would ANY grandparent not be excited about more grandkids???? *muttering* Telling us we need to get snipped or tied.... SO. RUDE.*

I hear you on that one! When I had a m/c after #3 MIL, instead of saying things like "I'm sorry." or "Is Daniele doing okay?" says to DH, "Well, you have your hands full enough as it is. You should get a vasectomy.". This is literally the day I'm in bed with heavy cramping and bleeding.

I've thought a long time about why MIL said that. I think it stems from the fact that both IL's grew up in the country where big families are the norm. They got married young and moved away to the 'big city'. They were the only siblings to do that out of 11 combined. They were also the only ones who had only two children and I think they always felt progressive or more educated than the other siblings (who had anywhere from 3-5 children). So when they see us revert back to what they feel they progressed from, it makes them feel annoyed. Doesn't make me feel better about her comments, but it's kept me from going crazy, lol!

Now we'll just have the going back to work battle when DS3 is school-age. She thinks that I should whereas I plan to stay home. At least I have a few years rest before then though.


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## orangefoot (Oct 8, 2004)

waiting4it2snow - Its not pregnancy: I would be feeling the same as you and I'm not pregnant (at least I don't thinks so!)









It's our littlest dd's 1st birthday this weekend and the IL's can't come on the day because they will need to come 2 days later anyway to visit someone else and they can't make 2 trips... and then when dh called to find out their plans MIL suggested to dh that he just bring the girls over to where they are staying.

One the one hand its good becuase having them here makes me so anxious I feel physically sick but on the other confirms that they don't consider me or 'my' boys to be worth seeing. Dh doesn't want to go along with her because he's always fought the 'well they aren't really anything to do with us' thing they have not given up on even though we have been together now for 8 years but it would just be easier all round.


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## AngelBee (Sep 8, 2004)

waiting4it2snow









annettemarie.....how did your busy night go?


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## User101 (Mar 3, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *AngelBee* 

annettemarie.....how did your busy night go?









It went OK--Michael has lots of buddies on his soccer team and it really wore him out-- but when we went to pick up Katie Grace from Brownies, the troop leader informed me that "all" the moms wanted to change the time to 6:00. That's impossible. We could maybe do 6:15 with a sack supper in the car, but I'm not bringing her 15 minutes late to every meeting. So if she won't compromise, we have to find a new troop, which has Katie Grace really upset.


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## mclisa (Jul 26, 2004)

We're in the process too of figuring out the schedules between school, ballet, gymnastics, soccer, and preschool. So far so good.

We're also trying to stream line things so as to help with the clutter. Basically, we need to throw things right away as far as paper work goes. DH also needs to revamp the main closet so we can organize each person's coat, shoes/boots, hats/mittens.


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## mommajb (Mar 4, 2005)

I really want to chime in on the busy schedules but it just overwhelms me. I try to limit the activites but it seems we always end up with double the number I want and I forget to factor in the things dh and I do.

As a homeschooler I find that I really need to keep my mornings at home for school and household reasons, then we have naps (in an ideal world) and newspaper routes for the older two. I hate that so many elementary school age activites are in the evening at what I think of as dinner time or run late (past 8:00) and mess with our bedtimes for the littler ones. Ideally sports and other activities would be after school wouldn't they? I mean, don't the kids who were in school all day need to run around a bit and then have a family dinner and relax or do homework before bed? I guess this started because our music teacher doesn't like to give homeschoolers afterschool slots since we are available (in her eyes) in the mornings. Sorry for the rant.

The best solution I have had is to limit the number of activities for each child and for me each day. I also carry a calendar so that I never try to remember my schedule on the fly (which always results in overbooking, like an airline I then need to bump somebody and it is never taken well).


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## AngelBee (Sep 8, 2004)

Bummer AM


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## mclisa (Jul 26, 2004)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...1675&ru=http%3 A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.com%3A80%2Fsearch%2Fsearch.dll% 3Ffrom%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dm37%26satitle%3D130144061 675%26category0%3D%26fvi%3D1

Just had to share. Probably just a ploy to get more people to check out her blog, but funny nonetheless.


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## waiting4it2snow (Apr 3, 2005)

I'm sorry about the Brownies troup, AM.... I love how "all" the moms got an input, before you even got there. *sigh* I hope the situation works out for your daughter... maybe if you find another group, she will make even better friends in the new group than what she has found in this one....







:

Thanks to everyone for commiserating with me. I feel a lot better now that a few days have gone by. *Prairiemommy*, what you shared really made me sad. It is just so SAD to me that any human could be so callous to another, let alone your own MIL... to say something like that, while you are still recovering nonetheless.







: *Orangefoot*, talk about being treated like a second-class citizen,







! I'm sorry about those particular family politics, that's rough.

mclisa! What a funny write-up! I am enjoying her blog now too. I love her humorous writing.


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## Kidzaplenty (Jun 17, 2006)

Just wanted to check in and say hi to everyone. I have been in the middle of a move and have not had much time on the computer. Still am unpacking and have tons to do, so there is little time now to sit and chat. But just wanted to touch in with all my tribes.

So, I am still around, just not very vocal at this moment.


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## phathui5 (Jan 8, 2002)

Going to start the September thread...


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## Kidzaplenty (Jun 17, 2006)

Here is the link for the September thread.

Moms of Many September thread


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## transformed (Jan 26, 2007)

How many is many?


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