An Expert I Am Not

I was told I would never have children without medical help.  I was raised thinking two kids was a good 'normal'.  Hanging out with my husband's family used to be so overwhelming because with 10 kids, there is always a lot going on.  Still, big family life fascinated me so I read blogs and books where moms talked about how they did it all with their large crews.  I watched in awe as they seemed so calm with so much going on around them all the time.

In 2009 my body decided to defy science and go ahead and have a baby anyway.  What do those doctors know?  Then while I watched her grow over the next five years, I watched our family grow as well...and we now have five children, five years old and under.  I'm not really sure how that happened (I mean, I know how it happened).  The math doesn't even seem to make sense even with a set of twins.  But yet, here we are.

So that all being said, I'm not an expert as this big family thing.  My oldest is only five and there are so many things to learn and discover along the way.  For example, I am going to be homeschooling a first grader this year - big difference from our fairly informal preschool and kindergarten ages - and I have been asking SO many questions I'm pretty sure my friends are going to block my phone number.  I am so thankful that they are willing to share their experiences while they are still in the trenches so I have decided that I need to not wait until I'm an expert to share what works for us in this big family gig and go ahead and write how and why we do the things we do now.  Maybe someday it will help another mom with so many littles.  Perhaps it'll just satisfy the curiosity of those who find large families fascinating.  Either way, it will serve as a reminder of how we made this craziness work!

Coming soon...how we make it all work!

Comments

  1. Morgan SchneiderMay 15, 2015 at 10:11 AM

    This post makes me giggle a little... 5 kids. 5. under 5. I think you are more of an expert than you give yourself credit for. You are so calm all the time. With the exception of "tough days" which I have yet to see or hear about, you have mastered having littles. You have so gracefully brought 5 children into the world while welcoming others into your home. You could've been overwhelmed by the chaos, but you have done it so beautifully. I am so proud to call you my friend.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thankful Thursdays 2015 #6

I missed a week.  And while I knew about it and I was bummed about it, I've given myself the grace to move on with my life.  Thank you for understanding :)  I feel like I'm finally in that season of life where if I fall short of my own goals, I can be ok with that.  I'm not saying I don't try and I don't do my best but I'm not going to hold myself to some arbitrary standard and beat myself up for it.  Life is too short for that. This week I'm thankful for... 1. My husband.  He is one of those guys who I fell in love with and have fallen more in love with since then.  For our anniversary he bought me a glider (like a rocking chair but way better for those that are not familiar) and roses.  He knows what delights my heart and I appreciate that so much about him.  He also came home today with two dressers for the boys room and a baby swing because he knew they were on my list of 'needs'.  I'm thankful for the way he takes care of us and provides
Read more

Homeschool Update

So I am thinking all things homeschool lately...mainly because my husband gave me an awesome budget for next year that is allowing me to think outside the box a little bit.  We just purchased two Chromebooks for the girls to use with their school work...then I threw out the internet based curriculum I was using.  Right?  Ha!  Fortunately I got a great deal on them and one only works when it is sitting right next to the router so they are going to send me a third one for FREE!  Anyway, enough about that.  This year has been frustrating with History and Science.  The curriculum we are using is good, but it isn't capturing Grace's attention and she is young enough that I want her to really enjoy it, not just get through it.  When she has classes she HAS to take for high school credits she can worry about doing them because she has to.  Right now, we're going to enjoy it.  The curriculum we've been using is pretty dry next year as well for history and science so the plan
Read more

Life & Waiting

I have a love/hate relationship with waiting for babies.  Logically I know I'll be spending the next 18-20 years with this boy...but that doesn't make these next couple of weeks feel any shorter!  Last week the baby was transverse (sideways) across my stomach which is an automatic C-section if he presents that way when I'm in labor.  Fortunately he is now (well, as of Wednesday) either butt down (breech) or head down (ideal!).  Either way is better!  I'm still praying he is head down because that is best case for all of us.  We shall see.  This is one active baby but I think I've said that about all of them.  Either way, I can't wait to meet him and I'm confident God has his birth all under control. Life these days is a little nutty.  I feel like they are periods of rushing followed by periods of waiting - within the same day.  When the kiddos are sleeping it is always a mad rush to do as much as I can, but when they are up the time slows down a bit.  I&#
Read more