BIG FAMILY Q&A | Large Family TAG - 20 Questions

I saw this as a YouTube video from This Gathered Nest (love that channel!) and thought it would be fun to post my own answers.  Here goes...

1. How many children do you have?

I have six, pregnant with number seven who is due in August! 
(Two miscarriages that technically fall into the #1 and #8 spots making this baby #9.  I don’t generally count those two when people ask how many kids we have unless it is something like this or I feel it is appropriate.)

2. What are their ages?

They are 8, 6, 4, 4, 3, and 1.

3. What is your family structure?

All of them are my husband and my biological children.

4. How old were you when you had your first baby?

I was 24 when I had my first miscarriage, 25 when my oldest was born.

5. Were they all planned by you and your partner, or do you leave it up to God?

We leave it up to God.  Long story short we decided we would trust God with our family size.  Then I was told I would likely not have children without medical intervention.  Fortunately, He had other plans and all nine of our babies (seven living) were conceived without medical help.

6. What is your favorite reaction to telling someone how many children you have?
You do NOT look like you’ve already had 5 kids.  (When I was pregnant with #6)

7. How do you usually handle negative comments?

I try to ignore them.  Sometimes if I’m in a really bad mood I get snarky.  Generally though the only time I give much of a response is if they are being negative in front of the kids.  My kids do NOT need to hear some stranger talk about what a burden they must be.  I love them, I am proud of them and I am thankful for them so none of that nonsense.

8. What does it cost to feed your large family?

I spend around $500 a month on groceries, diapers, household stuff, etc.  That doesn’t include some food that is donated to our ministry as well as Sunday dinner which my husband shops for and is in charge of (because he is amazing!).

9. Do you plan to have more children?

No, but I didn't plan for the ones I have either ;)  We will see what happens.  This is a complicated question right smack in the middle of easy ones so we will just leave it at that.

10. What is your family vehicle?

I have a 12 passenger Ford Econoline (I think...I've been driving it for almost two years, I should know this).  It doesn’t have a ton of frills but works well for us!  We upgraded when our sixth was born just for car seat logistics!

11. Do you ever eat out?

Sometimes but not often with the whole family.  If we do it is something like Chinese buffet at lunch.  My husband and I do date night weekly so we eat out then and will occasionally take smaller groups of kiddos out.

12. How much milk do you go through in a week?

Four to six gallons.

13. How many rolls of toilet paper do you go through each day?

I don’t keep track of this!

14. What is your favorite go to meal?

Chili in the winter – they all love it.  In the summer probably some sort of chicken dish.

15. How do you spend one on one time with each of your children?

I try to pay attention to when they are acting up because that is generally an indicator they need more attention.  We take them out to do things in smaller groups or one-on-one.  They are all still pretty young so we try to find time to sit and cuddle and chat during the day.  Homeschooling also gives me one-on-one time with the kids.  Although we are working through math problems or whatever, I can tell if there is something else we should talk about usually and I'm ok with setting aside math to talk about their hearts for a bit if we need to!

16. How do you manage the clutter?

Throw it out!  We try to stay 10 minutes from ‘company ready’ – not perfect, just not crazy embarrassing.  We don’t keep a lot of extra junk, toys that aren’t played with, etc and everyone helps with clean up before lunch and before dinner.

17. Do you homeschool, private school or public school?

Homeschool.

18. How do you manage the chaos?

Carefully.  I read a book recently about managing a lot of littles.  I was reminded that often, their requests and noise level would be perfectly appropriate if there was one or two of them.  Since we have six asking questions, making requests (demands), needing help it becomes overwhelming quickly.  It struck me though that having six kids is MY responsibility, not theirs so I cannot get frustrated with what would otherwise be very appropriate needs.  I’m learning.

19. What do you do IF you get free time?

I get one night a week to myself (because my husband is the best and likes it when I have some semblance of sanity).  I usually work on homeschool plans, read, write, work on work plans or visit with a friend.  It gives me some extra time to just sit and think so it is always welcome!  I am also apparently turning into a crazy plant lady and this year I am making an attempt to love the outdoors.  (Heat and I don’t get along so it is slow going).

20. What is your #1 tip for other large family moms?

See #18.  Find another large family that you can ask for tips or help regularly.  I have a dear friend with five kiddos who is my go to when I am feeling like I am losing my mind.  She is great at talking me down WITHOUT making excuses for my behavior.  I love her!