The Thread for Large Families

[Melanie]

Big families face special challenges, enjoy many benefits, and deal with occasional prejudice. Let's devote this thread to the problems and perks of having a family of four or more children. We'll make this an ongoing thread, so whenever you have something new to discuss about your large family, post it here!

Let's start with an introduction from everyone who'd like to participate. Would you prefer to see this post as a Sticky at the top of the page or left as an ongoing thread so it will be more obvious when something new has been posted?

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ______________________________

8isenuf (Kim)
Alex 13, Ben 11, Alyna 9, Sam & Drew 4, Katrina 2, Ivan Nathaniel EDD 1/4/06

daisygirl
Four boys 9,7,4, and 1

SagiLeoGem (Amanda)
Nicholas 6, Madison 4, Olivia 1, Avery 6 months

kelseybean (Missy)
DS 14, DD 7, DS 3, baby J.T.

venus flower (Lynn)
DS 8, DS 7, DD 5, DD 3, DS 1

sheri (Sheri)
Joshua 10, Krissy 9, Timmy 7, Cody 5, Baby J. 2, Rebekah Ann

jeanaj
Chris 14, Larua 12, Savannah 3, Sadie 1

Tami C
Matt 15, Dan 12, Kaylee 11, Jeff 11, Patti 3, Abigail 2

Ruth
Stephen 15, Sarah 12, Sean Michael 4, Shane 14 months

Mandowife (Donna)
Jason 20, Hannah 14, Meggie 13, Naomi 10, Grace 9, Jack 2

sari (Sari)
Robert 9, Mikey 8, Nicolette 6, Genevieve 3

pamiam
Domenic 13, Joey 12, Sam 8, Del 6, Sofie 4

K.C.
Robert 10, Jessie 7, Emily 5, Sam 2.5




(let me know if you'd like me to edit any of the above info as I have simply taken it from your signatures and other info here)

[hpy2bamom]

I'm in. I am about to have #7 and have no clue what I am doing on some days....like today. It is funny how most days just flow and you get to love the energy but those days that just don't click seem so hard! sigh

I think a sticky would be easier so the thread doesn't get lost.

[semisweet]

I have 4 kids. I don't like ongoing threads. They are too hard to keep track of. A separate forum would be easier to follow. Where each issue could be discussed. Like handling organization, budgeting for large families, dealing with people who are rude about how many kids you have, vacation ideas for big families, hand me downs, etc. There are just too many things to devote or sift through in one thread.

[SagiLeoGem]

I want to be a part of it! I have 4 kids ranging in age from 6 months up to almost 7 years.

I'm a little OCD and am having a hard time losing control of my environment. Seems everything is getting more cluttered and there is more "stuff" every day. I'm organizing with baskets, color coding, etc. I'm hoping it works.

We're moving to a new house next week and I'm weeding out everything hoping that I can start fresh.

I agree with the pushing for a seperate board. There are a lot of us here with large families and I know we've talked about it many times...I hope we get one soon.

[Melanie]

I have 4 kids. I don't like ongoing threads. They are too hard to keep track of. A separate forum would be easier to follow. Where each issue could be discussed. Like handling organization, budgeting for large families, dealing with people who are rude about how many kids you have, vacation ideas for big families, hand me downs, etc. There are just too many things to devote or sift through in one thread.

Perhaps if there is enough interest here, a separate forum would be waranted! Let's see. I'm sure Maribeth would be willing to consider it. :)

[kelseybean]

Another mom of four here - ages 9 months to 14 years.

I think it is a great idea to have a place for large families. I am finding IRL that there are many families consisting of either 1 child or the other extreme of 4. :) I'd love to hear how others handle their situations, too.

[venus_flower]

Count me in, too. I'm sitting on the couch all snuggled in watching cartoons with my 5 kids right now. I agree that we could easily fill our own forum, but for now I'm game for using this thread. There are tons of things I would love to discuss including things like:
laundry
cooking for a crowd
sibling issues on a large scale
sleep-or lack thereof
division of responsibility
homework
organization
travel
eating out
entertainment for diverse age groups
stupid comment from other people
why having a large family is great!
Well, that gives you the idea, anyway, lol. :D

[sheri]

I'm in! I agree this would be easier in it's own board, so we will just have to post like crazy to make that happen :D .

What are the ages of everbody else's kids?
Mine are:
Joshua will be 11 in 6 days
Krissy is 9
Timmy just turned 7
Cody is 5
Becky is 9 months

[H'OHara]

I'm in. I have four children. Age range is in my signature.

[SagiLeoGem]

What are the ages of everbody else's kids?


Nicholas is 7 next month
Madison is 4
Olivia is 2 in a couple weeks
Avery is 6 months

[Tami C]

I'm in! Maybe we could have a few running threads covering some of the big issues?

[Melanie]

I'm in! Maybe we could have a few running threads covering some of the big issues?

I think you guys should handle these threads any way you would like. They belong to you. Perhaps once we have all the introductions in one spot, we can Sticky this note, and then everyone will know to come here (TTT) to post anything regarding your large family until we can see if there's enough interest for a separate forum.

[MarinerFan19]

I'm in as well. :) I have four children: Stephen (15), Sarah (12), Sean Michael (4) and Shane (14 months).

[Mandowife]

I have 6 children....Jason is 20, Hannah is 14, Meggie is 13, Naomi is 10, Grace is 9 and Jack will be 3 on November 14!!

[sari]

I have four kids and the age ranges are in my siggy! :)

[venus_flower]

OK, please tell me this has happened to one of you ladies. :o The dentist office called yesterday to tell me that my kids were overdue for a cleaning (oops) and they had an opening the next afternoon for 2 of them. She said which two she was making to appointment for, but for the life of me I can't remember what she said. So 2 of my kids are supposed to go to the dentist today, but I don't know which two! Oops! Lol. Oh well, I'll just take them all in. Maybe they can squeeze them all in.

[pamiam]

Sorry I am late to the post. I forgot to come here when the post came on the Cafe.
I have five. Domenic(13), Joey(12), Sam(8), Del(6 on Friday) and Sofie(4 in two weeks).

[K. C.]

I know that Peterpan is very much interested in a board for large families, please inlcude her. I really hope she is able to post herself real soon!

I have 4 children:
Robert will turn 'double digits' (10) on Sunday :eek:
Jessie is 7
Emily 5
Sam is 2.5

[Paige]

I'm here as well... but too disorganized to post much today!

4 kids... Stu (15), Caitlyn (12), Brigid (5), Maureen (2)

Gotta fix my signature as Stu had a birthday!

[venus_flower]

I'm here as well... but too disorganized to post much today!

4 kids... Stu (15), Caitlyn (12), Brigid (5), Maureen (2)

Gotta fix my signature as Stu had a birthday!

Happy birthday to Stu! :) I suddenly realized a couple weeks ago that my signature was so out of date that ALL my kids ages were wrong. :o

[karalot]

I'd love to join! Kids are in my sig!
I'd would really love to discuss how others handle the unique-ness of large families! I came from a family of only four (parents, brother, and me) so this is new (and wonderful!) to me!

My first question is the following: how do you get your older kids to help!??! My dss and dd (dsd does not live with us) apparently think that everything is my job (including my 17 y.o. dss's laundry and cleaning their rooms!)
We did NOT raise these kids like this! Seriously! How do I get some help without it turning into a struggle???