Wednesday, May 23, 2012

That's a lot of kids.

Sometimes I don't realize we have a lot of kids.

I mean... most of the time I guess it just feels normal?

But, there are other times.

Like, for instance, yesterday 
when I took these kids to the doctor for one child's appointment:
And suddenly, I looked around and discovered that the entire room was full of kids.
There were none hanging from the ceiling... thankfully...
but there were SIX kids in the room.
I mean, 2 years ago I had 4 kids at home and we fit in a normal-sized vehicle.
Crazy.

Add to that the stares, dropped jaws, and comments like
"boy, you have YOUR hands full!"
and
"Are they ALL siblings?"
and
"are you the mother? of all of them?"
and I think...
"uhm... what kind of psychotic babysitter 
takes 6 kids to the doctor?!? I'd fire her."

It happened again the other night.
We had this sudden rain storm come through
and my husband was home and decided
it was a great time for a game of soccer.
In the street.
In the rain.

So, I went out to take a picture and thought
"wow... looks like LOTS of kids came out to join the game!"
And then realized they were ALL mine. 
Nine kids playing in the rain.

Okay, so I had a moment of panic that went like this:
"it's all fun and games till Mom has mildewed clothes
at the bottom of the laundry basket! 
Crap, that's going to be a lot of dirty, wet, stinky clothes!"


Another time it seemed like a lot of kids...
Lunch...minus 1 of the crew.

And again...
Dishing up dinner and laying plates out down the counter.
"Oh wait, someone is missing their chicken leg..."

It's funny when these moments of 
"woah, that's a lot of kids!" strike.
I never know exactly what's going to cause that head-count inducing confusion...
or at what point it's going to just ALL seem normal! ha ha!

In other news...

Today was the last day of school.
I'm a little apprehensive about this summer.
This is a LOT of kids to keep track of.
I did buy these cool bracelets:
from TigTagz.com to wear to the pool, the zoo, wherever.
It makes me feel a little daycare-y,
but I guess if it keeps me off the front page of the newspaper,
it's worth it.

Speaking of the last day...
why do they bring home so much STUFF!??
They came in the house and dumped piles of papers, 
folders, notebooks, report cards, 
art work, graded papers, and who knows what else...
right onto the kitchen counter.
Gee, thanks.

Then they ran outside to play,
get hurt, need bandaids, drip sweat,
eat cheap popsicles from plastic tubes,
and come in later wearing enough dirt to create
a small mudslide in the bathtub.

I guess summer is officially here!

16 comments:

  1. So when you have that many kids in that tight an age range, do you still have to walk around to all the classes at parent-teacher-conferences? Or is there a point at which you just sit in one spot and they come to you?!? :) We had a hard time racing around to 3 back-to-back conferences for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade.

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    Replies
    1. Oooh.... Good idea for next year!! We will have 3 first graders and one each in 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th (all in the same school) and two high schoolers!! I may have the conference come to me at home! Hahaha!! ;)

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  2. You just killed 6 chickens.
    btw...I think you need a Count (the counting Count on sesame street) style book. One. One ethiopian laying in the gutter taking a rainwater bath. Two. Two missing children at the doctors office...etc.

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    Replies
    1. LOL, that would be awesome!!

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    2. Is that the same little lady on the floor (OK rain gutter) in each pic? That's awesome. Kids free to just be (even on the floor) controlled freedom makes for the best childhood. Thanks for sharing the smiles (OK maybe your hair pulling) but we sure appreciate and learn a lot from it

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  3. I love this post....thanks for writing it. I've often thought what daily life is like for you!

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  4. Ditto to Cami....i think i have asked to see the dinner table a few times....now i know it can happen! :) Nice find , those cool little bracelets. Soccer in the rain looks great! The doctor trip looks anxiety inducing. How old are your high-schoolers? Are the eager to be asked to babysit or dreading it? My step daughter (16) still acts overwhelmed when asked to watch our three boys....bah-humbug!

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  5. Love the picture of everyone at the lunch table. Just joy to see how you've opened your home up to love so many!

    Jessica

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  6. And here I was, proud of myself for taking my twins to the doctor all by myself. ;)
    I'm taking pointers from you, 'cause who knows how many kids God is going to send to us! He started us out with twins, after all.

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  7. Another idea for outings (that will make you feel like a daycare but whatever) have them wear all the same color of shirt. Bright gaggle of red shirted littles are easy to pick out in a crowd :)

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  8. I LOVE IT!!!! I only had one moldy shirt to throw away. I guess that is because I only have 5 kids. We were a doctor/dental crazy mess too! Love it when you overwhelm the pediatric people!!!!!

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  9. He he he.....that is sooo true about is this a daycare- like why would you bring them all. Never thought of it that way before- I like it!!!

    Yep, a bit of panic, and a bit of sheer fun! Except maybe the clothes- that may not be as fun ;)

    PRAYING for you and thinking of you.....of your beautiful family!!!!

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  10. Awesome! Thank you so much for sharing a little bit of your family life with us. I think of all of you often and wonder how it is going. Can't wait to see the Christmas photo!

    Susan in WI

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  11. I am totally in awe. I grew up in a family with 10 kids...but they came one at a time. We got lost, left behind, etc. ALL the time. Especially in the years when we were first becoming a big family (like 5-7 kids) and there weren't that many helpers. Several times I remember coming out of church, looking for our van in the parking lot and thinking, "Dang. They left without me *again.*" It was no big deal--they always came back. ; ) Also, my two youngest brothers went through stages where they would fall asleep in random places--like the bottom of the linen closest on top of a stack of blankets, or underneath one of the older sib's bed. This usually happened while my mom was working a shift at the hospital (OB nurse). Totally stressed my dad out. I love the little one lying in the gutter.

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