big family

4 Moms: Large Family Food Storage

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

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November 10, 2011 By kimc

4moms35kids 4 Moms: Large Family Food Storage Happy Thursday, friends! This week the 4 Moms are talking about food storage for the large family. You may think a mom of so many girls wouldn’t know much about food storage, but let me tell you something: my girls eat like Scarlett O’Hara. Remember when her mammy made her fill up on a huge slab of ham and assorted sides so that the boys at the dance would think she had a dainty, ladylike appetite? Hah. My dainty girls leave the mothers of teenaged boys gaping in awe. We like to eat around here, and we’re not ashamed.

Not surprisingly, we go through a lot of food. We laugh at the wee little 5 lb. bags of flour sold at the grocery store. Really. There’s a kid reading over my shoulder right now, and she’s giggling. ”They’re so cute!” Those are a single use when you’re whipping up 4 or 5 large pizzas, especially if you make breadsticks to stretch the pizza.

One reason I love to shop at Costco is because the things I buy come in convenient sizes for a big family: 25 lbs. of flour or sugar, industrial sized spice containers, gallon cans of veggies and tomato paste, 10 lbs. of carrots…you get the idea. A bonus: with bigger packaging, we generate less trash. Many small families generate more trash than we do because of their propensity for individual servings of prepackaged foods.

The big question is how to store these truly family-sized packages. You don’t really want a flour canister that holds 25# sitting on your countertop, do you?

Here’s how we solve that little issue:

Since we cook so much from scratch, we don’t store mass quantities of a lot of different foods – we stick mainly to the staples, and fill in the gaps weekly or as needed. We have buckets for flour, sugar, brown sugar, beans, rice, and wheat. We used to have one for oats but found that they went bad too quickly. We had a bucket of coconut oil, but transferred it to quart jars. We also have one for cat litter, but we don’t cook with that. Did I have you worried?

I don’t use a canister at all for flour, since it would be emptied in a single use. That’s not my idea of convenience. Instead, I replaced the standard bucket lids with these babies. This is my idea of convenience!

They spin on and off with one hand. I love them! No fumbling for the bucket opener, or breaking nails trying to open the lid with brute strength. Everything is color coded, too: Blue for Beans, oRange for Rice, Red for bRown sugar…hey, work with me here. My bucket system is a work in progress.

I also try to keep my canned goods sensibly organized.

Sometimes. But sometimes a steal of a deal on 24 jars of organic marinara sauce messes up your system.

Sometimes there’s no good excuse at all.

I’m hoping to upgrade to this very soon:

And maybe you can, too. Watch for a giveaway!

What’s your food storage problem or solution? Link up with us! Remember, when you link up on one of our sites, your link will automatically be added to all 4 Moms posts this week!

Please remember the linky rules:

You must link to a specific relevant post on your blog.
Your post must include a link to at least one of the 4 Moms.
The post to which you link must be completely family friendly.

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The other moms:

Smockity Frocks, who gets to go shopping in her well house.
Raising Olives, who does a good job of mixing food storage and home decor.
Common Room, who discusses 4 different types of food storage, providing some very useful tips along with her usual wry, self-deprecating sense of humor.

Upcoming topics for 4 Moms:

November 17 - Transporting the large family. What do you drive? Any tips?
November 24 – Q&A
December 1 - Teaching writing (composition)

Big family in a small house: What do you want to know?

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

July 18, 2011 By kimc

Remember my series about having a Big Family in a Small House? Here are the posts I did so far:

Big family in a small house, part 1: Bedrooms

Big family in a small house, part 2: Storage

Big family in a small house, part 3: the floor plan

Big family in a small house, part 4: Entertaining guests

Big family in a small house, part 5: Finding personal space

So here’s the question of the day: if I add to the series, what else would you want to know? Hit me with your questions!

pf button Big family in a small house: What do you want to know?

Filed Under: big family, questions 26 Comments

4 Moms giveaway: Large Family Logistics!!!

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

July 7, 2011 By kimc

This giveaway closed on 7/13/2011. 38462 m 4 Moms giveaway: Large Family Logistics!!!

We’re really excited about this, and we think you will be too. Did you see the 3 exclamation points at the end of this post title? Think about it: how often have you seen me do that? I am not an excitable person (unless there’s a scorpion in my bed). But this, this is exciting!

Each of the 4 Moms is going to give away a free copy of Large Family Logistics by Kim Brenneman, highly organized mom of 10 kids. Enter at all 4 of our blogs to pump up your chances of winning – you’re allowed!

And why do you think we’re giving away copies of Large Family Logistics?

Because we’re going to spend the month of August blogging through the book and we want you to join us. We’re going to do 4 consecutive weeks of linkies! The more, the merrier, so get ready and tell all your blogging friends to get ready too!

About the book:

Moms have many tasks to tackle and obstacles to overcome: the laundry monster, household clutter and cleaning needs, caring for babies and little ones, menu planning and mealtime routines, town outings, homeschooling, bill paying—and even more!

Like many wives and mothers, author Kim Brenneman didn’t start out with all of the answers. She struggled to figure out: What do I do next? What’s the best way to actually do the many things that need to be done? And how do I get everything accomplished in a 24-hour day and keep my sanity?

In Large Family Logistics, Kim outlines practical solutions she has learned to effectively manage a busy household. This how-to manual is filled with step-by-step procedures, easy-to- understand organizational advice, and a myriad of tips and hints for managing a bustling home with greater efficiency in a way that honors God and builds up family relationships.

Sensible and straightforward, Kim tackles the nitty- gritty, day-to-day challenges moms face and also offers sound counsel on how to plan and accomplish long-term domestic goals. An invaluable home management resource that will equip busy moms to get beyond survival mode and thrive!

Large Family Logistics Giveaway

To enter:

Leave a comment on this post telling me what area of your home could use the most help.

Additional entries: (Please leave an additional comment for each entry.)

Share about this giveaway on Facebook.
Post about this giveaway on your blog. (3 entries! Please leave 3 separate comments for this. If you post about the other moms’ giveaways, your post can count be entered here too. Just make sure it contains a link to this giveaway.)
Tweet about this giveaway. You may copy and paste: Win a copy of Large Family Logistics from @raisingolives , enter here http://inashoe.com/?p=9116
Don’t forget to enter the other 3 Moms’ giveaways!

We’ll announce the 4 winners next Thursday.

Don’t want to wait? Vision Forum just kicked off a special which includes Large Family Logistics!

$38.00

Save $21.00 (36%)

Regular Price $59.00

Through July 9, save 35% when you purchase Vision Forum’s complete family pack: Victorious Home Life for Families Large and Small. This collection includes two Vision Forum bestsellers — Tea with Michelle Duggar (DVD) and Large Family Logistics (book) — plus the Duggar’s new release, A Love that Multiplies (book). Together, these resources will equip you to more efficiently run and manage your household, as well as disciple and love your children with renewed joy.

Upcoming topics:

July 14 - Lunch Menu linky
July 21 - Tips for remaining patient when you have a houseful of kids
July 28 – Q&A (please leave your questions on my last Q&A post if you want me to find them)

Beach trip 2011

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

June 18, 2011 By kimc

Just in case you’re wondering, the beach was wonderful, incredible, exciting, fabulous, amazing, adventurous. How could it fail to be any of the above and a hundred more synonyms for fun? It was the beach. Some of us thought we would love to own a house on the beach and live there. Some of us thought the novelty would wear off too quickly. I would love the opportunity to learn who is right and who is wrong.

IMAG01101 300x179 Beach trip 2011

Since we were going to spend 2 nights and 3 days there, I hatched a plan to aid the sunblock and delay the inevitable sunburns: we would spend a few hours on the beach early in the morning, then for the heat of the day we would hide in our hotel rooms or the beach house rented by the extended family. The little ones could have their naps while the big ones played cards, visited, etc. After a siesta, we would once again hit the sand and play for the rest of the day while the sun sank low behind us.

We left our house insanely early Monday morning and arrived around 11 AM after a 5.5 hour drive. Immediately ditching the anti-sunburn plan, we all donned swimsuits, slathered on the BBQ sauce, and hit the surf.

We saw the standard seagulls, but also huge brown pelicans, soaring and diving around us. How can something so ugly be so majestic at the same time?

We saw whole schools of fish at the crest of nearly every way, all around us. We laughed every time one flipped out of the water and flew back in. We squealed at the seaweed brushing our legs, suspecting jellyfish instead. I spotted dorsal fins moving back and forth, surfacing and disappearing just beyond the nearby sandbar. When I pointed them out to the others with me, we convinced each other that they were just dolphins (I know, I know. They’re really porpoises).

When we spotted a whole ~~school~~ fever of stingrays (yes, I had to look it up )on the crest of a wave 20 feet away, we decided it was time to join the little kids on the shore.

Late in the day Perry Boy spotted something alive on the shore. He screamed and pointed, “DAD! I see something like a CRAB!” It was a big crab, which we carried back in a bucket to show the rest of our group. Fortunately we got a picture of the exact moment he spotted it.

The next day, our plan fell through. We slept right through the cool morning hours, put on more BBQ sauce, and climbed back into the frying pan. It was great.

OK, I’m exaggerating a little. First we went to the free aquarium at the nearby Texas Sea Center, where I looked long and hard at the dorsal fin of every single shark on display. I was relieved to see that none resembled the dorsal fins I had seen the day before. They were just dolphins. Right? Right??

At the Sea Center, we crowded around the touch tank to touch all the different types of crabs – hermit crabs, shameface crabs, stone crabs, blue crabs, spider crabs.

IMAG00921 300x179 Beach trip 2011

We looked in the other tanks at the endless varieties of fish, large and small, drab and colorful.

We saw electric eels and morays.

The little kids had great fun making crayon rubbings at an art station, and left all of them lying there.

A few of the kids bought shark tooth necklaces for $2.

And then they begged to go back to the beach. Of course, nice parents that we are, we obliged.

We sauced up and hit the sand again while the sun was still at its peak. By the end of the day, most of us were nicely toasted.

Dinner was our first-ever shrimp boil. I think everyone agreed it was glorious, and we plan to do it again soon with or without seafood. My mom was wishing she had thought to serve meals that way back when she was serving 3 meals a day to 10 or 15 kids. Just think of all the dishes that would be saved! Then she realized that she did think of it, but Dad wouldn’t let her feed us from a trough. Somehow it seems much classier when you do it in a beach house.

At some point, a couple of the girls realized that they had hatchling crabs in their swimsuits and they showed us the tiny things, barely visible to the human eye. We compared notes and realized that the faint itchy/pinchy feelings we had all experienced in the water were probably not ant bites like they would have been at home. No, you don’t get ants in your pants at the beach. You get crabs in your swimsuit.

After a little thought, we cautioned the girls against telling people that they had crabs. Nice girls don’t get crabs, and we didn’t want to give people the wrong idea. Tact and discretion required a more precise name. We had infant crustaceans in our swimsuits.

On the last day, Kaitlyn made an incredible lifesize mermaid in the sand with lovely seaweed hair. Isn’t she lovely? My sister has a picture of Kaitlyn lying on the sand with her mermaid friend. I’m watching facebook to see if it shows up…

IMAG01201 300x179 Beach trip 2011

Oh, wait. She’s not a mermaid. See? No tail. Here’s a pic with Rachael and the sand-maiden:

Our last stop before we left town was the jetty, about a mile down the beach. Mom and some of my sibs drove over with us, and we all had a long, leisurely amble far out into the ocean.

The sun was blazing down on us but the breeze made it bearable, at least for those of us who had more tan and less burn. We finally got to see dolphins with dorsal fins that matched what I had seen while swimming.

We saw a freshly killed sea turtle with a plastic line wrapped around one flipper, and wondered just how it had died. Did a fisherman kill it because it had fouled a net? Did he find it suffering and kill it out of mercy? Did it simply climb up on the rocks to die? My brother took it by the line and swung it back into the water, avoiding the puddle of blood around it.

We saw schools of much bigger fish than we had seen swimming, and I saw several groups of what looked like angelfish. Perry suggested that our stingray sighting was actually fish like these, but Deanna accused us of ruining a perfectly good stingray story and I agree. They were not flat fish. We saw stingrays in the water.

We saw several piles of small fish that had been caught in nets by some of the fisherman. They had picked through them for bait, then left the rest to die on the hot rocks when they were done fishing for the day. Natalie and Becca were horrified at the waste of life and threw the ones that were still alive back into the water. I concurred. Hunting and fishing are good stewardship, but wasting the resources God has given us is just that: wasteful. Why wouldn’t these fisherman want to throw back the little ones for another day?

We found multitudes of tiny snails on the rocks where the waves washed against them, and I gently pulled some off to show Perry. He was scared of crabs, but loved these little guys. He was disappointed that he couldn’t take them home to keep as pets, but we assured him they would quickly die.

Credits for the photographer for most of the photos in this post:

er…the big guy. Not the little redhead, though I’m fond of her too.

Filed Under: big family, photos 10 Comments

Spring cleaning

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

March 8, 2011 By kimc

Not our own giveaway, but visit Homestead Drying Racks for a chance to win Homesteading for Beginners (a 3 DVD set)

It’s a fact of life that blogging slows down when spring cleaning starts up. Today was bright, sunny, and in the 70′s. We couldn’t resist. We cleaned the storage shed.

Maybe you don’t have a storage shed so you miss the grandeur of this undertaking. Or maybe you just don’t allow your children to carry stuff down to your storage shed while you sit and blog, so your shed doesn’t look like mine did.

Either way, we forgot to take before and after photos and I hang my head in shame. I have failed as a blogger.

We were motivated largely by the fact that last weekend we managed to free up all 3 dressers in the house plus the nightstand. We were able to organize the shed properly this time because we were able to add proper storage options rather than forcing some poor soul to decide between tossing 3 space heaters and 19 out-of-season dresses up into the rafters or climbing across 4 box fans, a double stroller, and a full size mattress to put the stuff on top of a 20 gallon fish – er, snake tank.

Are you laughing at my optimism that this time the shed will stay organized? Are you wondering how can possibly believe this time will be different than all the other times we organized the shed? I knew it. Go ahead and snicker. I’m ignoring you. I’m pretending you’re just wondering how we managed to free up all the dressers.

And how did we free up the dressers? Like this:

See? Cubbies! We love them! It’s a work in progress: we plan to add a few more upward to create a sort of zig-zag line from upper left down to the window, then a little jag up on the right, sort of framing the window. Make sense? Well, it does in my head. It looks nice, really. Much nicer than this times two:

That wall of cubbies holds the clothes of 6 of the children, plus space for books, jewelry, toys, etc. The 4 youngest have their clothes in my room, but they each have one cubby of their own here in the Kid Room for their toys as well.

We put a similar system in our own bedroom, but it’s much smaller. Perry and I each have a 2×3 unit for a nightstand/dresser, and another conglomeration holds clothes for the 4 little ones plus shoes for all six of us.

Before – Ancient dresser on Mom’s side crammed with clothes for 4. Nightstand on Dad’s side mostly crammed with forgotten and unidentified junk.

After – Mom’s side of the room:

Dad’s side of the room:

Did you notice our bling? I have my jewelry organizer, improvised from a glassless picture frame.

Perry has a tie rack, topped by his grandfather’s old shoehorn.

Clothes for little people and shoes for all:

Hmmm. Either I’m tired and grumpy, or it all looks better in real life. Maybe I should have had one of my in-house photographers do the job.

Anyway, we’re all whupped tonight, and we all love our bedrooms now. Tomorrow’s mission: potluck at our house with 40 or 50 people!

Filed Under: big family, homemaking 15 Comments

Happy Birthday Beloved!

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

December 24, 2010 By Perry C.

Happy Birthday to the prettiest girl in the world. (and a darn good blogger too)

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Kim

She's mine!

Filed Under: big family, birthdays/holidays, Dad's corner 13 Comments

Living small

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

December 15, 2010 By kimc

I’m not officially blogging during the month of December, but wanted to take a moment to share this chic little Paris apartment, which houses a family of 4 and one big dog. They may have the same number of square feet/person that we do, but there are economies of scale that they miss out on. They have much less living area than we do.

I’m guessing the apartment itself is nothing out of the ordinary over there, but I love the comments from Europeans who point out how we Americans have allowed our perception of needs to become so inflated.

Filed Under: big family 8 Comments

The Myth of Overpopulation

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

October 30, 2010 By kimc

Surely you already know that I don’t subscribe to the myth of overpopulation. Even if I did, if faced with accusations of irresponsibility I think I would have to quote another mother: “Sir, the world NEEDS my children.”

Nonetheless, I enjoy witnessing the debunking of ridiculous theories like evolution and overpopulation. That’s one reason I can’t resist sharing this video, found via Large Family Mothering.

The other reason?

I love God’s sense of humor and timing. I found this video and let it load in the background while chatting online with my good friend, Mother Hen. When it was done loading, I hit the play button. Mother Hen sent me a link while I was watching, but I finished the video before going back to our chat. When I clicked on her link, guess what came up?

Yup. I wonder if she’s blogging the video this very moment? Nah…what are the chances of that?

Filed Under: big family, news & politics 25 Comments

Duggars in Cincinnati

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

October 27, 2010 By kimc

We hear a lot about the Duggars. When people meet us with our 10 children, there are 2 common responses. If they know my parents, they ask if we’re trying to “beat” them. I’m the oldest of 14 children so if it’s a competition, we’re not far behind.

If they don’t know my parents, they want to know if we’re trying to catch up with the Duggars.

We’ve met the Duggars a couple of times, and I don’t want to compete with them. They are far too sweet and genuine. I’d rather be on the same side as they are.

If you live near Cincinnati, you may have a chance to meet them too! The Duggar family will be at the 2011 MidWest Homeschool Convention in Cincinnati!

Michelle Duggar will be leading a special workshop session during the day on Saturday, and that evening at 6PM the children will perform. Then Jim Bob and Michelle will share their testimony & family story. This will be followed by a Question & Answer session, and finally an autograph-session/book-signing.

Want to learn more about the Duggar family? Check out their book and video:

Filed Under: big family 16 Comments

Career choices

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

October 11, 2010 By Meg

Posted by Megan

So, today I was thinking about all the stuff I’d like to do. I’d like to be a writer. I’d like to be an editor. It would pretty cool to be hairdresser.It would be flat out awesome to be a chef. Then I realized, being a SAHM means that you can do all of that, and much more!

My mom blogs: she is a writer.

My mom edits whatever we blog: she is an editor.

My mom cuts, trims, tapers and layers all of our hair: she’s a hairdresser.

My mom cooked for all of us, for years before we started helping: she’s a chef.

It seems like some career woman think we have no choices. I’m sorry, but that makes me want to laugh. It’s just plain silly, SAHMs (or SAHMs to be) have far less limited choices than career women. That’s my thought, anyway.

Filed Under: big family, deep thoughts, Everyday life, homemaking, homeschooling 35 Comments

Ask the kids: Do you want a big family?

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

September 7, 2010 By kimc

I asked earlier this week what question you would ask the children of a mega-family. I want your questions to help with a secret project, but in the meantime I thought it would be fun to put the questions to my own children.

I’m starting with one that we hear quite often from friends, family and strangers alike. I was really touched by how much their individual personalities came through in their answers. Believe it or not, these answers are totally uncoached and unrehearsed. Am I the only one cracking up over Perry Boy’s answer?

Do you want a big family when you grow up? Why or why not?

Deanna (17):

I like big families and I would feel perfectly comfortable having a big family but I don’t have my heart set on having a certain number of kids. I feel equipped to have a big family, but at the same time I wouldn’t be hugely heartbroken if I only ended up having 2 or 3 kids.

I don’t believe in using any form of birth control – I very strongly believe that because I believe that God won’t give me more kids than I can handle and He won’t give me any kid in particular that I couldn’t handle, like a child with Down’s syndrome or autism. If I couldn’t handle a challenge like that, He wouldn’t give it to me.

Besides all that, I want to have at least 20 grandbabies. I can’t wait to be a totally awesome grandma!

Kaitlyn (15):

Of course! I love kids and wouldn’t want to miss out on any of my kids that I might have had . I love being a part of a big family and can’t imagine anything else (and I don’t want t0). Lord willing I’ll have at least 50 grandkids to love and if I do my job properly I’ll have a steady stream of babies for all my life…

I always feel very proud of my parents when we’re all together and get complimented and I can’t wait for people to see my family! I think having a big family is a great public witness too.

Besides just loving kids the Bible makes it very clear that God wants us to have lots of kids. “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth…” I don’t think it gets any clearer than that! God doesn’t say “if you want to and if it’s convenient for you I’d like you to have some kids”.

Lydia (13):

Yes, partly because it would seem very boring to have just 1 or 2 kids. Also for Biblical reasons: “be fruitful and multiply…” and “children are a blessing from the Lord.” And I like babies!

If God did choose to give me only 2 kids, it would obviously be because He had other things in mind to occupy me. But right now 2 kids sounds very boring. I think it would be easy to be content with anything more than 8 kids, because less than that would seem like a small family to me.

Megan (12):

Yes, I want at least 12 so I can say that kids are cheaper by the dozen. If I go above 12 – heck! I may as well aim to beat the Duggars! But why do I want kids? Growing up in a large family, I think if my parents had had less kids I would probably spend all my life wishing they’d had more.

Natalie (10):

I do, because kids are very fun and the older ones would be very helpful. I want my kids to have the same sort of life that I do, but I hope it’s even better for them – sometimes my sisters pick on me. I just want a big family so I can see how hard it is, and it’s fun to be loved by everyone in a big family. I think it would be nice to have between 10 and 20 kids.

Becca (9):

Yes! I want a big family because it’s fun to see babies grow into kids. Baby toes are so cute, and it’s fun to look at all their tiny clothes. I like it when people say, “Wow! Your baby is so cute!” Also, I like to cook for a big family. I think it would be fun to teach kids how to cook and read.

Rachael (6):

I’m fine with how many kids God wants to give me. If He gives me a lot, I’ll be happy, but if He only gives me a little that’s ok too. But I hope He gives me a lot! I want 20 kids! – No, wait – I want as much as God gives me.

Perry (4):

I want a bunch of kids! I’m gonna have as much as God gives me. If I stop having kids, then I want to adopt a little bit more. I’ll adopt as many as God gives me, too. I want to adopt ALL THE ORPHANS IN THE WHOLE WORLD! And I’ll build a huge house, with a lot of bedrooms – no, with just one bedroom like we have, but really huge so all the kids can share it! And I’ll be their dad, and my wife will be their mom.

And I want you to have some more babies. I want 2 more brothers so we can have 2 teams and 2 people on each team, and we can play good guys getting bad guys.

[slightly condensed because he repeats himself and because nobody can type as fast as that kid talks when he's excited.]

pf button Ask the kids: Do you want a big family?

Filed Under: big family 43 Comments

What would you ask?

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

September 6, 2010 By kimc

I have a question for you.

If you could ask the children of a mega-family anything you wanted, what would your question be?

Just one question, mind you, answered from the individual perspective of each child.

Indulge me and assume that unlike my own children, these children range from established adults with families and worldviews of their own, down to preteens and young adults still under their parents’ roof.

What would you want to know?

Filed Under: big family, questions 61 Comments

4 Moms 35 Kids: Kitchen/Dining Room linkup

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

August 12, 2010 By kimc

Last week, we all showed the outside of our home or the entry if we had one. I’ll start off this week with an excuse – er, an apology. I forgot the kitchen part and thought this week was only about dining rooms. ”What’s the problem?” you’re asking. ”Why doesn’t she just snap a few pictures of her kitchen and be done with it?”

Well, I’m sorry but I can’t. I loaned my camera to my sister this weekend because I’m 300 miles from my kitchen. If it’s kitchens you want, you’ll have to drop in on Smockity, Raising Olives, or the Headmistress.

But in what I thought was an uncommon display of foresight, I did snap a few pics of my dining room before I left town. Here’s the grand tour.

Lest you get the wrong idea from the word grand, our dining room is not particularly large, though we think it is well suited to entertaining large groups. Our floor plan is very open, with a dining area smack in the middle of the 12 x 48 kitchen/dining/living area.

Our table, on the other hand, is nearly 4 feet wide and 9 feet long of solid hardwood. We found it at a scratch-n-dent store many years ago and decided it was probably a good investment for a family that was growing at the rate of one child every 19 months. Now it’s just the right size for our family, though we’re always happy to squeeze in a few extras if the occasion arises.

The finish is sadly deteriorated after all these years, so as part of our homeschooler disguise we covered it with maps and other educational items under clear plastic.

I gladly gave up my vacuum cleaner years ago when we put down linoleum tile. Now we use these to clean the floor.

They do a beautiful job, and don’t require any storage space like the vacuum did. I think they just live under the table, usually as close to the little ones’ seats as possible.

In the first photo above, to the right of the table you see our computer counter. I had a separate photo of this but it didn’t turn out so you’ll have to squint your eyes and/or use your imagination.

This is where we keep 4 computer monitors, all attached to the same desktop unit. These are often used for educational purposes. If you think Facebook is in any way educational, then they are always used for homeschooling. That would certainly answer the “what about socialization” question, wouldn’t it?

Another useful fixture in our dining room is the globe. We like ours without a base because…um…it’s easier to turn it around and see new places? No. The truth is, the base never lasts more than a month. I got tired of replacing perfectly good globes just because the base broke and now we’ve had the same one for 3 years. I don’t think the younger children know that globes even come with a base.

Above the computer counter is the birthday wall. See how uneven they are? That’s because they all rattle every time somebody slams the front door, in the lower right corner. Hmm. Natalie seems to have fallen again.

birthday wall 300x87 4 Moms 35 Kids: Kitchen/Dining Room linkup

This is where we have 1st birthday photos of each member of the family, from Dad all the way down to…well…if you count the frames, you’ll find that I’ve procrastinated for at least a year in updating it, because there’s no picture of Bethany, let alone Parker. If you look closely, you might notice that Perry Boy is only a couple of months old, which means that I’ve procrastinated far longer. Anyway it’s far more efficient to do these things by 2′s and 3′s, don’t you think?

Guess who most of our children take after.

And we’re done! Who’s hungry?

Are you ready to show your kitchen and/or dining room? Link up below, and please remember to follow the rules: you must link to an individual post on your blog (not the home page), and your post must link back to one of the 4 moms. Thanks for joining in!

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4 Moms 35 Kids: Open House linky

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

August 5, 2010 By kimc

4 Moms 35 Kids is back from summer break/maternity leave! Did you miss us?

Just for the fun of it, we’ve agreed to kick it off with an Open House to show you how big families live. Join me, Kimberly, Smockity and the Headmistress by linking up with a post and pics of your own.

Our Open House this week highlights the outside of the house. Here in south Texas, we have 2 seasons: Summer, and Not-Summer. Each lasts about 6 months.

Since we don’t use a/c and things get pretty steamy down here, we spend a lot of time outside in the summer. Of course we also spend a lot of time outside during the more pleasant not-summer time.

Needless to say, we love our deck. My hunney has been buying me wrought-iron tables and chairs by bits and pieces over the last year or more. We eat dinner out here nearly every night, especially when we have company.

Last year I also added a table built out of leftover scraps from deck repairs. We usually serve dinner buffet style from this table.

We were thrilled to add some shade on our deck last year…

and even more shade last month.

See? Lots of shade!

We already thought our view was stunning, but somehow it seems even nicer when your brains aren’t baking in the sun.

Unfortunately, our garden isn’t nearly as happy on the deck as we are. I think it’s languishing for freedom, but the deer run rampant down there. The garden wouldn’t last a week.

If you’ve ever been to our house in real life, you were probably expecting to see our laundry hung out to dry. No, I am not posting pics of our undies flapping in the wind for the whole world wide web to see. Only our closest friends and family get that view.

If one were to venture off the deck – something I do with shameful infrequency – one would be accosted by chickens who assume that you are on your way to the compost pile with a bucket of goodies.

The full-grown hens are very friendly, but we’re curious to see if our little Leghorn pullets will stay as sweet as they are now. Leghorns have a reputation for being shy and skittish. Too bad they can’t stay tiny and fluffy, but I suppose that would defeat the purpose of having chickens.

Further down the driveway is our little bit of flatland, where you’ll find a used bike lot and the trampoline.

Wait – did I say that? Bikes? What bikes? There’s just a trampoline.

You’re welcome to walk about our 5 rocky, hilly acres if you’d like – there’s lots of live oak, spanish oak, agaritas (loaded with delightfully tart little berries in the spring), and prickly pears (another edible fruit, though we aren’t fond of them), with small scrubby cedar everywhere. Oh, and rocks. Lots of rocks.

And that’s all there is to see, folks. Would you care to sit a spell and have a glass of iced tea? Or come in and see the baby?

Or you could link up with a post of your own. Just link here and your link will show up on all 4 Moms’ blogs! Please remember to include a link to this post to keep your link from being deleted.

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100+ Reasons to Have Children

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

July 19, 2010 By kimc

Lately I’ve come across several lists of reasons not to have children. I find it very sad and telling that nearly all of the authors’ reasons are based in immaturity, materialism, myths, and misconceptions. Yes, children require work, money and personal sacrifice, but these are all things we do willingly because we love them. These are joyful sacrifices for a worthwhile cause.

I couldn’t help but work on my own version. Here are a few of the perks of having children, in no particular order. Some are tongue-in-cheek, while others are dead serious. I’ll let you try to guess which is which.

Please understand that I am not criticizing those who do not have children, particularly those who struggle with infertility. I am also not suggesting that you or I should have children just so that we can save some bucks when it’s time to file taxes, or use the stork space in the grocery store parking lot. My point is that children are a blessing and a delight, not a burden to be avoided at all costs.

What would you add to the list below?

100+ Reasons to Have Children

Have a happier marriage.
Pay less income taxes.
Learn to share, and like it.
The ultimate diet plan: morning sickness and breastfeeding.
Enjoy snuggles on demand, around the clock.
Cuteness abounds.
Disposable diapers. There. I said it.
Receive preferential treatment in grocery lines.
Be seated first (or last, if you prefer) on planes.
Park in the “stork” space at grocery stores.
Have an excuse to buy cool toys and cute little outfits.
Children will love you on your worst day, and…
they think you’re beautiful, even on bad hair days,
or when you’re not wearing makeup.
Free entertainment: kids are hilarious.
Laughter is good for your health. See above.
Have family still living when you’re old.
Have someone to help you when you’re old.
Grandkids!
Have someone to help care for your pets.
But who needs pets? Kids are way cuter, and they last longer.
Unlike pets, kids eventually learn to take care of their own poop.
Get a lollipop every time you go to the bank, along with your children.
Tone your arms the old-fashioned way: tote a toddler.
Kids eat free at many restaurants.
Have an excuse to buy junk food.
Sharing your junk food means less stays on your own hips.
Children will eat and appreciate your failed cooking experiments.
Embarrass your kids. You won’t believe how fun it is. Displays of affection with your spouse work well for this.
Be better able to encourage other parents during rough times with their children because you’ve been-there-done-that.
Blow bubbles.
Give your friends somewhere to send their kids’ hand-me-downs.
Burn calories: play with your kids.
Kids will help hone your reactions with obstacle courses on the stairs.
Save money by not buying birth control.
Have sex without worrying about pregnancy. It’s fun.
Ask anyone who has given birth: the pains of labor are worth it.
Pregnancy reduces menstrual cramps in subsequent periods.
Pregnancy lowers your risk of ovarian cancer.
Breastfeeding lowers your risk of breast cancer,
and uterine cancer,
and osteoporosis.
Not using birth control lowers your risk of ectopic pregnancy.
Think pregnancy dooms you to getting fat? Take a look at my mom with her 14 kids. Can you even tell which one she is?
Pregnancy requires you to eat more. I can appreciate that.
Be motivated to be a better person. Little eyes are watching.
Help raise the languishing birth rate.
Learn alongside your children.
Read books you never would have discovered on your own.
Reread your childhood favorites with and to a new generation.
See the world through new, unjaded eyes.
See yourself through your baby’s eyes. It’s amazing.
See yourself through your children’s eyes. You’ll never be the same again.
See your flaws reflected in your children. It’s enlightening and humbling.
Kids will make you proud and keep you humble.
If you make a mess while eating, everyone will assume the kids did it.
Kid will say what you wish you could say, but can’t.
Strengthen your relationship with your own parents by becoming a parent yourself.
Stay physically active. It’s much harder to be lazy when little ones depend on you.
Improved immune system. It’s a law of nature: Moms never get sick.
If you do get sick, you have someone to take care of you without your spouse taking time off work.
Baby smiles.
Carrying a baby? Strangers will smile at you.
Babies are also a great conversation starter.
Learn to delight in everyday occurrences.
Translate toddler gibberish with ease for puzzled onlookers.
Your own love for your child gives you a small taste of how much God loves His children.
Live vicariously: remember that toy you never got as a child, but you’re too old to want it now? Let your kids try it out.
Relive your childhood: remember the toy you did get as a child? Let your kids try it out.
Rediscover the joy of crayons.
Job security: moms have it.
Learn and believe that happiness really doesn’t come from material wealth…
…yet be amazed at how much joy you can buy your child with a quarter.
Kids are cheap.
Marvel that 2 people can produce children that are better-looking than either parent. Heredity is a strange and wonderful thing.
Be welcomed home like a returning war hero every time you go grocery shopping or to the post office.
Be looked at like this:
Soft little fingers and toes. They’re cute on other people’s children, but utterly priceless on your own children.
The unbearable cuteness of newborn-size diapers. (credit: Deanna)
Discover your super powers: make milk, and heal mortal wounds with a kiss.
Ask any parent you know if they regret having kids.
Learn to appreciate simple pleasures: ice cream cones, a single M&M, homemade cookies.
Do you love your spouse? Experience a miracle: a new person who looks like both of you.
After 10 years of children, washing dishes becomes optional. (credit: Deanna)
Get special treatment on Mother’s Day.
Breakfast in bed is fun, even when it’s cheerios and multi vitamins. (credit: Becca)
Experience the triumph of potty training.
Have the advantage of a youthful memory again: have your kids remind you about important things. (credit: Megan)
Expand your wardrobe: share clothes with your teens.
Gather candy from the piñata without getting funny looks.
Have help cooking.
Be a safer driver,
In a safer vehicle.
Free or cheap manicures and pedicures. I pay a dollar.
Ditto for back/shoulder rubs.
Perpetually late? You don’t even have to blame it on the kids. People will assume.
Vanity? You’ll look at your baby in the mirror instead of yourself.
Paint your kids’ nails in a color you like but could never wear yourself.
Have your bed made for $.25/day. Maid service has never been so cheap or cheerful, and there’s no need to report payments to the IRS.
If you’ve never had a baby fall asleep on your chest, you just don’t know what you’re missing.
Homemade friends. My children are some of my favorite companions.
Kids with money ROCK! They buy their own clothes, treat you to Starbucks, and buy you unbelievable birthday/Christmas gifts.
World domination through militant fecundity! [maniacal laughter]
Children are part of God’s purpose for creating marriage:But did He not make them one,
Having a remnant of the Spirit?
And why one?
He seeks godly offspring. Malachi 2:15