Well, on occasion we get negative comments about the size of our family (as evidenced here), but much more often we get curious questions. And, we do get quite a few positive comments.

Sunday, David came home from church early to start grilling out some lunch for us. I stopped in the grocery store on my way home to get some lemonade and soda.

There was a lady right behind me in line and she leaned over and said, "OH! It looks like you're going to have a little blessing!"

"Yes!" I said. "Actually it will be number 11 for us." Normally I wouldn't just volunteer that out there, but I felt it was the right thing to say.

"Well," she said, "You're still so young, you have energy to care for them all. And the time just goes by so fast. You know what the Bible says? Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of children."

I said, "Yes, it sure does! But, not everyone feels that way........."

She smiled and said, "You know, it's just none of their business!"

Bless her heart.

She made my day.

Frugal Friday: How to Clothe a Large Family on a Budget

This is what my living room looked like two weeks ago.

 

 

No, the mall didn't throw up in there.

It's time for the Semi-annual Sanchez Seasonal Clothing Swapout!

We've got 12 people in the family and we just don't have room to keep all the clothes in the closets and dressers. So, twice a year I swap out the winter and summer clothes. That's tip number one for how to clothe a large family (or any size family) on a budget....

1. Be organized!

        This will make more sense in the next steps as to why organzation is key (as if organiziation isn't self explanatory for keeping wardrobes for 12 people). I keep all out of season clothing and shoes in plastic totes labeled by size, gender and season and stored in the garage.

2. Be a minimalist!

        Minimalism is your friend in this department. I've found that the more clothes a kid has, the more they get dirty and the more laundry I have to wash. and wash. and wash....    So, I find a reasonable amount of clothing for each child to last through the season. Sometimes that varies depending on the age of the child. For the most part about ten sets of clothing is enough per season. If I have enough extra from hand me downs, then I'll also set aside a few extra items for when something gets worn out, and also for church or when they need to wear something other than play clothes.

3. Don't be afraid to wear used clothing!

         Now, I know some people don't like wearing used clothing, and that's totally fine. There are lots of opportunities to find new clothing at huge discounts. Almost all stores offer end of the year clearances which are great for stocking up for the next season or a few seasons down the road if you find a really good deal. Also, check my favorite coupon sites for deals that spring up all the time.

          If you don't mind used clothing, and we don't, then here is a list of avenues that I use to clothe
our family. (A list within a list? I know, I'm type A. Please forgive me.)

• Hand-me-downs. All 12 of us wear hand me downs. And if it's something we can't use or don't like, then we can hand it down to someone else.  Call it a "swap" if you want. It's great for clothig, accessories, purses and shoes. The best part about hand-me-downs? FREE.

• Consignment. There are stores for children and adults. I've come across some really nice consignment stores, and some that are nice and expensive. But, typically even the more expesive stores will have a sale or things on clearance at some point. Also, in many cities are seasonal consignment sales that last a week with the last day being clearance. I've sold clothing at these and I've bought clothing at these, both good experiences.

• Thrift Stores. Sometimes the thrift store's quality of clothing isn't as nice as consignment, because it's donation, but it's also typically cheaper than consignment, and you can still find very nice clothing.

• Yard Sales. LOVE them. Huge selection, very cheap, and negotioable.

• Ebay. Just make sure the item has lots of pictures and detailed descriptions. Also, look at the seller's history. I've had good success buying clothing on Ebay, but I've also had lots of stress from trying to win an auction with a bazillion other bidders.

• Make your own. I'm not a seamstress, but I have been known to repurpose a thing or two if need be.

This is the time where organization comes in handy. When someone gives me hand me downs I go through them immediately, decide what I can use, and tuck them away in my labeled totes. Whatever I can't use, I go ahead and pass on to someone else. I also have a rule. If someone can't wear it in the next two years, and it's not something I don't want to part with, then I will hand it down.  Even keeping clothes labed and organized into totes can take over the garage if you save every size and every season for every body. But, if you don't have a large family, you may want to keep it all.

4. Set up a clothing budget!

             Keeping some money set aside strictly for clothing has allowed me to purchase things that I come across at great deals. Whether it's online, or thrift or wherever, if I see a pair of brand new jeans marked down to $2 I can snatch those up and stick them in the totes til the following season. If I know that someone will need jeans anyway, then I can plan ahead and get the good deal, so I'm all set when that next season arrives. I know it's hard to do with a large family, but I just make it a habit to keep my eye out for deals.

5. Name brands tend to last!

             In my experience, especially with used clothing, name brands tend to last much longer and stain less. Now, that's not to say that a name brand piece of clothing can't be ruined, because my children can ruin some clothing (can we say NO! to anything white?), but overall the quality tends to be better. If you can find a brand name clearance item, let's say a tshirt, for $2, that's such a better deal than a cheap brand bought new for $4. The $4 item will wear out in no time, and if I buy something new, I plan to have as many kids wear it as possible. Funny story. I bought two brand name plaid shorts overalls (boys size 2T) about seven years ago at a seasonal consignment sale on their 60% off day. I paid about $5 for both pairs. THREE of my boys wore those overalls, and they were in such great shape that I sold them again at a consignment sale for $5.

So, do you have any tips to add?

Large Family Life

Yes, we do know what causes it and no, we aren't crazy.

Most of the time.

Meet our soon-to-be family of TWELVE!

This is Brittany, number 1 and Tyler, number 2. They both just got braces last month. Brittany is a junior this year. She definately an oldest child. She's very smart and driven. She has a jewelry business and enjoys wearing jeans and all things superhero.

Tyler is a freshman this year. He is a wealth of information on many things including animals, history and video gaming. He also has a soft heart for taking care of the littles of the family. They all learn his name first.


This is Timothy, number three of the group and in sixth grade. This picture pretty much sums it up. LEGOS. All the time. He is very creative and has never had a shy bone in his body.

This is Bethany who comes in at number four, and in fourth grade. She is very into baking and crafting right now. She is very funny and loves drama and singing.

This is Brooke who is number five and in third grade. She is the only redhead of the bunch. Brooke has always says some of the funniest things, and loves Little House on the Prairie.

Tristan comes in at number six and is in first grade. Tristan is very fun loving and tells me that "Mom, you are awesome!" at least ten times a day. Every mom should have one of these little encouragers.

This is Thomas who is number seven in the line up. He is five years old and the family fashionista. He loves button down shirts and vests and his hair always styled, mostly these days in a faux hawk.

This is Bailey. She is three and is very easy going. She loves to sing Jesus Loves Me and keep up with her brothers.

And Travis, number nine. Oh Travis. He is 19 months and ALWAYS keeps me on my toes. He is my high maintenance little guy, but the rewards are high as well!



And this is little number TEN who is due in August!

And, this is where it all began, my husband David and me, Courtney. We've been married seventeen years and have survived the Marine Corps, the economy and putting up with each other.

Head on over to Kelly's Korner to meet some more large families!

The 10th Pregnancy and Other Things

Aside from feeling like I've wanted to throw up everyday for the past ten weeks, life has been steadily busy.

I had an ultrasound last Thursday (Tristan's birthday) which gave me some answers to the bleeding I had experienced several weeks ago. I have a subchorionic hematoma which is bleeding between the placenta and uterine wall. They don't really know what causes it and the doctor said it is just a wait and see type thing. They usually heal on their own, but could still result in miscarriage or preterm labor.

I would appreciate your prayers! I'm trusting the Lord to keep this baby safe, just like the other nine.

The baby actually looked great on the ultrasound. According to the information I had (LOL) I should have been only around 10 weeks, but the ultrasound showed 14! Boy, was I so glad to hear that.

This belly was already popping out and I couldn't suck it in anymore! I thought, 10 weeks? Is it twins or something?

But, thankfully I will be 15 weeks this week and that is when I usually start to get over this evil first trimester of doom.

Last Saturday was David's and my 17th anniversary! We went out Friday night since we were going to be so busy on Saturday. We decided to do something a little different and tried a Brazilian steakhouse. Normally we don't have our dinner served skewered on swords, but you know how I like to live on the edge.

You served yourself from a salad bar first. I tried the tabouli, pasta salad, potato salad, shrimp salad and tomato/onion. It was all very good. Then, when you get ready to have the meat served to you, you turn your little coaster to the green side. The gauchos started bringing out different cuts of meats and offered you a little teeny carving to try.

The tri-tip, sirloin, and pork tenderloin were delicious. The lamb, bacon wrapped filet, bacon wrapped chicken and parmesan chicken were okay. I didn't try the ham and the shrimp was not good.

David ordered a strawberry cheesecake, but I only had a bite of it since I was trying not to explode. It was a bit expensive, but definately a fun and maybe once a year treat.

I didn't take any pictures because I didn't want people to look at me funny. "Oh that poor country girl taking pictures of her fancy food."

Saturday we had our last Upward games, which I will hopefully post soon. That evening Brittany set out her jewelry to sell at a Women's Night Out event in our commmunity. My sweet friend, Debbie, set out her Avon and invited Brittany to join her. There were maybe 30 venders and free food. I went to help her set up and stayed for four hours.

On Sunday we had church and then two Upward Awards ceremonies to go to. So, needless to say, Monday morning I was TIRED.

My Saturday

Sleep in til 8:30. (Well, it is Saturday.)

8:35: Make husband’s lunch. Kiss husband goodbye and tell him I am planning to spend the entire day working on a book and finishing the laundry.

8:40: Eat some cereal. Change Bailey’s diaper. Change Travis’s diaper. Nurse Travis while I watch the last 20 minutes of a movie I missed when I fell asleep the night before.

9:05 Change a load of laundry. Remind teenage daughter to be ready by 2 o’clock to leave with friend.

9:15: Attempt to get dressed, but then wonder if I could find some capris since it will be so warm today. While looking for capris, I decide to see exactly what clothes I would be able to fit into since losing the baby weight.

10:45: Finish putting all clothing back into buckets, drawers and hangers after trying everything on, reorganizing it, stopping to change Travis again, nursing Travis, entertaining Travis with an empty water bottle, getting Bailey some juice, and making sure Bailey is not trying to start her own bath in my bathtub.

10:57: Vacuum closet and bedroom floors.

11:05: Check to see if kids have done their chores, get aggravated because kids have not done any chores. Tell the kids they better be doing their chores.

11:30: Tell the kids they are going outside.

12:15: Everyone is dressed, shoes have been found, two children have been told to go back and get on socks, and everyone makes their way outside.

12:20: Everyone is starving. Make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to send outside for a “picnic” lunch.

12:25: Nurse Travis and put him down for a nap.

12:45: Come back into the living room to turn on laptop and realize that I need to move some furniture around to make it more efficient.

1:15: Finish moving furniture, wiping down table and chairs, sweeping, wiping down the wall, and mopping the floor. Visit for a few minutes with friend who is picking up teenage daughter.

1:30: Have the following conversation:

Child: “I am hot. Can I come in?”

Me: “No, the air conditioner isn’t on, the windows are open. Stay outside.”

Different child: “I want to come in and play the X Box.”

Me: “You are not turning on the X Box, the Playstation, the Nintento, the DVD player, the VCR or the Flux Capacitor. Now go outside.”

Four Year Old Child: “Well, then, what can we do?”

Me: “It has snowed 137 feet over the last month. It finally has all melted and IT IS 74 DEGREES OUTSIDE TODAY. Go outside and use a little something that we, back in the olden days, liked
to call an “imagination”.

Child: (blank stare)


1:33: Remember to change another load of laundry.

1:37: Come back to the couch and turn on the laptop.

1:41: Realize I need a pencil and paper, so I go to the desk and see that someone has rearranged my paperwork, and put some things on the desk that aren’t where they belong. Organize paperwork, proceed to put away things that were misplaced, and carry an item into the garage. Knock over bucket of cleaners that someone has left in front of the garage door. Rearrange cleaners into appropriate locations.

2:00: Sit back down on the couch and realize I still need the paper and pencil. Retrieve paper
and pencil.

2:15: Wash handful of dirt out of Bailey’s mouth. Change her diaper and lay down with her for her nap.

2:27: Return to laptop.

2:40: Attempt to reattach the legs of a plastic alien being that has been “accidentally”
dismembered.

2:42: Decide alien being should visit the garbage can.

3:25: Get Travis out of his crib and put him on a blanket in the floor with some toys.

3:31: Break up a fight over a magnet. Give up and let some children come inside to play with playdough.

3:41 Remember to change another load of laundry. Wonder who the children are in the front yard who are completely covered in mud from the 137 feet of snow that has melted.

3:45 Bailey wakes up from her nap that she CLEARLY was not ready to wake up from. Get Bailey and Travis a snack.

4:00: Clean up 75% of the snack off of the floor.

4:10: Change Bailey’s diaper and listen to Travis scream bloody murder for not getting to him first.

4:15 Change Travis. Nurse Travis.

4:30 Look at the one paragraph I’ve written so far on the laptop. Put Travis on blanket to play. Listen to 4th request to turn on X Box. Give in and turn on X Box.

5:00 Start dinner because everyone is “so starving”.

5:15-7:00 Finish dinner, feed children, give baths.

7:00-8:20 Sort and fold 7 loads of laundry, get everyone’s shoes, socks, clothes, Bibles ready for church tomorrow.

8:35: Husband arrives home, feed him dinner, talk about the day

8:40 Tell children to start getting ready for bed.

9:53 Children actually go to bed.

10:00 Save the one paragraph and turn off the laptop, go to bed and wait for Travis to wake up to nurse.

Monday Musings

You know you have a large family if........

1. You've heard "Are all these children yours?" at least 18, 349 times.
2. You have more than one set of bunkbeds.
3. You always double the recipe.
4. All the tags on your children's clothing have a series of dots or numbers to know who they belong to.
5. You are no longer embarrassed when your husband has creative answers to "Do you know what causes that?"

Grocery Shopping

Okay, how much does it cost to feed a family of 9? Well, Kroger had to get special permission to accept the amount of the check I wrote out today! I had 2 BIG carts full of stuff. My dh only gets paid once a month, so I like to shop for everythinig intially then I only have to go back for stuff like milk and fruit later on. I am a bargain shopper, we eat fairly simply and I am known to clip a mean coupon, but it is quite costly these days. We belong to a fruit and veg. co-op, where we and some other families buy from the farmer's market for quite a bit cheaper than the store. I make homemade stuff-a lot.
So........for breakfast this month we'll be rotating pancakes, granola bars, cheerio bars, and french toast & bacon. For lunch we usually do sandwiches with veggies or fruit. Sometimes for a treat I'll buy some inexpensive chips. And this month I splurged and actually bought yogurt! And frozen chicken fingers and fries. (One can only eat so much PB&J). And for dinners, my dh loves beans and tortillas -pintos with cheese and ground beef-it must be a mexican thing :) And he is a very much meat-and-potatoes-no-thanks-for-the-salad-kind of guy. So for dinners we'll be rotating beans and tortillas, grilling out burgers and brats (another dh fave), chicken and rice, homemade pizza and baked mac and cheese. I'll whip up a jello salad and some corn on the cob to go with the grilled stuff and maybe some fresh green beans with the mac and cheese.
Last month Bi-Lo had their pork roast on sale, so I bought 6 of them. We are kind of tired of pork now..........
I keep it fairly simple (I don't really enjoy cooking, but I do enjoy eating) and fairly healthy. I do buy some boxed cookies or crackers to have once a week or so. They can eat an entire box in just one sitting, so I try to make it a special treat. I found it also makes them finish their meals because they haven't filled up on snacks in the meantime. And sometimes on the weekends my dh likes to make rootbeer floats for the kids, so I went ahead and got some ice cream and soda.
And okay, I did buy M&M's to reward my 2 and half year old ds for going potty. Which is going fairly well actually. :)

How We Got 7 Babies.....

I was just talking with a friend recently about the McCaughey's who had the septuplets about 10 years ago. It really is a miracle that they all survived and are doing well. We have 7 children, and didn't get them all at once. But it is still really almost a miracle that we have them. When I was growing up, I decided that I didn't want any kids. None. They were somewhat annoying and would definately get in the way of my dreams of exciting careers. Kids- no thank you. But I met David when I had just turned 19 and soon and very unexpectedly became pregnant. Talk about devestation. I thought my life was over!
I was in denial for a while, then almost depressed, but after a few months I began to think that maybe- just maybe- this wasn't the complete end of my life. David was stationed in the Marine Corps in Hawaii while I was back in Alabama. (I'll post that story another day.) We got married and things began to look up. After Brittany was born I began to think that maybe this baby thing wasn't so bad after all. I became a Christian when Brittany was just a couple months old. When Brittany was a year old, I thought maybe one more would be okay, and nine months later we had a Tyler. We thought maybe we'd have another in the future, but no big rush. About a year later we moved and started attending a church with some awesome Biblical teaching. The pastor's wife encouraged me to simply trust God for what he had planned for us. Hmmm. Interesting concept.
So, I really prayed and felt the Lord wanted to show me he was really the One in control. So along came a Timothy, then 19 months later a Bethany and 13 months later a Brooke. Then about 20 months later along came a Tristan and 24 months later a Thomas. People keep asking if we will have more. And the answer is "Yes. If the Lord gives more, we will take more." No, I am not Catholic, crazy or brave. No, I am not super organized, have easy pregnancies, or supermom. I have just allowed the Lord to give me what he wanted me to receive. He, thankfully, gave me what he wanted me to have, not what I thought I wanted. It has been hard work being pregnant and delivering 7 times. There is a lot of cleaning, cooking, disciplining, sleepless nights, throwing up, laundry, bills, organizing, homeschooling, dirty diapers, and the list goes on. But it is only through the infinite grace of God displayed in my life that I have 7 precious children -and lived to tell about it. :)