Thursday, November 19, 2015

12 Things Every Large Family Kid Knows To Be True

There's nothing quite like the large family life. Between the staring strangers, messes, laughing and chaos, there is always fun. And there is never a dull moment. If you have many siblings (or kids), I'm sure you can relate to what I'm about to say, but if you don't...well...here's a little peek into what it's like to live in a large family. Enjoy! :)
 1.) It's noisy. All. The. Time.
Perhaps the dog is barking, somebody is either crying or laughing, or someone else is banging a spoon and a pot lid "making music." And finding a quiet place to study or read? Yeah...not happening.  
 
2.) You don't really know how to cook in small quantities
After becoming so used to doubling (and sometimes even tripling) recipes, it really takes some serious calculating to make a small batch of anything. Just the thought of having to shop and cook for less than five people sounds like a challenge! 

3.) When you play board games, you almost always have teams
Very few games have enough pieces for everyone to have their own, so it's either Apples to Apples, Monopoly, or everyone doubles up. There also may be a few games on the shelf with homemade pieces, because it really doesn't make a difference if you can just change up the rules a bit!

4.) The mountains of laundry
 The laundry never ends. It's a constant cascade of dirty clothes coming from who-knows-where that somehow ends up clean at the end of the day. I really respect the people who had to wash all of their clothes in a river before washers and dryers came around! Those appliances are large family life-savers!

5.) The looks from strangers everywhere you go
You become used to the gaping mouths when the kids climbing out of that van just keep coming...and coming...and coming. And you are always prepared to answer when you are asked, "Are you all really siblings?" for the billionth time. 

6.) Calling "dibs" on everything
Whether it's the front seat in the car, the next round of Mario Kart, or the last piece of cake, you better call dibs, or it may not be there in five minutes!

7.) Family photos are close to impossible
With a "let's all get in closer!" here and there, everyone will at least all be in the picture. Several pictures must be taken, however, because somebody isn't smiling, or somebody else blinked. You can only hope that there is at least one good one, but there are no guaranties.   

8.) You constantly get mistaken for your younger siblings' parent
You pretty much have a default reaction of smiling nicely and nodding when people make comments to you and your younger siblings such as, "You have such cute kids!" and "Are you being good for Mommy?" All the while, you are trying your hardest not to laugh at how crazy it would be if you were actually their parent!
 
9.) You can focus in almost any environment 
I think this should be considered a superpower. Sure, the vacuum is running and the kids are playing a noisy game of hide and seek, but you really have to study and focus, so somehow you have just learned to tune things like that out. Occasionally, quiet does become necessary, and the closet ends up being the only place to re-gain your sanity. 

10.) Being on time (or even better, early!) is a huge accomplishment
"Don't worry! We won't be late." "Wait, where are my shoes?" "Oh, I forgot my coat." "We're missing someone!" 
Sometimes, the best thing to do it plan to leave a long time before you actually have to, and you may end up leaving on time! Who knew coordinating so many people to go somewhere could be so difficult? :p 

11.) Nothing "family sized" is truly family sized
Almost everything advertised as "family size" is usually bought in double or triple quantities. Buying in bulk is the only way to ensure that you will only need one of something, so the majority of the groceries are bought at Sam's Club! 

12.) You wouldn't trade it for anything
No matter how many disagreements and squabbles you have, you all still love each other to death. You share years packed full of inside jokes, memories, and difficult times that were walked through together. Each of you have learned not only how to get along with a wide range of personalities, but also how to work on a team and accomplish things together. There is an incredible bond between you all that will be there for the rest of your lives. No matter what life throws at you, you can always find a huge web of support in your very own family.


I really love living in a large family. Yes, more often than not, it does seem like a tribe of monkeys, but the laughter and love that fills our home adds quite a bit of adventure and fun to life! I love each and every one of my crazy, noisy, but oh-so-awesome siblings! You guys rock! :) ♥

 
   ~Megan ♥

*picture via Google

10 comments:

  1. Such a cute post! So true! My Dad is a carpenter and me and him are almost always singing (then our dog joins in to make things even louder :), so I know what you mean about focusing in. :D
    -Mic

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  2. I am only 15, but I have been mistaken as a mommy to a little girl Ashley and I babysit ...when Ashley, my older sister, wasn't around.
    I didn't say anything, but I loved the feeling, and the thought of being a mother someday myself. Sometimes its hard to wait for such special days ahead in life...only I know I must wait. Not having younger siblings, the little girl is like that fun, cute sister I never had...Guilty as charged I wish I was her Mom...highly impossible though!!!!!!! and I do laugh at the thought too. Mixed feelings spread around. Two days before Thanksgiving. Letter not sent yet. Doing my best Megan! So Sorry! Happy Thanksgiving to the entire family! incase I don't get to say that on Thanksgiving ~Abby

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    1. Yes, so true! :) And Happy Thanksgiving to you too! Don't worry...I've been just as inconsistent with letter writing. :) <3

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  3. True, true, TRUE! I'm the youngest of 4 girls... Not that big of a family, but we always have and always will have these issues. But as we get older, and my two oldest sisters are off at collage, these things only happen when they visit on breaks ;).

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  4. Hi Megan!
    Oh my gosh, this post is like 2000% true! I am the fifth of eleven, and don't I know it.
    People get so weirded out when us kids have a line to hold a baby. Whenever we go somewhere, if there is a baby, one of us asks to hold it, then there's a thousand 'I'M NEXT!!!!!' calls from everywhere at once.

    If dad didn't insist on getting ready to go AT LEAST half an hour to fourty five minutes before... I don't think we'd be anywhere on time.

    Now that there are only 8 of us kids at home, I always make waaaaay too much food. You'd think after five months I'd have gotten used to it. The silence is so wierd! Well, silence-ish.

    A friend of ours said we almost made him want to be a hermit, we were so loud. We were all like: 'why? We are all being quiet!' Only children are extremely pitiable. I can't imagine what I would do with myself all day!!

    We also get mistaken for twins. Reactions: 'What??? We aren't even the same height!!' or 'We look NOTHING alike!!' or *laughs*

    Great post! Really funny.
    ~E
    scribblingpencils.blogspot.com

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    1. You've got us beat by four!! :D

      YES YES YES the baby lines!! That happens all of the time, especially now that there aren't any more little babies at our house!

      I have often wondered what it would be like to be an only child! Or even to have only one or two siblings! I feel like I would be super bored!! :D

      YES, we have had multiple people ask if some of us are adopted or twins! It makes us laugh every time!

      Thank you for stopping by!! :)♥

      ~Megan <333

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  5. This is awesome Megan! :) I loved reading this post. Thanks for linking to it from your newest one! <3
    SO TRUE... I can relate.

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  6. This post is SO RELATABLE... I love it. :-)

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  7. Hello! I really like your blog! Once when I was only 13 a lady asked if 2 of my sisters (who were about 5+2 ) were my sisters of daughters. :) How many siblings do you have? I have 7 but 2 don't live at home anymore. By the way, I have a giveaway going on on my blog that you welcome to check out!
    Laur@ http://flowersinmybasket.blogspot.com PS I really liked you homeschooler post too! (=

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  8. Oh Megan I laughed so hard. This is SO RELATABLE. I have gone through every single thing. Beautiful blog btw.

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