The ages of our kids are 16, 13, 11, and 9. Here’s a little glimpse of the way things work in our house with four kids…
• “Calling it” – If you want dibs on something, you better “call” it. And, you better call it fast. Our kids are always yelling out “I call front seat”, “ I call computer”, “I call Mom and Dad’s bathroom”. And, if you want to stay one step ahead, you better specify how long you’re calling it – “I call front seat for the entire day!”
• Interruptions – You will more than likely be interrupted a lot. If one of my kids start to tell a story, they have learned to premise it by saying loudly to everyone, “Don’t interrupt”
• Noise – This one is pretty self explanatory. 4 kids=noise
• Memory – My kids often forget to make their beds or pick up their dirty laundry, but, they never forget each and every single time any of their siblings have got to buy something or go somewhere. They can definitely keep score when it comes to that kind of stuff.
• Laundry – I literally do laundry every single day. And, I’m still never completely caught up. On the rare occasion that I take a day off from laundry…let’s just say, it’s not pretty. Piles of laundry are one of my biggest stresses.
• Fussing and Fighting – This is really hard for me to take. My siblings were quite a bit older than me, so as I grew up, they were already moving out on their own. I never had to deal with fighting and bickering with them. My kids do it all the time. They can argue over just about anything, no matter how insignificant it may seem.
• Mealtime Assembly Line – When our kids were younger, dinnertime was easier if we left all the food on the stove and prepared their plates for them. We would fill up their plates, cup up their food, and place it before them at the table. Now that they are older, we still find ourselves doing it this way. Although this made things run smoothly when they were little, I now see that it has put them at somewhat of a disadvantage. I say this because last night I discovered that my 11 yr. old son didn’t know how to cut up his chicken breast. Ooops!
• Love, Affection, and Companionship – And, last but not least, with four kids, there’s always lots of this kind of good stuff to go around!
• “Calling it” – If you want dibs on something, you better “call” it. And, you better call it fast. Our kids are always yelling out “I call front seat”, “ I call computer”, “I call Mom and Dad’s bathroom”. And, if you want to stay one step ahead, you better specify how long you’re calling it – “I call front seat for the entire day!”
• Interruptions – You will more than likely be interrupted a lot. If one of my kids start to tell a story, they have learned to premise it by saying loudly to everyone, “Don’t interrupt”
• Noise – This one is pretty self explanatory. 4 kids=noise
• Memory – My kids often forget to make their beds or pick up their dirty laundry, but, they never forget each and every single time any of their siblings have got to buy something or go somewhere. They can definitely keep score when it comes to that kind of stuff.
• Laundry – I literally do laundry every single day. And, I’m still never completely caught up. On the rare occasion that I take a day off from laundry…let’s just say, it’s not pretty. Piles of laundry are one of my biggest stresses.
• Fussing and Fighting – This is really hard for me to take. My siblings were quite a bit older than me, so as I grew up, they were already moving out on their own. I never had to deal with fighting and bickering with them. My kids do it all the time. They can argue over just about anything, no matter how insignificant it may seem.
• Mealtime Assembly Line – When our kids were younger, dinnertime was easier if we left all the food on the stove and prepared their plates for them. We would fill up their plates, cup up their food, and place it before them at the table. Now that they are older, we still find ourselves doing it this way. Although this made things run smoothly when they were little, I now see that it has put them at somewhat of a disadvantage. I say this because last night I discovered that my 11 yr. old son didn’t know how to cut up his chicken breast. Ooops!
• Love, Affection, and Companionship – And, last but not least, with four kids, there’s always lots of this kind of good stuff to go around!
5 comments:
That sounds like our kids. The oldest one is only nine so I have many more years to go.
My four kids seem to generate noise with every step! I have to teach my 10 year old how to cut his meat too. Laundry please go away :)
I used to get asked all the time when I was going to have a second child (none of their business) and I would tell them he doesn't need anyone to fight with. Of course I wish I could have had more children (nature had other ideas) so I envy you the joy but not some of the "stuff". My husband came from a family of five and he constantly talks over me so I guess that comes from always trying to get a word in somewhere LOL.
Treasure every dang minute!!! Mine is 29 now and I miss having him around all the time.
The last one makes up for all the nonsense of the other ones on the list!
This sounds like my house growing up! I was the oldest of 4.
One thing my mom established with my sister and I was "days". I had odd days, and she had even. On my day, I got to sit in the front seat of the car, and do the easy part of the dishes- unloading, etc.
Enjoy your 4! They grow up so fast!
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