We are Nine and Counting…
Posted by Team Malt-O-Meal on January 6th 2010 in Blog
This post was generously provided by a member of the Malt-O-Meal Facebook Family. Mary-Belle is a regular Facebook conversation participant and it has been a joy getting to know her and her wonderful family online. Enjoy!
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We live in rural North Carolina.
My husband and I have nine children, with our tenth scheduled to appear in March. With a family this size, we certainly get some interesting questions from folks. I’ll try and answer some of those here, as well as give you a look inside at our daily lives.
I have one brother. That’s it. My husband has two brothers. That’s it.
Neither of us started our marriage with the goal of having a large family. We had one son, and then a daughter. The “perfect” family, right?…But, I really wanted another. Once our third got a little older I thought we we should have one more, but hubby wasn’t on board…yet. It wasn’t too long before he too wanted one more baby. After that well, the rest is history.
Our Work
My husband had been a diesel mechanic for 26 years. He’s a Lead mechanic now, but we certainly aren’t what is considered wealthy. I work as an independ ent Travel Planner, specializing in Disney® trips of all kinds. I plan all sorts of trips for people, Disney® theme vacations are my passion. Fun vacations aren’t usually what comes to mind when people think of very large families, but we know how important family time is so we try our best to vacation when we can.
My hus band and I just LOV E c ruising on the commercial cruise liners. When pregnancy or a nursling doesn’t prohibit it, w e take at least two cruises a year. But again, not a lot of money in what I d o at home. Most of the vacation planning I do is for other families. However, it is nice to be making enough to pay for our own now and the n.
Our Home
We built a large house 4 years ago. At the time we had seven children. We had lived in a three-bedroom mobile home up until the day we finished the house. It always makes me laugh when someone with two children wants a bigger house because there isn’t enough room.
Our Life
Folks can sure ask some pretty nosy questions, but I guess our family size can’t help but pique genuine curiosity. We are Christian people, but not Catholic or Mormon as many may conclude due to the size of our family. We simply love children. My husband and I have been married for 23 years – all the children are a product of our marriage. No we are not crazy. Yes, we do know what “causes” children to appear in our home.
I home school our children. My oldest son is in his second year of College in Indiana. My oldest daughter is such a great homemaker that she can run my house in my absence and probably do a better job. She’ll graduate from high school this year.
Getting by with nutrition in mind
One last thing before I tell you about my average day – I’m an avid couponer. Not just someone who clips a coupon here and there, and sticks it somewhere, planning to use it. I’m ALL in!
My friends call me the coupon queen. I know many ladies who have this title, and I don’t want to take it on. But my pantries are so well stocked that if I don’t feel like going grocery shopping for a month, I don’t need to. We buy fresh milk, and I can make bread if we need it, though I mostly buy it, but when a grocery store will double or triple coupons, look out. I’ll be there, with my coupon boxes (yes, plural), and I’ll be there a lot. During a triples event, I average a 90% savings. During regular doubles, 85%. I never spend more than I save, no matter what. My best trip ever? $1,514 in groceries and I was paid $163. Long story, but true. I get everything that’s free and lots of things that are nearly free – the things I can’t use, SOMEONE can.
Friends and family often consider us strange because of what we choose to eat and feed our children.
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We don’t eat fast food.
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We rarely eat out of the house at all.
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We don’t eat foods from a box, can or other packages.
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We only use real butter, lard, or coconut oil.
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I make our ketchup, spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, jam, desserts, kraut, applesauce, soups, and a host of other things.
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We peel and cook real potatoes, from the ground.
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We do have a garden, and I can and freeze from that.
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I buy local, grass-fed meats, and eggs from free-range chickens.
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We drink fresh milk, so I make our own sour cream, yogurt, cream cheese, eggnog, etc.
I do let the children have the occasional treat if I have a coupon, and if there are no forbidden ingredients (MSG & High Fructose Corn Syrup being the two absolutes), which is why I buy Malt-O-Meal cereal, and why I searched for them on Facebook. I believe that paying close attention to what your family eats is important no matter what your income level is. Rich, economically disadvantaged, or somewhere in the middle, it’s seems responsible to let food companies know that they are contributing to your family’s food standards.
Our Average Day
Late Morning:
Snack time! Then the older children get started on their school, as well. The older children rarely need my help, but the younger, of course do. I enlist the help of my oldest daughter for reading lessons, and everyone takes turns entertaining a toddler.
Afternoon:
It’s lunchtime, and we eat. The toddlers then go down for a nap, and the older children can work on their projects. My oldest daughter enjoys sewing, scrapbooking, reading. The younger girls enjoy drawing and writing. My sons enjoy drawing, building, painting, woodworking. When the little ones awake, everyone wants a snack.
After we enjoy a healthy snack, and if the weather permits, everyone goes outside to play and get some fresh air. Basketball, football, swings, seesaw, go-carts, leaf piles, etc., depending upon the time of year. During the summer, it’s gardening time for me, as well.
Late afternoon:
We all go back inside where there’s schoolwork to finish and chores to be completed.
Evening: I start dinner, if it isn’t in a crockpot already. My husband comes home in late evening, so we sometimes eat without him. Then there’s dessert – a staple in our home. Everyone expects it, but it must be earned. Chores must be done, behavior must have been good, and the verses memorized from today’s reading must be recited at dinner. The rest of the evening, we play board games or have Wii tournaments, until bedtime, which is staggered. That’s pretty much my day, in a tiny nutshell. Not much excitement, thankfully, but lot’s of lap time, hugs and kisses.
February 10th, 2010 at 10:27 pm
Wow… a great read. It’s so different from my life (single mother of toddler in Hong Kong). I will never again complain about my life being too full or busy
But I’m glad to read about someone who has the same attitude to wholesome, own-grown, locally-sourced food as I have. While people say there’s a definite ‘trend’ towards living eco-friendly and more simply as a knee-jerk reaction to a bad economy, I think it’s more a case of ‘it tastes better, IS better and so much cheaper so why not make a little effort?’. People seem to forget that it wasn’t that long ago that this attitude was totally normal for our parents generation, who lived through far worse. Thanks for sharing!
March 11th, 2010 at 8:50 pm
I think it’s awesome you raise your kids this way. You and your husband sound like terrific parents. Kudos. There is hope yet for our future with children like yours. God Bless!
April 22nd, 2010 at 2:00 pm
This is so fun! I love big families! Yours sounds awesome! Keep up the good work!
June 7th, 2010 at 6:31 pm
I just want to say congratulations! I am also a mother of 9, although as of right now I am not expecting the 10th, but I am not opposed to it. I would love to connect to you on facebook, if you are interested. You have a well managed household. You are very inspiring to me and I will strive to be more like you. I hope to get to know you more. God Bless!!!
June 11th, 2010 at 2:18 pm
Hi! I just got the oportunity to read your story on the malt o meal website. You are an inspiration to me. I will try to be more like you. I would like to get to know more about you and your family. I also have 9 children. If you are interested in conecting to be friends on facebook, then look me up. I live in alabama. Hope to get to know more about you guys. May god bless you!
Kelly
August 24th, 2010 at 1:22 pm
Kelly,
I did look for you on Facebook, but had no luck finding you. You’re welcome to look for me there – I’m obviously doing something wrong. You can reach me by email at Mary-Belle@dvandc.com.
March 3rd, 2011 at 9:42 am
Great, thanks for sharing this blog post.Really thank you! Cool.
September 23rd, 2011 at 7:18 pm
Like you I love a large family but only had four boys, but I am the oldest of 12. My mother had 6 girls & 6 boys & as a result she now has 40+ grandchildren & 40+ great grandchildren & last count I think 5+ great great grandchildren. there are a lot of the grandchildren that can still have children plus a lot of the great grandchildren that can still have children so this family is not finished by any means.