You Asked it! Part 4

Q: Why did your husband get back so early, I thought they were staying longer!!

A: Plans changed... as usual. There were certain men... dadsbrothershusband... that decided they did not like the idea of me driving 20 hours by myself. AND Paul had some work he wanted to get done BEFORE we ALL head back up there the end of the month.

Q: do you ever worry that you might be giving one child more/less attention than the others?

A: There are days that one or more children have been extra needy or very occupied. But it all seems to equal out through the week. Occasionally I will have a feeling that a child has been good.quiet.content all day and I haven't focused on them as much... and then I usually go find them and pester them. {grin}

Q: Do you ever have to work at not favouring children?

A: Nope, not one bit, not even when they are screaming -- ha!

Q: Do you have a tumble dryer?

A: Why, yes I do! A blessing indeed!

Q: Does ironing take you many hours?

A: Ironing....... what's that?! Ummm... I don't iron... anything.... ever....
So that would be... 0 hours. {grin}

Q:What do you think about when you do all that ironing and housework?

A: housework.. well... there are usually multiple children chattering in my ear, hanging on my legsbackstomach, so I am not sure WHAT I think about other than the task and children at hand.

Q: How many loads of laundry do you do a week?

A: 10-14 loads a week -- wow, that sounds like a lot!

Q: Do you believe in contraception?

A: We do believe in family planning... although we do not feel we are the only ones making the plan.

Q: Did you always plan to have so many children?

A: I don't think we had a firm plan, well, I KNOW we didn't have a firm plan. But we did TALK about having a LARGE family and the numbers 5 & 6 were interesting. {grin}

Q: how do you go about weaning your babies?

A: I don't wean my babies... at least I never have before. All of the boys have weaned THEMSELVES around 18-20 months. And I was usually pregnant when they did. I think you can guide your child to wean when you feel it's time but I wouldn't choose to do that before 2 years.

Q:What are some really special treats for the kids- i.e. place you go or eating out etc.

A: Some of the boys favorite treats are...
taking a picnic to the park
visiting our neighborhood ice cream shop
going on a family bike ride and we sometimes stop at the park or our local subway
I really could go on and on because the boys just love to go do stuff!

Q: I have 11 month old identical girls. Curious to know how in the world you get your girls to sleep in the same room??(I know they sleep in the same crib! Amazing!).

A: You know, I don't really know that we've done anything specific. We've just done. We have always put them in bed together, since the very beginning {same bed at the hospital}. They are on the same schedule so they go to sleep and wake up at the same time {most of the time}. We've tried putting them at opposite ends of their crib because we thought they might be waking each other up in the middle of the night. But they just end up back in the middle together, stuck like glue! It's positively cute and I hope they'll continue to sleep together for a long time, at least until they are out of a crib.

Q: I read way back (I think when one of your girls was taken to the hospital) that they don't take bottles. Mine neither! I think breastfeeding is WONDERFUL and thankful that I'm able to do it. With bf-ing twins, how do you find balance in your life? (Even the most devoted mom has to have a little time away :-)

A: That is correct, none of our children have taken a bottle, we have simply never had the need and I do NOT adore pumping {although I know that it is totally necessary for some mamas and that rocks, pumping mamas are awesome!}. Bf-ing the twins DOES take a lot of time, but it is time that I usually enjoy. Plus it's a good excuse to sit and be still for a little while. But I do need my time, and for me, that comes in the evening after the kids are in bed. I try to have all of the housework {that I'm going to do for the day} done before evening so I can enjoy my time with my husband, reading or blogging. {grin} Sometimes I do WANT more time to myself but I just remind myself that this is only a phase. Soon enough my children will not need me every hour and I will have much more me time so I am going to enjoy this time while I can. Attitude makes a HUGE impact on how you make it through and what you feel is balance.

Q: Are you going to have any more kids? And if so, have you ever considered adoption or foster care?

A: I mentioned our 'not sure' answer in a previous "You asked it" post. But I don't think I mentioned anything about adoption or foster care. Yes, we have talked about both possibilities and are very open to both of them, if that is Gods plan for our family. I think both are amazing blessings -- to the children and the family.

Q: If you could advise someone on 3 changes to make in their lives, what would they be?

A: Great question!
1: Take charge of your {own} health -- be interested, intrigued, informed by your {own} bodies reaction to life {food, medicine, environment}.

2: Throw away your TV {literally or figuratively} and sit down with your family. Have couch time with your spouse and kids, just being together, talking about life. It's one of the most powerful ways to pull a family together -- it becomes a safe place which ultimately leads to family strengthening.

You can start this out with just 10 minutes -- and you'll be amazed at how after a few weeks you'll still be sitting there an hour later and no one wants to get up.

3: Deepen your personal relationship with God -- I know this may feel HUGE and OVERWHELMING but it's as simple as being willing to talk to him {Jesus} honestly and personally. He cares about every last detail and delights in your time spent talking to him.

Q: What is your favorite activity with your children?

A: I LOVE reading, playing board games, hanging out at the park, cooking...

Q: How do you pronounce the girls' names?

A: Eliza -- E-lie-zah Nolia -- Noll-ee-ah {like the end of Magnolia}

Q: If you were blessed with Five Million Dollars, how would you use it?

A: I would build a New old style house in a gorgeous country town. A town where we all benefit from each others thoughts, acts and time spent. I would invest in family, friends, children and community. I would give greatly and spend minimally. -- sounds dreamy huh! {grin}

22 comments:

  1. I admire the heckout of you!Your children are all so beautiful and so is their mommy! Thank you for the honesty and ideas...so many great ideas to think about!

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  2. Fun to hear your thoughts-and to feel the kinship. My favorite one this time was the one about "balance." I absolutely agree that balance is an attitude and a choice to see the task of motherhood through the lens of God's goodness and Grace.

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  3. Thanks for answering my questions. I may liberate myself from my iron - if you can do it, so can I! I think it's great you are encouraging people to chuck out the TV. Doing this it is the one thing I've done in my life which brought the greatest improvement and richness to my family. I also like the reply about things you do with your kids - I have a twelve year old boy and often find myself at a loss for what to do with him - I'll try your suggestions. Great answers! Take care.

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  4. Geez, Brittany! You sound so freakin' perfect! hee-hee! :-) Can I ask a question- do you have any problems? *grin*

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  5. I am so glad I found your blog. Thanks for sharing all this! I am starting to make improvements to our health and this is so encouraging! Hubby is very healthy to begin with, me, not so much! Would love any extra tips you could share.
    jessica
    jakesmommie04@yahoo.com

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  6. what a great way to start my morning!! love reading these posts :)

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  7. This is fun! :) I never iron anything either.

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  8. I love your blog,
    God bless you
    Susanne

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  9. could you do a post on healthy picnic ideas for the very hot summertime? Any ideas for a cooler,lighter, picnic lunch?

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  10. I used to irin everything even jeans. I have been liberated from ironing since the birth of my first child! 12 and a half iron free yrs and it feels great haha.


    Love the questions posts and your straight forward answers

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  11. throw your guilt out the window if you r feeling guilty because you have a t.v.! most things in balance are fine. my daughter loves playing softball and we just got done watching the college world series(on t.v.!!!) we had so much fun watching together and she learned alot of new things about the game.

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  12. It has been lots of fun getting to know you more!

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  13. I really like and agree with what you said about the phases. I am constantly reminding myself that these are my "mommy" years and that I ought to treasure them because they are fleeting, despite the whiny phases, clingy phases, tantrum phases, etc.

    With the TV though, I am very on board with not having it on much at all (I like a quiet backdrop!), BUT to not have one at all?! Then why not not have a computer too. I don't really understand the logic of this versus that. And I would be concerned about the message sending to the kids...like sorry we couldn't use it repsonsibly so it is out. And I would also be concerned about kind of alienating yourself and kids from being "current" on news, current events, and the pulse of our culture, nation etc. Yeah, TV is not the only way to get that, nor should it even be the main way, but it is part of the world we live in...just like the internet.

    What makes one form of media (being online) okay, but another not. At least with TV there is regulating bodies ensuring content is rated appropriately and mostly fair/accurate/balanced. With the internet, most sites go unrefuted and certainly not verified, etc.

    Sorry, this got way too long but I am curious as to the logic.

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  14. Wow, you are inspirin! We also don't have a tv in our house, and we get so much more out of our family time together:)

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  15. Wow. No bottle for any of your kids? That is amazing. My guy is a week old today but I think I'd lose my mind if I couldn't pump.

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  16. Brittany, I admire the accomplishment of no bottles for any of your children. Sadly, I listened to the doctor when he said to pump. Sooner than I expected, I dried up. With the new baby, I plan to breastfeed and no pumping and certainly no supplementing! It is very encouraging to read about your no bottles with 6 children with two of them being twins! Thank you!

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  17. Britt, I have just thoroughly enjoyed reading these posts and getting to 'know' you on a bit more intimate level! Thanks for posting these!

    I wanted to give a giant AMEN about getting rid of TV's....we did that almost 4 years ago in my house. It's been the best decision we've ever made regarding our family's use of down time! Truth be told, I don't know how 1. I would ever get anything done around here with the distraction of the TV anymore and 2. how we would fit family time in. That TV just has a habit of being on in the background in most houses, causing people to gravitate towards IT rather than each other....like I said, it was one of the best things we did, getting rid of our cable!!

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  18. Completely agree, and it seems so more as my children get older, but it is a phase....and before we know it, they will be grown and not "need" us as much. The "me" time is nice, but it's not as nice as the "be with your children" time and never will be.

    I don't iron either....never have, never plan to!

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  19. Yay I've been saying Nolia correctly. I suppose there's no other way to say it but some names are spelled one way and pronounced another, like my friends Natashia and Kateshia are actually said Natasha and Kateesha. So she could have been Nola I guess!

    I like this idea of couch time, what a lovely thing to do.

    Oh and best wishes for poor Gavin with his broken wrist!

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  20. hmmm...let's see what i can remember:

    amen to throwing that TV. ;) we haven't, yet...but are seriously considering it. its only on a max of 2 hours every 24 hours anyway and when i think of what could be done in that time instead, i vote throw it! =)

    no bottles. awesome...amazing! prior to our youngest, bianca, i went back to work (very) part-time. so, they each had some bottles. i love that i don't have to do that w/ bianca. i treasure this season!

    no ironing in this house either! =)

    love learning more about you! =)

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  21. I am so thankful for your blog. Such an encouragement, and so lovely.
    I have a question: have you ever lost a baby? It's something I struggle with (I've lost two babies), and wondered if you had any input. Or any input on grief in general? Or about worrying like crazy whilst pregnant???

    thanks :) many blessings

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  22. Lohr_elizabeth3/15/11, 11:40 AM

    I know this is obviously an old post, but I value your opinion. I have a 3 month old baby boy and I breastfeed. I don't use bottles and don't plan to. He is starting to teeth and someone suggest a pacifer to sooth him. I am pretty anti-pacifer, but I don't want him to suffer. Did/do you use pacifers?

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Thank you for blessing me with your words!

Brittany