Introductions

 

Its hard for me to find a photo of all my skids  kids together. I'm not really the kind of mother that insists on a photo at every occasion. Although I probably should, I tend to leave that to my mother who has discovered the satisfaction of receiving likes and comments on her facebook updates. most of which consist of my children's precious moments. bad mother I am. Next investment will be a camera. Promise.

So I have Seven children. Yes they all belong to me, yes they all have the same father and no I'm not crazy or catholic. Most of the comments I receive when my mother kindly informs everyone that I have seven children, consist of wide eyed 'wow, you're brave' or 'dont you know how to watch tv?'.

Here's a few more of my favourite 'comments'.

"ohh your starting a netball team!!" (add rugby/touch/hockey/basketball)

"don't you know what contraception is?" (like I'm gonna respond to this esp if you are a Stranger. highlight the STRANGE part).

"are you going to have any more?" (I always say yes, I'm trying to get to TEN. which would be an accomplishment as I've had my tubes tied)

 

I don't take offense, to be honest I usually just laugh it off to save them the embarrassment of a mother on the defense. It is just getting old. (or I'm getting old). The surprise is tiresome to me. At the end of the day, they are mine, not yours, so don't worry, i will feed and clothe them. yell at them and love them till the day i die. I am their mother. that's my job.

I didn't plan on having seven children. any person who goes about planning this kind of life needs a head check. I've had six pregnancies, a set of twins, water birth, epidurals, two cesareans and a husband who was convinced at number fives birth, that if i hurried up he might make the Auckland blues rugby game that night. Hmmm. think again HH.

I could write a book about my pregnancies, i probably should. but i wont, i swear too much and will tell you to never trust the doctors and to leave your husbands at home.

 

So I wanted to introduce my kids. to let the world know how perfect and wonderfully behaved they all are. then I realised that id be lying. My kids ARE wonderful.. when they are asleep, or quiet doing something else at someone elses place. when they are under my feet, asking for food, my laptop, my sanity, they are not so wonderful. My patience has waned over the years, I see my kids gear up to ask me something, then mutter that I would just say no. "mum can i?... oh don't worry you'll just say no". I've thought about changing this, but I fear that'll be like letting the flood gates open for Hunt children to break all the rules and ask for everything under the sun. HH has mastered the art of saying no, but my big girls have figured out that if they ask nicely and rub his head, he will take them almost anywhere. No is just always the first response. You are getting soft John.

As for me, I just surprise them every now and then with a "what do you want to do today?", this way, I'm the one in control, and only after chores are done will we venture out into the world where people still try to count how many kids are walking with me. Yes this does happen and I'm still surprised we haven't caused an accident yet as some people crane their necks whilst driving just to try and count my little ducklings. So maybe my inclination to saying 'No' is because, on the odd occasion that I actually take all the kids out with me, I feel myself getting on the defense fast and furious. So to save my kids the embarrassment of mum flicking someone the finger, or glaring an imaginary laser beam through said nosey womans head. best to stay home and have fun with me there. its for safety's sake. public safety.

 

One thing I do know about my children is how special they are. It may be all noise and crying babies sometimes, but they are all special, each in their own unique way. My job may be to control the mess and feed the masses, but one thing I take seriously is the nurturing side of parenting. When saying No is going to put that look of defeat in their eyes, I say yes. Then subsequently spend the next hour cleaning up play dough or paint (curse the person that invented paint). Sometimes as an adult, you have to see that those times that you say yes, usually bring the most joy and the most out of your kids. Now that my big girls are getting older, their requests are more selfish, buying something or spending time with their friends, I'm no longer the person they are asking to be with. My little kids ask to blow bubbles, or play in the rain. I'm thinking these moments will soon fade too.

 

I have no regrets in having seven kids, its not the end of the world. As you can tell I get annoyed at strangers who think its appropriate to comment on the size of my family. If they took a second to look a bit closer they will see that they are all well dressed, shoes on (number seven excluded), semi -clean and good mannered kids. I've never looked at them and wished them away. That doesn't mean I haven't rolled my eyes at the amount of things I need to do, or said to my husband "I need a holiday!!" Usually I just break into the silly laugh because life itself (with 7 kids) can be crazy. Scratch that. It IS crazy, but its a good crazy, the kind that gives you laughs and giggles at the silly things. The kind of crazy that comes with having so many different personalities in one house, but also the kind of crazy that you would never change.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



A Perfect Day

I always end my day with thoughts of tomorrows tasks. Where to go, what to buy, who to annoy with my tribe. Last night I read something about creating your perfect day and striving to attain this....everyday. (cue the eye roll).  I know what my kids want to do. Run a muck at every movie theatre/mall/bowling alley/beach/swimming pool/theme park and spend all my money, all day everyday. This is what their perfect day would consist of. I'm convinced school holidays were created to pay back parents for enjoying all those school days where the house is quiet for a good 8 hours. I'm also 100% sure that teenagers seem to think that my bank account is endless and i have nothing better to do than fend off requests for sleepovers, mall trips and "I'm just going to my friends place can i have 20 dollars for snacks?" Snacks?? what on earth are you snacking on that requires 20 dollars?
I only have one teenager. We can call her number one. I cant even imagine trying to cater for more than that!
Their perfect day is always one that requires the most amount of money. My perfect day, requires close to none. Here is how my perfect day would go.

1. A natural wake up.
This means sleeping till my body naturally wakes up. This is a foreign concept to me and my body, the first 20 mins of every morning is spent with the eyes half open wince. You know when someone is shining a torch into your face. that's me.

2. No Questions
Morning questions are the bain of my existence. Especially when  I'm so sure i answered the same questions yesterday. "what can i eat?" seriously, we have the same cereal everyday, yet I'm still asked every morning "what can i eat?" I once replied to Riley you can eat whatever you want. (I don't know what i was thinking) She decided to have a salad, with chicken and avocado. She was stoked.
Levi religiously asks me "how was your sleep mum?" along with my morning hug and kiss. even if I've had the crappiest sleep ever i always tell him "good son.. how was yours?" that question i don't mind. The only other question that i dread comes from my HH (Hunky Husband). "do you know where......?" fill in the gap. it consists of socks, shoes, underwear and all other pieces of clothing that he may own. . He maybe a HH but holyheck, morning question time truly test that view!

3.Mummy Time
In my perfect day, a good book, laptop, good music, a packet of something and a bottle of something else would do the trick, topped off with a dinner i didn't have to cook and maybe some HH time ALONE. See the ALONE part. its kinda crucial. haha.

4. Reality Check.
My Favourite day these holidays wasn't the movies, although the movie was good. it wasn't the bowling although we all had a blast and it was super cool just watching their faces light up walking up for their turn to bowl, then to be disappointed by the gutterball. It was a day at the park, ham rolls and juice, feeding the ducks, HH actually coming outside with us, laughing at our kids squabbling and fighting on the playground. That day made me realise that my perfect day is with my family. Our Hunt family of Nine. Its noisy and chaos may rule the roost, but its us.

So while my view of what a perfect day is may differ to my kids, i hope that they remember the park days over anything else. I hope there are more days like this. I hope they remember the laughs rather than the growls and remember that being together as a family is still cool. (i say this as number one tries really hard to not walk around with us in public). To be honest my perfect day is a day that creates good memories for my kids, no matter what the situation or the location. :)

2013

To the new Blog, I promise to give you more time and care, compared to the last blog I just deleted for shame of neglect and abandonment. To my family, i promise to post no embarrassing photographs, but that does not mean that i cannot tell the stories, To myself, just do the things you want to do this year. what makes you happy, whatever is going to make you the better version of yourself, lets do that.

This is the part where I'm supposed to outline my goals for the new year. My Brother, Lee asked me what my goals for the new year are, of course weight loss is always a must, but i couldn't think of anything else that i wanted to do. I havn't taken the time to think about it. What do i want to do differently, how do i want my life to be, what kind of experiences do i want my family to have this year.
So instead of my usual lets loose weight and write in my journal everyday goals. I'm setting New Year Statements. Phrases to live by, to remind myself of what i need to do and the person i want to be.

1. RUN LIKE YOU STOLE SOMETHING
Completely stolen from tumblr, but Ive loved this phrase for a lil while now. Once you think about how you would run if you had stolen something, you know there would be no hesitation or restrictions based on what you look like when you run, what parts are jiggling or who is going to see you. Im terribly good at rolling my eyes at the Lorna Jane clad mummas with the latest Nike free runs. But reality is, I so would too if my butt didn't look terrible in tights. LOL.
Cue the Friends re run when rachel is running through the park arms flailing and legs in the air. This is what i look like when i run :)
http://youtu.be/V1k658QIFBE

2. WHAT A MIND CAN CONCEIVE, IT CAN ACHIEVE
To think, that a dream or goal can be achieved is somewhat of a mystery to me as i always give up.
Number one giver upper. 

3.LIFE IS BETTER WHEN YOU'RE LAUGHING
I'm always the first to laugh, whether its with you or at you, ill always laugh. Boxing day 1998 and my brother dropped in on his skateboard into a concrete skatebowl, he landed on his back, and all he remembers is looking up and seeing me laughing. I didn't know that his wrist was broken. I laugh when I'm nervous or even when I'm angry, just to diffuse the situation. So ill try to laugh at the good things this year. Laughing with my kids, which we are good at. My son Levi is a sensitive soul. You laugh at him and he will tear up. Laugh at my girl Riley and it will just fuel her to go harder, in good and bad. Having a laugh with the hubby is my favourite. Laughing about our kids, even better.

4. STAND ON YOUR OWN
Living with the parents this year has proved to be one big learning lesson. Yes i have been here before, but never with so many kids and never with so many hangups. So Standing on my own isn't just in reference to my current living situation, but personally, I need to take the initiative and be my own person, still be the mother an wifey that i am, but my own self. Do what i want to do, and not feel guilty for it. Stand on my own = learning to drive. I do not drive. I hate it. The more my family push me on the topic the more i shut down. So on my own I'm going to try to do this. TRY.

Well that will do me for now. next post ill give a run down of my "Hunt Family of Nine".