Had the family over last night, one of those get-togethers that just sort of evolved as the afternoon wore on. My daughter Paige was out running errands with husband and kids, and she needed a pit-stop because the baby had thrown up and needed to be changed. But that meant that they weren't going to be able to visit with her husband's twin brother and wife, so I invited them over too. That way they could still visit. One of my boys (who lives 2 1/2 hours away) was in town visiting his girlfriend and they wanted to swing by to say hi. Then my other two boys heard their sibs were over, and so they came on by as well. Before I knew it, my house was filled to the brim, which is just the way I like it. Before the entire gang had shown up....just Paige and the various husbands and children: Squeezed round the dinner table: Recreating the womb.
When just the family get together, not including my one son and family in CA, but just the rest of the sibs and spouses/girlfriends, other in-laws, and one boy who is my sort of "adopted" son. He has a lovely Mom of his own, but he's been the boy's friend for years and pretty much comes to every family gathering we have, calls me Mom etc. Anyway, when everyone gets together, it totals 12 adults and 6 kids. That's a normal family get-together. We jam around my dining room table, sometimes setting up an additional card table or two to fit everyone, and always need half a dozen folding chairs which I keep in the garage along with the card tables for these occasions. Gatherings at my house are the furtherest thing from "formal" you'll ever find. My serving pieces don't match and I don't do "guests." When you walk in my front door, even if I've never met you before, you just become part of the extended family, and you'll be called upon to stir the gravy, hold a baby, help set the table, entertain a toddler.....just whatever the need happens to be in that moment. Also my kids are fond of telling people I "take in strays" at Thanksgiving. So if they hear of someone who has no place to go on that day, they just invite them home. There have been many times I've answered the door to a stranger, who stands there looking kind of uncomfortable, telling me that one of the kids said he/she could come for dinner? Sure, come on in....but before you get comfortable please will you take out the trash. I never know, till sometimes the last minute, how many we'll have for Thanksgiving dinner, which is why I make a ridiculous abundance of food. Whatever doesn't get eaten is sent home with the various children, who eat like kings and queens for a week after!
I think you need to build on another couple of rooms Ronni!! Everyone looks right at home and are obviously having a great day.
Toni! Thank God for dish washers! But yeah, I sound like a drill sergeant as I marshall the troops, ordering this one to stack the dishes, that one to put the condiments away, hey you fold the chairs back up, you over there sweep round the table etc. The kids with kids of their own get cut a lot of slack, while their sibs take up that slack by pitching in extra. And they're all quick to help with dinner cleanup, because they're all really looking forward to dessert and the games that usually get played after dinner...different ones, things like Pictionary, Monopoly, or their latest favorite, Cards Against Humanity. It's rowdy, boisterous, a complete zoo sometimes, but it's family so it's fun.
Nice family Ronni. My kids are great at pitching in also. If they didn't they would not be eating at my house. When I have a house full I sometimes make a TO DO list and just hand everyone the list and say pick a job.
It was great to see your family foto's because it is interesting to see how things are there. You have a lovely home with interesting decorations and a family that looks quite content and comfortable. Thanks for the insightful posting.
oh how I envy you that is so wonderful enjoy and cherish each one beautiful family even if some are strangers hugs
Y'know, it's interesting, when we were first looking for a house back in October 2012, how I had to re-think so many parameters. This was going to be my last move, my forever home, and so I wanted it to be a house that Lee and I could easily manage in even as we aged, became less mobile, etc. So it's small. We could have afforded something bigger, but why? It's just the two of us most of the time. And bedrooms, living room, kitchen, bathrooms, office....all the rooms we routinely use are on the first floor. There's a large bonus room above the garage and that's a craft/office/guest/storage room that, currently anyway, I can manipulate the stairs very easily to get to. If at some point I can't, we'll install a lift chair but meanwhile it's not a part of the house that is accessed dozens of times a day. As I was house hunting, I had to keep correcting myself in terms of the parameters. No, I don't need a huge dining room any more because I don't have 5 kids living at home any more. And no, I don't need a fenced backyard any more because I don't have toddler escapees to oversee on a minute by minute basis. Things like that. I had to keep reminding myself that I need this house for just Lee and me most of the time. And I just don't need to burden myself with a huge house for the comfort of my large extended family, when 95% of the time my large extended family won't even BE here, it will just be Lee and me. So yeah, when everyone's here, it's a squeeze. But the kids sure don't care! We're a very close family, so they're just glad to all be together, no matter that conditions.
