Who are all these kids and why are they calling me Mom?

Having a big family has it's challenges (and lots of good stuff too, at least that's what I've heard), especially when half your brood is a set of 2 month old twins and you have a rambunctious 5 year old and a needy 2 year old to boot. Here's what I've learned so far...

When you have 4 young kids....

Costco is now your grocery store. There is no such thing as "grabbing a few little things from the store." No siree, we need the jumbo everything.

3 kids in diapers is expensive, and also disgusting. Our garage smells like a sewage plant and we had to upgrade our trash can to the ginormous size just to accommodate the mass amounts of diaps and wipes we go through. We are literally up to our eyeballs in poop.

Apparently it means that you are required to get those little white stickers for the back of your van/ suburban, you know, the ones that represent each person in your humongous family. We'd have to get one for Bailey too, can't forget our doggy. P.S. - don't tell anyone but I think they are kinda cute.

Speaking of vans and suburbans, that is the only car option for those of us that have a gazillion kids. In fact, the minivans were way too small. No cargo room for a double stroller and groceries for 6. And I use the back of our suburban to change diapers all the time, so a minivan wouldn't cut it for us.

When I give the kids their tubby and it's nail trimming night, I have 80, EIGHTY little fingers and toes to clip.

It means when you go out to eat you need a table for 6 (7 if Aaron is with us). We went out to a steak house in town with all the kids - yes, we are nuts, and when they called out "Todd, party of 6" he looked around the waiting area like "who the heck is crazy enough to have that many kids?" Then he realized he was that crazy person.

Someone is always crying, always, and sometimes that person is me. Todd and I were laughing the other night because both of us hear crying in our heads even during those rare times of semi-quiet. It's kind of like being on a boat all day and getting off, only to feel like you're still moving. Only this isn't near as much fun because, well, you haven't been on a boat all day, you've been listening to screaming kids all day.

We have so many baby monitors in our room that the white-noise emitted from them is loud enough to lull even the neighbors to sleep.

I'm sure I'll have more of these little tidbits in the future, and hopefully you know this is all tongue in cheek. We waited and prayed for this big, beautiful family forever and we are SO blessed and grateful. They really are the joy of my life...and the reason I'm going to need professional mental help in the future, probably sooner than later...