Eight is Certainly Enough

This past weekend marked one year that the 8 of us have lived under one roof. I have to say I had my reservations with 6 kids, a dog, 2 pet frogs, and 2 crazy parents. The only living casualties were Speckle and Spot, the tiny froggies. They were fairly low maintenance minus the stench of their aquarium. I was kind of sad to see them go even though I forgot we even had the darn things. (and, no it wasn’t my responsibility to feed them so I am not to blame for their untimely deaths) The nine year old pup, Striker, has enjoyed having some extra attention. Even though the fiance' tries to pretend he’s indifferent toward the dog, the two have bonded. I catch him loving on him. And he secretly loves that Striker chooses to come sit beside him instead of me..........on a very very very rare occasion, but whatever.

Other household minor non-living casualties:  a few light fixtures, the banister in the foyer, living room carpet, a few chunks taken out of walls, a treadmill, medicine cabinet door,  a few xbox games, about 3 dozen single socks (where the hell do they go?) and lids to Rubbermaid containers (are they hanging with the single socks?) All in all, I count it as a full success that our non-living casualty list is that small. Quite frankly I’m surprised the house is still standing.

Clark Griswold still insists on regular family meetings, and I have to give him credit, the concept is a good one even though our children sit and roll their eyes incessantly until it’s over. Even though I know he’d much rather it be an open forum, it’s more of us moaning and groaning over non-replaced empty toilet paper rolls, not putting the tops on toothpaste leading to a trail of minty paste all through the house, the grueling task of putting dishes in the dishwasher instead of just throwing them in the sink, and our favorite topic, CLEANING THE BASEMENT. Yes, kids, we're talking about that again. I hate to inform you the basement fairy isn't going to pay you a visit and clean it for you. Get to work.

Overall the past year has been quite seamless, shockingly. The kids adjusted well, the dog adjusted well, and well the frogs, God rest their souls, just couldn’t handle the pressure. Living in a household with 8 people isn’t for the faint of heart.

But we did it!

Here’s to many more years of blood, sweat, and cheers!