To anyone contemplating having (4) kids super close in age, let me tell you to get ready for a whole lot of yelling and lack of any peace and quiet in your house. There are never dull moments. You will never be bored again. The best thing is you get a whole lot of built in best friends. These two are always paired together and I am sure soon enough Soul and Glow will be pairing up. It’s a sweet bond they all have.
I am the oldest of 4 and my brother is 4 years younger than me, so we were never really in the same stage together. I was more the bossy older sister and he was the baby brother. Then my sisters came, but I was so much older than both of them that my 3 siblings have lots of memories running around playing together while I was on the phone talking to my friends. It’s a different experience than my kids get. As crazy as it is, I like my kids being super close in age.
True and Brave are having a pizza party fundraiser at school today. They have been reminding me all week to give them money for pizza. It’s so cute to see them so excited. I can’t wait to hear all about it!
Brave said, “I love going to real school!”
I said, “You want to go everyday?”
She said, “No. Just Tuesdays.”
Funny she says real school. It’s like we do pretend school at home or something. If it’s pretend, this pretending takes a lot of work and prep! Sheesh.
on true: shirt, aa. pants, c/o molo kids. shoes, toms. on brave: shirt, aa. shorts: old jeans made into cut-offs. shoes, toms.
I have just found our we are pregnant with our fourth (very very unexpected- not sure how it happened- was I there?)….I am freaking out! Nice to see your kids are well fed and dressed beautifully…
haha… i remember freaking out with Brave because True was only 6 months old. Congratulations!!
I am the oldest of 7 girls. Yes, 7. It was chaos anytime we went anywhere…when I go home to visit I always return with a gratitude for how quiet our home is, hhaha
Now, I have two girls. Ocean (3) and Luna (1), I am really looking forward to them being bff’s soon. Its already starting to show and it makes me so happy.
7?!! OH MY! You’re parents were troopers!!!
My mom had four in 2.5 years (the third pregnancy was twins), I was the middle child but never felt like an older, or younger sibling.- I’m sure it was loud and there was never a dull moment for my mom too! I am about to have my second daughter, Amelia. She isn’t even officially here yet and my oldest, Penelope (almost 2), is already smitten. Hope they become besties.
I’m hoping to be able to give my son a sibling who will be close in age. I’m thinking it will be well worth the chaos. Your girls are very lucky to have each other. Oh, and I love their sparkly Toms!
I just had my fourth… my oldest just turned 6 two months ago and there definitely is a closeness (and crazy wildness) there! My two oldest call public school real school, too. And even thoughI taught in both public and private schools before staying at home with my kids, in their eyes I know nothing of “real school.” Oh well!
i think i would love to have 4 kids, fairly close in age, but i have no idea if i could handle it. we have a 6-month-old now and there have been many times i have said i want another one. i’d love to hear more about how you decided to have 4, what it’s like to be responsible for that many living things 🙂 and what is hardest/easiest about it. i appreciate you saying there is lots of yelling because i don’t think my personality would be able to handle that right now. after we get our daughter in bed i just want to lay on my bed by myself for some peace and quiet!
oh man. after all the kids go to bed (at 7!), i am ready for peace and quiet too!
My mom homeschooled me all the way from kindergarten until I graduated from high school. Even though I graduated three years ago I still say “real school” and “homeschool.” And even though I graduated three years ago she still gets mad about it 🙂
My daughter asked me the other day if when she gets older if I’ll let her go to real school. I told her she does go to real school, in our classroom. She laughed in a way that was like, “Silly mommy. You can’t have a real school in the downstairs basement of a house”.
😉
Hooray for sibling friends and also for sparkly Toms!!
Two close in age is already chaotic, I can only image what four is like! I do love it though and wouldn’t want it any other way.
My first four are super close together too. There were a lot of crazy (and sometimes frustrating) days when they were younger. Now that they are older (two in college! Eek!), I wouldn’t change a thing! They are great friends and to hear them all talk about their childhood memories is so much fun! Your girls are going to be so close and love that they have best fiends in their sisters! 🙂 Blessings!
It’s going to be so cute when Soul & Glow are at True & Brave’s age 🙂
I’m the youngest of 3, and we’re all 3 years apart. I feel like the older we got, the closer we got. My sister is 6 years older than me and she’s like one of my best friends <3
my boys are four years apart, and honestly? they’re thick as thieves. they snuggle more than i ever imagined they would. i truly believe that sibling closeness or distance has to do with the environment you’re raised in and what’s encouraged: togetherness and unity, or separateness. i wish i could have the rest a lot closer together, but my body won’t let me conceive and breastfeed, and ezra (he turns two in december) is still a boob fiend. so sometimes, having babies super close together just isn’t an option. i think there are benefits to both 🙂
I think homeschool is more real than “real” school because of the family bonding done through it. Most kids who go to “real” school don’t really have bonding time with their families in comparison.
These are cute pictures.
I have large age gaps with my older siblings. One is 9 years older and he went to college when I was in 2nd grade. We graduated ten years apart. My other brother is 7 years older, but he spent a lot of time going on walks with me and letting me sit in his room as he’d listen to music and we’d talk, but now I don’t really spend a lot of time with him compared to my eldest. Funny how that happens sometimes. I always played alone and did everything alone and hated being alone. That was my lonely childhood. I talked to myself or God or my mom. That is cute that your siblings remember you being on the phone with your friends instead of playing with them.
I appreciate people who homeschool just as much as I appreciate those who don’t.
I think one should not state so easily that ” Most kids who go to “real” school don’t really have bonding time with their families in comparison.”
There are always advantages and disadvantages to the choices we make in life and it is good to be aware of them to know what we are putting ourselves into and to be able to minimize the effect of the disadvantages. However I wouldn’t say ‘real’ school kids “don’t really have bonding time with their families”.
It is misleading for people trying to decide, it’s painful to those who might have doubts about the choices made and it’s disrespectful towards people who don’t homeschool.
I am sorry you felt lonely through your childhood…thank you for sharing your experience.
I have 3 girls, and I homeschool my 2 school-age ones, and they call public school ‘real school’ too! Yes, I love sacrificing my time and energy so we can ‘pretend’ to learn! 😉 I love homeschooling, tho. Thanks for sharing your experiences through this blog- love it!
Ahhhh, we all get it now! You clearrly censor! Jordan Ferney rocks by the way!! Keep it real in the future please .. it’s so much more cool that way.
I totally agree, Jordan Ferney does rock. Not so sure how that relates to this post, but that is a fact. Also, not sure how to get much more real in this post as I did say there is a whole lot of yelling in our house because it’s true. My girls are also best friends (another true fact), but they definitely do bicker. It’s life. How is it you feel that I am censoring? Maybe I could learn a thing or two from how you feel I can be more transparent.
ohh. i love this blog! the drawings on top of the photos are so fun and happy. and your girls’ sparkly toms are making me want a pair. happy weekend <3
I am from a family of 5 kids with all of us being close together. My younger brother and I are 2 1/2 years apart, which is the biggest gap. I loved having a bunch of people to be with, and someone always up to something, and I wanted my family that way too. I have 3 kiddos now and possibly a fourth on the way (not sure yet, pregnancy tests don’t work on me). Either way, we’re shooting for that fourth one!
My kids always call public school “real school” and only one of the 5 has ever BEEN to real school and it was for Kindergarten 😀