A LARGE Family.....

Having three siblings, and knowing few others who could boast of so many, confirmed in my young mind that I was from a truly "large" family, that is, until going to UD. With so many friends having seven, eight, and nine plus siblings, I realized having four kids barely removed you from the "small family" category. Therefore, when we learned we were blessed with Luciana last November, we did not fully appreciate the transitional line we were crossing, at least from a manufacturer's stand point.

• Two adults, two children (one of whom is a very wobbly three year old), a high chair and an infant carrier can no longer be reasonable forced around the standard fast food four person table/booth. Not if one hopes to consume food while sitting, at least.
• Cars, although capable of holding our family, are sadly, incapable of accommodating our accompanying carseats. We are resigned to life in a mini-van.
• Shopping carts, the fancy versions with attached cars and big kid seats, can actually hold three children, when wedged properly into the two child seats. And the tight quarters guarantee that fights can not progress beyond grunts and squeals as no child can raise their arms above the elbow. Unfortunately, a large amount of olive oil and a shoe horn are necessary to remove the children once you are finished shopping.
• Two adults do not have enough sides to separate four children during mass, resulting in an elaborate, although slightly noisy, "musical pews" system whereby the most aggressive offender (at that particular moment) is hosted over heads to be exiled at the end of the pew. At present the system could be renamed, "Daniel Juggling."
• We need a larger bathtub, or smaller children