As I was writing these “confessions” I realized a lot of my odd behaviors seemed to be stemming from one common denominator….my family. So I thought I would share a glimpse into this up bringing of mine.
If you don’t remember from this post. I am the youngest of six kids….three boys and three girls. My parents grew up on the same block, played in the same sandbox and started dating at 16. Married at 21 and raised as my mother would say “six only children”. So you can only imagine there were lots of fun stories growing up. Too many to name but let’s have some fun with the ones that are coming to mind right now.
This was our house growing up….see I told you I did grow up in snow….wasn’t very helpful when you wanted to sneak out at night….the tire marks were such a giveaway!
So you are probably asking how the heck did your parents haul all those little people around? Well let me tell you…we had a large van growing up. Not like one of those crazy white vans that I have clearly voiced my opinions over but like a very large passenger van. It had windows all around don’t worry. It also had like a 50 gallon tank that would never fly nowadays….gas isn’t 87 cents a gallon like it was growing up. According to my mom “it was great it carried passengers and luggage. The new vans only carry people not luggage. Everyone had their own windows and enough space so you couldn’t annoy each other”.
Ours was Maroon and Silver not this blue color (sorry there was not very many pictures to choose from). However my sister would always con me to lay on the floor because “there was more room down there”. The floor would always get hot….I swear there was some hot injectors or something underneath the floorboards….so sweet right?
Speaking of my sweet siblings….we had that color TV that had the switch knob on the front to change the channel….we did have a remote but my siblings preferred the game of calling me down from my bedroom upstairs. I would get all excited…”yeah they want to hang out with me!” I would run downstairs and they would ask me to change the channel….then go back to ignoring me….
We had a rotary wall phone in our kitchen….and we used it….no call waiting around these parts. Someone remind me what the crank on the right was for?
I had a yorkie named Chuck (I’m not making this up). He had Congestive Heart Failure so the last two years he had a honking cough. My mother brought him to the vet when he was 8 and they told her he had “a few good years left Mrs. P” fast forward to age 16 when he finally passed away. She had a “Just Do It” Nike shoebox and would shake it at him and tell him “Just Do It Chuck”. I wish I was making this up.
My mother also hand knit little sweaters for him to wear when he went outside when it was cold. I mean where was Etsy back in 1993….she could have made it big with those. He use to bite your hands when you would try to cram his tiny arms into this sleeves.
Finally…my champion bargain shopping is definitely a learned skill….and you guessed where it came from. We still do this to this day. When we get home from a shopping outing we take everything out and try it back on at home…we then do a mini fashion show for each other. I mean you have to see it in natural lighting and how it all works together.
i wish i had a big family! it was just me and my sister but we grew up with our 5 cousins so in a way, it was like one big family.
i’m the total opposite – i buy stuff and then it just sits in the bag for daysssss LOL
-kathy | Vodka and Soda
My family isn’t as big as yours, but I was shaking my head at almost everything you said!! Especially the mean older siblings :) Also, my mom used to call it “Leftover Extravaganza” and it was a mad dash to the kitchen to make sure you didn’t get stuck with the crap!
Just me and my brother but I do wish we had that big van! So much room!
That van, awesome. So much snow growing up- lucky!
Oh!! My sister and I did mini fashion shows too!! Too funny! I always thought a big family would be fun :)
agirlandhersparkles.blogspot.com
Amen to getting home and trying everything on AGAIN!! My mom loved when I would put “fashion shows” on for her!! As for the rotary phone – you’re on your own there…I don’t think I know how to operate one of those…The bit about your yorkie – hilarious lol!
Loved reading this! I always wanted to be from a big family. I do “fashion shows” still..now that I live with my fiance he is subjected to them. Last night I made him stare at me in a new dress I bought and was asking his suggestion for accessory options. Then I realized he was a guy and probably had no idea what I was talking about.
oh yeah! i had the rotary phone, the tv with knobs, and i still do the fashion show. except charlie, my morkie, isn’t quite as amused and supportive as i wish him to be.
LOL!! I was an only child so I definitely can’t say I shared any of the sibling stuff you experienced but I definitely get my weird from my family! And I totally get home and re-try EVERYTHING on again. Sometimes twice. I hate store lighting, it’s (usually) so bright and harsh! Except at Hollister and Abercrombie where you can’t even see yourself!
<3, Pamela
http://sequinsandseabreezes.blogspot.com
The house you grew up in is gorgeous!! Honestly, your mom sounds really sweet and I wish I grew up in a nice big family like yours!
Oh my goodness this post is hilarious!
It was just me and my brother but I liked it that way. We were best buds and the greatest enemies, depending on how the day was going! Haha. Love that kid. I definitely do the fashion show thing! I thought everyone did that :)
Hahaha… I love people’s weird family stories. I had just one brother but we had our own wierdness too. My parents had a white rotary phone hanging on the kitchen wall like forever. I have nightmares about trying to make a call in an emergency and the only one I can find is a rotary dial…. lol.
Aww, what a great post! That sounds like a fun childhood!!! We had a big van too, and only 3 of us so lots of space for everyone! :)
Haha, awesome post! great to know more about where you come from!
Left overs were a HUGE deal in my house and my husband’s family def. had a van like your family’s.
~Ashley @ A Cute Angle
acutelifestyle.blogspot.com
Sometimes I wish I had sisters so we could do fashion shows of new purchases growing up. But my mom and I did harass my dad and brother by pulling out our new purchases and making them agree we did a good job. haha
Haha love it! You crack me up. I was a middle child, ugh my older brother was awful to me most of the time! Jerk. Love the van too ;) And the Chuck story!
Growing up with a big family sounds like a lot of fun. Although, I don’t envy your spot as the youngest. Soooo will you come change the channel for me?!
Haha I love this! My husband has four siblings and there are definitely many things I can’t relate to when it comes to having a big family– I’m always like how DID you all fit in a car together??– they also had the big van :)
Bahahahah… “right overs”! That’s awesome! I totally did/do fashion shows!!!!!!!!!
Totally do fashion shows in this house!!! Ryan knows I despise shopping (I usually do it online), so he knows that if I walk in with a big bag that I had a great day. Bless the guy, he actually sits back and acts interested as I model all my new stuff. I wish I grew up with a big immediate family. I had tons of cousins, but being an only child is lonely. I would gladly take the crap spot in the van or be used as a human remote… it’s a funny story now, right?? :)
hahah this is great! it would be so fun to have that many siblings! i have two brothers (one older and one younger). we all played together growing up (explorers in the snow and they even played with my barbies until they realized they were too cool for that and then thew the babies up into the fan = not good). xo jillian – cornflake dreams
I remember the house! And all of this was so funny…
Your family, especially your mom, sounds like fun! I love that she knit sweaters for your dog, that’s awesome.
bah i would have totally been the older sibling to get your attention to change the TV! i was mean like that to my 3 sibs.
Oh girl, this is all SO true! As the fellow youngest of six, I totally have your maroon van beat, though! At one point in my childhood my dad definitely acquired one of those creepy white vans. Only it was for, like, plumbers (or abducting people), and just had the two front seats–nothing in the cavernous back section. So Dad installed folding lawn chairs and bolted seat belts to the van floor to strap us in. Seriously. Of course, he was aware this wasn’t necessarily the safest set-up, so he also made us wear HELMETS in the car. I still crack up when I remember the looks I would get through the window on road trips, neon pink Barbie helmet firmly strapped on. LOL
This is so funny. I love that your siblings called you down to change the channel. SOunds like something mine would have done!
http://www.amemoryofus.blogspot.com
I love all these stories!!! My mom, sister and I do the same thing after shopping!!! We can it our “day in review” and even though we all have our own houses now, when we get together we will still at least look at the stuff we purchased again with each other even if we aren’t at one of our houses to try it on. I love family quirks and traditions!
Such a fun post. Loved reading about your family stories and think it would be so fun to have such a big family!! Xx.
I was an only child. I always wished I had many siblings. When I was little I told my parents I was having 7 kids like on The Sound of Music. Then I realized how difficult and expensive kids were and changed my mind.
OMG my neighbor had that same phone. Being able to do prank calls before caller id came around. Priceless!! My friends Dad had a van like that but it had no seats in the back just a crate I had to sit on. Totally use to go flying all over the back.
This is hilarious! My mom still has her phone like that too! What a beautiful home you grew up in and it must have been SO fun to have all those siblings. Well, maybe not then, but now?
Omg I am such a fashion shower!! EVERY TIME I get home from shopping I do a fashion show for my husband and he’s just like mmhmm that’s cool or that nice as he has his eyes on the tv haha! But yes you need to see it in better lighting!!
<3 Shannon
Upbeatsoles.blogspot.com
Your house is AMAZE! And we do the whole mini fashion show when we shop the outlets and rack up! :)
Too funny! Man 5 older siblings has got to be tough! I only had 2 older sisters and they were plenty of a handful. I tend not to do fashion shows for my husband, mostly so if he asks if it’s new…I say what? This old thing? ;)
Hah love family stories. Poor Chuck, but man he was a survivor!
I always wished I had a big family. Kind of why I want to have a lot of kids now. Which I know I’ll regret as soon as I get pregnant with #1!
I absolutely loved reading this, your childhood sounds like it was highly entertaining!
I love big families, we have 6 kids in our family too! I am the oldest though, so we had very different experiences!!
Have you ever seen Marley and Me? Your house and the house in the movie look EXACTLY the same! At least in my memory! We used to do the fashion shows too which I totally forgot about.. my poor husband, I think I need to bring them back!!
Hahah that van is awesome! My brother still does that. He will call me in the room and I think that he actually wants to talk or hang out and then he asks me to get him a glass of milk or something. Brats!
This was such a fun read! I loved reading the bits and pieces from your childhood. We had a nice van while I was growing up to, tons of room for me and all of my toys! I remember my parents would take out the middle seat and I would sit in the very back and have all that room to play!
ahh, the kitty! Oh I love kitties so much. Poor little one is mad at his feet;)
XO, Gina
right overs hahahahaha hilarious! im SO doing that from now on. also, that kitty with the socks. I dont do the fashion show, because then I would have to show hubby what i bought – bad idea! lol