how's this for beating the odds?

Well, my grandfather took my mother and her siblings to beg on the streets. 

I thought crazy story! Right up to the "go fund me" part.

She doesn't work. Ok. Childcare is expensive, I get it. Ok. Someone needs to work something out to bring in extra income. Pizza delivery on weekends? Something. I don't care what it is, or why you have 6 kids. You need to provide for your family without begging. There are millions of people who do this every day and they figure it out without asking for money from strangers. 

If they need assistance they can apply for WIC or SNAP, they can use public transportation or save up to buy a larger van, etc. I'm not privy to their financial situation, but I'm sure there are things that they can cut back on. 

I just don't know how to feel bad for families where one parent chooses to not work in any capacity bringing in an income and then they ask for a handout. If they both worked, and were still struggling, as a family member or good friend I would try to assist them in someway. 

Condoms are cheaper than children. Back-up birth control isn't that big of a deal.

My dad's best friend had 5 daughters in a 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom very small house. The father was a policeman and the mother was a stay-at-home mom , never working outside the home her entire life. The girls had a triple bunk and a double bunk in the second little bedroom. There was no room for anything other than those beds. The room was so small, they could lay in bed and reach out and touch hands with the girls in the opposite bunks. They went to Catholic school, so they wore uniforms, cutting down on the volume of clothing they needed. The clothing they had other than their uniforms was shared between them and it was all kept in the little bedroom closet, except for one drawer in the hallway cupboard that held undies.

The girls all got along extremely well. We took a family vacation with their family every year. They did everything together. The girls were all in sports and everybody came to everybody's games. They were such a loving family. My parents had divorced and the three of us (all girls) never did get along, even from early childhood. I wanted so badly to be in a family like theirs where there was so much love and affection.

As the girls married and had children, they still did things together all the time, continuing to have family vacations together. The parents have passed away and the original 5 daughters are all grandparents now, and they still make an effort to have vacations together as often as possible.

So a family this incredibly close, raised in a tiny 2-bedroom, 1 bath home,  turned out better than any other family I know. And the family of boys has 3 bedrooms PLUS 3 bathrooms, AND they have a dining room that could be turned into another bedroom if they wanted to. They could probably turn two bedrooms into one big bedroom with 3 bunk beds for the boys. And boys can certainly share clothing! Jeans and t-shirts and sneakers for all.

I didn't watch the whole video on the GFM page, but the bit I watched showed very well mannered, if high energy, little boys. I didn't see any hitting going on, and if they entertained themselves on that carpet for the whole video, they can make it in their existing house just fine. They just need to live within their means and make do with the house they are fortunate enough to have.

There are many options for her to get a job that don't require daycare. Many of us have done it. One being, you work when the other spouse is home.

I know I would love to stay home, but the reality is we need income to provide for our family. And I don't expect others to provide my family's livelihood. 

And from her GoFundMe page:



These are not NEEDED items. These are wants, plain and simple. Yeah, I'm sure it would be a relief to have others buy you a car! lol

Yeah, I think that's pretty much where I fall on it. Exhaust all your other options first.

That having been said, I can only imagine how hard it would be to have one unplanned child period, let alone 2 unplanned (heck, planned against!) children on top of an already large family. Yes, it would be a huge financial and emotional impact.

My funny coincidence is that DD was a post-vasectomy baby, and so was her best friend! Guess they were both meant to be and to find each other, lol!

I'm curious about the size of the house and bedrooms. It didn't look like there was a dedicated dining room that could be converted to a bedroom, more like an eat in kitchen. I admit to being jealous they already have 3 bathrooms! It seems if they have one decent sized bedroom, they can put 4 kids in one. A baby in the second and the newborn with mom and dad. Then as they get older, the two older kids share a room.

Another thing that would work is giving up the master bedroom to 4 of the kids. There's usually more closet space. It's usually the largest and most of the boy pee misses wouldn't be seen by others if there's a master bathroom.

It's also so easy with boys and hand me downs! Jeans and t-shirts. That is if the jeans survive 1 boy! I have a friend who has had 6 boys and 1 girl (one boy passed away). She has five boys sharing a Jack and Jill bathroom. I'm not sure what she's doing with the girl.

I have 3 dd's and was told not to get pregnant again due to complications from a massive hemorrhage and miscarriage in 2014. I've heard stories like this and was terrified. I have an awesome Dr who did an ablation and removed my tubes 2 months ago. He said we weren't taking any chances on another pregnancy.
I hope things work out for them.

Maybe she did the go-fund-me in hopes of the story spreading. Ellen could have them on and give them a $10,000 Shutterfly check and a new large vehicle.


adding:  It would make for great TV.  Can't you see it?  They would drag all the boys on stage and everyone would love their cute faces.  The parents would tell their story and then act surprised when the big check is brought out on stage. If #6 is a girl, Ellen can bring them back on and shower them with all things girly. 

That was my plan for a long time after my husband was "fixed."  I was very cautious even after being told the sperm count was nonexistent.  

Why would you want semen in/all over you anyway?! 

We have trouble conceiving both kids. We've never used BC and awhile ago DH figured I was too old to get pg. (just turned 50). I was pretty nervous about a surprise baby for awhile.

There was no issue with multiple kids sharing a room.

There were no carseat laws, if they even had a car. 

Today, people are aghast if a family is still sharing the same bathroom or the kids have to share a bedroom. In our grandmother's days, kids shared the bed. 

Why don't they trade in their van and buy a larger one used for a similar payment. And kids can share rooms. They have bunk beds that stack so you can conserve floor space. I'm more annoyed now that I read the gofund me page.

Good grief.