Sane Woman's Guide to Raising a Large Family, A [Paperback]

Mary Ostyn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 18, 2009

A SANE WOMAN'S GUIDE TO RAISING A LARGE FAMILY is written from the practical, experienced perspective of a mother of ten and has thoughtful, helpful answers to important questions, such as:
Can a mother meet the needs of multiple children without drowning in sheer neediness?
How can a moderate income stretch to include more children?
How can you make space in your home work for you?
What are some ideas for handling mountains of laundry?
How can you preserve time for yourself and your marriage?
How can you manage multiple children and their activities?
Mary Ostyn is founder of Owlhaven (http://owlhaven.net), a hugely popular place to share parenting tips and funny mothering moments. As mom to ten children-six of whom are adopted-she is a writer for Adoption.com (http://ethiopia.adoptionblogs.com). A contributing writer to the Larger Families blog (http://largerfamilies.blogspot.com), she lives with her family in Idaho.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Have you ever seen a mom with kids hanging all over her heaped-up grocery cart and marveled at how she juggles it all? Have you ever wondered if you could do it? A Sane Woman's Guide to Raising a Large Family is written from the practical, experienced perspective of a mother of ten. It has thoughtful, helpful answers to important questions, such as:
Can a parent meet the needs of multiple children without drowning in sheer neediness? How can a moderate income stretch to include more children? How can you make space in your home work for you? What are some ideas for handling mountains of laundry? How can you preserve time for yourself and your marriage? How can you manage multiple children and their activities? Whether your idea of a big family is three kids or ten, this fresh, commonsense approach to parenting will help you find peace of mind and joy in a big bustling household, and, most importantly, learn how a child can feel deeply cherished as an individual.

Mary Ostyn is founder of Owlhaven (http://owlhaven.net), a hugely popular place to share parenting tips and funny mothering moments. She has been published in Chicken Soup for the Expectant Mother's Soul and in several magazines, including Christian Parenting Today, Adoption Today, and Adoptive Families. As mom to ten children-six of whom are adopted-she is a writer for Workitmom.com (http://workitmom.com). She lives with her family in Nampa, Idaho.

About the Author

Mary Ostyn is founder of Owlhaven (http://owlhaven.wordpress.com), a hugely popular place to share parenting tips and funny mothering moments. She has been published in Chicken Soup for the Expectant Mother's Soul, and in several magazines, including Christian Parenting Today, Adoption Today, and Adoptive Families.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Gibbs Smith (February 18, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1423604512
• ISBN-13: 978-1423604518
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #61,534 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mary Ostyn is the author of A SANE WOMAN'S GUIDE TO RAISING A LARGE FAMILY and FAMILY FEASTS FOR $75 A WEEK. She lives in Idaho with her high school sweetheart, to whom she has been married for 23 years. They have 10 children, four of whom were born to them, and six who arrived via adoption. Ostyn has been blogging at http://owlhaven.net since 2006.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Serious advice from a fun (and not TOO sane) mom..., July 21, 2009

By 

Jennifer Wilson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sane Woman's Guide to Raising a Large Family, A (Paperback)

I have 12 children myself, and in a nutshell, I loved the book, just like I knew I would. For one thing, the cover is awfully cute. Which has nothing to do with anything, but I thought I'd mention it.

More importantly, the book is solid. Solid advice. Solid balance. Solid practicality. Solid reassurance.

Mary totally made me believe I could truly raise a large family!!

Which is a relief, when you get right down to it.

Although I'm not 100% sure about the "sane" part. I think you (and I mean this in the most complimentary way possible) truly have to have a little bit of the insane in you to consider raising a family larger than the norm these days. That is, if "insane" can be defined as the audacity to go against the flow, live contrary to popular culture, challenge suppositions, and embrace your inner rebel.

But you know, it's all semantics in the end.

Mary's book addresses the very real issues of space and money and time in the context of hoards of children, but also delves into deeper issues of being emotionally available for both children and spouse, as well as the Myth of the Supermom (oh how I hate that one) and how to encourage sibling friendships.

I found so much sensible and soothing about this book; it was like settling down with a cup of tea and some really good chocolate (referenced multiple times as one of Mary's secret weapons for coping, by the way) and having a lengthy chat with a close, level-headed friend after a particularly tiring day. It refreshed my spirit and strengthed my resolve to do the very best job humanly possible with this parenting gig.

Which subsequently made me wish quite longingly that I lived next door to Mary, not surprisingly.

Even if you are done growing your family and it isn't considered large by the world's definition, this book has so many practical hints on how to save money, make time for your children, foster family fun, and remember that guy you said your vows to, that I would bet just about any woman with any number of children would glean something worthwhile from the reading

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I feel a bit saner already!, March 27, 2009

By 

Kategal (New York, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sane Woman's Guide to Raising a Large Family, A (Paperback)

I read this book cover to cover as soon as I got it - standing up while making dinner, in between folding loads of laundry, and finally - finally! - after my kids all went to bed at night. I greatly enjoyed Ostyn's funny, poignant, inspirational and incredibly useful musings on raising a large family. I didn't expect I would get any new parenting ideas, but I went away with quite a number of them. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the parenting superhero "Owlhaven" is a real person - she has just figured out what is essential when it comes to parenting her large brood, and what she can be a bit more relaxed about (children's rooms, laundry, for instance). This is a useful book for any mom looking for a bit more sanity in her busy world - no matter how many children she has.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars practical and encouraging, April 1, 2009

By 

Meredith (Tennessee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sane Woman's Guide to Raising a Large Family, A (Paperback)

This is the most practical parenting book I've read. Even though we only have 3 kids, I could have been using this commonsense advice since our first child.

You won't find a lot of fluff here, but you will walk away encouraged and armed with new strategies for dealing with real family life. Honest, sound information about what it costs to have a large family, balanced with ideas for stretching the average budget.

I learned that my kids need to work harder around the house, and I should focus on teaching my kids those skills instead of cleaning up their messes. I feel like we can move ahead as a team after reading this book!