Raising Six Kids (in Luxembourg) without Losing Yourself with Cara Vincens

I have three kids. For me, the transition from zero to one was the hardest, because essentially life as you know it is gone, and will never return again. For the rest of your life, until you die, you will be responsible for another human in a way you couldn’t prepare yourself for, even if you desperately wanted to become a mother, read all the books and did all the things.

Of course, the new you is beautiful and wonderful in its own way (the sleep deprived, slightly rounder, slightly saggier way) but the adjustment is hard. For me, going from one kid to two kids was no problem. We had all the gear. We were used to not sleeping. But going from two to three was absolute insanity. There is a joke on social media that says, 2+1 isn’t 3. It’s 3,000. And that really rings true for me.

My next guest, Cara Vincens, had six babies. Six! On purpose! With the same father! She’s Canadian and her husband is French. They both came from big families (she grew up with 56 first cousins) and so they discussed ahead of time that they wanted to have between 4–8 kids. I expected this episode to be all about me asking her practical tips for the logistics of raising a big family in Luxembourg. Which, of course, we do cover. She shops at La Provencal and tries to buy in bulk. She looks for deals. She does not meal plan. She does have a big house outside of the city.

But really, as is “mom life”, we cover so much more than that. We talk about how she purposefully constructed relationships with her children when they were little that would be conducive to having them want her opinion and confide in her as they grew older. We talk about how to not lose yourself to parenting, to set boundaries and to prioritise your own fun, health and wellness along the way. She shares an amazing story of how she manifested her dream house in Luxembourg without even realizing she was doing it!

We also talk about how her prioritising her own fun and joy led to her starting her own business, The Hooting Pirate which helps women find clarity and calm through journaling, planning, memory keeping and getting more organized. She has a “how to get more time out of your day” class that sounds like it might be right up my alley.

This episode is great for parents with younger kids and older kids alike, especially if you have ever felt overwhelmed by parenting. Please give it a listen and let me know what you think. You can always email me at momlife@rtltoday.lu or you can find me on social media at Mom Life in Luxembourg.