Woman First Family Always: Real-Life Wisdom from a Mother of Ten

by Kathryn Sansone

Book Overview

Happily married and the mother of 10, Kathryn Sansone is beautiful, fit, organized, and centered'find out how she really does it in this life-changing book full of inspiration, encouragement, and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0696228327
• ISBN13: 9780696228322
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: Meredith Corporation
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.2" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Woman First, Family Always

Whether we work at home or go to the office everyday, women everywhere perform a delicate balancing act each day. We spend a great deal of time hurrying around trying to get everyone to the appropriate soccer practice or ballet class, ensuring homework is completed, making sure that a somewhat healthy meal is on the table, and trying to make our way through the household clutter all while trying to also being a loving wife, a caring friend, and holding onto a little bit of us. Often, we end up just feeling frustrated, drained, and completely unproductive. Woman First, Family Always says that the key to being a good mother, wife, and friend is to take a little time for yourself and to recognize when your expectations are just too high. The author is a mother of ten children who has learned through trial and error that if she isn't happy and okay with being herself that she can't possibly be there for anyone else. The really ironic thing about her story is that she seems to have found her life more overwhelming when she only had a couple of children, before she started to take time for herself and ask for help when she needed it.

Loved it - abbreviated enough to read in one day!

I absolutely loved this book! It took only one day to read - and let's face it - many busy mothers do not have more than one day to read. I didn't look at it as a book of advice; I looked at it as more of a reminder of what we should be doing to take care of ourselves, our children, our marriage and our husband. Sometimes in the chaos of everyday life, we can forget that we are important too. Plus, we can set ourselves to the side and "do it later" when things calm down. But, things rarely calm down when you have multiple children.

READ THIS REVIEW FIRST!!!!!

I have to say that before I read this book, I read all the other reviews and was VERY sceptical about it from what I had read, but I was still interested and when my local library didn't have it yet, I decided to buy it and check it out for myself. This book is VERY GOOD!!! Do NOT listen to the other reviews where their obvious "wealth envy" is the underlying message to their reviews. I am a young mother with a 19 month old and a 3 month old and my husband is still in college. We are not rich and no I did NOT feel that her ideas were only for the wealthy as some reviews suggest. She gives you creative ideas for doing things and all her ideas can fit anyone's budget and lifestyle, not just for the wealthy. She talks about vacation and says vacation can be just an afternoon out, or going out for ice cream, not going away to Hawaii for 2 weeks like some of the other reviews would have you think. Also, her book is not at all CONFUSING!!! I don't know what the other people were thinking when they wrote their reviews but this book is very uplifting and she doesn't say "I am not a supermom" more then a handful of times and it's applicable to what she is saying. She is not prideful in her book and she makes you feel like you can do it all and still enjoy life!! Her belief in God is refreshing to the reader and as someone who has a strong faith in Jesus Christ and my Heavenly Father, it was refreshing to hear someone else feel the same way. This book has some good ideas and leaves you with a good life base that you can learn from and build upon. She is not supermom, she is the women, wife and mother of her family and they have their own way of doing things and the point to reading a book like this is to gain ideas and become uplifted from another's experience, not to become her. I highly, HIGHLY recommend this book to everyone and I am grateful that I did follow my instincts to read this book and not go off of the other reviews that were more negative.

This is wonderful for singles aspiring to have a family one day

I cannot say I'm in the same demographic as the others who have commented on this book which is why I want to share my two cents on Kathryn's book. I'm 22, fresh out of college and searching for a job. While I am looking forward to the freedom and fun of my twenties, I can't but help thinking and praying about my dream job of being a mother one day. I stopped in Borders to read this because I couldn't believe a woman like her could have ten children! Going through In response to one of the previous reviews, I personally feel there is nothing wrong with being "religious" when talking about the success of your life! People want to know and she's responding! Even though Kathryn sounds too good to be true, I figure that God has cut her out to handle the duties she fulfills. I don't see Kathryn as irresponsible for having ten children at all. I say if God grants you the ability to have that many children, enjoy it. He will never dole out more than you can handle, Kathryn handles it with an amazing grace. Reading the book, you learn Jim and Kathryn have built their brood upon their morals and a strong, hearty work ethic. They don't see divorce as an option, they value marraige as a committment to put a serious effort towards to grace the Lord. A healthy and supportive income, a large home in the midwest, supportive aunts, uncles and grandparents round out a fabulous situation to raise the kids successfully. I've done mission work all over the world as well as right here in the US. I rememeber after meeting with a family with 8+ children (including two pregnant daughters) living in a small trailer who speak openly about the blatant laziness they posess and demands for big welfare checks. It's appalling. That is why it is so hearwarming and even comforting to read the Sansone's story. Like some of you said, she's not perfect, no one is. A desperate housewife she is not. She doesn't waste time on the phone, computer or gossiping at the gym or mall with other housewives. SHE GETS IT DONE. And she has the humor, sense of love and an incredible faithful husband (seems to be a rare find these days) to raise TEN incredible kids who will go out into this crazy world we live in and change lives. Think of the thousands of people who will benefit from the morals the Sansone children will share!! Kathryn, thank you for sharing your thoughts, it may be frustrating for many of us but to know there is someone out there like you, it keeps me dreaming!

Great advice for those who want to be great moms and not lose their minds in the process...

I typically bypass books like this because most often the advice is about being a slave to your kids or, more likely, instead urges you to drop your kids at daycare so that you can go fulfill yourself. Kathryn is obviously a hands on type of parent, focused on being a great mom, but mindful that you can lose yourself in mothering if you aren't careful. I found most of her advice helpful and have implemented some of her tips, but the most important aspect of her book, in my opinion, is that she lets you know it IS possible to be a great mom to a bunch of kids and not lose yourself. I read quite a few of the other reviews and I have to disagree, I don't think this is all possible for Kathryn because her husband is wealthy. I think it is possible because she probably doesn't waste a lot of time on the computer or phone (two of the biggest time killers to stay at home moms, I know because I struggle to keep them in check myself and all my friends agree), doesn't waste a lot of time fretting about what she can't do or can't afford but just does what she can with what she has. How many times have you spent 20 minutes complaining to a friend that you are just too busy and overworked rather than taking that same 20 minutes and closing your eyes to refresh your self (or taking a 20 minute shower/bath or throwing the kids in the stroller and taking a 20 minute walk)? I think many of her tips are easy to implement for a family on a budget. My family is by no means wealthy, but my husband and I have managed to carve out time to take a date night each week. That may mean that I don't wear the latest fashion, we don't have cable, or that we might even have to share an entree or go to a sandwich shop rather than a sit down restaurant but we make it a priority to just get some time together. Although I only have four kids, I have added nursing, the family bed, and homeschooling to the mix, and I find that I can get it done. The key is organizing your life so that your life doesn't control you. Take an hour, once a week and plan a menu, double checking that you have all the supplies you need for that menu. If you organize and prepare ahead, you will save yourself time, and in this example, you can go to the grocery store once in a week, rather than 4 times, saving precious minutes which add up. You might also find that you save money shopping this way, money that you can then use to hire a babysitter to watch the kids while you and your honey go out. A lot of what Kathryn wrote is stuff that it has taken me 15 years of marriage and 10 years of mothering to figure out, how I wish I could have read her book 15 years ago and saved myself the struggle. People who want to feel like victims are going to read this book and think "I am not rich so I can't do that" or are going to resent someone like Kathryn because she looks great, without looking at their own lives and just doing what they can. Try getting up at 5:30am if that gets you a half hour wit