MEGA MOTHER’S DAY: Meet mum of 10 boys — with another child on the way
Busy mum about to add to happy brood.
One Hamilton family munches through five loaves of bread and six litres of milk a day. Their grocery bill is $1000 a week.
But Lady-Joe Tangata Terekia and her husband Nga Tangata say having 10 sons is a breeze - and they’re not done having children yet.
Tangata Terekia is five months pregnant with her eleventh child but has chosen not to find out the sex of the baby.
“I’d love some daughters,” she told the Herald on Sunday.
“I’ll just go until my body tells me I’m done. I never say we can’t afford to. It’s just food and love.”
She was looking forward to Mother’s Day today with Master-Lee, 22; Braxton, 20; Joe, 20; Emperor, 12; Ancient, 10; Exodus, 8; Scripture, 7; Leviticus, 5; Sabbath, 3; Disciple, 1.
The family is set to attend church before coming home for a feast. Her boys are to make pancakes, write her cards and give massages.
Having 10 boys was “primo”, Tangata Terekia said.
“There are no drama queens. It’s easy, everyone is on the same level, the same page.
“They are pretty simple creatures as long as they are fed and burn their energy.
“They have structure, they cook and clean. We have an imperfect family and it’s absolutely wonderful.”
Tangata Terekia hails from Gisborne and Nga Tangata is from the Cook Islands, but until recently had been living on the Gold Coast. They returned to build a house on family land in the tiny Waikato village of Horotiu and are living in a rental in Hamilton until it is built.
Both parents are busy running their own businesses and don’t rely on benefits. Tangata Terekia founded dance class franchise business Hulanesian Fitness and Nga Tangata runs C.I. Nesian Construction. The three eldest sons work with their dad.
But the family recently found themselves on the verge of homelessness after their landlord sold the rental.
Finding another for 12 people in Hamilton proved difficult and they ended up staying in a local marae for three weeks but have since secured a temporary home in an old medical centre that is becoming a boarding house.
“I’ll just go until my body tells me I’m done.” Lady-Joe Tangata Terekia
Running their household is like a commercial operation. Tangata Terekia does six loads of laundry a day in her commercial washing machine and they use two commercial fridges. If roast chicken is for dinner, four birds will be cooked and baking is done in a roasting tray.
The boys often bring friends home for dinner, but they rarely get invited
to anyone else’s home for a meal.
“We have a commercial oven, so everything I cook is pretty huge. You know the big huge pots they have at marae? That’s how I cook,” TangataTerekia explained.
“If I’m doing baking it’s easily a triple batch. For dinner [there] will be a 5kg bag of potatoes.
“My boys are always eating, they are always in the cupboards.”
The family have three vehicles: two smaller ones and a 14-seater bus for family events.
Family holidays are rare. The last time they all went to the Pacific Islands it cost $15,000 just in flights.
Nga Tangata called his wife the “top dog”.
“What she says, is what goes. “She can do 10 things all at once. She has got that natural drive. We both have. We just have the mindset — if you want it, you’ve got to make it happen. I love my wife. She’s my backbone, really.”
When the couple had their first three children, Nga Tangata found them to be a handful.
They had an eight-year break before the younger ones followed. He said having so many children had given them a “good kick up the backside”.
“We were always wanting to achieve these different goals, run our own businesses. We had to make it happen. It’s either that or we wouldn’t be able to have more children.”
Ensuring everyone does their chores is key, TangataTerekia said. All the children cook and clean. “The 8-year-old will clean the toilets and wipe the mirrors, sweep and mop the floors. And he’ll do that every morning perfect.
“The 10-year-old will vacuum the whole house and do lunches . . . Every week they get better. Otherwise they just want to be on the games.
“My husband and I are quite strict with our kids.” TangataTerekia is no stranger to large families. She was one of 10, her dad was one of 18 and her mum was one of 12. Being Polynesian, Ma¯ori and Mormon had something to do with it, she said.
There were lots of bonuses for having a large brood. The oldest boys watch the little ones so the couple can have some alone time.
They also ensure the children get one-on-one time with their parents.
“They learn to share, they learn to make do, they learn to compromise. They learn all these skills that will be good for later in life.”
The couple met on the Gold Coast at a New Year’s Eve gathering as teenagers. “I was a bit wild, he’s quite a gentle giant,” TangataTerekia said.
“But his personality and my personality really work. We’re very much on the same page.
“We’re both survivors. We haven’t had it easy in our childhood, we’ve come from pretty rough upbringings and I suppose that by the time we met each other we were very grateful and respectful of each other and just grew from there. We never held each other back.”