We know that raising kids today isn’t like it was when we were growing up in the 60’s 70’s &
80’s. I don’t know when or how it happened but I do believe it is a generational thing. Not all of
us are guilty of it but I know I certainly am. As we progress, our core values change to reflect the
current times. By this time, one would think as the father of 10 kids and one of the way, I would
get it by now. As a father my love for my children is unwavering. We would do anything for our
kids and that is exactly what we do as parents, anything. We provide them with everything they
need and ask for. Maybe its because we grew up with very little or we remember not being given
what we wanted but whatever the reason, we as parents supply our kids with everything and it
doesn’t stop at 18 or 21 years old. It continues because we’ve made it this way.
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I am guilty of feeding my children. That’s right. Rub your eyes one more time, scratch your head
as you ponder “he’s guilty for feeding his kids?” Yes, I am. I gave them everything I didn’t have
and more. I failed. I fished and fed them so they ate well everyday. They didn’t go without.
Instead of feeding my kids, my goal should have been to teach them how to fish, to feed
themselves. My oldest daughter, we paid for her education. When, the right thing to do would
have been to make her pay for it. When it’s earned, most see the value, know the work that goes
into it. They appreciate what we have done for them. However, the message, the lesson should
have been different. They are good kids but as I age and realize my mortality, it struck me that I
will not be here to feed them forever.

I’ve learned a valuable lesson and not to late in life (I hope). Parents, not giving our kids
everything doesn’t mean we don’t love them or care for them. It is quite the opposite, we have an
obligation as parents to prepare our children for a world that leaves us uncertain at times. We
grew up without social media, working for allowance and we were held accountable for our
actions. We went to work and made careers. No one gave us anything.

For more than 20 years I carried around the same worm leather wallet. As time went by and I
became more successful, people would ask me about the old wallet that was worn and beaten. It
served as a reminder to me that, I was taught how to fish, how to feed myself. It reminds me of
where I came from and how things were. If not for those hard lessons and having to feed myself,
I would not be the person I am today. The greatest gift we can give our children aside from life is
teaching them how to survive without us or anyone. No woman should be beholden to a man, no
man should look to someone else to do what he himself can do; provided we as parents gave then
the right tools. Feed your kids and they will eat for a day, teach them how to fish and they will
eat for a life time. I choose the latter. That is going to be this fathers gift to his kidz!

 I was in Boston several weeks ago. I went back to my roots and as such I have been asked in recent weeks “what’s going on with the hot sauce business”  We are no longer just a hot sauce business, 9 Lazy Kidz is a family brand. So, what does that mean? There is a great sense of pride, a feeling of accomplishment when your years and hours of hard work begin to pay off. I remember starting this business with one vision that destiny has taken down a different path. I recall those I asked for help and remember with a smile now when they wouldn’t, said they counldn’t or my favorite is “for a fee” yet I supported your business with thousands of dollars and referrals. I had to remind myself that I helped them with no expectation of anything in return. So, why be upset? It pushed me to work harder. Not everyone is like me, willing to help the next person up. Each one teach one. When it’s not about the money, that is when it comes! In 2016 EFI (the parent company of 9 Lazy Kidz) had a record breaking year and we have maintained a steady flow. 9 Lazy Kidz has grown. Quietly, I diversified the business. I didn’t update the website, I said very little as we positioned ourselves not to direct sales but through licensing, now merchandising, writing books, supporting fundraisers and so many other projects that don’t call for individual or community support but is driven by passion and smart business sense.

I recall approaching small restaurants on the east coast but they couldn’t see the bottom line revenue increase potential. I approached schools for fundraisers even in our hometown at cost to benefit programs for the kids however; the politics can’t see the clearing after the trees. The west coast has embraced the brand and the family. We will be updating the website to reflect our new direction. Our storefront will have merchandise; you will see more information on licensing and fundraisers. I will Blog about our family experiences. Lastly, I will be doing speaking engagement and WEBEX conferences. I am excited about the new direction. Our efforts over the years have afforded us a fulfilling lifestyle. Family is the foundation on which great men and women are made. While you may not be together always; as parents you have to know you’ve done the best you can in providing the kidz with the tools for success. They will venture out and see that life isn’t what we expect but what we set out to create for ourselves. Thank you for those that have supported us and continue to follow us. You won’t want to miss what will be coming up in the next few months. Don’t take the silence to mean we aren’t working at it. I get to work in paradise. Success comes from persistence, fears conquered and this place just up these stairs is where the magic happens. 

A little more than a year ago, I made a decision that I knew would change the course of my life but I had no idea of the overall impact. With the birth of my 10th child, I realized all that I had missed in pursuit of the all mighty dollar. So, circumstance took over. The reality was, I had 10 kids and I was unemployed by choice. I decided to step out of my comfort zone. I spent a great deal of time getting to know my kids, spending time doing the things that I could never seem to take more than a day off to do. I had no thought of what I would do in the future and frankly, at that time I didn’t care. Being unemployed is a learning experience. I learned who my friends were. Many that I had helped get jobs, gave business to and connected them with others were all of sudden silent. This is when the realization hit, the success we create is our own. Thankfully, I was financially prepared for everything that came my way. No one expected me to be financially savvy. I mean, I ran a multi-million operation, a house of 12 plus and had a small business. Many underestimated my ability to survive. Who quits a job with one income and a large family, I have been asked. I did! There are many components to life. There are two that stand out to me risk and respect. If you aren’t willing to take the risk, the reward may never come and if people don’t respect you, there are two choices, accept it or walk away!
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We are given this life and something we all have, free will. I could have worked, kept going as I was or stopped, reflected and established priorities. My choice, my free will was to get to know my kids. There were circumstances that led up to my decision but the decision was the right one, I will not make an excuse there. Many people would love to do what I did but for every action there is a reaction. You have to be prepared. It hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows but what calmed the fear was hope, hope that because I did the right thing, I would find the right thing. I don’t care what you believe in. I know I was blessed with 10 beautiful lives that depend on me to put them first and I didn’t realize that until my last child was born. I am grateful, I saw it then and not at 50 or 60. Do what life calls you to do, don’t make it about money, make it about memories, and make it about life and how you leave people feeling. Make it about a legacy, a role model that can be appreciated and shared from your children to their children but never make it about the money. So, yes, I have 10 kids and I was unemployed but I had love in my heart and no regret about my decision, ever! I love my 9 Lazy Kids and a baby but they were ready for dad to go back to work! That is when my future was revealed. I had 3 job opportunities. I only made it to two of them before receiving offers from both. So, it was decision time. Was I going to Los Angeles or Orlando? My decision led me across country to Los Angeles. As I reflect back now on the past year and see many folks in the same place they were a year ago, I know what separates us, passion, love and risk. Change can be scary and exciting but what will be your driver to take the leap? Mine was 9 Lazy Kidz and a baby!

Press Release
For Immediate Release – June 14, 2017

9 Lazy Kidz Family Brand Names New Chief Operations Officer & Relocates

After taking a one year hiatus to spend time with the 9 Lazy Kidz plus one; Founder and father Martin Ervin goes from East Coast to West Coast, literally. Back on the scene with a newly defined strategy and leadership team, 9 Lazy Kidz is moving from the humble beginnings in a small East Coast town to the busiest city on the West Coast, Los Angeles.

Co-Founder Michelle Ervin will assume the day to day operations of the brand, implementing the strategy that has been a year in the making. Martin Ervin will remain President and advise as needed. He has taken on a National Director role with one of the largest law firms in the country.  

Founder Martin Ervin said “We expect that our strategic positioning in collaboration with our new business partners will enhance the current service offerings by going to both extremes of the “sauce” market. The brand has plans to expand beyond sauce. We expect to have more information on that as we enter this new market. The kids are getting older and want to play a role in the development of the brand and we expect to be adding a few of them to the new team. This is an exciting time for our family and the brand.” Michelle Ervin said “We have a unique family dynamic. Sure many people have large families but we’ve taken it a few steps forward by establishing a brand and sharing what we’ve learned along the way. The kids are only young once so, by documenting, sharing and teaching our kids the values they will need to be successful in the world is a win-win all around not just for us but those that follow us and can relate to our family and brand identity”   

About 9 Lazy Kidz
The brand was born in 2013 a few years after the death of Martin Ervin’s sister passed away to document and share stories about what life is like raising 9 kids and now a baby. The company was to be a family brand but hot sauce was the first product to be produced and they became known as a large family with their own hot sauce. With four hot sauces certified for production, they are selling one as they look to rebrand.

​Contact:
Name of Media Contact: Martin Ervin
Title of Media Contact: President
Company Name: 9 Lazy Kidz
Contact Phone Number: 781-264-6069
Contact E-mail: Martin@9lazykidz.com
Website URL: www.9LazyKidz.com
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​For every action there is a reaction. We’ve learned that as a family first hand but have been encourage by our setbacks and enthusiastic about our successes. You have to be prepared for all that comes at you. It hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows but we’re the fire @9lazykidz that can’t be put out. Take a look!
p.s. You can buy our sauce retail at our online store tab.  Wholesale coming soon!

Marketing only works if you have a good product and great promotion. If you're the only one that thinks it's great chances are you won't be successful. You need to take it to the consumers and ask them what they think.  You need to get it out in front of them and that is what we did. The Street-team was managed by www.socialmediamadness9.com  We had them take to the streets and what we learned is people they spoke to "Love 9 Lazy Kidz"

What kid doesn’t like meatballs, let alone meatballs with a cheesy surprise inside? Each meatball has a different cheese.  For this recipe, we used 2 types of cheese and there may be 1 or 2 that have no cheese, just to throw them off.  Want to know the secret? Ok

3lbs hamburger meat
30 bite sized pieces of your favorite cheeses (assorted)
3 tbsp Chance’s Tomato & Garlic sauce (9 Lazy Kidz)
3 level tbsp minced garlic (I like a bit of extra garlic)
2 dashes of ground black pepper
2 eggs
3 pinches of Oregano
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Put the cheese aside. We’ll get to that. Mix all the other ingredients until you have a big mass of meat. Pull off a meatball size piece of hamburger. Before you begin to roll the meatball, place a piece or two of cheese inside the meat and roll until you can’t see or feel the cheese in the meatball.
This should make about 30 meatballs.  Place the rolled meatballs in the oven on 350 for 25 minutes (no more or the cheese may start to spill out) There is a method to my madness!
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Take the meatballs from the oven (notice no cheese spillage) and directly to your sauce pot (Crock-pot) cook on low until the kids get home and mom makes the pasta. It’s Chance’s sauce and the cheese that make the flavor, that’s the secret. Dad’s done dude! 

School is quickly approaching and it’s time to have that conversation with our kids about bullies and bullying. I read a reminder the other day. You see, every victim has a name. The one that comes to mind immediately for me is Daniel Fitzpatrick, 13 years old from Staten Island, NY.  He agonized, wrote it down and while people saw what was happening, no one did a thing to help him. I wish I was not writing about this. I was bullied as a child because I was different and that stuck with me throughout my life.  I am always conscious of the way my actions and words make other people feel. I never want them to feel the way I did then and even at different instances throughout my life. Bullying comes in many non-violent forms and in many instances others will see it happen and do nothing about it. That is a sad reality. Some people are not as thick skinned as others. Do you remember “sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me?" It was a lie, all lies.

I talk to my kids about our differences. My wife and I educate our kids on respecting others, their choices and opinions. Ironically, I see some of the people who have bullied me even today and I take no pleasure in seeing that they are just where others told me they would be and wish no ill will towards those karma hasn’t caught yet. As parents none of us are perfect but our children’s first teachers are us, parents. If a bully has gotten away with it as a child, they will continue on in adult life, I’ve seen it, it’s real and we parents, educators and friends need to step in when we see it happening and do something. Too often, we are reading about a child that has taken his or her own life because they were bullied on social media, in school or at camp. These are all places that should be monitored, where we should be safe or have a sense of some security.

One way bullying is perpetuated is by classifications such as popular kid, athlete or any group which empowers them with a pack mentality. I’ve seen parents foster the behavior and when the bullying happens they say “not my kid.” It’s tough enough being a kid today without having what they feel is awkward put on blast. I believe kids who bully grow up to be adults who bully. The bully doesn’t come to realize the damage they do.  They get laughs. It’s not happening to those laughing so, it’s funny. As adults, the bully gets results but no one knows the price the victim has paid for those results. As I say to my own children “It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye” Bullying is a serious issue and you may read my post and say “yeah, okay” but when it happens to your child you will understand just a sliver of what the parents of those who have lost a child, sacrificed a life all because you saw something and did nothing. Don’t let that be you. Talk to your children not just about bullying but sex, drugs and peer pressure. Make them feel comfortable coming to you. I know, I have not read the last news story of someone taking their life but we have a duty to our children and the children that they come in contact with on both sides. Don’t stand by watching someone be bullied and don’t allow your child to bully. You can save a life just by talking.     

As parents we look to the professionals to tell us what to do but sometimes, the professionals are not always right. I have 10 children one just born last Wednesday, out of the 10, 6 have had umbilical hernias. From my very first child, I implemented what I had been taught about babies with Umbilical hernias. Doctors will tell you that an umbilical hernia should resolve on it’s own in a child. I found that not to be the case. We all have old wives tales, traditions and remedies that have been handed down by our ancestors and for me, the quarter wrap was one of them.
You have to first understand why an umbilical hernia occurs. It happens when the stomach muscles don’t join completely and the intestine and other tissues bulge. Think about this for a moment. The child has a weak muscle and we expect that what is protruding and is extroverted will invert on it’s own over time? So, a baby is strong enough to have that muscle pulled in? I’m not too sure about that but I’m also not a doctor. I’m just a dad with experience.  Early on when my eldest daughter had a hernia, I was told to take a quarter, tape it in the form of a cross and then place it over the hernia. Why you ask?  The quarter is the size enough to cover and hold in the weak muscle, the tape holds the quarter to the area and keeps the muscle in.  This gives the muscle time to strengthen. There is no pressure on the muscle as there is when the umbilical hernia is protruding.  When it protrudes it’s pushing itself out as far as the skin will allow.
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I did this with 4 of my kids on the 5th we mentioned our practice on our other children to resolve this when our son was diagnosed. My wife and I were told by the doctor that this would not help, she had never heard of it before so, against daddy advice and in going with the experts (Doctor) my wife did not do this with our 5th child.  Out of the 5 only 1 needed to have the surgery. Guess which one it was?  When we spoke to the doctor on follow up who had delivered several of our children she said “scientifically, it has not been proven but given how many times you’ve been through this if it worked for you, there is no harm in trying.” The surgery was heartbreaking as a parent to watch my son in pain all because I listened to the expert rather than depending on my experience. If you have a child with a hernia, try it. It won’t hurt the child and it may just avoid a surgery and resolve you from having to watch your baby in pain. The worst that can happen is the hernia doesn’t resolve and the expert performs the surgery. Listen, I’m just a dad with experience in many things. A law degree doesn’t make you an expert in negotiating and a MD doesn’t make you an expert in parenting techniques.  By the way, our 6th child had an umbilical hernia, after the trouble with the 5th, my wife and I decide to go with what we know, taping in the hernia. No surgery was needed!It's your call.  The tape here worked.

If you have a question, want parenting advice ask the couple who has been through it before. Experience counts for a lot! Email us at Info@9lazykidz.com