These days, the average American mother has about two children. But Daria Skrzypczynski is not your average mom.

The former Westmont resident who now lives in Downers Grove has not only given birth to and raised nine children, she has also home-schooled all but one.

“Some people think I’m crazy, but now that I have functioning adults, people give me more credibility,” said Daria, whose three boys and six girls range from 3 years to 22 years old .

Saturday morning breakfasts of 50 to 60 pancakes, group bedtime stories and a house packed with siblings and friends are memories David Skrzypczynski, 22, recalls vividly of growing up with eight brothers and sisters. Seeing his mom rest is not one he can clearly remember.

“I never saw her sitting down when someone was doing stuff,” David said. “She would be up helping them, coordinating things.”

Daria said she started off wanting two kids, but her values shifted after she got cancer and spent a year undergoing surgery and radiation.

“I never had the intention of having that many kids. Then I never had the intention to stop,” she said.

With so many children under one roof, the Skrzypczynski house pulsates with a variety of personalities and talents. According to Daria: David, 22 lives and works in Westmont as a pharmacy technician and delivers pizza on the side; Daria, 20, is planning to study communications at Northern Illinois University and is a highly sought after baby-sitter; Luke, 17 plays tuba; Anthony, 15 enjoys swimming; Francis, 12 is a mechanical whiz; Mary, 10, is a jack-of-all-trades, dabbling in clarinet, ballet, cooking and calligraphy; Ignatius , 8 is the artsy child; John-Paul, 5, is a “rough and tumble” tyke;  and Elizabeth, 3, is already a big talker.

“The most important thing is to remember that they’re all individuals,” the proud mother said. “The trick is finding out what their gift is.”

Finding out their gift and finding out where to put them all, said David.

“We had a 15 passenger club wagon, but my dad always said ‘we should have gotten a bus,’” David said.