I am so excited to start the ‘blogging’ journey.  I have been writing for years, both good and bad, but I was the only one who would read it.  I am nervous to put it out for everyone to see, but happy to be able to share my experiences.     

    I have been blessed to give birth to 7 children, 1 pregnancy was a 2 for 1 deal, so I have only had to endure 6 pregnancies. (If they gave out awards for having a remarkable uterus, I might just get an ‘Honorable Mention’ ribbon.)  I am also a proud step-mom to a high school senior.  She is a great kid, and a wonderful role model to my younger children.  She isn’t at all rebellious, gets great grades, and even has impeccable manners.  This doesn’t usually happen with most 17 year-olds, so I feel very fortunate, to say the least.

    I have always worked outside the home until a little over a month ago.  I was really  nervous as to how I would feel the first Monday I wasn’t going to the office, but I was so busy at home, I hardly thought about it at all. 

   My kids don’t always get along, in fact, I wonder sometimes if I should go out and by the black and white referee jersey just to make a point.  Then I stop and think, “They wouldn’t notice, and I could have spent that money on gas.”  Daniel, my husband, is an awesome help with the kids, but I have been forbidden (by him) to write anything about him.  So, I will do my best to keep it at a minimum.  I have realized that parenting is simply the fine art of juggling the good with the bad, and trying to make the bad seem good. 

   My kids are teaching me more than I could ever teach them, for example, Goo Gone gets crayon off the wall really well, and just because it says tear free doesn’t mean it won’t hurt their eyes.  Before kids I never really knew that you could super glue small cuts closed to stop them from bleeding and from getting infected, although it does sting and is not highly recommended, unless it’s at a football game and he “has to get back on the field.”  I only grocery shop at stores that have the double seats for kids, Sam’s and Super Target have great baskets for moms, and love it when the bakery gives them free cookies.  I have taken my kids to school in pajamas before, and I am not ashamed to admit that adding fruit to cereal does, at my house, make it a gourmet meal. 

   People ask me a lot how I do it, but the truth is, I am just muddling through like every other mom.  With so many kids, we always have something to do, somewhere to go, and something we forgot, but life is what you make it.  I always tell my kids, “It is what it is, until it is something else.” If I like what it is, I try to keep it that way. If I don’t, I try to be the one to make it otherwise.  I am going to try and blog every Tuesday and Thursday unless something great comes up and I just can’t wait to share it.  Once again I am so excited to be a part of 918moms.com and can’t wait to see what the future has to bring!