Meet The Family

So since my family is the biggest part of my life and what I plan to blog about the most, I think it's fitting to introduce the clan - or the Cast of Characters in my blog stories, if you will.

We'll start with me - "Mommy" as I've been called for the past few years. (actually, I was called Mommy by my students years before so it's a name I've been answering to for some time now. I think every kid accidentally calls their teacher Mommy a time or two, and they are always MORTIFIED by it! Cracks me up!)

This is me with my third-born cutie.

My real name, other than Mommy, is Jessica. I once tried to get my oldest two kiddos to say "Jessica" and it's pretty hysterical hearing your kids say your actual name. I am 29 years old and thoroughly enjoying my role as Mama Bear to my four little cubbies. Unfortunately, my body has embraced the Mama Bear image a bit too much over the last four years. Let me tell ya, four back-to-back pregnancies did NOT do this body good! Part of my ambition now is "Mission Lose Baby Weight." This mission launched in late January shortly after my last baby was born and the status of this mission is a Work In Progress! I am hoping to have this mission almost completed by September which is when I will embark on a new journey - my thirties! Eek! I will admit I am a little anxious about jumping into a new decade, and no longer being in my "twenties." I don't care how many times all the old people tell you age is just a number - they LIE, people. It's all lies! :) Here's to this new journey of a healthier lifestyle I am committed to now and oh so much more to learn as a wife & mother.

Next on the Cast of Characters is my partner in crime - my hubby! We'll call him Mr. Fix-It.

This is the best I could find for a recent photo. Mr. Fix-It hates his picture to be made. This is us at our son's 4th birthday earlier this month with our second-born cutie, Corky!
 

Mr. Fix-It is the hard-working provider for our family since I left my teaching profession two years ago to become a full-time homemaker. And let me tell ya, this man works ALL.THE.TIME now. We're talking 80 hour work weeks, people. Whew! It's rather exhausting for him because he's working outside of the home so many hours a week and for me working inside the home without an extra pair of hands to help out with this crew of four ages 4 & under. This man of mine is the hardest worker I know and I am so grateful for his job (despite the crappy hours), his dedication, and his willingness to provide for us! Mr. Fix-It is my right-hand man AND a handy man, too! He can fix just about anything I manage to break, overflow, or clog up around this house. We complement each other well with our different strengths and weaknesses. I wouldn't want a houseful of little kiddos with anyone other than Mr. Fix-It. :)

Now enough about us boring adults! Let's get to our houseful of cuties - our kiddos!


Buddy - our 4 year old cutie!

This is Buddy, our four year old son. No, that's not what we named him. But it is the nickname his little sister came up with all on her own when she was just learning to talk. We don't know where she came up with Buddy but it sort of stuck with the rest of us and now I find myself calling him Buddy more than his actual name. Funny how that worked out. Anyway, this just-turned-four-year-old is a piece of work, let me tell ya. I believe he literally came out of the womb rearin' and ready to GO! He was walking steadily by himself at 7.5 months old and was literally running circles around me shortly thereafter. He is every bit of BOY that I was never prepared to parent. :) He is very stubborn & independent and he likes to see just how far he can push his limits. This child has increased my prayer life tenfold and I think I am learning just as much as he is. Prayer & grace-based parenting, folks! (we'll save that for a future blog post...) But beneath a very thick surface of dirt, daredevil, and disobedience is a little boy who loves to learn about the big world around him, give big bear hugs and snuggle with his Mommy. I am determined to polish his rough little edges so he can become the man God is preparing him to be with that headstrong personality of his. There's nothing quite like the place in a Mommy's heart for her first-born son!


Next in our clan is our sassafras, 2.5 year old daughter. Buddy calls her Corky. I don't think he has yet to pronounce her first name correctly. He is just in the habit of calling her Corky, so that's what we'll call her, too.

Our Princess girl! "Corky"

Corky made her way into this world 4 weeks before her due date and this Mommy was not prepared for that since her big brother had arrived exactly on his due date. Every since her early arrival, this premature baby girl has proven that she dances to the beat of her own drum in more ways than one. Corky is more mature than we expect from most two year olds and she definitely reminds us of this every day. She has been dressing herself, using the potty, brushing her own teeth, and even putting herself down for her own naps for quite some time now. In her mind, I truly think she believes she is a teenager. I see little glimpses of what's to come in her teen years every morning as we BATTLE over what she is going to wear that day. Corky thinks there is only one acceptable outfit - her Minnie Mouse shirt & a pair of blue jeans. Which ironically is not the clothes you'd think this girly-girl would want to wear. But that's what she insists on every morning and Lord forbid these items are not clean, then we must deal with a ten minute melt-down. She doesn't want to wear shorts or capris, just blue jeans.(she calls them her "black pants" even though she knows they're not black, Again, not sure where she comes up with some of these nicknames) She will wait patiently in the laundry room asking if her pants are clean on days I do force her to wear something else. This child is one persistent little lady! She is also my biggest helper. I can rely on her to go fetch whatever I may need when I am busy doing something else. She is also quite the little Mommy herself & my heart melts as I see her carry around her little baby dolls. (she strips off all their clothing though and just prefers them to be naked - is this an issue I should be concerned with??? lol) She really is such a sweetheart, with a touch of sassy & a whole lot of shyness! It takes forever for this girl to warm up to new situations and people. (I actually think she inherited that from me, unfortunately. Her Mama is certainly NOT outgoing!)


Our third-born cutie is endearingly called Boo around our house because she really reminds us of the little girl Boo in the movie Monsters Inc.

My "Boo" - 17 months old

Boo was born just 375 days after her big sister, Corky, and she couldn't be any more different. After having two blue-eyed, bald-headed, skinny babies - Boo took us by surprise when out she popped with the fullest, darkest head of hair I've ever seen on a baby and lots of baby fat rolls. No joke. It took me a few minutes to process that this was MY child (Mr. Fix-It is probably STILL wondering if she's his....HA....totally kidding!) and if I hadn't of birthed her out myself then I'd never believe she belonged in our crew. But Boo stole our hearts pretty quickly and she is quite the charm in our family! Those chubby cheeks, those chunky thighs (hey, maybe she's more like her Mommy than I thought! lol) her little pouty face when she wants something and that darling little smile of hers is honestly the highlight of my days. She pretty much has her Daddy wrapped around her finger, too and he'll be the first to admit that. ;) One thing about Boo that you must know is that she doesn't talk - well, not REALLY talk anyway. She can say Mama, Dada, Nana, Uh-oh, etc. You know, the stereotypical words of a 17 month old I guess - but most of the time, she communicates with her mouth completely closed and just makes the SOUND that the word makes that she is trying to use. It's hard to explain, it's just....odd, really. HAHA! My Papa says she is going to be a ventriloquist. :) But despite her limited vocabulary, this little stinker is smart as a whip! She KNOWS what's going on around her, and I'm sure when she does start verbalizing then we'll never get her to be quiet. :) She is also our little climber. If it's to be climbed, this girl will climb it. Stairs, table tops, shelves, counters...she has a touch of daredevil in her like her big brother, I'm afraid.


Last, but certainly not least is the youngest of our clan - Baby CJ - just 4.5 sweet months old.


He loves his paci & his Mommy!


 

Baby CJ is everything one would hope their fourth-born baby would be - completely content, laid back, and easy to please. He has already begun to roll over and tries so hard to get-up and go like his big siblings. He watches them with delight and they all take turns making him giggle. And boy does this boy love to giggle! I don't remember my other three kids laughing as much as he does at this young of an age. He is such a sweet baby. He sleeps through the night and has for as long as I can remember, actually. He's not the greatest napper during the daytime hours, though. I'm still training him on this. (note: this Mommy begins "Operation Sleep Through The Night" as soon as these babies are born! Mommy likes her rest, I won't lie) Baby CJ has been such a blessing to our family and I truly feel like our little clan is now complete with our 2 beautiful girls and our 2 handsome boys!

I really am blessed beyond measure to be Mr. Fix-It's wife & our four cuties' Mommy. There are good days and not-so-good days in our home. Stressful days and days of accomplishment. Days where I feel like I'm on top of the world and days I just want to crawl into a burrow and cry. As an old TV show use to say (and Mr. Fix-It and I quote often to each other) "It might be a crazy life - but it's OUR life!" :)

Until next time....