I have
received much encouragement to start a blog. Joke is on you, I already have
one. A neglected one, but one none the less. There are sad, previous posts to
prove it. Maybe it’s time to feed my creative side, maybe I need something to
do to disengage myself from the chaos around me. I will attempt this blog business……at least
for a day any way.
What better
way to start this then by sharing 15 things you may or may not know about me?
You know, it’s popular on FB right now. It’s not as humorous as my FB posts but
bear with me, I can only be serious so long because if I’m not laughing I’m
crying!
1.
I
am funnier on FB than in person. SERIOUSLY. Those of you who see me on a
regular basis, in person, know that this is true. I’m glad you pretend to like
me even though I’m boring face to face.
2.
I’ve
nearly had a nervous breakdown twice. Both times were due to lice. There will
be those of you who will judge us because of this. It is because it has not hit
your household yet. You will be humbled in a way you have never felt before
when it is shared with you. The first time, the child that brought it home
shared it with me. Mommies tend to get it too because we love and hug on our
kids, A LOT. When it was discovered, I called a very trusted friend and shared
our shame. She understood because it had hit her home before too. She is a big
part of why I survived. I share this because when it comes to your house (and
believe me it will if you have kids in school), I am here for you even if you
are secretly judging us now. I will listen as you cry about what a nightmare it
is and how horrible it is to get rid of. I will share our story and how we
eventually got rid of it and kept it from spreading to other children.
3.
I
love Cheetos. I mean I really REALLY love Cheetos.
4.
A
lot of people think my husband is ‘whipped.’ Actually he is trying to keep my
world sane. There are some true crazies in our family ancestry. My husband has
seen me once in the depth of my darkness. I think he goes out of his way to
keep everything running smoothly with as little stress as possible because he
doesn’t want to see that again. It was bad and he loved me and stayed with me although
I’m sure it was very scary.
5.
I
drink like a man and when I do I cuss like a sailor. I’m not proud but it’s the
truth. The reason is number 6.
6.
My
two sets of twins were all created on the same day and are technically quads. The
first set was conceived via IVF (in vitro fertilization) and were the best
looking embryos and thus transferred first. The second set (and a third embryo)
was frozen for 5.5 years in a cryogenic lab in Austin because they didn’t look
so great. After the first set turned four, I decided it was time to start
thinking about what to do with our left overs, as I fondly referred to them.
The second set was conceived via FET (frozen embryo transfer). The third embryo
that was frozen with the second set did not survive the thawing process. I’m
not going to lie, there was a huge sigh of relief when we found out.
7.
I
refer to my first set of twins as the bigs, set 1 or as L1 and E1. I refer to my second set of twins
as the littles, set 2 or E2 and L2.
8.
I
detest being late. It was never a problem before kids. After kids, I’m late all
the time unless they aren’t with me. Then I’m usually early like I like it!
9.
I
am a perfectionist that I’ve had to let go of since having kids. I still refuse
to do crafts with them. It is also hard for me to help with school projects.
Poor bigs, they had to break me in. I know what gets by now in school and that
is what we do. So glad to learn from the bigs. My littles are the quintessential
“younger siblings.” Less effort is put into their projects, less pressure to do
well, less pressure all the way around. The bigs are not amused with my new
found attitude.
10. I detest exercise more than being
late. I get that you love Zumba, running, crossfit, whatever it is you do but
really you are wasting your breath trying to get me to love it too. I won’t.
EVER.
11. I am a neat freak. I’ve had to let
that go too. Have I mentioned yet that I have two sets of twins? My house is a
disaster ALL the time now and it drives me insane. There is no way to keep it
clutter free. I go bat crap crazy about once a month because of it and the kids
know the drill: Run around, pick stuff up, shove it somewhere out of the way
before Mom comes to my room and throws her fit. Brian even runs around warning
the kids that I’ve already let one have it, hurry up and do something before I
move on to them.
12. I have one tattoo. If I realize my
dream of having a tummy tuck, it will be removed during the tuck. Not because
of what it is but because of where it is. Two twin pregnancies do a DOOZY on a
tattoo in the bikini area. YOUNG WOMEN think before you INK, especially about where. I
didn’t think I was going to have two sets of twins at age 21 either.
13. I got married when I was 20 years old.
My husband proposed after 3 weeks of dating and we were married 8 months later. He
likes to point out we knew each other for two years before dating. I think that
takes away from the story.
14. I was voted most likely to join a rock
band at my junior high school prom.
15. My greatest gift I think I have to
offer is moral support to other people. At first it was to other parents of
preemies, then to parents of twins, and parents to multiple multiples. Now it
can be to any Mom or person struggling with something. I think it stems from
going through infertility and trying to find support for that. I think people
forget that everyone is always struggling with something. I always found it
discouraging when people tried to “out do” your struggle. You know the people, “Oh
you think that is bad? Well……” All struggles are relative to your life. Someone
going through something ‘worse’ than you does not minimize your struggle. It
meant the world to me the first time someone said to me, “What you’re going
through is hard, it stinks, it’s horrible. What you are feeling is normal. You
are allowed to feel angry, pissed off, sad.” And when someone ASKS me for
advice, that’s when I share “what’s worked for us/me.” NOT my way is the only
way. There is more than one way to solve a problem. When you have a network of
trusted people who will share “what’s worked for them stories” you will have
lots of great ideas to work with. Don’t get me wrong, I do tell myself it could
always be worse and usually worse for me is lice. But when lice hits our house,
what I tell myself in my mind are “my kids aren’t terminally ill, my parents
are still living, I have a marriage people envy, God thinks I’m stronger than I
am and I’m not amused, and my network of friends to lean on is extensive.”
