About Me...

So I finally decided to break down and do an "About Me" page. This way, if you're new to my blog, you don't have to go back through the early posts and try to piece things together - sometimes even I have trouble keeping up with my life so this might make it easier for anyone who is interested!

As for me and my basic life...

I was born in Maryland, where we lived until I was about 3 years old. After that, we moved to Pennsylvania, which is where I consider "home". I grew up outside of a smallish town in a fairly rural area. We had horses and dogs and my best friend had a farm, where I worked for years before I was old enough to get a "real" job.

I went to Penn State and got my B.S. in Special Education - but I figured out halfway through my student teaching that I hated working in the school system. Oops. There went 5 years of my life (yes, it took 5).

I moved from Pennsylvania to Delaware in 1994, and then to Long Island, New York in 1997. I only lasted a year on the island before I ran screaming out of there and didn't stop until I landed in Kansas in 1998 (wait, isn't that supposed to happen the other way around?) and I've been here ever since.

As for my kids...

My 3 older kids (Sarah, Emily, and Jared) are from my first marriage. That one lasted from 1999-2004. Their father ("Ex1" in my posts) and I have 50/50 custody.We have a really crazy custody schedule so that the kids are with me half of the time and with him half of the time. It's crazy, but it works for us. He and I really don't like each other much, but we tolerate each other for the kids' sakes.

My fourth one, Alex, is from what I like to refer to as my "Post-Divorce Rebellious Phase". His father and I were never married, and didn't date for all that long, either. I have full custody of Alex, and his father and I get along decently when he's around - but that whole "being around" thing has been an issue lately.

My fifth one - my baby - Daniel...he is from my second marriage. His father and I married in 2006, separated in 2009, and our divorce was final in January 2011. Sadly, his father passed away in February 2011. His father was an amazing man, but unfortunately his demons were too powerful and I had to end the marriage in order to protect myself and my kids. Obviously, Daniel is with me 24/7.

Who I am and what I do...

I'm just a normal mom. I stay home with my kids and I run around like an idiot most of the time. I have a serious internet addiction (Shocked? I thought not.) and am a perpetual nightowl. I love to sew and make quilts, and I don't do too bad of a job at it....but at the same time, I have a circular saw and I know how to use it. I love to cook but I tend to be lazy and not do it very often. Cleaning the house is the worst chore in the world, right next to laundry - and with this herd of kids, I average 12-15 loads of laundry per week. I love to bake and can stuff and make goodie baskets for friends with stuff that I've made. My dream is to someday have my own little shop where I can sell the stuff that I make, but that's more than a few years down the line at this point.

After vowing to never get into a relationship again (seriously, look at my track record) I ended up meeting and falling for an absolutely amazing man who is more than willing to deal with me and my special brand of crazy on a regular basis. The Dude - as he is affectionately called - can often be found commenting on my facebook page and has even written a guest blog for me. Ask him nicely, and he might do it again.

When I started this blog, it was more for fun than for anything else. But as I started to get into it, I realized that it was really helping me to work through a lot of things that have happened in my life. I've received feedback from people indicating that they've been able to relate to it and they've been able to take something from it to help them in their particular situation. I don't think that anything that I do is special or awe-inspiring or anything like that - but if I can help one person who is going through a tough time, then I am happy. So many of my friends helped me through some of the darkest parts of my life and I need to pay that forward.

I try to post a variety of things. I can't be serious all of the time, so while some of my posts will go off the deep end, some of them will literally just be random thoughts. It is truly a glimpse into what little bit of a mind I have left.

So there you have it, in a medium-sized nutshell. Have questions? Just ask. For the most part, I'll tell you. And if it's not something that I want to discuss, I'll tell you that too.

I love comments. Really I do. So if you read something here, leave me a comment, even if it's just something silly!