And away we go!

These days, it seems like everyone has her own blog, and those of us who don’t have one think about what we’d write about if we did.  After years of thinking about blogging, I think it’s finally time to move into the “has one” category.

Why now, you may wonder?  I am a mostly stay-at-home mother of five –– the smallest of whom just turned two.  Five years ago, I married my media naranja (a Mexican saying for the other half of my orange, something that sounds less starry-eyed than my soulmate) and became a stepmother to his three small children.  We hit the ground running with this new family of ours, and a year after we got married, I got pregnant. A baby brought a new level of exhaustion and chaos to our already busy home, and when she turned one, we found out we had another on the way.  So you can see how it’s taken every ounce of energy I had, just to keep my head above water, with everyone healthy and pretty much happy.

But a funny thing happened a few months ago.  All of a sudden, it seemed, our babies were turning into children, getting more independent and needing less of my time and my energy.  As Biba turned two, I realized, “Holy cow.  I actually have spare time, and I even have some extra energy, since they’re sleeping a little better.  What does all of this mean?”

And so, five years after I first thought about blogging, it seems that I may finally have a chance to write.  What am I going to write about?  My family –– the good, the bad and the completely normal.  I have learned a lot as the mama of this big, blended family, and I hope that my experience can help someone find answers more easily than I did.

I imagine this blog will frequently go back in time, as I share stories of things that happened in the past, when I was just too tired to write.  But often, I’m sure I’ll just blog about things that are going on in our present –– there’s always something going on in a family of seven.

It seems that this would be a good time to make a quick introduction to our cast of characters. Anthony is my aforementioned media naranja.  A dedicated father and endlessly loving husband, Anthony is kind and charismatic, always up for a party.  No surprise, he has earned the nickname of Good Times Tony.  Our oldest, AJ, just turned 14 and is the compassionate leader of our close-knit bunch of children.  Eleven-year-old Katye is our mature, helpful daughter, who relishes having two little sisters and enjoys bossing around all four of her siblings whenever possible.  Ethan just turned nine and is our youngest son.  I have long thought he is a mini-Anthony, so it’s no surprise that he is happiest with in a crowd of people.  Our first joint production, Delilah is our family’s three-year-old dictator.  She is feisty and strong-willed and madly in love with all four of her siblings.  And then there’s Biba.  Officially named Camila, shortened to Mila, turned into Biba when the Dictator couldn’t pronounce her name, our baby is our most mellow child.  As Delilah’s loyal sidekick, she let’s Delilah have whatever she wants, and genuinely seems happy with the seconds. 

And then there’s me.  I’ve spent so long knee-deep in mothering that I’m not quite sure who I am anymore, beyond a wife and a mother.  Perhaps that’s another purpose for this blog, though, to help me figure out who I am, and to share what I find as I go along.  I can’t wait!!