My sister is expecting her third child any day now — she is about 5 days overdue! I was secretly hoping for a 10-10-10 birthday for this little one (okay, I guess I was not so secretive about it…I called her a few times that day and left messages like this: Hi Kel! Just wanted to tell you that TODAY would be a great day to have a baby, you know, 10-10-10 is an awesome date…so get things moving in there! No pressure, of course….) Well, despite my subtle prompting, the baby has yet to make her appearance. My sister will have this baby at home, just like she did her last baby. My sister is awesome…she even had her first baby all natural and without any pain meds or an epidural. I wasn’t even that brave! I had my first three children in the hospital with epidurals…and then I had my 4th in a hospital completely natural and med free….and then I had A.J. in a hospital with an epidural…and then I went on to have the last three babies at home, completely natural. Those three homebirths were awesome – they were all born in water! So much fun! Yes, FUN! I wish I had had them all that way.
Oh…and for those of you who were counting…yes, that’s only EIGHT births. But yet I have nine children. How did that happen, you wonder? My oldest, Anthony, is actually not my biological child. He is my stepson! I always joke that he was my easiest labor, LOL. I also always joke that I fell in love with him before my husband, because when I met Rich, Anthony was just 2 months old! And you know me…I LOVE babies! So when I met Rich, I thought: not only is this guy wonderful…but he has a BABY! Oh, how completely perfect! We were married about 14 months after we met. And soon after that, we gave Anthony a little sister (Audriana)… and the rest, as they say, is history! I became a wife, a stepmom, and a mother of a newborn all within nine months! I was 23 years old. That grew me up pretty quick! But I was totally ready for it. I was born for this job 
Anyway….back to my sister. So Kelly is my younger sister. We are five years apart.
Austin, Texas 2009
Five years apart but yet we look like twins, right? Right?!!
Anyway, I seriously need to get a better picture of the two of us
because this was taken right after our “Turkey Trot” walk on Thanksgiving
and we are both look’n a little…sloppy.
She has two boys ages 5 and 3, and soon will have her little girl. She’s an awesome mom and married to a wonderful guy. I’m so proud of my little sis. She has made a beautiful family! My only complaint is that they live so darn far away! Texas isn’t right around the corner from me, you know. It’s quite the drive. (Yes, DRIVE. I hate flying!) We try to drive out there every Thanksgiving. My sister does an awesome turkey! Kelly cooks really, really well….like our mom. Our mom can make some great dishes, and I guess Kelly paid more attention in the kitchen growing up than I did. I was never interested in learning how to cook. Even to this day, cooking isn’t a favorite of mine. I do it when I have to, but if Rich is home, I gladly let him make the family meals!
some of my kids with her two boys, Thanksgiving 2009
This year, we not only will have Thanksgiving with them, but the baby’s baptism will be that weekend as well. So it will be a double celebration! I can’t wait to meet my new neice. (I hope she looks a little like me! Even just a tiny bit of a resemblance will make me happy! Perhaps my blue eyes? Hey, you never know! And I know what they are going to name her…but I’m not telling!)
Changing the subject now……. guess where I was last weekend? I went on a scrapbook retreat! Yes, I actually left the kids for the weekend! I missed them so much, but I will admit that it was SO NICE getting away on my own! I completed my 2009 family album! Here are a few pages that I did.
Oh, how I’ve missed doing this!! Since I started my blog, I’ve cut way back on my scrapbooking. I guess somewhere in my mind I feel that I document enough events in my blog… but really, it’s not even the same as putting the memories into a scrapbook. The kids all enjoy looking through our many scrapbooks, especially their own. So I need to make more time for this hobby of mine. I’m planning on two more trips in the winter/spring of next year!
Rich did an awesome job with all the kids while I was away. He got everyone to their soccer games and baseball games and various other events. He fed everyone good, healthy meals and tended to the baby and just did a great job all around. He even took them all to 8:30am mass on Sunday! That impressed me! (because that can be a chore, let me tell you!)
He only had one teeny-tiny mishaps this weekend. Just one. Not even worth mentioning, really. But I’m going to mention it. Because, you know, it’s my blog and that’s what I do.
When leaving the church after mass was over, Rich left one of our kids behind.
Have you seen me?
name: A.J.
age: 7
height: 48 inches
weight: approx. 67 pounds
hair:brown
eyes:blue
last seen: eating a donut after 8:30 mass @ Holy Trinity Catholic Church
Yes, it finally happened to one of us (thank goodness it was Rich and not me!)
Here’s the story: After mass, everyone got their donut (our church passes out donuts after the mass) and then they took a few minutes outside of the church to eat them. (we usually go off the side of the building, away from the crowd, to eat our donuts. It’s really crowded when the mass lets out. Families are visiting, kids running around. It’s very busy. So standing off to the side helps our group to stay together and we can keep better track of the kids that way) Anyway, once the kids were done with their donuts, Rich got everyone into the car, drove all the way home, sat everyone down around our kitchen table for a snack, they started eating their snack….and then Rich’s cell phone rang. It was a friend of ours who had gone to the same 8:30 mass and was still there at the church. The phonecall went something like this: “Um, hello, Rich? Yeah, hi…this is Chris Webb. Um…I don’t know if you know this or not, but we have A.J. here at the church. He said he couldn’t find you, and well…the parking lot is empty, so ….do you think that maybe you left him behind?”
A.J. explains that he walked away for a second to go get a drink of water from the water fountain, and when he came back to where everyone was standing, they were gone. I have the feeling that his story is only partly true. What I think happened was this: A.J. left the group to go get a sip of water, and either on his way there or on his way back he saw friend or two of his, and they starting talking, running around, etc. And then when he noticed the crowd was thinning out, he went to find our family. And by that time, they had left.
My baby was LEFT behind! My little seven year old! Should I be angry at Rich? Should I hold this against him? Naw….I’ll let it slide. Afterall, I was away having a great time. And I came home to nine healthy children, just like I left them. So no harm, no foul, right? (but you can bet I’m holding this card in my back pocket, just in case I need to use it one day!)
And last but not least in my little blog update…..yesterday was my Alex’s 11th birthday!!! My boy is growing up! His birthday is October 11th, so this year is his “golden birthday” as they call it–you know, when you turn the age of your birth date. Alex was quick to point out that in two more years, he will have the “coolest birthday ever” because the date will be 10-11-12 and he will turn 13! So that’s 10-11-12-13. Yes, leave it to my Alex to think ahead and figure that one out. He’s a gem. I just love this kid!
Here’s the Birthday Boy, holding up the iPod Touch that Rich and I gave to him. He’s been asking for one for about a year.
Happy Birthday, Alex! We love you so much!
I know this is an old post, but I just read it and can kind of relate to what you said at the start about Anthony. My dad is not my biological dad, but he is…if that makes sense? He is 100% my dad just minus the blood thing which as it turns out is not so important. When I was little I would question whether dad loved me as much as my siblings, he would tell me that I was very special because he actually picked me so of course he loved me just the same!
Every story is different but I just thought I would like to share, and thank you for sharing
Also thank you for your AMAZING advice on my blog!! I have yet to blog about my decision but just as a sneak preview – I am finshing up my paperwork this week for my subjects at UCLA!! So thanks again for such wonderful perspective
@Marie – no, he wasn’t scared. just insulted that he was left behind and no one noticed. I don’t blame him for that. Even I commented that I can understand Rich overlooking him, but usually the other siblings will notice if someone is not in the car, so I’m surprised none of the kids said anything.
@Mollie– I’ll have to ask my sister about Torchy’s Tacos. Maybe she has been there
i’ve been a reader but never a commenter, i just wanted to say that i go to school in austin tx and that’s so cool that your family makes the effort to come here! have you guys ever been to torchy’s tacos? they’re the best! you HAVE to try them!
oh no, poor AJ, was he scared? i hope he was ok. glad he was in safe hands and not somewhere like Walmart, ya know 😉
cute pics, happy bday to alex!