My kids are always with me, attached at the hip, with the exception of while I am at work. It is to the point where I feel strange even going to the grocery store alone. I miss them as soon as I step foot out the door without them.

Anyone who knows me would tell you that I am a quiet person. I have never really liked attention drawn to myself. I’m a little introverted at times. I thought for sure my kids would be just like me; quiet, shy and calm. Nope! They are everything I am not; loud, outgoing and well, crazy. Even though I had different expectations about their personalities I would never change a thing about either one of them.

Thinking back to when I was Halle’s age I was painfully shy and scared at the start of anything new. But Halle isn’t like that at all. She is very adaptable in new situations and she doesn’t stress about things that I still worry about as an adult. I envy that about her and I hope she always stays confident and independent.

As for Anthony, a.k.a “Buddy,” he can make your heart melt in a second. He has these eyelashes that any grown woman would die for. Leave it up to Buddy to figure out a way to climb up anything, jump from the highest point possible and tackle his sister out of nowhere and then turn around, perform a cheer and tell you his favorite color is pink (the cheerleading part just grinds his father but I love it). But my absolute favorite thing about Buddy is the way he can randomly throw his arm around me and say “I love you Mommy” for no reason. Like I said, melts my heart!

I am truly excited to dive into sharing my life and insight with other mommies. I was initially inspired because of Katie’s story about sharing the news of her first pregnancy with her own mother. It took me back to the time when I learned of my own pregnancy and how I had to tell my mother I was going to have a baby. It is a story I replay in my head over and over again but have never been able to fully talk out loud about it or even write about it.

My mother was in her last week of life when I found out I was pregnant. Not exactly what I envisioned that moment to be like but when cancer takes a hold of your life you learn very quickly that life isn’t promised. Those 9 months were very difficult for me and I would like to share that story in more depth, hopefully in my next blog. It is a story that is with me everyday, being a mother without my mother, that I think is an issue for others more than I hear or even read about. To even have one person relate to and find comfort in my story (and all my other stories) will make me one happy mommy.