Hey everyone! If you are reading this (all 4 or 5 of you who I probably asked to take a look), you are probably wondering what the hell I’m doing writing a blog. And you are all probably fearful of what I’ll say about y’all. Not to worry. I am not writing to bash my friends and loved ones. This is merely a post for me to discuss and log all the thoughts and smack that come to me in my daily life. I might mention you in this blog at some point. But I will not trash-talk in any way. I will not reveal names or identities except “Sister” “Momma” “KID #1” or something of this nature. And as such, I will be using nickname for those I do mention. My kids give me much to think and write about, so I thought I might start the some introductions on them with this first blog.
My first-born is affectionately known as “Ya-Ya” Ya-Ya is just about to turn 22 in about two weeks. This name Ya-Ya was given by her younger sister, when she commenced verbal communication at the tender age of one or two years old. She could not pronounce her sister’s true name, thus it came out as Ya-Ya, and thus, Ya-Ya stuck. Really, it is somewhat fitting. She is the eldest, the one giving words of sisterly wisdom to her siblings on a regular basis, the one who has everyone’s back, whether they know it or not; and usually the one who gives the most smack -talk to her siblings, in the most loving way possible. She is the free-spirit, the old-soul, the Disney Princess of the group. The book/movie “Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood” comes to my mind many times, as she is the one who heads up the Sisterhood in the house, with all her wisdom she touts. She is passionate about politics, and great at arguing. I have truly always thought she was destined to be a lawyer, with her lively argumentative spirit. She loves all things music, fashion and make-up, Rick and Morty, and she loves her furry babies. She has a cat named Juliet and a dog named Bear. While they are generally her pets, they are in essence, the family pets as well. The thing I truly admire and love about Ya-Ya is her strength, her resolve, and her insight into people. She is so strong, yet so very sensitive, that sometimes I forget her sensitivity because of her strength, if that makes sense. When I see her sensitivity, it melts my heart, and I am reminded that yes she too gets her heart broken. She is currently going to college, currently considering a major in Sociology and something with family counseling. Whatever she ends up doing, I feel fairly certain that she will end up doing something she is passionate about, and for that, I am very proud of her.
My second-born is Mel. Mel is not her real name, but a nickname my sister lovingly coined because of her initials, and I always thought it was cute. Mel just turned 19 yesterday. Her birthdate: 01-19-1999. And she is 19 years old. That’s a lot of ones and nines in there! GOTTA be her lucky numbers. Mel is so very similar to her elder Ya-Ya, in that she loves all things make-up, fashion, music, and she loves New York City. She has now traveled to NYC three times in her 19 yrs, which is pretty good considering we have zero family there! While I think all my kids are comical in their own way, Mel has a very low-key, funny personality. VERY funny. Only around the people she really knows and is comfortable with, however. I keep telling her she needs to move to New York and join the Saturday Night Players so she can hone her craft, because she is Saturday-Night-Live funny. She’s observant about the funny things that happen to people, sharp-witted, and very smart. She is also somewhat of an introvert, which is interesting that she can be so funny and yet so introverted at the same time. I say introverted, because while her older sister is open and vivacious and lively around really anybody, Mel is more quiet and observant, not as open. And did I say she is smart? She really is very intelligent. Things like math and science stuff seem to be so easy for her, where as they never were for me. She has a very kind and caring heart, she truly cares about her friends and her family around her and she always has their best interests at heart. She loves animals like her sister, and she has a cat as well named Romeo. She is also attending college. I don’t know that she really knows what she wants to be as a grown-up yet, but at moment she seems interested in the communications arena. Currently she lives with my sister and her husband so that she can attend school near their home. She has been there the past two years going to school out their way, and we are all thankful that my sister was willing to give her this opportunity. She has excelled, and I am grateful. I miss her immensely. We all do, and we do our best with crazy schedules to see her when we can, and she comes home here when she can, though not often enough for my liking. One of the things I really love about Mel is her kindness to others around her, and her drive to do well in school and work and her strive to be good at what she does and take on responsibility. She is very close with Ya-Ya and I love this most about the two of them.
My third-born is my tomboy. I always refer to her as Bella (RellaBella) because it rhymes with her name, but I am going to call her Bella. Bella is incredibly athletic. She doesn’t even have to try, and she’s GOOD at all things athletic. Her love has been Soccer. She has played since she was the ripe age of four. And she has continued to excel and grow, and we are always busy with her travel soccer team she is vested in at moment. I had several teachers at school tell me I should consider putting her in basketball because she would routinely kick the boys’ rears on the playground during recess. She has been asked to join the boys football team because she has a throwing arm that Peyton Manning would be proud of. And she has several times had a baseball coach beg to have her join his team of boys, because he has seen that throwing arm, playing around in the neighborhood street. She has declined numerous times saying she only has an interest in Soccer. And last summer she learned how to surf. Which I hope she continues to work on, because she can carry that well into old age if she keeps it up. And how many people in the world can really say they surf, I mean REALLY!?!?!? Like her sisters, she is also very smart. It doesn’t take a lot of effort for her to get A’s in school, though she does apply herself. I am so very lucky to have girls who strive to do well in school. Bella has the most calm, easy-going, no-frills, no drama personality. Nothing ever seems to phase this girl. She breaks bones, cracks her head on something, falls and damages some other body part, and not a wince from her. She just gets up and keeps going with nary a complaint. Ever. And she rarely complains about people, or opinions, or things, or anything else for that matter.
UNLESS we try to get her to wear a dress.
There it is. The one thing that will send her running and screaming for the hills, to be sure. I knew I had a full-fledged tomboy on my hands when, at the tender sweet age of three, she had a full-blown meltdown over having to wear an adorably sweet and frilly dress instead of her beloved Spiderman costume on Easter Sunday. I think I had to finally compromise on something Spidermanish, w/cute shoes, and that was about it for her. Nowadays the clothing fare is usually comprised of jeans or shorts, a sweatshirt and some other simple shirt underneath, and her Nikes or Converse of whatever- color-of-the-month they happen to be. Frankly, I love this about her. I love that she just is who she is. One thing is for sure: when she HAS cried, or complained, or been upset about something – you can bet we’ve taken notice and paid attention, because this just doesn’t happen with her. Bella is 12 years old, and if ya do the math -nYep, there was quite the stretch there from Ya-Ya and Mel, to suddenly welcoming Bella into the world. So very unexpected and unplanned, and yet such a blessing. Bella is also into gaming. XBOX knows no bounds with this girl, and this is the ONLY other time I ever hear her screaming and having melt-downs – over a video game. Despite the gaming head she is, I see big things happening in this kid’s future. Hopefully involving sports, college scholarships, and what-not, but this remains to be seen. We have to get through the teen-angst years that are upon us, and high school. The thing I love about her is her easy-going, no frills personality. And she also has a kind and caring heart and her love of animals rivals her sisters also.
After life evolved unexpectedly withe welcoming Bella into the world, we were soon unexpectedly welcoming the fourth-born. But this time, this one was all new and different. This one had other parts that we were not familiar with – a penis! I still remember when the Ultrasound Tech gave me the unexpected “you’re having a boy” news. His father happened NOT to be with me on this visit, and I had to tell the Dr. that he better MAKE SURE he is correct, because his father was convinced daughter number four was on the way. He told me he’d make sure, as long as I promised to not dress this kid in pink! And thus, we welcomed Little Man into the world. Little Man is now 11. And he is all things BOY. He loves him some football. He loves fast cars. He can sit and tell you what is the fastest, most amazing, most expensive cars on the planet. He can tell you what they are made up of, and how they operate, and how they run. He also loves XBOX gaming and trying to beat his sister. He loves concocting crazy things together, like gadgets, and chemicals, and anything else he can come up with. I never know when I might drive in from a day at work, only to find tools strewn about the garage floor, Little Man in the midst of some “project”. He loves things that are super funny, and usually poop, farts, or some other disgusting extremity-ridden noise is somehow involved. He takes forever and a millennium to go to the bathroom. Once even falling asleep on the toilet (we have pictures to torture and embarrass him with when he brings home THE ONE someday). He loves all things LUSH and smelling delicious when it comes to showers and bathing. He refuses to wear any underwear except Ethika (and for cripes’ sake, they cost more than most women’s fancy lingerie). And he really loves to try cooking in the kitchen. He really gets into it. Sometimes though, I don’t know if he’s cooking, or creating some sort of science experiment. He’s been known to do both. On a whim. Without asking me first. Did I say he is all boy? Yet he has the most loving heart. I think this is what I love most, his loving heart. And he is a total cuddle-bug. I am trying to enjoy this as long as I can because I know it will slip away someday soon as he enters the teen-hood. And lastly, he loves his Momma. We are buds. We do a lot together, sometimes just he and I, when the girls are not interested in hanging with us. He and I will take off in the car and drive off to nowhere particular, no plan in place, no destination in mind, and we’ll just see where we end up. This once led me to almost not getting back into the country because I accidentally drove into Mexico, and had no passports with us to get back into the U.S. I’ve learned to be more cautious since this adventure. I am also seeing big things in this kid’s future, because he is so very analytical, creative, and intelligent when it comes to science and engineering and that type of thing. Oh yea, did I say his is SUCH A BOY!?!?!
I am so very proud of all four of my kids, each for their own attributes. They are far from perfect, but they are my perfect and I love all the unique things that are their own strengths and weaknesses and am blessed beyond measure to have them in my life to raise and hopefully make the world a better place to be because of their existence. You will from time to time hear about our adventures in life through this blogsite, and thank you for reading.
Lemme Just Say... 