I am a mum to 4 little girls and I have recently realized that parenting is never going to be easy. You would have thought this would be apparent after 3 kids, but no it took the 4^th to really sink in!

The reason for this lightbulb flash? Three of them are now in school. This means I get 3 sets of instructions from at least 6 sets of teachers; 3 sets of homework; 3 sets of e-mails with sometimes harmless content and sometimes nail-biting, jaw-dropping, teeth-gnashing stories.

These e-mails are new. I never got e-mails until this year. Why am I getting e-mails now? In a word: Buffy.

She is 5- precocious, sassy, smart, funny and hell-bent on giving me a full-on anxiety attack. Last month’s sassiness morphed into outright stubbornness and rude behavior followed by punching, kicking and the oft-heard “I don’t understand what you’re saying!” We have been e-mailed at least once a week. We have been called by the assistant principal.

I have talked, begged, bribed. Each day she gets on the bus I eye my inbox with trepidation…

My name is Jen. I am 34 years old and became a Mother for the first time on March 10, 2009. This came as a great shock since I have been informed time and time again that babies are not in my future. Because of this I allowed myself to be completely clueless when it comes to babies. I wanted nothing to do with anyone else kids and swore thruout my entire pregnancy that this will be my only one. After giving birth it took about 2 seconds to realize what true love really meant and my heart melted to the thought of being a Mom. I even played with the idea of having another one right away. I cant tell you how many times, while pregnant, I had the conversation with someone about how many kids would have. My answer was always the same. They all said the same thing.. “just wait, you’ll change your mind!” Now I understand… babies.are.awesome!

My name is Allison, I am 28 years old and the mother of two wonderful boys. I will soon be celebrating my 5^th wedding anniversary to an amazing man. Jake (4years old) is the big brother. He has a great sense of humor and makes me laugh constantly. He was recently diagnosed with type one diabetes and will be dependant on insulin for life. Little brother Brody is 7 months old and in awe of Jake! He was born with a cleft lip and has already had one surgery to repair it. My goal as a mother is to raise my boys to be confident and happy (and total mama’s boys of course!).

My name is Sarah (like most of the western world) and mama to my first, Baby J. I am 28 years old and in 2004 married my husband and graduated college with a Bachelor’s in personal responsibility and conflict resolution (got to love roommates!). We live about a half a mile from the beach in a small coastal town in northern California. Just to clarify…no, I am not tall. No, I do not surf. (I am blonde, though, and you can catch me saying “totally” here and there). I am a pastor-turned-personal fitness trainer with an emphasis in sarcasm and dry wit. After giving birth to baby J and having a hard time losing the baby weight (and remembering what it was like to love fitness, pre-pregnancy), I decided to focus my attention on helping others with weight loss and healthy living, especially mamas.

I love good rock and roll. Even in the womb, baby J experienced his first concert (Ben Folds, at the Warfield at 23 weeks). I love a song with a strong melody laced in sardonic lyrics. And if my child didn’t need to sleep at night, we would be out at shows weekly. (But let’s be honest, who wants to deal with a cranky baby in the morning? Not I.) Most nights now, you’ll find me with a glass of wine or beer (or both) and a baby or fitness book.

Most of my entries here will focus on music, life on the coast, healthy living strategies and maybe recipe here and there. Oh, and of course-motherhood. I’d say my parenting style is one part attachment, one part by the seat of my pants, one part holy-crap-what-did-i-do, one part intentionality. Mostly, I love my kid and I am doing the best I can.

When I am not blogging or spending time with the family, you can catch me drinking coffee with friends, visiting social networking sites, cringing at American Idol, exercising on the beach or trying to organize my house after 3 years of neglect.

Hello blog world. I am one of the “older” moms of the group. I have been married to my husband for 7 years, and we have been together for 14 years. We live in Nor. Cal.  We just had our first baby on April 1, 2009. The perfect boy, by the name of Jacob. No Fooling.

My parenting style is evolving. I had all these notions of doing things a certain way in the beginning. Now, I have thrown that all out the window and just go with the flow. I had to learn that pretty quick with a kid! In my younger years, I was a very controlling person. I wanted things to go my way. In my later years, I am more laid back and go with the flow. I do have my opinions that I will flash once and a while, but for the most part, I try to sit back and let things happen as they may.

I’m the eldest of the group: 40. Three children and a busy career have either kept me young or aged me prematurely (depends upon the day). My youngest is 7 months, and I am remembering that when they’re this little, treading water is just fine. I will organize my life, simplify, begin a regimen of muscle strengthening exercises, and get a makeover next year (yeah right).

Hey all it’s Mandy. Ok, Intros?? I’m 30 (damn that feels old. I actually saw it written for the first time TODAY (your age…30) on my registration form for the marathon relay team I’m doing this weekend). I’ve been married for 7 years and have two fan-freakin’-tastic kiddos. Sullivan is 3. He’s a crazy ginger kid (hence the screen name) with a heart of gold. He kills me everyday with the new and amazing things that come out of his mouth. And then we have our new babe. Lucinda (Lucy) is almost 8 months. She’s beautiful and the best baby ever. Seriously. Girlfriend popped her first tooth and I had no idea. Eat and sleeps like a champ. She’s going to be a HORRIBLE teenager. I can feel it already. As for me, I’m an art teacher at a high school and moving towards becoming a career potter. Although I need my master’s degree and to win the powerball first. We all live in our little bungalow in Denver and I wouldn’t change a thing about my life and where we are together.

I’ll get the basics out of the way.

I’m Toyah, but you can call me Toy.

I’m 22 and a mother of 3.

Trenton is 5, Melayna is 3, and Bryson is 7 months.

My other half is John, sometimes he’s the better half and sometimes he’s not.

I live for the simple things in life. The smiles i wake up to in the mornin are what makes me get out of bed.
The hugs and kisses i get at night are what helps me fall asleep.

I like the funny things and can usually find humor in any situation.

Everything happens for a reason… those are words i live by…

Blogging about my life is a little like the underwear dream… you know the one I’m talking about? I’m standing there in front of a huge room of people in my underwear, completely exposed. I don’t know these people, they don’t know me, but they know my most intimate self, and that is the world of blogging.

What have I gotten myself into? The room is virtual – favor point, but the potential  number of people in the room, coming in and out, passing by without me even knowing, taking their quick peek is overwhelming and a little sobering .  My reality and their perception duking it out as I stand there vulnerable and exposed… I guess there is only one way to do this, like a band aid, quick and painful!

Don’t expect to actually find a picture of me in my intimates, but I can try and paint the picture for you through my words. Take it or leave it, this is me.

Welcome, me, to the world of blogging!

I am a 30 year old, first time mom to my son Liam.  He was born March 22nd, 2009.  Everyday since then has been a new adventure, and a has taught me a new lesson.

My parenting style is laid back, child led, and my momma motto is, ‘always try to have fun.’   I only get to do this once, twice…maybe three times, and I want to enjoy every minute of it with this amazing little person.

I have been married for 3 years and we live in Northwest Washington.  I am currently a work at home mom, and I am going to school to get my CPA License.  I am so lucky to be given the opportunity to spend every day with my little fellow. 

So welcome to our blog.  I, along with this amazing group of women, hope to share stories, tips, and most importantly, personal opinions with anyone that is interested!