Guest Post - Our blended family just got bigger !

I'm proud to say I belong to what society would call "A Blended Family". Not your typical contemporary family of a mother-father team. I have a biological father, a second step-mother and 2 younger brothers. One is my step-brother and the other is my half brother (who is 20 years younger than me) My biological mother and first step-mother both passed away when I was younger.
The pattern continues with my children. My two oldest daughters (Madison & Jessee) share a different biological father than my two youngest children (Lily & Noah). My husband and I met when Madison was 2 and Jessee just 5 months old and have since been married, and together have Lily and Noah. My ex, who's name is also Mike has recently remarried, granting Madison and Jessee a new step-mother, Anna. 4 weeks ago, Anna gave birth to adorable twin boys! This makes them Madison and Jessee's half-brothers.

Are you following?

There are moments of confusion and humor when trying to explain it all, sign guardian permission slips and fill out application forms for kid's activities, but we make it work, we get along, and there is never a lack of love or support. Anna explains it perfectly when she says "we may not be your typical family, but we are a family in every sense of the word".

Anna has graciously agreed to write my second guest-post for me all about her two new additions and how life has changed for her since having twins...

If someone had of told me that when I grew up I would be settled down, married, a step-mom to two step-daughters, and a brand new mom to newborn identical twin boys, I very well would have laughed at the image in my mind. Today that is my reality that I'm living and I honestly don't think I could be any happier.

 I was only 19 and fresh out of high school when I started dating my husband. At that time many of friends and family thought I was crazy to date an older guy who was a father to two beautiful little girls. What some of you readers out there might also think is crazy is that those two little girls are Madison and Jessee, Brooke's oldest girls.
After four years of dating, two years of engagement and one year of marriage, Madison and Jessee have become a HUGE part of my life. Needless to say so has Brooke and her family and I feel that overall we have all established a very healthy and supportive relationship for everyone involved. One might even call us one big happy family!

I am very grateful to have been able to watch Madison and Jessee grow into the young ladies they have become today. However at the end of the day, when they were kids I was always able to hand them back to Brooke after a long week at work, or after a crazy weekend. Although they are with my husband and I often, Brooke has always been their sole provider. Kudos to her for always making being a mother of four look so easy!

When my husband and I received news that we were expecting twins, you can understand the stress and anxiety I was feeling that I was soon going to become responsible for these two little babies that I'd never be able to hand back. All I had ever known of being a mom was every other weekend, and a few nights here and there through the week. All of a sudden this new addition that we wanted to add to our family had become two additions that shocked us all.

Luckily we found out early in my pregnancy that we were in fact expecting twins. This gave us time to prepare in more ways than one; mentally, physically, emotionally, and financially (if that's ever possible).
After a LONG and HOT pregnancy we recently welcomed two handsome boys into the world, Logan and Luca.

One thing I've learned is that no matter how much you prepare, you can never totally be prepared. Sure we had almost anything and everything one might need to bring a newborn into the world. However, that newborn, or  newborn(s) in our case, depicted how and when you're going to use that anything and everything.

Some might call me a little OCD or a control freak when it comes to things around the house. I have my own way of doing things and my own system. Let's just say they have all gone out the window since the arrival of the boys. Michael, the girls, friends, and family have been doing most of the chores around the house the last few weeks. Sure Michael's white underwear now have pink spots on them, dishes are not where they should be, Jessee's clothes are in Madison's drawers, and the towels are definitely not folded how I fold them, but the main thing is that the chores are getting done.
I've slowly been letting go and accepting that things don't have to be perfect or done the way I normally would do them and I definitely appreciate all the help being sent our way.

It is certainly a scary thought to think that we are only at the beginning of this crazy chapter to our lives. It doesn't matter how much you plan or picture how your life is going to be because in most cases it turns out to be nothing of the sort. The main thing is to embrace what you are given and make the best of it. I'm sure there are going to many ups and downs as the twins grow and Madison and Jessee become teenagers but we will get through it together and as a family. We may not be your typical family but we are a family in every sense of the word.



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