Where is Cam and why doesn't he live with you?
Cam has some special needs that have made it necessary for him to attend a private school that is equipped to handle his medical and physical needs. He currently attends a private school that is 2 hours away from our house. Fortunately his school is near my parents house and he is able to stay there during the week.
Do you plan on having more children?
Nope. We are done having babies. D-O-N-E!
Did you always plan to have a large family?
We knew we wanted a large family but we suffered from infertility for many years. We thought our family might be complete after we adopted our boys but we were surprised with 3 more blessings instead.
Trial and error....emphasis on the error. Haha! Seriously though, it takes organization and scheduling. I have an unhealthy love of making lists which helps keep things running somewhat smoothly around here. Also, delegating is a necessity. The kids have chores and responsibilities that they are expected to do to help keep the house running efficiently.
What does Matt think about the stuff you share on the blog?
He thinks I'm hysterically funny, obviously. There's a line in blogging, a line that separates the things that need to remain private from the things that are fair game for blog fodder. I have never crossed that line and if I think I'm skirting close to the line I ask Matt for his opinion before publishing the post.
Do you consider your household to be traditional (ie- traditional roles)?
I guess we are pretty traditional in our roles. Matt goes off to work every day and I stay home to care for the kids and the house. We sound downright 1950's, don't we? We split the housework pretty evenly though. I do the laundry because I am picky and have a whole laundry system in place. Matt does the yard work because I hate it. Childcare and kid related work is also split evenly. We are traditionally non-traditional.
Did you do infertility treatments to get pregnant?
No. We had unexplained infertility and opted not to proceed with any kind of medication or procedures. We went straight to foster care and adoption. We wanted a family and we didn't care how we built it.
Do you keep in touch with the birthparents of your adopted sons?
No. Unfortunately it is not an option for us at this time. Our boys were adopted from foster care and there are safety concerns that we must consider.
Are you religious and do you go to church?
I was raised Catholic as was Matt. We have opted not to raise our children in the Catholic church. We are Christians and we attend a non-denominational church.
Do you consider your style of parenting to be more attachment or free range?
I think we are a fair mix of both. We have co-slept with 2 of our kids (one extended, one short term), I have breastfed and formula fed. We have never let a baby cry-it-out. We rarely utilize babysitters, preferring to spend time as a family. We give our kids more freedom as they get older and prove they can handle the privledge.
You've mentioned that you had rough pregnancies, what do you mean?
I had very difficult pregnancies. With Maia- I had a partial placental tear at 22 weeks, went into preterm labor at 28 weeks and developed pre-eclampsia at 32 weeks. Maia was born at 35 weeks 3 days after my fluid level was found to be very low. She was a healthy weight and was able to room in with me and we were discharged together. With Mase- I had Hyperemesis gravidarum that did not go away until the 19th week of my pregnancy. I went into preterm labor again at 28 weeks, then suffered through 6 weeks of the worst kidney infection I've ever had. My labor finally couldn't be stopped any longer and Mase was born at 37 weeks on the dot. He was also healthy and discharged with me. With Zoey- I was in preterm labor again but it started earlier, at around 23 weeks. She was born at 36 weeks 3 days when they could no longer stop my labor. She was my biggest baby and also very healthy. It's a good thing I'm done having babies, who knows what another pregnancy would bring.
How old were you when you got married?
We were both 19 years old when we tied the knot. Actually I turned 19 just 11 days before I got married. In retrospect that was not a great plan. Now Matt tries to squish both my birthday and our anniversary into one present. Note the use of the word "tries".