Several months prior to getting engaged, Brandon asked me (for the 100th time while we were dating) if/ and how many kids I wanted to have in the future. At this time, I was the ripe age of 20 and, truthfully, didn’t imagine my life with kids in the picture. I told him that, as I had many times before, and could tell it wasn’t the answer he was looking for. He had always imagined loads and loads of blonde children running around the backyard. Now, don’t get me wrong, I loved children. I had spent many years as a nanny in college, but… I loved giving them back. I liked the idea of being able to do what we wanted, when we wanted to do it & thought life with kids would competely scratch that idea. Despite our conversation and differing opinions on the matter, B proposed & we were married in March of 2008. I’ll never forget going out to visit my Dad shortly after our wedding: We were sitting on his boat when he asked us how long we would wait to have children. I told him that IF we had any, it would be at least 8 or so years.
Fast forward to the following weekend when I was staring at three positive pregnancy tests. I mean, we had JUST gotten married! I was 21! Long story short, an appointment to the doc confirmed a little peanut was growing in my belly & so began the rollercoaster ride of my first pregnancy. Due to many complications, our sweet girl was born 6 weeks early, in December of that same year, weighing only 2lbs 13oz.
Miley is now just over eleven years old, is the spitting image of me, and brings us so much joy. We’ve called her “Smiley Miley” from birth due to the contagious smile she wears constantly. If she’s not singing or participating in one of the million clubs she has joined, she is driving her father and I crazy (Lord, please let this be a phase). She’s smart and kind, but boy is she stubborn. I think I know two people that she gets it from honest 🙂
We spent three years wrapped around Miley’s fingers before we welcomed another bundle; our Hyde entered this world in 2011, weighing a whopping 2lbs 8oz. Just like his sister, he came out breathing and nursing perfectly. ** On a side note, they both came home weighing only 3 and a half pounds! Can you imagine? I thought nothing of it at the time, but looking back now… I’m surprised I didn’t put them in bubble wrap! Hyde was my hardest baby; boyfriend only wanted me to hold him and by hold I mean constantly offer up my boob as a meal. You couldn’t sit him down to save a life. Thankfully, at the age of 8, he is now soundly sleeping through the night and no longer makes me hold him all the time. Hyde is our child that always says the right thing at just the right time. He’s sarcastic and knows how to use humor. He has a memory like an elephant, would rather do just about anything other than schoolwork, and truly soaks in every. single. second. of our travels. He doesn’t want to miss a thing. He’s all boy, and I wouldn’t change his ninja ways for anything.
When Hyde was seven months old, he was still waking up at all hours of the night and Mama was running on zip. I told Brandon I was hitting a wall and just couldn’t keep waking up with him. I was a zombie. The next evening, we joined some friends at the pool & I was caught offguard when one of my besties took one look at me and said, “You’re pregnant. I just know it”. And sure enough, a pregnancy test that evening confirmed it. 8 months later we had the child that rounded out our family and made us complete.
Luxe Madeleine is our spunky child; she marches to the beat of her own drum. She’s a wise soul and is so easy to love. Lulu, as I tend to call her, wears her heart on her sleeve and is friends with everyone. Young or old, she’ll sit with you and converse all afternoon. Her name means “light”, and she truly is. She lights up our life with the energy she shares. She’s just shy of 7, but thinks she’s a teenager. Out of our three, she’s the biggest Mama’s girl and would still climb in bed with us to sleep with me every night if we would let her.
I cannot imagine what we would be doing if God wouldn’t have blessed me with that precious little girl 11 years ago and made me rethink my whole “I’m never having children” idea. Brandon and I look at each other often and ask, “What did we used to do before kids”? I remember we felt SO busy back then!! But what the heck could we have been doing? I mean, were we busy watching our tv shows on the couch? Catching a movie during a week night? Having a meal where we could actually finish a conversation? HA! They keep us busy, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s funny where life takes you. Sometimes, you end up right where you always thought you would. Other times, you end up in a completely different place, but it’s better than anything you could have ever imagined!
The Gypsy Housewife 