Girl... I have so much to say that I'm not even sure a page will be enough space to write everything down. So let me first say Congratulations! You made it to the very first page of my blog, and if I do this correctly, and "hook you in" then maybe I'll get you back for round two. So where do we start...well let's start from the beginning and why I'm writing to you.
My name is Lindsay, I'm 43 years old, remarried, have four kids, work as a Nurse Practitioner, my husband is a Police Officer, and my ex-husband and I are closer than when we were married. My oldest girls are from my previous marriage, and the littlest kids are from my current husband. My ex-husband is famous in my littles' eyes, and you can usually find him at my house daily and is renting my parents' cottage, which happens to be 100 feet from my parents' house. He may be at my parents' house more than us, which is a lot. He comes to all family functions: birthdays, holidays, family get-togethers, and family vacations including Disney. Intrigued? Keep reading, because it wasn't always like this.
We get along great, it wasn't until we were able to put aside our past and look at what was best for our two oldest and see that that was what mattered. Most look at our situation and wonder: how do you celebrate birthdays, holidays, vacations, and major milestones all together...the answer. Lots of wine and tequila! Haha no all jokes aside co-parenting isn't for the faint at heart. It took a lot of years, forgiveness, and me realizing that what mattered most was the happiness of my girls and their relationship with their father. I saw firsthand through my husband what a severed and contentious relationship could do to kids, and I promised myself at that moment that I would never do that to my kids. Is it for everyone? Absolutely not, but spending thousands in court fees and paying for attorney fees isn't my idea of fun, I would much rather go to Disney or buy a new purse!
So how did my husband and I meet you wonder? Believe it or not Match.com. I said to him on our first date that I had zero expectations, and fast forward to today, two kids later, who would have thought? Life hasn't been easy, it's been bumpy, but one thing I have learned through two marriages and four kids is to invest in a good marriage counselor and therapist and constant communication. When we had our daughter, who was our third, she was the perfect angel, I mean easy peezy. She slept 8 hours, breastfed like a champ, and never cried, I thought OMG I could do this again a million times over...no problem. My husband on the other hand, well, did I mention he's eleven years older than I am? He was done. I, like most women, knew in my heart of hearts that I wasn't done.
That's when COVID-19 hit. He had already lined up his vasectomy appointment, I wasn't thrilled about that appointment, but I also accepted that I couldn't persuade this guy into something he didn't want. He had his consultation, and was waiting for the scheduler to call for the appointment for the OR time...and low and behold guess who found out she was pregnant? I had a feeling I was pregnant, I had taken a test on a Friday night before heading to my sisters for sushi and Cosmos, and it was negative. Sweet I thought good to go! Sushi and Cosmos it is! The weekend came and went, on Monday I took another test, and that "+" sign popped up...oh dear I have to call him I thought. So typical wife, I call him and said, "So this is funny, remember to laugh," he responded, "Uh, huh," I said, "Don't be mad..." and before I could get the words out, he said, "You're Pregnant?" "How did you know???" I said surprised...well 8 months later our only little boy came a month early, and he has completed our chaotic family.
Our house currently has a 15 almost 16-year-old, 11-year-old, 5-year-old, and 3-year-old, and if you think that dinners are organized and quiet, well you're crazy. Those of us who have four kids are a whole different breed, I think we need to have a whole section in the restaurant where we can high-five one another and give each other helping hands and props when we successfully make it through dinner without spilling the water or milk, or drinks (that cost a whopping $15) or someone doesn't throw up or imagine this everyone eats their dinner. We have yet to complete any of these successfully, but maybe one day we will. However, let's be real, who can afford to go out to dinner when you are taking up the entire restaurant to feed your entire litter of animals? We've given up. We went out last week and it cost us 180.00 for the six of us, and the 5-year-old was sleeping in her nachos, and the 3-year-old had a hissy fit because the macaroni and cheese wasn't Velvita mac and cheese that was made in the microwave. (BTW the bulk that Amazon offers is a much better deal than the grocery store). However, remember what I said at the beginning of this post, the key to survival was wine and tequila? I forgot to mention Cosmos...yes two of them were needed to survive this night. That was survival tip three for that night. I could make myself crazy and beat myself up that the littles didn't eat, and we just spent so much money, but then I remember how exciting the earlier part of the day was for them...
My oldest wanted a haircut and our hairdresser was out of town for two weeks, so what does this crafty mom say...why yes I'll cut your hair! I used to imagine that if I couldn't pass nursing school, I'd be a hairdresser. I used to show dogs, Old English Sheepdogs, and I had to groom them to make them look like Cotton Balls, so how hard could it be to cut human hair? I've seen enough TikTok and Pinterest videos to make it work. Hop on up lady, I got you! I didn't tell her I was cutting her hair with dog scissors, she probably would have lost all faith in my skills then. So there we were cutting this beauty's lushish locks and if I do say so myself, it came out fabulous! So fabulous that the 11-year-old and the 5-year-old wanted a piece of the action. So although we spent 180.00 on a dinner that only 66% of the family ate, I saved at least 200 dollars and created some memories for my girlies. I also boosted my confidence that if this blog thing doesn't work out, I could go into cutting hair for either the humans or the dogs!
This blog isn't going to be about making the perfect dinner, the perfect cupcakes, or keeping the perfect house neat (we have Agnes, she's our cleaner, she came with our house when we bought it), but rather finding the bougie deals to make you and your family sparkle and feel the very best and to create a lifetime of memories. So pick up your martini glass mama and cheers because we have just completed your first blog post, and you have just successfully read my life story in one page.
However, I must include the Cosmopolitan Recipe I have been trying to perfect over the years! If you have one that you love, go to my contact page and send me an email, or follow me on Instagram, Facebook, or the Tik'r Tok'r and let me know because this momma is always up for a good drink while cooking dinner. I have found on Amazon, this lime squeezer, I got it for my husband for Father's Day to make Margarita's and it's the best. No more shrills, that the lime juice got in our cuts in our eyes, or just unable to squeeze the lime juice out. It's amazing! I'll leave the link for the Amazon lime squeezer and the recipe for the drink.
Cheers my Loves! Muah
Cosmopolitan Recipe:
2 Parts Vodka (Recently I've been using Tequila, which I know isn't a Cosmo, but this is good too)
1.5 Limes
1 Cointreau
1.5 Cranberry Juice
Use your Lime Squeezer, and squeeze it into your mixer, using your shot glass add all your yummies from above. Add your ice, then shake, shake shake! Poor into your finest Martini Glass and Girl you are ready to read on to my next post!
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