Welcome to 6 Nuts in a Nutshell!

Note: My husband told me it was time seriously update the welcome message.  I went to edit the old one and it was so out of date, I decided to start over, so here it is!

***

Hi, my name is Cat. I am a 30 something year old mother of 4 boys and wife to a handsome soldier in the US Army. No matter where we live, we call it “The Nutshell” — because with 4 boys running amok, no place is big enough! And as the only girl around, I am reining Queen! We enjoy the wonderful life of living frugal, bargain hunting, crafting, paying off student loans, changing diapers/ potty training, playing single mom when Army duty calls, raising 2 sons with ADHD and speech/language impairments, and joining play groups (if they will have us). My friends think I’m crazy but lovable, my husband thinks I’m sexy (a good thing too), my family thinks I am bossy and opinionated, and my kids think I’m from outer space. I don’t mind. In fact, I openly admit I am a nut among nuts.

I’m still learning on my pathway to perfection, and I’m not afraid to admit when I am wrong. But I enjoying writing about what I do know about motherhood, marriage, military life and anything else that pops in my head. I love to read, crochet, sing, and dance in the way that will embarrass my boys the most! But above all, I love to laugh about all of it. Life is so funny if you take the time to stop stressing and really think about it all.

My husband Ben is my soul mate and perfect opposite.  Where I am loud, outgoing, and silly; he is quiet, thoughtful (as in he actually thinks before he speaks) and can fix anything!  That is to say, Daddy Ben.  Army Ben is scary as heck… but we won’t talk about Army Ben.  Ben is a solider in the US Army Field Artillery Corp, is Cub Scout master, and loves every minute of it! The harder it is, the more he enjoys himself.  He works hard and I am proud of him…. even if I do poke fun at him at times (but only when I know that it is something that he will laugh about too!).  

I married my husband, Ben, in 2004 and we got pregnant right away (I say “we” because he suffered as much as I did). Sam was born in 2005 with pneumonia. There is nothing worse for a first time mom, then to be waiting for a cry that never comes and suddenly your baby is rushed out of the delivery room because he’s blue — not my favorite memory. Sam is now 9 years old and in 3rd grade. He is also speech/ language impaired — a temporary thing, he’ll grow out of it eventually — and he is progressing fantastically! As much as I love him, Sam was a real hard kid. Loved to do naughty things, and don’t let his speech impairment fool you — he is extremely bright and very crafty — which gets him in A LOT of pickles.  But lucky for me, he gives me great writing material!  However, this last year, he has really grown.  While Sam used to be my most difficult, I have found that now he is Mr. Rules.  Little bros beware!  One toe out of line and Sam is using his words to tattle.  The stinker. But he redeems himself in his role as big brother to the baby… he LOVES babies.

Nephi is my shy but sassy boy. If I hadn’t seen him when he popped out at birth with crazy red curly hair, I would never have thought he came from me. He is the first red head in a few generations, and when I say red, I mean red. In the sun, his hair looks like flames. Not to mention, he has a personality to go with it. I’m not just talking about the bossy red, I am talking “class clown redhead with freckles” attitude.  At 7 years old, he has us cracking up daily from something he says or does. Sometimes just a look from his blue eyes will have us in fits.  He is in 2nd grade this year.  Nephi is also our amazing little artist — in fact, he designed the link buttons on the top of this blog!

Next comes little Jacob. This kid is a pill  We can’t seem to keep him out of trouble or out of anything for that matter.  His favorite past times include, but aren’t limited to, throwing expensive electronics into the toilet, getting up on the kitchen table and dancing, eating fruit… lots of fruit, and playing tag with his brothers.  Jake also likes to high-jack my sodas… no open soda is safe in this house!  And he HATES it when I sing.  Potty training is a HUGE affair — we’ve been working with him forever!  The little stinker detests all to do with toilet and at 4 years old, it’s getting REALLY old!!  Jake loves being snugly, and is a total Daddy’s boy.  If Ben is home, Jake is by his side.

And last but not least, we have baby Joseph.  He is our Halloween baby and just as precious as can be.  He loves snuggles, smiling, and his brothers (except Jake — Jake scares him and for good reason).  He hates being poopy, and sudden loud sounds frighten the dickens out of him.

Sam, Nephi, Jacob, Joseph, the hubby and I have many adventures we would love to share. I hope to hear from you as well. I really appreciate ideas and pearls of wisdom. I’m not perfect, even though sometimes I would like to think I am. I’m not even a great writer. I am starting this blog after a lot of peer pressure to do something with my writing skills. However, I am a bit of a chicken when it comes to putting myself out there to the public. Just one step at a time, and this is it. I enjoy life and love all it has to offer; the good times, the bad, and sometimes the ugly. It is my hope and my wish that we can bask in the glories of womanhood and motherhood together.