My stepsons (featured above) have been a source of joy and light in my life for many years. I have countless memories and look back on my time as their second mom with great affection. Unfortunately one of the risks of having a blended family is the influence of the other family, and sadly that influence has recently taken a turn for the worst. The past 6 months have been filled with immeasurable heartache for us as we have struggled to redefine what our family is, fought against what we feel is the injustice of the family court system, and grappled with the reality that our family will never be the same. We are very fortunate and blessed to have the family that remains, and still the fight rages on as we hold on to the hope that all is not lost.
The purpose of this blog has always been to document the joys, the challenges, the trials and tribulations of having a blended family. When I named the blog Blended Shaken and Stirred, I had no idea just how shaken and stirred we would all be. We are still a blended family, still strong and rooted in a foundation of love, still trying to be the best we can be in this life. But, for now, we are a little more shaken than we want to be. So, for now, we are just going to focus on our three children in this blog, and not our five children.
Joey, who is currently 6 years old, is our sensitive one. He is thoughtful to the extreme and very snuggly. Joey loves to be cuddled and loved, he thrives on praise and positive reinforcement. He excels at school and is a philosopher in his own right. We are all constantly amazed at the things Joey says and does, often acting well beyond his years. He is, as they say, an old soul.
The Prince of Blondeness, aka Logan, is 4 years old. Logan is your typical little brother. He is always looking for attention and is content to receive that attention by any means necessary. Logan is a loud, energetic, rough and tumble little boy. Basically Logan is the complete opposite of Joey, which causes its own host of issues for them both. Where as Joey can be referred to as our Little Prince, Logan is our Little Dictator. Logan thrives in one-on-one situations and is most content to be playing trains and building, "the biggest track ever!" He craves routines more than most and loves to be snuggled and cuddled. Logan is a terrific big brother to his little sister Emmie. He takes this role very seriously and we are constantly impressed by his level of adoration for her. 
And last, but certainly not least, is the princess, Emelia. Emmie is our little doll and she knows it. At 3 years old she has her daddy and all her brothers wrapped around her little finger. She is fearless, gets into everything, is never found sitting still for long, and can charm anyone with her smile. Frequently we find Emmie with a marker she has found somewhere, attempting to make everything in sight her latest masterpiece. She adores her daddy, loves her mommy and brothers and goes crazy for the dogs! She is part tomboy, with her love of dirt and being messy, and part girly-girl, with her love of all things pink and princess. She rounds out our family perfectly! Then there are the parents. We are Jeff and Julia, the proud parents of this lovely family. Jeff is my adoring husband who lives by the mantra "happy wife, happy life" and is undoubtedly the world's best father. He is my biggest fan, never doubting me and always supporting me. He loves his family more than anything and is the perfect role model for our children. I want our sons to learn how to be a father and a husband by watching their father; and I want our daughter to learn what an amazing husband is by watching her father. That is the best compliment I can give him.
Me? There is a quote in the book, Eat, Pray, Love that speaks to me (actually there are about a hundred quotes in that book that speak to me and about a million other women!). Anyway, the quote says something about the author needing to stop her “relentless participation” – and that is me. I relentlessly participate. I work full time, I plan events on the side, I volunteer at the school, I cook, I bake, I craft, I volunteer for everything, I clean, I blog, I organize, I am exhausted and I am a mom. I don’t think this is a particularly extraordinary list, it is just who I am because like I said before, I relentlessly participate. I treat everything in my life as though I am going to be graded on it, and I always want the A. This is not a trait I am necessarily proud of, but it does explain some of the things I do. I like to think my family & friends benefit from my overachieving ways!
