I remember whose daughter I am and I straighten my crown

I remember whose daughter I am and I straighten my crown ... 

That sentence means more to me then most people would know.  I was blessed with a phenomenal Mom. She was clearly one of a kind. 

 My mother, Linda, only had two kids biologically but she welcomed every friend that my brother and I had into our home and treated them just like she did either of us.  She would fuss at them if they did wrong and praise them unconditionally when they did the right thing. I can remember when we where kids, a lady at our local gas station asked me one day how many kids my mom had .. I gave her a puzzled look, and said "two, my brother and I .. Why?  She said  "because every time she comes in here there are 3 or 4 different kids with her."  I then explained that Joey and I always had friends staying over. 

My relationship with my Mother was definitely not perfect.  She and I had more then a few moments where we didn't get along when I was going through that "horrible teenage phase".  She made sure to remind me during that time that she was there to be my parent and not my friend. She always said we would become friends later on in life.  I don't know if she ever realized how true that statement would become. 

I was a bratty kid. I had moments when I don't know how Mom and Dad put up with my bullshit. I would lie and try to sneak around but without fail I got caught.  Mom always knew what I was doing, no matter what it was.  I can remember a night when I was suppose to be staying at one friends house but we went to another friends.  When we got there I decided I was going to go out with my then boyfriend. Well he picked me up and we went cruising through town for a bit, then went to see my Uncle for a little while.  On our way back to the house, several friends met us at an intersection near my friends house and said that my Mom and Dad were there looking for me.  Apparently they told my Mom I was in the shower and would be out in a few.,  Needless to say I hopped a fence, was pulled through a window, jumped quickly into the shower, dried off and headed out to talk to Mom.  The look on her face told me everything I needed to know. (I didn't find out till later that she had been there waiting for about 20 minutes. Remember, we didn't have cell phones or social media back in the "dark ages")   She KNEW that I had been somewhere I wasn't suppose to be and I was about to be killed.  I tried to lie but yeah there really wasn't a point in that and she told me quickly to get in the car. Needless to say I was grounded for what felt like FOREVER.  I also wasn't the brightest crayon in the box and kept trying .. unsuccessfully I might add to deceive my parents.  It never worked. 

When I had my first child at the age of 25, I can remember calling my Mom up at 2am to apologize for all the shit I put her and my dad through.  She spent the next hour on the phone with me reminding me how much she loved me. I was her baby girl and I always would be no matter how horrible I was growing up.  Mom became my best friend. I literally told her everything. She and I didn't always agree with the choices that I made but she let me make them .. She allowed me to screw up but she was always there to help me put the pieces back together again.  My goal in life is to become at least half of the mother she was ... If I can accomplish that then I will know that I have become the best possible mother I can be.  

I will always be there for each and every one of my children. But until they are grown, I will be their parent and NOT their friend.  Someone must teach them respect, responsibility, caring, manners, how to love unconditionally and how to be a functioning member of society without being a whiny asshole.  That is my job. That is the job that I have chosen. That is the job that I love.  

I thank my Mom and Dad for instilling manners, respect and responsibility in me.  Without the loving and devoted parents they were I would not have become the person I am today. They are both truly missed. 

  

Linda Cochran

1950-2012

The craziness that we call life

Since this is my first blog post, I thought I should tell my readers (all 3 of you) a little bit about myself and my family.

I am a 40-something stay at home Mom of 7 kids, 3 that I gave birth to and 4 that I claim as my own. I have a pretty awesome hubby and my Furbaby, Princess Raven. Only four of the kids are still at home, their ages range from 10-14. Bubba-Head is 14, The Selfie Queen is also 14, No they are not twins, there is 3 months between them.  The Drama Princess is 12 and Buddy Boy is 10.

The almost teen and teenager stages are the ones that SUCK most days but I am grateful for that fact that I no longer have to change diapers...  I absolutely LOVE my children. They are what has kept me going over the years BUT they are all driving me INSANE.

We are a blended family as you can tell from the ages of the kids. It's hard to deal with all the personalities of everyone daily but we work hard to create "Our New Normal".

My hubby and I have known each other since 2nd grade.  We semi-dated in Middle School, in fact I was his first kiss 💋 We remained good friends through to graduation then we lost track of each other for 20+ years.  Thanks to Facebook for reuniting us.  We started dating Sept 2014, In the last 2 1/2  years we've accomplished a lot. We got engaged, moved, got married and bought a house. Whew, yeah that will cause anyone to go grey quickly (not that I needed anymore help in that department)

The two older kids (Bubba-Head and The Selfie Queen) are my easiest to deal with, they are happy to stay in their rooms and only come out for food (unless the internet goes out, if that happens then The World is Coming to an End).. The youngest two (The Drama Princess and Buddy Boy) are the ones who are causing all my hair to fall out.  I love all my children equally, although my Furbaby is definitely my Favorite. She doesn't talk back or roll her eyes. She is just happy to let me love on her.

I was lucky to have some awesome parents. Unfortunately both of my parents have passed away. There are days when I would give anything to be able to talk to my Mom and get advice. My Mom wished the ultimate "Mother's Curse" on me for sure.  Which explains the attitude I get from The Drama Princess daily.  I know I was bad a teenager and she is positively 10 times worse then I ever thought about being.

The name of this Blog comes from my Mom.  When I was that crappy teenager that always had an attitude and condescending tone I would say things like "Yes MOTHER" or "No MOTHER" and Mom said "Dont call me MOTHER, it sounds too much like Bitch" I deal with the "MOTHER" attitude a lot with the kids and remind them of this saying quite often.

I hope you all enjoy reading this and please leave comments or suggestions for ways to me improve this blog.  I will be posting recipes and cleaning tips as we go along. Plus giving you more of a look into my crazy life with all these kids.  Blessings to one and all.