Free Range Family

Most new mothers experience the same things their children's first months of life: no sleep, breastfeeding issues, figuring out diaper brands... Could you imagine being a new mom, finding out one day that you may not live to see your daughter's first steps? Meet Heather. She is a cancer survivor and a mother. Both of these life-changing events happened to her at the same time. This woman is seriously one of the strongest people I have met, to overcome cancer all while learning the new ropes of parenting a child? Wow, she really is a phenomenal woman! Check out her POV Post today and be sure to stop by her blog here. She truly is a wonderful woman and an amazing mom! Check out her story! "When I married Cameron, the love of my life, I wasn't quite ready to step into the role of mother yet, but after seven happy years together, we both decided that it was time to take that next step. We knew our lives were about to undergo a major change as we prepared to w...

For my next POV Post, I am featuring my lovely sister Natalie. Her and I are two years and ten months apart, exactly as far apart as Alan and Anna are! We are so close and I love her so! Natalie doesn't have her own blog but I asked her to write a special post for me about being an aunt to my children. So here is this week's POV Post! Hello all! I'm Jill's younger sister Natalie! Aunt Natalie and I at my wedding reception For those of you that don't know me I live in Missoula with my boyfriend, Jake. I am currently going to school for Radiology, but in the mean time I am a CNA at Hillside Healthcare. I love Jill to pieces!! She is an wonderful sister as well as an amazing mother to both Alan and Anna! On Christmas Eve little Alan-ator walked into Jill and I's parents house wearing a shirt that read, " Best Big Brother Ever" and I was the first one in the house to see it!! I knew that something was up because in the past few days that I had b...

Hello, hello! Today I wanted to share some German wedding traditions with you all. Weddings are, well, a bit different here than in the USA. Here are some wacky traditions and noticiable differences in German vs. American weddings! "Polter Abend" This was by far the scariest suprise tradition ever! Polter Abend is ususally 2 nights or the night before the wedding. Friends, neighbors, and family all gather and smash anything porcelain in the groom's driveway! This is supposed to bring the newlywed couple luck (don't ask me how). After all of the smashing is done, the bride and groom get the honors of cleaning up the mess! Ours wasn't too bad, because only two of his aunts brought some old porcealain plates, etc. My parents-in-law however, had an entire parking lot full of smashed porcelain, and some of their friends went so far as to bringing old toilets to smash. "Krenzen" This is a tradition for weddings, silver anniversaries, and gold annive...

This is my second installment of Point of View Posts, this time from my other good WTE friend Jen. Her blog is usually about recipes and her love for cooking, so her post is about spaghetti. I love that there is another family who loves spaghetti as much as this one does! :D I hope you enjoy. Here is this week's POV Posts! Spaghetti. This single world evokes nothing but pure delight for me. It is simply the perfect meal. It’s quick, it’s easy, it’s cheap and it’s freaking delicious. Plus I like to pretend I’m Italian so I like to make it and announce that we are having “macaroni and red gravy” while prancing around with a glass of wine. Yep, I’m fancy like that. Spaghetti is a family favorite here. And with a two year old and a one year old (I’m fancy and crazy) eating spaghetti is an event. But it’s the one meal I know everyone will eat. The girls get stripped down to their under-roo’s and dive in! It always makes me laugh! The oldest slurps it noodle by noodle and the y...

This is my first installment of Point of View Posts, by the lovely Miss Shay. Shay is one of my WTE mamas and she is also a work at home mama. This post is about how she deals with juggling being a mom with working at home. I hope you enjoy! :D Here is this week's POV Post! I was working tonight and my son knocked on the door, “Mama, where did daddy go?” He always peeks through his window when he should be in bed. I go back in and lay him down again. As soon as that door closes, he is knocking again, “Mama, can we paint tomorrow? I want to paint.” That’s when I try the bribery approach and I say, “Yep, if you go to bed we can paint tomorrow.” Apparently, bribery doesn’t work with this kid because he’s at the door again. As a work at home mom, I am thankful that I get this opportunity to watch my kids grow up and be there for the smiles, first time walking and first words, but it also is pretty hard sometimes. I get excited to be with the kids, but I find I am always working o...