WELCOME To The MADNESS
My life is full of kids and crazy moments and tons of dirty laundry. My house is like a zoo filled with four wild boys and two silly girls and two dogs, two cats and several fish, and oh yeah, a husband too. My mind is full of random thoughts and memories. My body is tired and trying to keep up. Come and follow along on our family's adventures.
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I first started this blog in 2006, we were getting ready to celebrate Nathan's first birthday. I decided that I wanted/needed a place to start preserving my memories of the kids. They were doing all kinds of fun things and saying silly things and I wanted to write them all down. I wanted a way to capture all the memories. I read a magazine article about this woman with four sons (at the time, her family has since grown larger) and I thought her stories were cute and funny. Something that I could totally relate to. At the bottom of the page they had posted her blog. The name of it caught my attention, so I checked it out and I was hooked. I decided that I wanted to write a blog too.
At first, I mostly just wrote little things. Things the kids were doing that was funny. Like the time Nathan got into the peanut butter when I wasn't looking. He was barely a year old and he somehow opened the jar and proceeded to smear it all over himself, the cat, the walls, the floors. It was a huge mess to clean. It's funny now thinking of it, but at the time...well, you can just imagine how I felt. I love that I was able to catch that moment in time. Not only through pictures, but words as well. I wish I had thought of doing a blog of some sort years ago. The stories I could tell, being a mother of six.
I spent the first few years finding my niche. Between writing stories and sharing my feelings, I somehow came right back to where I always was.....a mom just trying to contain life's little treasures and holding on tight to those precious memories. Now, my blog contains my family's favorite recipes, crafts that I did with my children, photographs (that have probably gotten better with time and practice), diy projects that I shared and yes, more stories and antics of my family's daily lives.
When Rich and I first met and fell in love, we decided we wanted big family. He came from a small family, I, from a larger family. We bounced back and forth between the amount of children we wanted to have, only to realize we weren't really in control of that aspect of our life. God was. We used different means of birth control and they mostly failed. It was meant to be. God chose us to have this big family. It hasn't always been easy or fun, but I don't think either of us would have it any other way. Looking at our children, we are truly blessed.
Rich and I have been married for 20 plus years now. We live in the same small town (in Pennsylvania) where we grew up. He is a retired corrections officer, hurt in the line of duty. I am a stay at home mom and a full time college student. I am a total girly girl. I don't like being outside (except for when it comes to walking or hiking trails), I don't like to camp or fish. When I go fishing with my hubby, I bug the crap out of him and annoy him endlessly until we go home. I hate anything creepy crawly - bugs, spiders, snakes, worms, ants. You name it. I love to shop and spend money (but not my money, just my hubby's). I also like to cook and bake (all those domestic/mommy things). I like to read, scrapbook, bug my husband, talk to my friends, play with my kids, take lots of pictures, make crafts with my kids, go for walks and someday, I will get back into running.
For more on our family, you can read an interview I did with the Homemaking Cottage on a series of mothers of large families.....Check it out HERE
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Charlene is a current early childhood education major, with plans to continue her education with a masters of education degree. She also works as a substitute teaching assistant/teacher with both Pre-K Counts and Head Start programs. Charlene has been featured on various education and childhood websites sharing crafts and other parenting ideas, including school supply sites as well.
Charlene is a featured blogger on Weight Loss Triumph, where she shares her weight loss journey.
Charlene's weight loss journey was featured in the May 2014 issue of Family Circle magazine.
You can read the article on line HERE
And also check out a VIDEO on their webpage featuring her as well.
(Yep, that's ME!!!!)
Charlene is also owner of Sew Charlene on Etsy.
Adventures In Mommy Land was a finalist of CBS' Pittsburgh's Most Valuable Bloggers of 2011.
You can find Adventures In Mommy Land listed on these great sites
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A few sites that have featured Adventures In Mommy Land are....
education.com and these other great sites
