Growing up in a home of 3 girls in a small Texas town definitely provided us with a colorful childhood. We were raised to pull up our big girl panties, straighten our tiara, and get ‘ER done. Our mother believed once you made your bed, you better lie in it, and by golly if she was taking you to the ER with an acute asthma attack, you had better not be faking (thank goodness for pneumonia and a hospital admission). We learned to cook hot dogs in the wind shield of the car, have camped at most every KOA camp ground in America, spent most Saturday nights watching our dad perform magic tricks before being allowed to go out with friends. From riding lawn mower races with the neighborhood kids to having egg wars with our friends all over our small town, we learned the value of using your imagination to pass the time. We did not grow up in the age of cell phones and social media. Computers were used to type a paper, which was incredible to have a back space button, no longer having to start completely over with one wrong key stroke.
Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine having 5 children, long gone are the days I dreamed of becoming a punk rocker. Shorts skirts,high heels, leg warmers, hot pink hair……I wanted to BE Cyndi Lauper. From overcoming teen pregnancy to becoming the first in your family to get divorced, I really made my parents proud when I moved back in with my own 3 kids. I was that child, the middle one. The one that always took the hard road, the long route, and never made things easy on anyone along the way. Getting remarried and becoming a blended family, adding 2 more children to the mix, has been a blessing, joy, and nothing but chaos. I am THE CHAOS COORDINATOR. When people ask how I manage 5 children, my mother always answers with, “she has always lived in chaos, she knows nothing else. I love my life. I love my husband. He is the one of whom my soul loves, forever and always. I love all 5 of my children with every ounce of my being. Every pregnancy (50-70 lbs weight gain each time), all 5 cesareans, the terrible 3’s (or should I say 2-5), the raging teenage years of crazy hormones, teaching them to drive, seeing my first off to college and watching her soar. I have loved, loved, loved every minute. I owe everything I have, and everything I am, to God, and him alone. Without him, I would be nothing, have nothing, and have never survived anything.
My sister, the other author of our blog, my RIDE or DIE, she has been through it all with me. She marches to the beat of her own drum, she is the crafty one, creative, and too smart for her own good. She has been a goddess of hair for over 20 years, keeping the ladies of small town America in fashion with the rest of the world. She has been through it all … and then some. She has survived the stages of motherhood and been able to successfully get both kids grown and gone …. although they do seem to keep trying to come back. After all, there is no place like home, right? My sister is so awesome, she even decided to join her youngest and go back to college. She is using her empty nest years to pursue her own goals and dreams because it is NEVER too late to rewrite your own story. She is the funniest, wittiest person I have ever known. She is an encyclopedia of knowledge ya’ll …. from motherhood, relationships, and hair to a 40 something year old college student. She’s fabulous. Knowing her is loving her for all that she is and all that she has to offer.
So here we are. We started this blog because we wanted to something together. Something that allowed us to share all of our life experience, advice, and things that we love and are passionate about with you. We hope you enjoy sharing in our lives as much as we enjoy sharing them with you. When ever you feel as though you are all alone, please know that you are KNOT THE FIRST. You will not be the last. We are your people and we feel your pain, and we are here to help you laugh your way through it all, and put the pieces back together.
With Love,
Two Sisters