Family Ties, Part 2.

Time for the Ladies!

Before I start in on the awesome ladies in my life, I wanted to say thank you for all of the positive feedback I have gotten surrounding this blog.  When I first started it, I didn't think many people would be reading it and I have now had over 225 people visit my page...in 3 days!  Crazy times!

So, here we go with post #4

The Matriarch

My mom is definitely the driving force in the Stewart household.  I tend to use the word "Mom" as shorthand for "Mom and Dad".  As in, I am going to Mom's house.  Or, my Mom gave me this for Christmas.  She loves having her family around her and is known to collect a few strays around the holidays as well.  Every Sunday we have family dinner at Mom and Dad's house, and since our family is growing (12 strong!) the table has grown too.  She actually ordered a table that has 4 leaves in it so that she can fit everyone around one big table.  Anyone in my family knows the story of the headaches surrounding getting that table, but I will leave that for another day!

My mom is definitely a Mama Hen and is fiercely protective of her kids.  DON'T cross her!  That being said she is also a very liberal person and instilled in me that everyone gets loved and respected equally, regardless of race, creed or sexual orientation.  I am very grateful that I grew up with this as a moral compass, and this is something that I will be passing along to my daughter.

My mom loves old movies and has been found on more than one occasion enjoying one with her eyes closed on the couch, snoring.  It never fails though, when you try to wake her that she either denies sleeping or insists that she knows she is sleeping...before promptly falling back to sleep!

Another thing typical of my mom is that she is a great repeater of stories....especially ones involving Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul.  If my brother James is reading this right now I know he is nodding his head.  We called her on it one night and she threatened to cut us out of the will.

Mom is a great support system.  There has never been anything that I have gone to her with that she has judged me or told me not to do.  Somehow she has this special way of showing me the other side of the story without telling me what to do. She always tells me that she loves me, and she always gives me a hug and a kiss goodbye (even though we really don't go more than a few days without seeing each other).

I couldn't talk about my Mom without mentioning her as a grandmother.  She has had 9 years and now 4 grandkids under her belt, and she still tells me that she was completely unprepared that she would love her grandchildren as much as her children.  She spoils them all like crazy and keeps a candy drawer that the kids (ok, and the big kids) dip into on a weekly basis.  She goes to every recital, swim meet, swimming lesson, and concert that they have.  She is completely devoted and I know that my baby and my nieces and nephew are so lucky to have her as a role model in their lives.

Here's my mama!  Notice that she is wearing jewellery my niece made for her.


Sara

My big sissy.  Sara and I, probably like most sisters, were close when we were really young and then drifted in our teen years.  It was really only after Bailey was born (9 years ago) that we reconnected, and now she is one of my best friends.

Sara is a superwoman.  Plain and simple, there is no way at all that she should be able to do everything she does and still look as good as she does!  She is a full time student, has a home business (anyone need epicure?), raises three incredibly well behaved and well rounded kids, takes care of herself by going to exercise classes, bakes her own bread by hand...should I go on, or are you feeling bad enough about yourself yet?  Her house is always clean and she just has it together.  I really admire her and wish that I was more like her.

Sara is someone who I can tell anything to, and although she always supports me, she never sugar coats it if she thinks that I am being an idiot or am wrong.   She and I have shared many a lunch and story and she is my best person to abbreviate words with. 

Sara is really a brave person.  She is willing to stand up for herself or anyone else if the situation calls for it, and I really admire how she cares less about being liked than she does about ensuring that things are right.  If I could be half the woman my sister is, I would be a lucky lady!

Me and my sissy



Bailey

Bailey is my eldest niece, and she is just the sweetest thing in the world.  She is the first to give you a hug or make you a get well card.  She is really sensitive and has retained the innocence that a lot of kids her age are starting to lose at a rapid pace.  She is incredibly patient, especially with her siblings and is an awesome big sister.

Bailey loves everything.  She loves crafts, hiking, sports, dance, theater, music, reading, etc.  The list could go on and on!  To top things off, she is really good at most things she tries her hand at.

I can't wait to see what kind of teenager and adult Bailey is going to grow into.

Here she is!


Ryann

Ryann...oh Ryann.  My sister's middle child, she is very different from her sister.  She is no stretch of the imagination bad, but she is mischievious.  She once told me that she hit her sister because Bailey said she didn't love  her anymore (this turned out to be a bold face lie!).  She is the wild one with the red hair to match, and she is so much fun to be around.

My favourite story of Ryann is when she was on a "Jesus" kick.  My sis was trying to break her of saying it (as in, Oh Jesus!  It's so bad!).  She was running around at my parent's house and suddenly she exclaimed (while still running) "I just have to say it!  Oh Jesus!  Oh Jesus!"

That's Ryann!  I  had to put in both these pictures of her.


Terri

My mother in law lives right next door to me, which most people would consider a nightmare.   I personally think it is awesome.  She loves to have fun but is still a mom through and through (including knowing when to make extras of dinner because she has a feeling Ty will be raiding her fridge).

She is a great shopper and always gets the best deals...although she is exhausting to shop with because there is a reason why she gets the best deals:  She pours over every item on a rack!  She has been known to mess up the pronounciation of a few words (LEE Chateaux..ha ha!) but can laugh at herself.

She is a wonderful "Nana" and is always willing to take our little bumblebee at a moment's notice.  She can often be found sitting crosslegged on the floor with Abrielle playing toys.  Abby is so lucky to live so close to her grandparents.  It is really neat knowing that a lot of her memories will be over there.



Amanda

When I first met my (at the time, future) sister in law, she and her father were in a major screaming match.  When she was younger, Amanda was someone you did NOT want to mess with.  She packed a lot of piss and vinegar into a tiny package!

Now, I consider her to just be my sister, not sister in law.  She is so much fun to hang around, and is such a good person.  She is the only one that lived close to her grandparents when Grandpa was in the hospital, so she visited every day, did his laundry, brought him coffee and kept him company before he passed away.  Not only that, but she drove Grandma to all of her appointments, got her hair done for her, and brought her to see Grandpa while he was in the hospital.  Do you know a lot of 24 year olds who would do that?

She has such a soft heart.  She is a great Auntie to Abby and is so natural with her, even though she really had no experience with babies.  And Abby loves her (and her long hair!).  She also rescued her dog Scruffy from the golf course where the poor dog was living and brought her home. 

Amanda was only 17 when I met her and I feel as though I have watched her grow into such an amazing woman. 




Abrielle

Of course I can't end this without mentioning my little bumblebee!  I'll just forwarn that this last entry is pretty much a mother gushing, so please feel free to skip over it!

My baby girl is the best thing that ever happened to me.  Ty and I knew that we wanted to have kids ever since we were dating, and we tried on and off for a little while before we got pregnant for the first time.  When we lost that baby, my sister passed along advice that she had gotten:  If you hadn't lost that baby, you would never have the next one.

I think of that quite frequently.  Imagine, I would never have my sweet little girl if I hadn't miscarried that first baby.  Knowing that almost erases the pain of that loss.  This little girl has changed my life in so many ways.

Abby is almost 7 months old now (when they say time flies with a baby, they mean it!) and I still tear up on a daily basis because I get overwhelmed by how much I love her.  I love everything about her!  She is such a happy baby, loves to babble, never sits still and is just such a joy.  One of the best feelings in the world is when I trudge into her room in the morning, with my hair looking like the Bride of Frankenstein's, breath horrible, makeup under my eyes and generally looking scary.  Without fail, she gazes up at me from her crib and breaks into a huge gummy smile, and she seems to have nothing but pure adoration and love for me.  Now that is unconditional love!

I can't possibly list all of my favourite things about her.  I love how she grabs my face with both hands and plants a sloppy french kiss on me.  I love her giggles.  I love how her hands and feet are constantly in motion.  I love how she pets her dogs.  I love how she throws herself around in her office (exersaucer) as though she feels so happy she can't physically contain it.

I don't feel as though my life changed when I had a baby.  I feel as though it just got better.  Everything that they say happens when you have a baby didn't. 

I now get probably double the sleep I got before I had her

My marriage is stronger than it ever was

My social life is busier than it ever was before

My house is the cleanest it has ever been (ok, it is still not really all that clean, but if you knew what it looked like before you would probably give me a standing ovation).

I am closer to my parents and inlaws.

She has made everything better in a life that I had already considered to be pretty great.  Having Abrielle in my life is like waking up every morning and realizing that I won the lottery.

So, can we talk about how lucky I am to have all of these great people in my family?  Do we squabble or disagree sometimes?  Absolutely!  That being said, I am one of the most fortunate people in the world to have two sets of family who I can depend upon wholeheartedly.