Meet Our Family

Our first born was 2 weeks shy of turning 7 years old when our 5th baby was born. When I mention this while out and about, I've learned to expect a startled reaction. If we're being honest, I feel like it's taken close to 3 years for it to set in with me, too. Having 5 babies back to back to back... (you get the point) is kind of like late-night shopping on Amazon. You swear you've only been on there for a couple minutes, and yet your cart is full, your wallet is empty, and more time than you'd thought has passed. Looking back, it's a bit of a whirly, magnificent blur.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Though I can't promise to avoid #mombombs in this post (no-nonsense mom truths that I've found along the way & continue to learn each and every day), the point of this particular blog is to introduce the mayhem that is our family. Our beautiful, imperfect, ever-changing, wacky blur of a family.

I'm Emily. The #mombomb dropper. The ringleader of the circus...and sometimes the clown. I'm originally from Oklahoma (shout out to Enid!) but have lived in California since 2008, when I moved here for college. Since starting our family, we've lived in many areas of Los Angeles & San Diego counties, and we now call Fallbrook, California home. The above photo was taken at our house which has a lot of space for roaming & playing, but is still only about 25 minutes from the beach. We love it here. When I asked my closest girlfriends to describe me as if they were introducing me to a new mom pal, they used the following (very humbling) words: funny, supportive, loyal, charismatic, loving, giving, life of the party, and empathic. Thought it would be less weird to have others describe me, but writing all that out: it wasn't. But also, aren't my friends amazing? You'll hear more about them in my #mombomb blogs to come. I love champagne, my favorite season is summer, and I despise being hot. Yes, I know, how can I love summer but hate being hot? It's complicated. And I live in a coastal climate. OK?! Though I've always been talkative, opinionated, and outgoing, I'm also utterly sensitive. To the world's needs and to my own experiences/interactions. It's a constant learning experience to care this deeply; but outlets like this are how I cope. Helping others, offering what I've learned, empathizing with the pain and joy and hardships that they face, writing; thus, a blog.

My partner-in-crime on this loony venture of having a family is Erich. He's 10 years older than me, which I never let him forget. We met in Los Angeles while he was stalking me, I mean, attending a play I was in (repeatedly.) He is my opposite in many ways, as he's the calm to my lightening storm. He's extremely easy-going, which I love...and simultaneously cannot stand. He grounds me and lets me fly, all at the same time, somehow. He is the best husband and the most loyal and affectionate partner I can imagine. He and I both say that we are shocked that our family turned out to be this big...but we also can't imagine life any other way. His ever-present love & hands-on dedication with our children is the only way I'm able to survive, and I'll forever be grateful that he & I crossed paths (repeatedly, as we've established that he stalked me.)

Cooper. Our first born. He made me a mom in November of 2013 and he, sincerely, made my greatest dream come true. He's the most gentle, kind, and pure-hearted person I've ever met. He's brilliant and his brain is always working (so much so that he is often not here on earth with the rest of us.) He's extremely protective and family-oriented. He loves being home & almost always prefers it to going out. His tender heart has taught me so much, and I know the lessons I continue to learn from him and his siblings will be a gift to you, too.

Libby. Our only girl. And if one more person says that she will be "so protected" by her 4 brothers, I might just snap. Trust me when I say, this girl needs no protection. She's fiercely independent and tenacious. I dare you to get in her way. Her birthday being in February (year 2015) makes sense as she is full of love. She's protective over her brothers and friends and is our social butterfly, for sure. She is so incredibly athletic and physically strong, which are traits she did not inherit from me. She amazes me and scares me and has pushed my buttons more than any other human on this planet. She's also taught me the most and has forced me to grow in more ways than I can state. She's sassy and funny and she lights up every room she enters.

Miles. In 2016, this boy came after I experienced a miscarriage, and it is not lost on me that he is called our rainbow baby, as he is truthfully the most colorful, bright light of a human. Miles is a ham and a half. He never stops entertaining, already has his eyes on the ladies, and charms just about every person he meets. Miles is fascinated with money and has the goal of becoming a billionaire. In case you were wondering, as of this Wednesday, I am, in fact, invited to his billionaire party. This changes nearly daily as he is our "sour patch kid"; either sugary sweet and incredibly affectionate OR straight-up ruthless and cutting. His mischievous personality means that he's usually in the middle of every sibling fight that occurs. At this age, anyway. Our exact middle child, whose bright light couldn't be overshadowed by anything.

Cohen. Quite possibly the hardest person to describe...but he deserves every accolade that comes his way, so here goes. Cohen is extremely stoic and already has a dry sense of humor. He is very literal and very observant. If he isn't comfortable with you, you'll think he's exceptionally quiet. The first week of preschool, his teacher said (as Cohen walked to the gate upon seeing me, calmly and seriously): "he's a man of few words." Little does she know. Once he knows you well, you'll get an earful of the goofiest, most random questions and musings. He never stops talking. He loves cats (I'm allergic so we've literally never been around them) so our joke is that he was a cat-lady in another life. He joined our family in May of 2019 & is definitely a Taurus. He is obsessed with cleaning (he has a Dyson toy vacuum that he uses daily), loves playing doctor, and is keen on observing every move you make. What an odd description. I tried.

Hayden. Surprise! Shocking, actually. But life without him, now, seems so impossible. Born during a pandemic (conceived 2 weeks prior to Covid 19 hitting the U.S. & 1 day prior to his father's vasectomy), he brought boundless joy to such a dark time. Both for the world enduring a pandemic & to Erich's nether region. Hayden might be our youngest, but his personality sure isn't small. He's our only camera-shy kid. He doesn't like being videoed and if you ask him to do that cute thing once more, he screams "NO" and storms off. His independence and audacious temperament shock me daily, without fail. He's a go-getter, a self-starter, and boy is he stubborn! He's also quite the cuddly dude, who will forever be the baby of the family. No, I never planned on/wanted 5 kids, but without Hayden, my heart would never feel fully whole. He is absolutely the bond that I never knew I needed. He completes our family in the most special way.

Probably the most common comment I get from other moms is: I don't know how you do it. But, the truth is, we're all doing it exactly the same way. Day by freaking day. Some days, I really do think to myself: "my lawd, I am crushing it!" and other days, I sob hysterically over the mistakes that I'm making and the pressure that I feel with the outlandish truth that I'm of age to raise tiny humans. I am the grown-up. How did this happen?

We're all in this together. My first blog post will go into detail on this subject, but I want to include it in this introduction to get it out of the way immediately up-front: I am not claiming to be a perfect mother or even to know what the hell I'm doing. But what I will claim and own and hold true to is this: I am committed to raising open-hearted children who bring good into the world and I am committed to helping other mamas as they strive do the same. The best way to help another mom is to tell her that she's not alone. This blog will be a place where I hope to make you laugh, give you peace of mind, provide family-friendly recipes, hacks/tips to make your life easier, and to steadily relieve your fears that you're the only one going through what you are as a mother. You're not. And that's why I'm here. I would love to invite you to my kickass village. I know I won't be everyone's cup of tea, but let's get real, who would want that? Sounds like a bland, boring beverage to me. If you are, in fact, my people, I am excited to write to you and to learn from you (I have a contact form - send me your stories, questions, musings, etc!) and to grow alongside you. I am certainly not a masterpiece, but I am working on myself as a mother every single day so that my kids can have one hell of a beautiful portrait of their childhood.

Thanks for being here. XO, Em

Cooper

Libby

Miles

Cohen

Hayden