Being A Mother To Birthday Buddies And What It Means To Me!

It's hard to believe that my baby girl will be 14 this weekend. It is no secret that I had my daughter at a very young age, that I was a single teen mom, that I struggled being a single teen mom and when I graduated high school she was only 11 months old and went onto to college and worked a full time job to provide for her. But before she turns 14, my son will be turning 7. His birthday is exactly 2 days before hers. Raising her prepared me for motherhood with him except this time around I had help, my husband. I was not used to this help. For years, I did everything on my own. My parents helped me how to save and taught me all about independence. I won't say it was easy because it definitely was not. It was one of the hardest hurdles I have ever faced. The second was accepting I had help the second time around. I'm stubborn and very independent and used to doing it all alone. My parents have made me the strong, independent  individual I am today and my children have shaped me into the person I've become. I hardly post pictures of my kiddos on my blog but today I decided, I shall share! My husband isn't in any of them and that's because he really hates taking pictures and he came into mine and my daughter's life when she was 4 years old.

The picture on the right was taken when my daughter was 8 months old. I had just turned 18 and was about to graduate high school. This little love bug was almost 2 weeks passed her due date. The summer of 2001 was one of the hottest summers ever and being pregnant in the summer is never fun. I was induced and she came at 2:28 am.The picture on the right was taken at her 8th grade graduation in June. I don't need to reveal my age. I'm pretty sure you guys can all count and I haven't quite come to terms with how old I am.

One of the things that I did with my daughter and still do is read books. I read to her while she was in my womb and I read to her after I gave birth up until she was able to read by herself. We love to read and that love for books is the reason why we have a book blog today. She didn't have her biological father growing up but she did have my husband. She is caring and sees the world as this magical place where she values even the leaves that have fallen off of the trees. She prefers to flip the pages of a real book rather than swipe her finger on her kindle.

She loves to laugh and when she laughs, her cheeks go up that her eyes disappear and her nose crinkles. I would love to see the world through her eyes. I know that I did a good job raising her when I sit and stare at her admiring nature. We both love to look at the sky and talk about the different clouds and snap pictures of them. She starts her journey to high school come this fall and I have no worries what so ever. She is intelligent and I'm honored and proud to call her my daughter. I can say that she definitely takes after me in everything.

In the winter of 2007, I found out that I would become a mother for the second time. The top left picture was taken on October 31st, 2008. Mikey was 3 months old. Mikey was due to be born in September. I had a very complicated pregnancy and was deemed high risk. I suffered from pre-eclampsia. To top that off, I wasn't able to get my usual spinal taps to relieve the pressure from my head due to my pseudotumor cerebri and I could not take my medications (Topamax & Diamox). I was induced and had an emergency c-section and Mikey was born at 4:44 pm, two days before my daughter's birthday. My daughter was not to happy. Her roller rink 7th birthday party had to be canceled and she was devastated! She laughs about it but boy was she upset!

My son will be turning 7 and we have had many tough times with him. He has taught us all patience and how to be a little more understanding. You see, my son is extraordinary. He was diagnosed with Asperger's a while ago. We have always known he was different. My daughter was different as well but I never had a worry with her. With my son, I had a few. He took longer to walk, he counted up to 30 by the age of 1. He had a certain way to his walk, almost like his feet were weighted. He wasn't social and avoided eye contact. He became obsessive with Michael Jackson and hated to be dirty. We noticed his alignment of his toys and how he needed to eat the same thing every day or he'd have a tantrum (which is pizza for lunch). He has a limited range of interests. He is unfiltered and can sometimes come off a little rude but he doesn't mean to. He is loving, caring, sweet but it's just hard for him to express it. He is extremely silly and is definitely not a mommy's boy. He is a daddy's boy all the way. When he smiles, he smiles with his eyes, he has one dimple that is the cutest, and his little laughter is infectious. He is mischievous, climbs all over the furniture and jumps from sofa to sofa. He's had more busted lips and stitches than any other kid I know. He definitely keeps my husband and I on our toes. He is an incredible artist and an amazing story teller.

He is still obsessed with Michael Jackson and knows every song and every dance. He will break out in the Thriller dance in the middle of a conversation or he'll moonwalk during dinner. He loves John Cena and loves to watch wrestling. He has to have all of his toys aligned neatly and sectioned by category, loud noises bother him, large crowds bother him, and he is very hyper! Over the years we've learned he dislikes taking pictures. I try to snap some and I will only get 1 or 2 good ones. The rest will be silly faces or grumpy faces. I also read to him while he was in my womb and continued after he was born. He loves to read and I love that he loves it. I love that both my kiddos love it! I would love to see the world through his little eyes. He is so imaginative and creative and super smart! I sometimes wonder how he comes up with the stuff he comes up with!

I am truly blessed to have such amazing and wonderful kids in my life. What's even better is that they get to share their birthdays together. They are 7 years apart but they have this unique bond that is unbreakable. I sit here typing this and still can't believe that my in a few days I'll have a 7 year old and a 14 year old. Being a mother of two that happen to be birthday buddies is awesome. Not only do they share this unique occasion but you get to throw 1 huge BBQ (bbq for me since they are July babies) and have 2 different cakes, 2 different decorations, and loads of kids there!

My reasons being a birthday buddy mom is awesome:

1. 1 big party on the same day.
2. Save more money and I'm all about being frugal.
3. It's fun checking out at Party City with Marvel or DC Comics decorations and some girly decorations.
4. Your kids get to share that bond.
5. You get a choice of 2 different cakes.
6. I don't have to dread throwing two different parties and dread the clean up.

Do your kids have birthdays that fall on the same day, same week, same month? Let me know and comment below!