Allow me to introduce myself…I’m Jenna.

Hi, I’m Jenna. And I am probably one of the hottest messes of a mom that you will ever meet.  I am chronically late to everything, my house is a perpetual disaster zone, my family eats macaroni and cheese or pizza more than I would like to admit, and there is a distinct possibility that at any given time, at least part of my outfit came out of a pile of dirty laundry off the floor. Despite my flaws, I do make cute kids though. Here’s a picture to prove it! 🙂

  

This story would be so much cuter to tell, if I could say that Matt and I had our first playground kiss together, and we knew from the time we were five years old that we were destined to be together forever. But…that’s not exactly how it happened. Timing is evidently not our strong suit, as we finally decided to go on our first date just a week before Matt was headed off to basic training for the Marine Corps.  Fantastic time for two people to decide to start a relationship.

Long story short, things worked out, and we got married about 2 years later. 🙂

Our first year of marriage brought some challenges: I relocated to North Carolina where Matt was stationed, then he got deployed to Iraq, and then I turned around and headed back to Wisconsin to be closer to family and finish up college.  After his honorable discharge from the Marines in 2008, Matt and I decided to make Wisconsin our home for good.  

After moseying around for a bit, we finally settled back into our home town. Got jobs. Bought a house. Life was good. Peaceful. Predictable. Boring even. I think we both felt like we had this “adulting” thing down.  Then it happened.

PARENTHOOD.

And holy crap did our lives change forever.

Mataya Rose was born on July 3, 2010, five weeks ahead of her due date, and I have not a single time since, pretended to have anything figured out. Her early arrival thrust me into motherhood a little ahead of schedule, and her two week stint in the NICU gave me a better understanding of what a true miracle a healthy child is. She was a challenging baby, and as a first time mom, I didn’t know what the heck I was doing. But gosh did I love that little girl so much that it almost hurt. We fumbled through those first few years and sleep deprivation took on a whole new meaning (Seriously, isn’t a baby supposed to sleep through the night by the time they’re 3?!). Then, just as I felt like I was hitting my stride as a mom, along came baby #2.

Jett Matthew was born October 2, 2013, the day before his Daddy’s birthday.  He was a big, handsome boy, weighing in at a whopping 9lb. 6oz, and he was living proof that I could love a second tiny human just as much as I loved the first.  He was more laid back than his sister (thank goodness!) and he fit seamlessly into our little family. By all accounts, our family was perfect…a girl and a boy…one of each…we had it all.  We thought we were done having kids…got rid of a lot of our baby stuff…then we had a change of heart.

 

 

Jemmi Grace became the final addition to our family, born June 29, 2017, a little less than four years after her brother (and after a couple of bumps in the road with lost pregnancies).  As can be expected of a third child, she is pretty “go-with-the-flow” (out of necessity, I’m sure), but she is still proving to be a little spitfire!  Matt and I worry about her being our “wild child.”  And while it was so worth the struggles to get her here, anyone who told me that it was no big deal to jump from two kids to three is a big fat liar!  Most days I feel like we are still making adjustments from our man-to-man to our zone defense. And let me tell you, the score is most definitely in the kids’ favor!

 

So, that’s a little bit about me and my family.  They are my reason for living…..as well as the reason behind every near-nervous breakdown I’ve had over the last 9 years.  And I would have it any other way. 🙂

Be sure to check out my “About HMMS” page to read about what my mission is here at Hot Mess Mom Society and why I’d like you to join our community of hot mess moms!