The name of the blog and definition of me....

Two days ago a good friend asked me, "Kristen... what are you doing for yourself?"  This simple question dissolved me into tears.  Because the truth was - nothing.  I am a full time teacher, a full time wife, a full time mother of twins, and a full time mother of a very special baby.  and... an over achiever. .... which I think is giving me an ulcer.  Either way, that is where the name for this blog came from. This is what I am doing for myself. I am going to try to blog. 

My first post is how to define myself.  I've been thinking about this a lot lately.  Things shift, time moves, and we change.  How I define myself is so different today than it was 5 years or even one year ago. So I decided to think back and see how I defined myself until now......
When I was a child.... I was defined by my smarts.  I was the "bright" kid in class.
When I was about 11..... I was defined by my parents' divorce.  We moved; I started a new school, a new life.
When I was a teenager.... I was defined by my maturity.  I looked much older than my age and most of what defined me was this discrepancy between my real age and my apparent age.
When I went to college.... I was defined by my .... wild oats.... which I sewed :)  And that's all I'm going to say about that.
For the best part of my 20's .... I was defined as a teacher.  My profession was my life.  I took my students to NYC to see a play on Broadway, I thought up great new ideas for learning. I lived for teaching... then I got married.
After I was married.... I became defined by my marital status.  I was now Raymond's wife.  Life became filled with compromises and plans for a future.  My oats drifted away...
Then I became pregnant .... with twins.  No longer was I defined by my relationship to Raymond, but I was now defined as a mother of twins.  When people saw me - they no longer asked about Raymond, they wanted to talk about the twins.  I met wonderful people - who have twins themselves.... and to the final chapter (for now)
Last May I gave birth to Alexander. New definition. New life. I am now the mother of a child with special needs. And not minor special needs... but major ones.
In life, I'm a soul mate to a wonderful man, a kisser of boo boos, a playmate to small children, an advocate for my children, a person who gets excited about a new lesson..... but I am defined as my role with Alexander.
I'm not totally sure how I feel about this.... will this be my final definition? Will something else come along that could be "huge" enough to redefine me?
But I do know - earlier tonight - as I laid down on the floor and played with all 3 kids with my husband - I was the happiest person alive to be so blessed to have this amazing family.

So....the blog will be a reflection of things that happen in our life.  Things that happen with Andrew, Addison, and Alexander -  More of things like this :)