If not, stop reading now!
If so, I can't imagine why...
...but I love to talk about myself (who doesn't?) and since I have a willing listener in you as a reader, here goes!
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| Here is a lovely family photograph when Aki, our foreign exchange daughter from Japan, was still with us... While this is certainly lovely, I think of it as the sort of picture that makes people wonder, "So, what are these people REALLY like?" So here goes some more, ummmm, characteristic photos... |
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| Well, we are REALLY happy! I love these smiles! |
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| We are REALLY fun -- I mean, DOUBLE trampolines?! (okay, okay, they don't belong to us...) |
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| We are REALLY serious about crime-fighting, | from a very early age. |
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| We are double-headed monsters. Really. |
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| REALLY???? No, of course not. |
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| We are happy little workers! Check out that apron! |
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| And everyone always comments about our big eyes. |
My name is Regan Barnes. I was born in 1976, so I am nearing an age of wisdom and trying to build up the gray matter on the inside of my head to match the growth of my gray hair on the outside of my head.
In terms of formal education, in 1993 I graduated #3 from Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis, Indiana. Ya know, there's Valedictorian in the #1 spot, Salutatorian in the #2 spot, and then there's me -- #3 -- no title, but that's okay -- I got scholarships to go to Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis even without the title. I eventually received my bachelor's degree from there -- it took me 8 years because I changed my major so many times... Art! Broadcast journalism! Pre-med! Education! Russian! Linguistics!
I also took a break to be a missionary in Russia for 18 months, and did a couple of semesters at Brigham Young University where I met an amazingly wonderful and awesome man named Ted Barnes. I became his wife just before Y2K and have had the best century/millennium ever!
We are honeymooning in West Valley City, Utah where he works full-time for our church and I work full-time for our home (he gets paid monetarily; I get paid in other ways). We have six adorable and highly intelligent children -- three boys and three girls, ages 12, 10, 7, 7, 3, and 1. They have taught me so, so, so, so much and have made my commitment to motherhood so worthwhile. I publicly thank them for accepting me in my clueless mama state and allowing me to improve and progress (which means making errors, too) on their watch. One of them is asleep on my lap as I type...
We're a very social family and choose to share our 7-bedroom home (which we got after it was someone else's foreclosure) with my mother! ...as well as a foreign exchange student! ...as well as two wonderful young women who help me with childcare and chores! While I "excuse" myself to get help because I have been diagnosed with arthritis and fibromyalgia, I would recommend this set-up for anyone, regardless of suffering from some debilitating disease. It's fun! It lowers stress levels and keeps life from being exhausting and mundane, though there is certainly a necessary amount of flexibility and clear communication required. Oh, and I can't neglect to mention my husband's parents who live just 20 minutes away and are incredibly loving and helpful!
I named my blog "The Clueless Mama" because, well, I'm aware that I'm not an expert by any means. However, I am enthusiastically attempting to overcome my sense of inadequacy, and want to empower and encourage myself and maybe some other moms along the way. I am hoping this blog will give moms a S.M.I.L.E. -- Support, Motivation, Inspiration, Laughter, and Education! (Oh, and by the way, I love acronyms)...
Thanks for reading and please feel free ask me anything! I'll tell you what I know, and I'll also tell you when I just plain don't know... and then I'll try to find out and learn together with you.
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