Hey there AMB! My name is Susie and I am SO excited to have the opportunity to join this amazing team of mamas. It’s a bit ironic that I’ve landed this new gig as “mommy blogger,” given that most of my life I never thought I wanted to have my own kids. My husband and I were married 7 years when the baby bug finally bit me, and the rest is history! Here’s a little 411 about me.

LOVE:

I’m married to the love of my life, who also happens to be my high school sweetheart (we actually met in 8th grade homeroom.) He asked me to be his girlfriend at the Valentine’s dance in the school gym and I’ve been smitten ever since. We dated on and off all through my college days and married after I graduated from Texas State University in 2003. We are almost compete opposites. I’m a romantic idealist, he’s a no nonsense, tell it like it is realist, but we are each other’s perfect balance. We’ve been through the best and the worst together and I wouldn’t change one thing that has led us to the point we are now.

LITTLES:

I love being a mama more than anything, even on the hard days. Motherhood has definitely taught this textbook, over analytical, detail loving Virgo that perfection is a myth and that the beauty of life indeed lives in the chaotic little moments. Jeremy and I have two beautiful children, Jack (2011) and Julia Kate (2014). Jack is full of personality, imagination, and humor, and is a total mama’s boy. He was my “easy” child. Slept through the night from 7 weeks old, lived by a strict feeding and napping schedule, never climbed out of his crib, etc. Julia Kate is the little girl I prayed for, and so much more. At 9 months old she is already full of spunk and Miss Independent. She is our brave little fighter. She was born with a birth defect called Robin Sequence, which boils down to this: her lower jaw was abnormally short, so when she was developing, her tongue sat in the place where the roof of her mouth should have formed, therefore causing a cleft palate. This was a complete surprise to us when she was born. In a nutshell, the beginning of her life was pretty rocky. Due to the RS, her airway was considered critical and she had severe sleep apnea, which required her to have jaw distraction surgery when she was only 3 weeks old. There were complications that left us in fear for her life and hospitalized for several weeks. By the Grace of God and an amazing team of medical professionals at Dell Children’s, she was able to overcome everything and is now thriving as she should be. She will have her cleft palate repair surgery this summer.

LOCATION:

We live “Just East of Weird,” in my hometown of Bastrop. As a kid, I always dreamed I’d live some fast paced life somewhere like New York City. I never imagined my reality would be returning home to become an elementary school teacher; however, I wouldn’t trade the way things ended up for the world. Family is everything to me, and I am blessed to be surrounded by both my family as well as my wonderful in-laws. I love Austin, which is like a second home to me and even though I didn’t attend UT, I bleed burnt orange. Hook Em!

LIKES:

First and foremost; mama to Jack & Julia Kate, wife to Jeremy. Small town southern girl. Lover of  New York City, decorating, fashion, God & coffee (not necessarily in that order of course). Chronic dreamer. Always thinking. Virgo. Book enthusiast. Writer. Finds happiness by the beach. Learning everyday to accept what is, let go of what was, and have faith in what will be. I love a good cold beer on a hot Texas day, cooking with the hubby, and a crowd of family and friends around my dining room table.  A few of my favorite things: Living room dance parties with my little family of four. Mexican food. A great bottle of red, dark chocolate and Netflix after the kids have been tucked in. Piggy toes. Country drives with the windows down and the music up. A fresh manicure. Stripes and leopard print. I catalog the people, pieces, places and projects that inspire me on my blog Once Upon A Lilac House.