Who am I

Of course that would be the first question to ask. My name is Annemarie, and although I do have a degree in Psychology, my expertise does not come from there. It does come from having 7 children! Yes, seven children. I gave birth to five, and two are from my husbands previous marriage. This puts me into a position of learning, observing, and surviving many things. I must also add that in respect for my brood, I will refer to them by initials or birth-order #.

Now I have to tell you a little about me. I will admit that I am the forty-something of our team. I had my first child when I was 20, and my last at 38. I guess this is why I am the 'seasoned' one. To give a little history of me would mean a book (which I have more than once been told to write). So I will try to make this brief.
My parents brought me from England to the United States the first time at the age of 6. We moved around a lot as my father was a minister and loved to take prayer groups and set them up in churches. Because of this my younger brother and I were close friends. I married young and had my first child too young, especially when she was born 12 weeks early and developed many handicaps.

I went back to school at 35 and finished my degree in Psychology, focusing mainly on Child Psychology and Development. In my last year I was required to do Work Experience to graduate. I signed on as a Breastfeeding Assistant with WIC, and the rest is history. With the help and guidance of some wonderful people we now have a thriving Breastfeeding Support Group in Cheyenne WY. Even though I am no longer there, I am still in touch with a number of the woman I worked with. Two of which are taking over my old job, one is our 'Young Mom' on this site.
I am now living in Ohio, starting a whole new chapter of my life. We have a wonderful family and I get to do things with all 6 children a lot more often. I am also learning the pros and cons of living in a bigger city.
I have made contacts with WIC here and the Air Force Base Breastfeeding Clinic, I also attend some Breastfeeding Coalition and Taskforce meetings. But as of yet I have not committed to anything. Instead I have been spending my time getting my family settled, learning how to run the family Web Page and Photo Restoration business (XpressDesigns) , remodeling, and being part of a wonderful big family.