Dear Readers,

I’m so glad you enjoy Jelly Mom™!

I love my kids and I love writing. Happily these two loves have come together to create the Jelly Mom™ column.

I don’t just write for my sanity. I write for yours as well because parenting isn’t easy. It’s serious business. But that doesn’t mean we can’t laugh, exaggerate and make fun of the difficulties we encounter while raising kiddos. For me, and I hope for you as well, Jelly Mom™ is a great stress-buster.

I have five kiddos - all treasures.

My first two came as a package deal; two for the price of one. Twins Rachel and Nicole started my vocation of motherhood.

Rachel is an outgoing and enthusiastic 13-year old who loves swimming, reading, painting, role-playing games and hanging out with friends.

Nicole enjoys art, reading, gymnastics and computer games. Both girls help edit the column and let me know which are winners. If they’re laughing, I’m sure that you will be, too.

John Daniel is my first son and he has the biggest heart. He loves to cook and anything that has to do with the ocean especially sharks and stingrays. JD is 10-years old.

Rebecca is our special little one. She’s 6 and there cannot be a greater SpongeBob fan than our Boo. She’s the only blue-eyed blonde in our clan, the happiest and bubbliest child there ever was.

Aiden, 4, is our little caboose and currently the greatest inspiration for most of my columns...which means he’s always into something. Aiden loves to pretend he is a pirate and he also loves to color and practice writing his letters and numbers.

Believe it or not, we would have had more children, but for health reasons we cannot. We lost Aiden’s twin early on in the pregnancy and it was the last and most difficult pregnancy of all.

So, naturally, I have channeled my love for “babying” toward our pets. We have nine cats and a Chihuahua that thinks he’s a cat. Yep, it’s a household bursting at the seams and my husband and I love every bit of it – even the less than glamorous happenings that I often recount in my column.

As I mentioned, Jelly Mom™ is a stress-buster for me, but not just for the ordinary challenges of parenting. We have some kiddos dealing with extraordinary challenges. Two of my kiddos struggle (and are doing very well) with Bipolar Disorder and Depression. But it isn’t easy and writing helps me laugh at the foibles, failures and frustrations that arise when parenting kiddos with special needs.

Our little Becca Boo was diagnosed with Late Infantile Batten’s Disease in October 2005. This is a degenerative and fatal illness. She is 6 now and can no longer speak, walk or sit without support. She can no longer eat or drink and must use a feeding tube. She doesn't crawl and no longer scoots. (She is very much like a three-month old baby.) But no matter. Becca is a very determined and bubbly little girl. She feels very much at home in a little 'nest' we made for her on the sofa or in her hot pink wheelchair and loves for us to take her outside for a "walk". The Make-A-Wish Foundation built a playset in the backyard that Bec can use (there is a special swing just for her) with all her brothers and sisters.

As the disease progresses the seizures she has will increase and she will lose her sight, can suffer harsh mood swings and will eventually become bedridden (this is nearly how she is now). Any time we get with her after her sixth birthday will truly be an added blessing. (Read updates here.)

So it’s easy to see why my husband, kiddos and I love to laugh and try to deal with life with a sense of humor.

My main job is caring for this great bunch of kiddos and making things run smoothly at home so the rest of the family can go to work and school and succeed. Being home all day with kids coming and going results in some hectic and trying times, but they can be pretty funny, too. I know you can relate!

I hope Jelly Mom brings you as much fun and joy as it does for my family and me.

Warmest regards,
Lisa Barker

P.S. I have a blog for those of you who wonder what life is like behind the column...