Welcome friends.  Welcome to my blog.  Welcome to my little corner of the internet.  Welcome to the randomness of me.  I hope you find this site interesting and informative on all things that make up my little life.

Let me introduce myself.  My name is Juliana.  I live in the Midwest and am a short, hot-mess of awesomeness.  I don’t always feel awesome, but fake it ‘til you make it, right? You may or may not have read my little description in the margin.  If not, here it is again…

My name is Juliana.  I live in a world of acronyms.  EEC.  CLCP.  ADHD.  I have many roles; mom, wife, advocate, fighter.  This is my journey.  Please join me while I navigate my acronyms, while trying to live my best life. 

So, I have EEC (Ectodermal Ectodactyl-Displasia) with CLCP (Cleft Lip, Cleft Palate) and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) with Anxiety.  Yes, there are a lot of terms, which is why I, and many people with a complicated to say diagnosis, tend to speak in acronym.  (If you deal with the medical or governmental fields, you probably have a PhD in acronym.)  I also have a daughter with ADHD and a daughter with EEC and CLCP.  Yup, I get the best of both worlds, patient and parent/advocate.

My diagnosis is a part of who I am, arguably a large part, but IT DOES NOT DEFINE ME.  Growing up, my parents never allowed me to feel less than my neurotypical and able-bodied brothers.  I didn’t get special attention due to my disabilities and I never felt less than.   I was not diagnosed with my ADHD until later in life, which has been a huge struggle, one that I will discuss at a later date.

I am first and foremost, a mom. I have two daughters who are 7 and 10 years old. I love my girls and try daily to teach the them to be well-rounded, fully functional members of society.  I want them to be kind hearted, strong, and educated.  I am also far from being a perfect mom.  Parenthood is hard, like really, really hard.

Why am I blogging?  I want this site to be a place where I can share my story and my struggles.  I want other people facing the same challenges to learn from my successes and my mistakes.  Also, I just really love to write.  I hope you enjoy and if you have a question, or there are any topics you’d like me to cover, please comment below.