{Down with Detroit}
I am Jessica Trotter and I was born and raised in the suburbs of Detroit. I grew up in Oakland County where memories of my childhood consist of summer picnics at Stoney Creek, playing on the hippo when it use to be at Oakland Mall and taking the scenic route in the fall driving through West Bloomfield with my grandfather. I am one of the lucky ones that can say I have a good portion of my extended family all living within 20 minutes of myself. Though some have explored new places, we have all seemed to make our way back home to raise our families here. I only hope to give my children as magical of a childhood I had growing up here in Michigan.
{My Life}
I met my husband, Justin in college when I had been visiting a friend at Michigan State. I was going to Western Michigan. We were friends for a couple of years but our real love story begins with an unexpected Halloween kiss (I knew that French Maid costume was a good investment!) that was never spoken of again until it happened again the next year …on Halloween…again. A couple years later we were married and bought our first home in Royal Oak. While I worked through a variety of jobs, I finally got my dream job as a merchandise buyer. Unfortunately it was only for a little while as the company I worked for decided to close their doors for good. It was then we decided to really focus on starting a family. We had been struggling to conceive for a year, a more difficult process than we anticipated. Diagnosed with “unexplained infertility” we decided to start fertility treatments. A year later, we were blessed with twin boys, Jet and Jace. An even bigger surprise came when the boys were about 7 months old when we found out we were expecting again! Juliet came 9 months later and it has just been an absolute wild ride ever since. In less than two years our family of two became a family of five.
Since becoming a stay at home mom, I have been able to explore my creative side and find out what I am truly passionate about. I love crafting and making messes with my kids. I founded Crafty Mommies of Oakland County – a mom’s group for those who are just as obsessed with Pinterest as I am, who love to craft with their kids, for their kids and of course for themselves. I am also very involved with Macomb Moms of Multiples club. I absolutely love to plan parties and am always looking for opportunities to throw one. I have a weakness for Nutella, Naan Bread and a good glass of sweet red wine. I go to the gym mostly to shower in peace while my kids hang out in child watch and my secret pleasure The Real Housewives of whatever TV show – I love them all. My husband is a huge and I mean HUGE Michigan State fan. So our falls are spent tailgating and going to football games and he is usually MIA during March Madness. He likes to remind me that I have married into this. He probably would have put it in our wedding vows if I let him.
{Babies + Beyond}
Having three toddlers has been quite the challenge. It is probably easier to herd cattle than to herd my little crew. The twins are best friends. I just think it is so amazing to be born into this world with your best friend – they are so lucky. Jet has taken it upon himself to be the spokesperson for the group. He will let me know when they all need a snack, drink, what they want to watch on TV and what they would like to do today. The other two have been okay with this set up so far. He is also very compassionate, loves to learn, sing and has quite the Thomas the Train obsession. Jace has great comedic timing. He is hilarious and has something about him that my other two children always seem to gravitate too. He loves to do crafts, create art and has an incredible amount of patience to do them. He also loves to dance, build things and perpetually asking me if he can finally play with the iPad now. Juliet can keep up with the best of them. She is known for her snack stealing skills and is an incredible escape artist. She is tenacious, fearless and has the confidence of a tiny Beyonce. All of which make her quite the challenge now but I know will make her an amazing adult in the future. If there is something that she wants, she will figure out a way to get it. She is also a great cuddler, can be very charming and has the best laugh.
And yes, we are a family with all “J” names!
I look forward to sharing our new adventures with you whether it be crafting or sharing the crazy chaotic-ness that is our life.
