Welcome!
Hello! If you are here, you may be wondering who I am. These first three blog posts will walk you through who I am, how I got to this point, and where this blog is going.
My name is Jessy. I am a wife, a mother, a veterinarian, a pharmacologist, a Soldier and a future homesteader. Like many moms, I am trying constantly to find a balance between motherhood, my career, and still maintaining a sense of self.
In general, I would definitely describe myself as a “Type A” personality. Let’s be real, I’ve always gotten straight A’s, I didn’t stop at college but got two doctorates, and I went well beyond a typical 2.5 kids and a dog family. Because of this, I put a lot of pressure on myself to “do it all”, and it’s never good enough. I want a perfectly clean house at all times, I’m constantly trying to be a better mother, I want to be the best at my job, get enough sleep, continuous self-development and work out regularly all while maintaining my hobbies, being a good wife/daughter/ friend and sure why not learn to homestead too. Wow even just thinking of everything I want to ‘be’ gets my head spinning.
My Family
Having 5 kids in 7 years is a full-time job in itself. To protect them I’ll just use their initials in this blog, and I won’t share pictures of their faces. My oldest daughter D is 7, and I would describe her as my most challenging parenting experience. She is incredibly smart, social and bright. But she is neurodivergent and struggles with anxiety. She is constantly keeping us on our toes and forces me to learn patience. She has made me realize all the ways I can improve as a person and as a parent. She was probably a big push in me realizing I needed a change in my life. A lot of time our kids are like a mirror reflecting things about ourselves. I realized that to help her, I needed to help myself. I need to work on my own anxiety, my own approaches to problems and my ability to face conflict. My daughter L is 5. A smart, strong little girl who loves gymnastics and wants to be a princess, and has been learning how to find her voice in this crazy loud house. She reflects my stubborn side and we often have a battle of wills. My son W is 4 and is a sweet little boy who absolutely lives in the moment. He also teaches me daily patience and shows me when I get too caught up in being an over achiever. My little son F is 18 months. He is all boy- busy, into everything and scared of nothing. And wrapping up this little herd is my daughter R. She is only 5 weeks, and such the perfect little completion to our family.
My husband Travis and I have been married 10 years. We met in Kansas when he was in the Army and I was still in school. He is now an arborist which means he climbs trees for a living. He is definitely the hardworking, manual labor blue collar type. He went to school and graduated with his bachelor’s in forestry but he prefers being outside and working with his hands. We are total opposites. He is extroverted, and loud, I am introverted and quiet. There is no way he could stay at home all day and my dream job would be to work from home. I am perfectly happy if I don’t leave the house for three days in a row, and when he is stuck at home, he drives me nuts! He is a dreamer and I love that about him. I feel like he brings out a side of me that is more care free and helps me to live in the moment. He thinks I stress too much!
My Career
A little about my job because it is confusing: I graduated veterinary school in 2014 and immediately joined the Army. Yes, the Army has veterinarians! In general, we run vet clinics on post, handle food safety for the installation, and care for military working dogs. We also work in deployable units that provide food safety and military working dog medicine overseas. I was very fortunate that the Army helped pay for vet school, and gave me a career path. In 2020 the Army gave me an opportunity to return to school and get a Ph.D. I chose medical pharmacology at the University of Arizona and have spent the last four years wrapping up my project working on a dose reduction strategy for opioids.
Now the Army has us moving again- from southern Arizona all the way to the Baltimore, Maryland area. I will be entering the Army research world and starting a new job in a lab in that area. The housing market in Maryland is wild but we managed to find a house from the 1950’s that we love and it is on 1.63 acres! We dream of getting our kids out of this subdivision life and starting our own little homestead to teach them a country lifestyle. This move will be an adventure and I plan to share the struggles of a military move and the start of our homestead!
Lastly, a little about who I am outside of being a wife, a mother and a scientist. In the past few years I developed a passion for the gym and fitness. I love lifting weights and feeling strong. I would say that working out and reading books are my two main hobbies. I love to read, and lately have been reading a ton of fantasy (hello Sarah J. Maas!), but I also enjoy historical fiction, mystery and classics. I also enjoy reality TV. Before kids I would crochet, build puzzles, and teach myself the piano- but those are all on hold until I’m not constantly juggling toddlers. As a family we like to camp, ride 4 wheelers and dirt bikes, and have family game nights and family movie nights!
Well that gives you some insight into who I am and my crazy family. In my next post I’ll share more of how I got to this point, and then I’ll share a post about where I am going. If any of this resonates with you, feel free to comment, follow, or reach out by email or Instagram! I am always so inspired by other mothers juggling life!