The Story Behind the Talbert Zoo

Sponsored article, the author was provided product for review.

I never imagined that I would be a mother of five children. When I was growing up in the eighties my friends and I would talk about what life would be like when we were adults. We often dreamed about what careers we would have, who our husbands were going to be and how many children we would have.  I was going to marry my latest crush, be a famous actress or singer and have two or three kids. God had other plans.

I met my husband Chris shortly before I graduated college. We got married a few years later. Early on in our marriage we moved around a lot. We lived in Wisconsin, California, and Washington State before finally settling down in Illinois, where we live today.

Our youngest child was born in Spokane, Washington in 2010.  Back then Chris and I always joked that our home was like a zoo. We had a fourteen-year-old and four other kids 5 and under.  They were all crazy blessings with unique quirks, personalities and special needs. I told Chris that I needed to start another blog to document our life with our young, special children.  We already referred to our home as the Talbert Zoo, so we decided that would be the name of my blog.

I also decided that my children all needed to be named after animals. As a teenager my oldest was very talkative, messy, and enjoyed helping me take care of her little siblings.  She was like a mother goose. So we named her Goose. Our second child, another girl, has always loved to sing, dance and entertain others. She also is very independent and likes to take charge like the king of the jungle.  We named her Kitty. Our third child, a little boy is very unique and special. He was diagnosed with autism at an early age and is very bright. In fact he might be a genius. He is a fast learner, started talking at five months, taught himself how to read by the time he was three and captured our attention and hearts when he was little. Chris and I decided to call him Parrot.  In 2010 our fourth born, another son, was only a year and a half.  He was very mischievous when he was little. I remember we had pancakes for dinner one evening and I didn’t clean up right away. He climbed on the dining room table and helped himself to the pancakes. He used to climb everywhere and he started walking the day after his first birthday. Today he is a very active and athletic eight-year-old.  We call him Monkey.  Our youngest was a newborn back in 2010 and all we did was snuggle and cuddle with him, like a little teddy  bear.  He will always be our little Bear.

Chris and I still call our home the Talbert Zoo. Today our family is even crazier. Sure I don’t have four kids five and under anymore, but I have five children with special needs. My oldest was diagnosed with autism, anxiety and depression when she was 15. We are speculating that there might be more going on with her.  Kitty started pulling her hair out when she was four. She has full blown anxiety induced trichotillomania. Both of my girls are on the same medication to treat their anxiety and depression.  Parrot has high functioning autism.  Monkey has learning disabilities and ADHD, which he is on medication for. Our youngest, little Bear also has high functioning autism.

Raising these children is challenging. My life has been blessed five times over. I have many stories to tell which I plan on documenting in my next book. Our home will always be the Talbert Zoo. Now we can greet our guests with a beautiful sign hand crafted by, GiftedOccasion.com .

Welcome to the Talbert Zoo

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These signs look beautiful near your front entrance or to add that extra touch to your home decor.

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