"If you had asked me 20 years ago if any of this would have happened, I would have said no way. There are definitely moments when I'm like how the hell did I get here?”
Having five girls under one roof would try anyone’s patience. “Every night is like a rock concert, that you didn't want to go to,” Jen said. She turns to creative expression to relieve stress. "Ukelele, drawing, painting, crochet… Sometimes if they'
If she had to label her style, Jen would call it ‘eclectic homeschooling’ with some ‘unschooling’ tactics mixed in. "Unschooling is the idea that you're always learning, and that it's not just learning by sitting in a class room being talked at by
When asked if she thinks the girls will miss out on anything, not being in public school Jen says she’s sure they will. "I've had people say 'Oh my god, well how are they going to learn to get along in society. You learn how to deal with your peers
"I hope that they learn not to just believe everything they hear, and to realize that they can teach themselves anything they want, they just have to seek it out. Like Roxy, she's taught herself all of this crochet stuff and she will make something
Jen started hula hooping for fun and fitness after having her fourth girl, Scheherazade. It’s become an important part of her life, a way for her to meet like-minded people and de-stress. She tries to get to the gym to hoop at least twice a week. "I
Jen made the decision to start preschooling when her first daughter, Olivia (aka Livi), was approaching the age where she would go to preschool. “They were like 'Oh do you have her in a preschool yet? You should have her in a program. This place, et
Being adopted and not knowing her birth parents, Jen said she completely freaked out when she had her first daughter, Livi, because she was the first person that Jen knew for sure she was related to. “I looked at her and I finally knew what love was
"Yeah we have a box of clay on the floor, and they can cut things up and put it back together, absolutely...it's on purpose. And I feel like I was just this weird alien person in my family and they all look and go 'Wow! Jenny you do all that art stu
The kids travel alone frequently to see their dad and grandparents so at this point packing for a trip is second nature, but navigating the airport is still a stress. “To me it feels like constant judgment. People are like ‘Oh you're going on a trip
It’s a break when the kids leave but it’s also sad for Jen. “It's beautifully and awfully quiet all at the same time. But the quiet is nice! And I haven't had to make twenty snacks a day either.”
“I don't want them to feel like there's only one way or there's this particular path, and you have to be on that path and if you're not on that path you can't have happiness or success or any of those things. I just want them to see things outside t
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