Feb. 21, 2025

We Are The Hansons A Little Bit About Me Growing Up!

We Are The Hansons A Little Bit About Me Growing Up!

Growing up I had 4 sisters and one brother. My parents worked constantly, so my sisters took on so much of the responsibilty of raising me. Money was tight, bills were a struggle, and we moved schools often. Thoes experiences shaped how I approach motherhood, family, and the values I instill in my kids today. Join me as I share stories, lessons, and laughs from our wild but wonderful life. Whether you're a parent, a strep parent, or just love a good family story, We Are The Hanosn is a place to connect, learn, and embrace the beauty in the chaos.

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Hey, everyone, welcome back to We are the Hands, and

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today I want to take you on a trip down

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memory lane to my old childhood. I grew up with

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four sisters and one brother, and let's just say life

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wasn't always easy. My parents worked all the time just

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to keep that food on the table and roof over

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our heads. That meant my second were really the ones

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you raise. We were rich, not even cult. There were

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times when my parents struggled to pay bills, and we

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moved around a lot, switching schools more times than I

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can count. But through all the chaos there was love, laughter,

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and lessons that shape me into who I am today.

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With six kids in the house, things were always loud

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and busy. My brother was the oldest and I was

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the youngest. My older sisters they played the role of

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the caregivers more than just siblings. They made sure there

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was food, they helped with homework, and they comforted me

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when life felt uncertain. When both my parents worked constantly,

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you know, just to make ends meet. You don't always

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get that traditional family set up with family dinners and

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bedtime stories. Instead, my sisters were the ones tucking me

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in at night and making sure I was ready for

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school in the morning. I learned early on how to

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be independent, how to take care of myself, and how

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to rely on the people around me. My sister Courtney,

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she was not the oldest, she was the third oldest.

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She was more of a mom to me than she

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was my sister. I was with her all the time,

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twenty four to seven. She always calls me like her

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mini me. You know, I was really close with her.

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As I grew older, I became really close with my

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sister Hope, and me and her are very close still

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to this day. I really don't have much of a

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relationship with my brother. He's kind of the outcast. He

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was the one always getting into trouble and stuff like that,

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so none of us really talked to him. And then

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I talked to my older sister Vanessa, she's the second oldest,

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And then I talked to Courtney, and we don't talk

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very much, but we talk. And then I don't talk

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to my sister Stacy because it's just problem after problem.

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And then me and my sister we're always talking. You

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always have to have the one sibling or maybe two

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in the home that are the trouble. Anyway, money was

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always tight for my parents. There were times when we

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weren't sure if the electricity would be staying on or

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if we'd have to move again just because ren was overdue.

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It was a struggle for my parents. And my parents

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worked twenty four to seven. It seemed like they were

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never around. They did their own construction thing where they

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built houses or painted or did roofing or whatever they

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could do to pay the bills, they did it. My

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dad also worked at Your Keys Observatory, which is a

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beautiful place in Williams Bay, Wisconsin. He did maintenance there.

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Not only did he work there, but he also did

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construction work, built houses, you know, whatever it made be

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just for that extra money. And my mom was in

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road construction as a flagger, so she traveled a lot.

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She was always on the road. They were always gone,

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and when she wasn't, she was helping my dad building decks,

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putting roofs on houses, you know, whatever they could do

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to survive and provide for us kids. My dad is

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the hardest working man I've ever met. So was my mom.

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And we still struggled. It was NonStop. We were constantly moving.

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I remember we switched school so much. It was a bummer.

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That we always had to switch schools, but had to

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do it. You know, your parents got to move so

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to you you can't just stay. I remember watching my

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parents' stress over paying the bills, counting out cash to

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make sure they had enough for groceries. We didn't get

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brand new clothes every school year. A lot of our

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stuff was hand me downs, which I'm okay with that

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that was just the way of life at that point.

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That's probably where my love for thrift stores and hand

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me downs really started. But even with the struggles, there

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was this unspoken understanding in our family. We had each other.

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My parents were doing the best they could, and my

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sisters filled in the gaps where they were needed. One

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of the hardest parts of my childhood was moving and

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switching schools all the time. Just when I'd start to

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feel settled in, we'd have to pack up and go

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somewhere new. It made friendships very difficult, and I always

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felt like I was the new kid everywhere we went.

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Even sometimes we would be starting school in the middle

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of a school year, and I hated that being that

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new kid. It was like you had to prove yourself

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over and over again. But if there's one thing that

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experience taught me. It was how to adapt. I learned

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to read people very quickly, to figure out how to

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fit in and how to be okay with change. It

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wasn't easy, but looking back, I see how it made

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me stronger. I am that person to be honest. I

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do not have a filter, and if you're being mean

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or saying hurtful things, I am the one that's going

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to tell you how I feel, just how it is.

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I just say it. Sometimes it hurts people's feelings, but

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if you don't like what I have to say, don't

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talk to me. Pretty much, that's how I am. Even

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though my childhood wasn't picture perfect, it shaped me the

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way I am today and how I parent. I know

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what it's like to grow up in a home where

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money is tight, parents are always working. I know the

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sacrifices older siblings make when they step in as the

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caregiver instead of the sibling. And I know how important

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it is to create a stable, loving home, something I

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strive for with my own kids every single day. Life

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back then wasn't easy, but it taught me resilience, gratitude,

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and the value of family. And now as I raise

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my own big family, I carry those lessons with me

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every step of the way. I try to teach my

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kids that not everybody has to struggle in life. I

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try to make sure that they see that you go

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out and work your butt off to pay your bills

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and stash some money aside, and as long as you're

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working and not slacking, you could make a good amount

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of money, at least enough to provide for yourself and

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your family. Because granted my parents worked twenty four to seven,

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not every person has to work like that. If you

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can find a good paying job with great benefits, you

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will not have to struggle like that. Just seeing my

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parents struggle growing up, I always told myself I will

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never let my kids wonder where I'm at. My older

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kids will not be raising their siblings, and I will

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do whatever I gotta do to make enough money and

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also have a home life as well. Sometimes it's hard,

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but you just do it. That's why I think that

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me and my husband have decided that we were going

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to be entrepreneurs, because owning your own business like we

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do it helps. When you need a break and you

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need a day off, you can rearrange your schedule so

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that you don't have to work on a specific day there.

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For a while, I was a supervisor at the hospital here,

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and I missed out on so much stuff with my children,

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and it really crushed me. You know, there's more to

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life than working twenty four to seven and missing out

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on your kids growing up. I've seen that myself. I

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missed out on a lot of stuff with my kids,

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and I told my husband, and I told myself, I

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will not be like my mom and dad and never

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have any part in my children's lives. I want to

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be able to own my own business and make a living. Yeah,

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you might have to do a big job that lasts

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a week, but then you can take a week or

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two off, or you can do little jobs in between

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that don't take all that time. If you need to

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rearrange that schedule, it's no big deal. You can do that.

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So that's what I do. When I need more work,

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I will get more work, whether it be cleaning, whether

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it be painting, whatever it may be. Besides powerwashing, we

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can do all this little bitty stuff in the background.

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I also get the joys of being here to tell

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our family's life story with you guys. I want you

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guys to know we are an open book in our home.

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We may have had the crappiest past growing up, but

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that is who we are today. And I wouldn't say

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all our time childhood was crappy because my dad took

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us on vacations. We went to Florida and it was

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mostly my sister Hope and I. We went all over

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the place with my dad. He took us to Florida,

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He took us to Kentucky. You know, we went camping,

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we went fishing, We went on fishing trips and canoeing,

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and it was so fun growing up and I will

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never ever forget those memories that we created with my dad.

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We didn't get to go with our mom very much,

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just because my mom stayed home to take care of

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the animals and my other siblings. My dad, he always

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was taking us places, and we didn't really do family vacations.

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We did do family fishing day trips, but we never

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ever were able to go on a family vacation, so

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that was kind of a bummer. And I've always wanted

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to do that with my own children, and I made

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sure that that happened, just because I want them to

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experience life. If we do the work, we can be

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able to do the trips. We try and save as

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much as we can. I know my parents couldn't, but

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they had a lot of bills back then. So just

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me sitting here and being able to tell you never

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struggle and miss out on stuff with your kids because

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you're working ten different jobs. Find a good paying job

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and stick with it that has good benefits and you

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are able to provide for your family. Make sure that

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you can also have time for your own kids and family,

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because that is one thing that I missed out on

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so much as a child, not being able to see

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my mom and dad very often because they were always working,

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not being able to have family dinners. We did do

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family Christmases and Thanksgivings together, but it's nothing like that's

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one day a year. It's nothing like every night or

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every other night being able to sit down with your

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family and enjoy it. And even Christmas time. My mom

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and dad did make sure that for the most part,

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we had good Christmases, but they struggled, and I don't

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ever want to struggle like that, and we did in

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the beginning. We did struggle and it wasn't fun, and

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I always told myself, I'm not going to do this

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we might have it happen here right now, but I'm

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not going to do this forever. And sometimes you just

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got to set your mind to something and just do it.

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And that's what we do. And if there's other opportunities

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that we can make money, we do it. We will

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figure out how to do something just to make money

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to make sure that our kids don't ever go without,

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that we don't ever go without, and that we can provide.

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And that's just the way it is. You know, living

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paycheck to paycheck. That was my mom and dad. We

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did that when me and Jeremy first got together. We

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lived paycheck to paycheck and it was horrible. I don't

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know how many times we struggled, right at the end

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when our paychecks wasn't going to hit until two or

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three days later. We struggled. It was not easy, it

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was not fun. We've had our electric shut off, We've

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had hardly any food in the house. You know. Now,

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I look back and I'm like, God, I can't believe

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I went through that. I know everybody goes through it

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at one point or another in life, but you never

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wanted to be you and definitely don't want to see

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your kids do it. And that was a learning experience

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for me and my family. Going back to always switching schools,

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that's another thing my kids have done that. My kids

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have switched schools at least three times. I feel so

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bad that that happened because I know what it feels like.

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Granted the last two schools my kids were okay with switching.

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It's not good. I tried to tell myself I would

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never put my kids in that situation. I did, and

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it was horrible. It's easy to look back and focus

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on the hard parts, the financial struggles, the uncertainties, the

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constant change. But the truth is my childhood wasn't all bad.

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It was full of laughter, sibling adventures, adventures with my dad,

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some with my mom, and moments of pure love. My

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mom and dad they always cared a lot about us kids.

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As my parents have gotten older, me and my dad

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haven't seen eye to eye sometimes, but I love him.

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I know that he worked hard. Granted he didn't show

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us the affection like a dad. I mean, he told

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us he loved us, or you know, hugged us or whatever,

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but it wasn't a constant thing. But we knew as

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kids that our dad loved us. Same with my mom.

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My mom has always been that mom that I guess

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I was really close to her. I remember one time

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from not being able to see her, it brought me

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close to my mom because I always wanted my mom

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because I never got to see her. And she came

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home from work and had to run to the store

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while I was taking a bath, and I wanted to

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go with. Well, she was just running in grabbing something

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and coming home. She got in the car to leave

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and I heard her start the car. I ran to

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the bedroom window and I was pounding on the window

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trying to get her attention because I wanted to go

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with and I put my hand through the window. Needless

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to say, I was rushed to the gas station up

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the street from our house by my sisters, and the

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lady that worked at the gas station knew my parents,

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and she drove me to the hospital and met my

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mom and dad there and I ended up having to

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get stitches. But that is something that it happens. I

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missed my Mom, I wanted to go with her. Needless

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to say, ended up at the er with stitches. My

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sisters did get in trouble for that because my dad

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said that they weren't watching me, which they were, you know.

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But it happened so fast there was no stopping it.

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We didn't have much, but we had each other, and

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we found joy in simple things. Playing outside. We had

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a playhouse. It was pretty fun watching shows together. We

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learned how to be creative, to appreciate that things money

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couldn't buy. That's what growing up was in my life.

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And my sisters they weren't just my caregivers. They were

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my first examples of strong, capable women. They taught me responsibility, kindness,

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and the importance of looking out for each other, as

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I have taught my children to do as well. Now

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as a mom raising my own big family, I see

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how much my childhood influenced the way I am, and

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I know what it's like to grow up without financial security.

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I work hard to give my kids the stability I craved.

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I understand the sacrifices siblings make for each other, and

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I encourage my kids to build those bonds too. I

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know the weight of being the new kid, and I

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do everything I can to create a home that feels safe, steady,

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and full of love. And I will continue to do

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that for my own children. Most of all, I understand

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what it means to be raised by people around you,

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not just your parents, but by your siblings. Just circumstances

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that had to happen, and that's what it was. Even

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though it wasn't always easy. I wouldn't change it because

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it made me me. That's who I am today. I'm

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gonna end this tonight with some closing thoughts. If you

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grew up in a similar situation, if your childhood was

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shaped by struggle, by strong siblings, by constant change, I

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see you. It's not easy, but it builds something inside

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you that can't be broken. Thank you for listening to

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this episode of We Are the Hansens. If you want

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to send me an email and ask me questions, you

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can send it to We arethe Hansen's Show at gmail

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dot com, or you can send it to our We

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Are the Hanson's Facebook page. Please get over to our

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YouTube channel and subscribe to our YouTube. Until next time,

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take care and remember the things that shape us don't

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have to define us, but they can make us stronger.