妈妈。

“我们家有7个孩子，很快就会有8个了。我十几岁的双胞胎儿子，马多克斯和马拉基，今年13岁。阿列克谢12岁。阿里亚9岁。是2又1/2。Anaé的截止日期是11月27日。”

Storq leggings. ">

阿斯泰尔穿着一件节俭的t恤和Storq紧身裤。

IKEA play kitchen.">

最年轻的一个，阿迪斯，在她前面宜家游戏厨房．

马多克斯、阿列克谢和阿里亚是他们的生父给他们取的名字。这里有一个小背景故事:我和我前四个孩子的父亲处于普通法关系中。我们在2011年初分手。我们在一起快7年了。关于这一点，我的故事还有很多，但现在我还是回到他们的名字上来吧!我选择了他们的中间名。Maddox Ezekiel-Ezekiel是圣经中的名字。他的孪生兄弟Malaki是由我命名的，这也是一个圣经的名字，但拼写与圣经中有一点不同(Malachi)。它的意思是“我的信使”，《旧约》最后一章的作者。我记得我很小的时候就很喜欢这个名字，我知道如果有一天我有了儿子，我会给他起名叫马拉基。 Alexiah has my name, Astaire, as her middle name. It's an Ethiopian name. Ariyah's middle name is Esiral. It wasn't intentional, but it is the letters of Israel scrambled. I took two letters from each of her aunties' names—es from Jessica, ir from Kirstie, and al from Allison. Addis was a name chosen by me and my husband, Sam. I had thought of the name, but didn't tell anyone. Then he mentioned it to me one day and I'm like, 'Okay this is the one!' Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia, and it means new flower. Her middle name is Rose. We took that from Roosevelt Island in New York, where my husband and I met for the first time."

爱与光明。

“男孩们喜欢打篮球。特别是马多克斯。马拉基超级喜欢《堡垒之夜》，但自从学校开学后我们就停玩了。他非常喜欢鞋子和科技。阿列克谢最近开始学书法，而且学得很快。我们的一个朋友有一天教过她，她很自然地就学会了。阿里亚喜欢烘焙。阿迪斯对鸡蛋和奶制品过敏，所以她和我一起尝试不同的食谱。她自己也会做一些。她的素食香蕉松饼太棒了! Addis loves weird YouTube videos and playing with her siblings."

Sister-sister-sister。

“事实上,是的。我记得在初中的时候，我从来不知道如何回答这个问题:“你长大后想做什么?”除了知道我想成为一个母亲。那时我决定做一个全职妈妈，有3-5个孩子。我很幸运能成为那样的人，并且在他们还活着的时候保持这样的状态。并且很快就超过了3-5个孩子的愿望。哈!”

“对我来说，最大的乐趣就是看着他们长大。虽然这可能是苦乐参半，但他们是不可思议的，见证他们的生活是一份如此珍贵的礼物。我们一起经历了那么多，我认为这成就了他们的性格，成就了他们现在和将来的样子。我发现有很多孩子是有好处的，尽管现在很多人不这么认为。它们总是有一个同伴。因为先有双胞胎男孩，他们从未体验过独生子女的生活。女孩们如此亲密。看着他们相亲相爱真是太美好了。”

“快乐远远超过了头痛。但我想说的是，负面的是持续不断的争吵。有了多个孩子，这肯定会被放大。不过，一些年龄较大的孩子所处的人生阶段很可能在这方面起了很大的作用。十几岁的男孩和一个不到十几岁的女孩——争吵和青少年焦虑是真的。而且，全家外出花费很大，所以我们不能做很多事情。虽然我们已经做了很多，但可能还没有小家庭做得多。”

阿斯泰尔穿的是Zara的连衣裙。

“没有，我想不出有什么特别的。最明显的是，‘哦哇!你太忙了，”但这些话从未冒犯过我。我总是想，‘是的，我喜欢，但它们值得。’当我们一起出现在公共场合时，我们实际上收到了更多关于我们家庭规模的积极评价。有时它几乎会让人耳目一新。就像一种怀旧的感觉。我们也住在西雅图南部，那里有大量移民人口，所以在这里有大家庭更正常。”

这可能是一个超级简单的答案，但能力、荣誉和特权甚至是成为一个人。我知道这是我的使命。这对我来说是很自然的事情，很长一段时间我认为每个人都是这样。我听到的其他女性的故事越多，我就会和她们一起哀悼，但同时也会反思母亲的天赋。我能在自己的身体里培养出6个人，这太令人兴奋了。”

“虽然不够，但这是现实。我经常达不到要求。我不会是一个完美的父母。我不想把他们搞砸。”

妈妈的爱。

very soon! I think with everything that's been going on in our lives this past year, it's honestly been tough to get excited. I feel terrible admitting that, but it's just the truth. I hope I can mother everyone well. I'm sure when I see her, the joy and excitement will overflow like it always has with each of them. Sometimes hard times can really fog the blessings. I need to intentionally, daily, lose focus of the negative even when the kids and husband are sick, teenagers moody as heck, I'm flooded with pregnancy hormones, and everyone is driving me crazy." ">

“我想我太紧张了，我仍然在挣扎。我真的没想过我们会有另一个，但我们有了。这是发生非常很快!我觉得过去一年我们生活中发生了这么多事，真的很难兴奋起来。我很不好意思承认这一点，但这就是事实。我希望我能成为每个人的好母亲。我相信当我见到她的时候，快乐和兴奋会像他们每个人一样溢出来。有时候艰难的时刻真的会模糊祝福。我每天都要有意识地不去关注那些消极的东西，即使孩子和丈夫生病了，青少年情绪低落，怀孕激素泛滥，每个人都要把我逼疯。”

托儿所的角落。

“我记得我躺在客厅的地板上，家里的其他人都在我周围闲逛，看电视。我正在浏览Instagram，注意到我关注了一个人的名字。这是一个法国名字。这次我想取个法国名字。我母亲有部分法国血统。这个女孩在Instagram上的名字是Janaé。我心想，‘我在想，如果我把字母J去掉了，那还能行吗，或者那真的是一个名字吗?’去掉J的原因是我们所有女孩的名字都是以a开头的，所以我立刻谷歌了一下。Anaé的意思突然冒了出来:上帝的恩典。就凭这一点我就搞定了，而且它还源自法国和希伯来语。 I remember yelling out, 'I have the name!' It was loved by everyone and felt right. Her middle name is Elle. My husband loves cities, especially New York and Chicago. This time he wanted to incorporate something from Chicago, since last time Addis's middle name had a connection to New York. He lived in Chicago for 10 years. He mentioned the El train and at first I laughed. But I said if we spell it Elle, I'm down! Elle means 'she' in French."

个性化的衣服。

“这一段非常顺利、平静、健康。这是一次意外怀孕，所以尝试之路并不长。我只经历过一次高风险的怀孕，是和男孩的。”

他说:“这一次，我的担忧加剧了。我真的无法摆脱它。我对分娩和新的适应感到紧张。我想这是因为过去几年我们做了很多调整。这次没有特别的准备。只是不停地祈祷。我和助产士有个低调的分娩计划。这次我可能在房间里放点音乐。除此之外，只是普通的医院分娩，我计划进行硬膜外麻醉，如果一切按计划进行，这次是输卵管结扎。我会让我的丈夫和助产师在房间里。”

@oldjoy cracks me up so often. I also admire her transparency and deep love for her children. I want to share like she does. My best friend and I are always sending each other her IG Stories (even though we both follow her, ha!). Also, some IRL moms for sure. My mother most definitely. She was a single mother and did her best to care for us in the midst of her struggles including, struggles with mental health (depression). I really respect her and love her and experienced her sacrifice first hand. I also was a single mother for a few years with my first four children, so I got to experience what she had with my siblings. Another mother I know that I look up to is my friend Nadia. She's a mother of 8 wonderful children. I've only known her for a couple years, but she is someone I look up to. Someone that gives me hope by just witnessing her and her family. We aren't super tight, but I'm super thankful I've met her and gotten to be around her. Also, my friend Stephanie. She's also someone I've known for just a couple of years, but I love her and I'm so thankful for the example she's been to myself and my children, as well. She loves so deeply and genuinely—her children, her husband, God, and everyone she comes in contact with. I want to be like her. She always wants to help and it's so real. It's a joy to her. She loves our children so much and loves to have them over for sleepovers with her 3 kids, so Sam and I can get a break. I've never had this type of help in my life until meeting her. I know my children are in great hands when they're with her and that means so much to a mother." ">

“没有真正的明星妈妈榜样，也许是一个我不认识的搞笑妈妈。克里斯汀的@oldjoy经常让我笑。我也钦佩她的透明和对孩子的深爱。我想和她一样分享。我最好的朋友和我总是互相发送她的搞笑故事(虽然我们都关注她，哈!)当然，也有一些IRL妈妈。当然是我母亲。她是一位单身母亲，在她与心理健康(抑郁症)的斗争中，她尽她最大的努力照顾我们。我真的很尊重她，爱她，亲身经历了她的牺牲。我也当了几年的单身母亲，带着我的头四个孩子，所以我有机会体验她和我兄弟姐妹们在一起时的感觉。另一位我尊敬的母亲是我的朋友纳迪亚。 She's a mother of 8 wonderful children. I've only known her for a couple years, but she is someone I look up to. Someone that gives me hope by just witnessing her and her family. We aren't super tight, but I'm super thankful I've met her and gotten to be around her. Also, my friend Stephanie. She's also someone I've known for just a couple of years, but I love her and I'm so thankful for the example she's been to myself and my children, as well. She loves so deeply and genuinely—her children, her husband, God, and everyone she comes in contact with. I want to be like her. She always wants to help and it's so real. It's a joy to her. She loves our children so much and loves to have them over for sleepovers with her 3 kids, so Sam and I can get a break. I've never had this type of help in my life until meeting her. I know my children are in great hands when they're with her and that means so much to a mother."

请给我全部的灰浆!

最可爱的运动鞋阵容。

Parenting by Paul David Tripp. He has some other online resources I'd like to get into with my husband. I have so much to learn now as we parent together. I've done most of the parenting on my own, so it's actually a massive adjustment for me to parent with someone else." ">

“我并没有真正深入研究育儿资源。我愿意接受。有一本书我已经开始读了，但还没有读完。它被称为育儿保罗·大卫·特里普著。他还有一些我想和我丈夫一起使用的网络资源。现在我们一起当父母，我有很多东西要学。大部分育儿工作都是我一个人做的，所以和别人一起抚养孩子对我来说是一个巨大的调整。”

那个复古的Guess补丁!

“就像我提到的，我是由单身母亲抚养长大的。我们经常搬家。我来自加拿大。我在三个不同的省份生活过。在教堂长大。我的祖父母是牧师，他们在我的成长过程中也扮演了非常积极的角色。对此我非常感激。”

Sango). My mother is French and Métis. Métis is another mixture in itself. By definition, Métis are members of ethnic groups native to Canada and parts of the United States that trace their descent to indigenous North Americans and European settlers—mostly French settlers. What I knew about my Métis side I learned in social studies class in elementary school in Canada. We didn't really eat the food much or participate in other Métis practices. We ate bannock, a special fried or baked bread, sometimes. So, that has been a challenge for me to teach the kids much of that side, as well." ">

“我尽力利用我所了解的我的背景。我不知道我想知道的那么多。我父亲来自埃塞俄比亚的亚的斯亚贝巴。我父母在我三岁的时候离婚了。我不是在他身边长大的，直到9岁左右才开始去看他。所以，在我生命中的那个时候，我被介绍给了我的另一半。就在那时，我尝试了那里的食物，体验了那里的文化，参加了大厅聚会，认识了许多其他的埃塞俄比亚人，也对我父亲有了一些了解。就在这时，我在笑声中听到了他的声音，明白了我对舞蹈的热爱和天赋从何而来。我的孩子们知道并自豪地拥抱他们埃塞俄比亚的一面。他们喜欢这里的食物，有时还喜欢埃塞俄比亚的衣服。 Our neighborhood has a strong Ethiopian community, as well. There are many Ethiopian restaurants and stores down the street. Their peers at school are always in disbelief when they tell them that they're part Ethiopian, because it isn't obvious at all with their mixture. Ariyah actually played an Ethiopian Angel in the short film/music video made in south Seattle by our close family friend Kai (a.k.a.桑戈语)．我妈妈是法国人，Métis。Métis本身就是另一种混合物。根据定义，Métis是加拿大和美国部分地区的土著民族的成员，他们的后裔可以追溯到北美土著和欧洲定居者——主要是法国定居者。我对自己Métis这一面的了解是在加拿大小学的社会研究课上学到的。我们并没有真正吃太多的食物或参与其他Métis实践。我们有时吃bannock，一种特殊的油炸或烘焙面包。所以，教孩子们这方面的知识对我来说也是一个挑战。”

镜子,镜子。

">

排队听《靠在我身上》。

“我想我肯定更悠闲，而我丈夫不是。但我的孩子们在更年轻的时候，错过了很多温柔、强硬和多说“不”的人。萨姆在这方面比我强多了。有时这对我来说是一个挑战，但他们需要听到这些。”

“哈!不，姑娘，再见。我真的，真的受够了。我对孩子们的祝福已经泛滥了。”

Storq's diaper change "kit" bag.">

玩Storq她的换尿布“包”。

为什么不把妈妈的衣服都穿上呢?

Storq's Slip Dress.">

艾迪斯戴斯托克的吊带裙．

纯粹喜悦的表情。

.．.和姿势!

“我们自2016年3月以来一直在这里。这是一个有趣的地方。我们在城里做的事不多。这是一个对狗非常友好的地方。我觉得它更适合狗狗而不是家庭。我们没有养狗，但这对养狗的人来说很酷。有时它会惹怒我们。”

Tacos Chukis for some amazing tacos. The pork one is my fave! We do have a Shake Shack now, but I haven't made it over there yet. I nursed Addis most of this pregnancy until finally weaning her a week before my due date, she resisted hard until that point. So, I had to cut dairy and eggs since she's allergic. That means either making things on my own or searching hard for foods I can have (I have some allergies as well). Mighty-O Donuts has amazing vegan donuts. The D'angelo—"Brown Sugar!"—latte with hemp milk at The Station coffee shop in Beacon Hill is so good. My amazing friend Stephanie, whom I mentioned as one of my mother role models, is a massage therapist and does prenatal massage. She's so good! We were over for dinner in October and she busted out her massage table and gave me one! She's located in Redmond, part of the greater Seattle area, and her IG handle is @rxreliefmt." ">

“我感觉很糟糕，我没有很多推荐信!不过我身上确实有些食物污点。炸玉米饼Chukis做一些美味的墨西哥卷饼。猪肉的是我的最爱!我们确实有一个动摇小屋但我还没到那里去。在我怀孕的大部分时间里，我一直在照顾阿迪斯，直到预产期前一周，她终于断奶了。所以，因为她过敏，我不得不减少乳制品和鸡蛋。这意味着要么自己做东西，要么努力寻找我能吃的食物(我也有一些过敏)。Mighty-O甜甜圈有超赞的素食甜甜圈。D'angelo——“红糖!”-拿铁加麻奶车站比肯山的一家咖啡店很不错。我的好朋友斯蒂芬妮，我提到过她是我母亲的榜样之一，她是一名按摩治疗师，做产前按摩。她太棒了!十月份我们一起吃晚饭，她把按摩床砸了，给了我一个!她住在雷德蒙德，大西雅图地区的一部分，她的IG编号是@rxreliefmt．"

free conservatory in Wright Park. We also love to take the ferry and explore Vashon Island. I prefer shopping sans children when I can, and my go-to spot is Value Village in Tukwila. I love thrifting! I'd say 90% of our clothes are thrifted."">

“我们通常呆在附近，步行到附近的公园和篮球场。我们也喜欢去塔科马，它是西雅图地区的另一个小城市，在我们以南25分钟的路程。我喜欢去他们的免费的音乐学院在赖特公园。我们也喜欢乘坐渡轮去探索瓦逊岛．当我可以的时候，我更喜欢不带孩子购物，我的首选地点是价值村在Tukwila。我爱节俭!我得说，我们90%的衣服都是节俭的。”

Storq tank top, thrifted button-up, and Storq leggings.">

阿斯泰尔穿着一件Storq背心，节俭的纽扣，和Storq紧身裤．

“我会用舒适、有时略显时髦、经典、简单和简约来形容它。我喜欢黑色、白色、灰色和中性色。”

双胞胎的服装也换了。

“现在越来越女性化了，我穿的裙子也多了很多。”

青少年的情绪。

Nike Air Max 97's. During pregnancy my style is pretty much the same, but I need more belly and back support, so some good maternity leggings are key."">

“怀孕前，我会说运动衫或运动裤，华夫纹长袖衬衫，搭配时髦的夹克——我喜欢夹克——还有我现在的运动鞋，全黑的耐克Air Max 97．怀孕期间，我的穿衣风格基本不变，但我需要更多的腹部和背部支撑，所以一些好的孕妇打底裤是关键。”

“实际上，我很喜欢凸起的肚子，尤其是在怀孕期间。我感到自己的信心增强了，也感到很长一段时间以来从未有过这么大的鼓舞。”

双胞胎，但不是。

North Face, Carhartt, Ralph Lauren, Champion, Reebok, Nike, and Adidas. Sport brands are classic and really in right now. I really enjoy shopping for the kids. The boys know I know what's cool. My son Malaki and I talk about fashion a lot more now. I also love thrifting and when I'm doing that, I'm looking for those brands or looking by color and textures. Thrifting designer brands and trendy brands is one of my favorite things. To find something well sought out or a vintage piece of designer clothing feels great. And knowing I paid so much less for what it would originally cost! One of my favorite recent finds was a pair of black Prada pants for $2.50." ">

“现在我真的很喜欢北脸,Carhartt,拉尔夫•劳伦,冠军,锐步,耐克,阿迪达斯．运动品牌是经典的，现在非常流行。我很喜欢给孩子们买东西。孩子们知道我知道什么叫酷。我的儿子马拉基和我现在谈论时尚更多了。我也喜欢节俭，当我这样做的时候，我会寻找那些品牌或根据颜色和质地。节俭的设计师品牌和时髦的品牌是我最喜欢的事情之一。找到一些很受欢迎的东西或一件经典的设计师服装感觉很棒。我知道我花的钱比原来少了这么多!我最近最喜欢的一件东西是一条2.5美元的普拉达(Prada)黑色裤子。”

Glossier everything! I don't spend much on myself at all when it comes to beauty products and services. For skincare, I use Glossier Milky Jelly Cleanser and the Priming Skin Moisturizer. For makeup, I use the Glossier Stretch Concealer. It gives my face life! Some of that under the eyes does wonders! My makeup routine takes about 10 minutes total. I use the same liquid eyeliner that I used in high school and I line and fill in my brows with a M.A.C. eyeshadow and some Sephora lip brush thing. It's weird, but it works! I'm currently using the Glossier black mascara, some Glossier Haloscope for highlight, and Glossier Cloud Paint in Dusk on my cheeks."">

“几乎光彩夺目的一切!就美容产品和服务而言，我在自己身上花的钱并不多。我用它来护肤光泽乳果冻洁面乳和启动皮肤保湿．化妆时，我用光泽度弹力遮瑕膏．它给了我的脸生命!有些东西在眼睛下面能创造奇迹!我的化妆程序总共需要10分钟。我用的眼线液和我在高中时用的一样，我用M.A.C.眼影和一些丝芙兰唇刷什么的。这很奇怪，但很有效!我目前正在使用更有光泽的黑色睫毛膏,一些光彩夺目的Haloscope对于突出显示，和光泽云涂料在我的脸颊上涂抹着黄昏。”

“在这方面，我需要提高我的水平。我真的没有健康养生法。”

这张小脸!

注意:倒计时现在降至0天!

妈妈就是妈妈。

“我是专业的全职妈妈?”现在我就是这么做的。不过我喜欢摄影。在这方面我几乎是自学成才的，不会称自己为专业人士。我希望在这方面有更多的发展。”

Storq tank top and thrifted blazer and pants.">

阿斯泰尔穿着一件Storq背心和节俭的运动夹克和裤子。

“我大部分时间在加拿大艾伯塔省的埃德蒙顿长大。我出生在那里，年轻的时候搬了很多家，但从小学毕业到快30岁，我一直住在那里。我18岁怀了双胞胎，高中没毕业。他们出生三天后我就19岁了。在教育方面，2011/2012年，我获得了一个在阿尔伯塔大学学习神学课程的绝佳机会，这是通过我在一个妇女庇护所学习的人文课程实现的。在与他们的父亲分手后，我和我的四个孩子在那里生活了近7个月。我很感激有这个机会。我从没想过我会这么做。由于在避难所的情况，我们不能在那里工作或上学。这是一个治愈和教育虐待的时期。他们通过低收入住房帮助我们找到了住的地方，在我们住在收容所期间和之后的一段时间里，我们靠收入支持生活。 There's also this thing in Canada called the child tax benefit. Depending on how much taxable income you make, you get money each month for each child to help provide for their needs. So, for some time we lived off that and did well. Rent, food, and bills were covered. We had a 3-bedroom townhouse, I was still able to stay home, and I was able to work once Ariyah was in school full-time. I then got a lunch supervisor job at their school. I loved it. I loved being present at their school and the staff were the best. I really miss them. Especially Aleta. I've lived in Edmonton, Alberta. Porcupine Plain, Saskatchewan at a very young age for a short amount of time. And Dawson Creek, British Columbia for a few years in early elementary school. I spent most of my life in Edmonton, though, and now I've been living in Seattle for 2 years, 9 months."

“不是真的。有时我想回去工作。我想等孩子们长大了，等Anaé全职上学了。我觉得这能帮我找到自己的其他部分。做母亲真的是一种美丽的牺牲，但我想学习和做更多以外的事。”

“生活方面，我认为在拥有Anaé之后，我想要真正更好地照顾自己。知道这真的是我最后一个孩子了，我想要以某种方式达到我生命中最好的体型，但要以我自己觉得有趣的方式，比如跳舞。我想多陪陪我的丈夫和孩子。我在怀孕期间遇到很多困难，尤其是在怀孕的最后三个月，我已经走神了。我想少用手机，多爱和鼓励我的家人和身边的人。”

Instagram. ">

想了解更多关于阿斯泰尔、她的家人和她刚出生的孩子的信息，一定要关注她Instagram．