Survey Friday

So I haven't had much going on around here to blog about and I saw these couple surveys so I thought I'd fill 'em out for everyone to see.

Survey for all moms

1. How long have you been a mom?
going on six years

2. How many kids call you mommy?
3 great kids

3. When you were pregnant did you know what you were having?
First two yes, last one no and I hated it.

4. How old were you when you became a mommy?
23

5. How long were you in labor?
1st: 8 hrs 2nd: 6hrs 3rd: 10 hrs

6. What's your favorite thing about being a mommy?
the precious bond I feel.

7. What's your least favorite thing?
The whining and the messes!

8. Do you want more kids?
Unless there is another "surprise" we're DONE

9. Have you ever taken your kid(s) on a trip?
Yes, they've been all over the place

10. How many times have you been pee'd on?
surprising only a few even with two boys

11. How many times have you been barfed on?
Don't even go there! Probably 100 times

12. Is (are) your kid(s) named after someone?
not first names, but all 3 have middle names after family members

13. When is the last time you had a sitter?
If you count nana and papa just this past Wednesday.

14. When your kid gets in trouble, who is the bad guy?
me just because I'm around more, but it's pretty equal on the weekends

15. Last movie you saw in theater?
Bourne Ultimatem (sp?)

16. One thing you will not give up just because you're a mom:
showering!

17. One thing you did give up now that you're a mom:
eating my dinner when it's hot

18. Favorite kid show?
Backyardigans

19. Favorite Snack:
fruit

20. When the kid(s) are napping, you are?
on the computer, napping, cleaning or spending alone time with whoever's awake.

21. Where is/are your kid(s) now?
Mia's at school, Kai's watching TV, Noah's napping

22. If I could do it over, I'd do this differently:
I do a lot of things differently (sleeping, eating, discipline) with my first, but not much with the next two.

23. Did you breastfeed or bottle?
Breastfeed

24. What are your children's current obsessions?
Mia-Soccer, Kai-Elmo, Noah-ME!



What's going on survey

What I was doing 10 Years ago....

I was going to school at The College of San Mateo and living with my Grandma in Redwood City. I had just met Aaron as I started my new job at City of San Mateo Park & Rec.

What I was doing 5 years ago.....

I had just gone back to work teaching pre-k after 5 months on maternity leave. We were living in our cute little townhouse and had a mortgage we could afford. It was the "richest" we have ever been in terms of how much money we had coming in versus money spent on living expenses. Aaron and I were both home by 3:30 every day. Life seemed so much easier then!



What I was doing 1 year ago.......

We were living in our current house in San Mateo. I was 5 months pregnant with Noah, I was cranky and irritated A LOT. I was chasing Kai around because he had just started walking. Aaron was working two jobs, but he wasn't a supervisor at the airport yet so he was home more! Mia just started Pre-K where I used to teach. Wow! That seems soooo long ago now.


What I was doing yesterday.....
The usual taking Mia to and from school, but I managed to grab some drive thru and take the kids to the park. It was such a nice day. The weather has been so unpredictable lately so I wanted to take advantage, and I'm glad I did because it was raining today! It was a big day for TV too...Survivor and the premiere of CSI: Vegas.


5 places I'd rather be....

Paris, Hawaii, Yosemite, NYC, HB


5 treats/snacks I love............

cupcakes
donuts
fruit and yogurt parfait
ice cream anything
fries

What I would do with 100 million dollars...
Aaron could quit BOTH his jobs!!!!! I would go back to school. We'd buy a nice big house here in San Mateo totally paid off!! Pay off all our debt. Pay off both our parents houses. Take our families on a BIG trip and invest the rest.

5 favorite TV shows

Top Chef
Flip this house
Survivor
CSI
Americas Next top Model


5 people to tag....
you, you, you, you, and YOU!

Masterpiece Theatre

So our next door neighbor was cleaning out her closet and found this cute little puppet theater. She asked if we wanted it (in front of the kids) so OF COURSE we just had to have it. It is a smaller version so at least it's easy to store and the always welcome bonus of any toy...it doesn't need batteries, YAY! Mia being the drama queen that she is, was all over it and Kai was lucky to get a word in edge wise, at least they shared the puppets well. The script might not have made much sense, but it made Aaron and I laugh so of course we gave it two thumbs up. It made for a great family home evening activity.

Soccer season

*WARNING* Obnoxious parental bragging ahead!

So Mia is on an AYSO soccer team called the Blue Mermaids (I love the little girl team names). We love that the games are in the park behind our house, no packing up the car, and if we forget something it's a two minute walk home. She is having a lot of fun and is really good! She started out a little timid in her first practice and game, but man how she warmed up. She jets up and down the field always staying with the ball. She knows which direction to run and is always helping her teammates. She amazed us with her energy and stamina, she never sat out. She can take the ball from one end of the field to the other, she's almost scored 4 goals. She feels like the goalies box isn't her territory so if she can't kick it in from that line then she just lets the goalie get it and waits for it to be thrown back. They don't keep score so goals don't matter, but I know she'll just light up if/when she gets one in. Not keeping score is also great when you're child is the goalie. Mia loves being the goalie, and wearing the special shirt. I can't help this pit that forms in my stomach when I see the other team running straight at her trying to get the ball past her. Don't worry she hasn't let one goal in yet :) I just have a little more gushing to do (can't say I didn't warn you). Aaron and I were glowing when we heard some parents behind us saying "Man, who is that little #2?" and one of the other parents replied "her name is Mia" and they were like "Wow, what an appropriate name for a girl soccer player" As Aaron and I laughingly said just to each other "That's right #2 is OUR girl!" Most importantly we're glad she's having fun and doesn't want to quit. She had a quiting streak this summer with extra curricular activities, but it looks like soccer suits her. She can be competitive so we are hoping that we can focus on teamwork and fun to keep the competitiveness at bay. Also AYSO doesn't keep score until they are in the 8 year old league. This is a great outlet for her energy and I hope she can keep it up.

Going for a goal!


Our little #2


Go Mermaids!


Don't even think about it.

Remembering

I just couldn't let today pass without saying thank you to all the police and firefighters who's job it is to protect and serve their communities. I also want to thank all the service men and woman at home or abroad. I hope September 11th doesn't just turn into another day that goes by. It really altered our nation's history in more ways than one. So many families had their lives turned upside down by these events and my heart goes out to them. I remember I was newly pregnant with Mia and thinking to myself that day, "what kind of world are our children coming into, why would people do this?" While the weeks that came after were painful to hear about, I also loved watching our whole nation coming together for one purpose. I loved seeing American flags on every house, in windows of cars and stores. I loved having a national day of prayer where nobody protested, but prayed anyway even if they were different religions or whatever. It was then I realized our children are coming into an amazing world. Today my thoughts are with all those in NYC, DC and in a Pennsylvania field celebrating their loved ones lives.

My new inspiration!

So many times I feel torn between housework and spending time with my kids. Honestly, it isn't so much torn as frustrated that I can't just clean without the kids leaving me alone to finish. Yesterday I was disappointed because Noah woke up after 30 minutes when his nap usually lasts 90 minutes. I felt so jipped. I had so much to do and I needed that extra hour that he "interfered" with by waking up. Well lo and behold, I am doing an online search for something not related to my frustrations at all and find this quote:

Cleaning and scrubbing can wait for tomorrow,
For babies grow up, I've learned, to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs.
Dust, go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep.
(Ruth Hulburt Hamilton)

I LOVE THIS POEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It almost makes me want to cry because of how true it it. I just found how "babies don't keep" as I sent Mia off to Kindergarten. It helped give me a lot of perspective. The dust and cobwebs will be there for me to clean tomorrow or even next week, but my babies will be a little bigger, even if it's only by the smallest measurement. Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to let my house go to shambles, but instead of getting disappointed that I didn't get to finish dishes because the baby woke up to soon, I will just try to enjoy that extra hour I get with him.

I hear wedding bells!!!!

Yay! Whitney's longtime boyfriend Adam proposed to her this weekend! We have actually been planning the wedding for a little while and keeping it quiet. But now that she's got the rock on her finger we can shout it from the rooftops. They've known each other for about 5 years and are a perfect fit. And what a rock it is! It's a beautiful ring...nearly twice the size of mine, good thing I don't have a size complex! We can't say we didn't see this coming. There is just so much in common between them. We love Adam and are happy he'll be a part of our family, the kids just started referring to him as "uncle Adam". I'll be a bridesmaid and Mia is the flower girl. Anyway, Whitney will be getting an AWESOME new last name plus alphabetically she'll stay at the top of the alphabet. The opposite happened to me, I got a funky new last name and went to the bottom of the alphabet when I got married. Hers will be Blaesser (pronounced Blazer) COOL, HUH?! We're looking forward to January 5, 2008. Congratulations Whitney and Adam!!

Fuzzy Bunz

Our Noah is a lucky little guy. He is the only one of our three children that gets to rest his precious bum in soft fleecy diapers instead of crispy, crunchy disposables. I made the switch about four months ago to cloth diapers. It really had nothing to do with "going green"(although, I empty our diaper pail WAY less). It mostly had to do with the fact that he had explosive diapers and I ended up washing all of his yucky clothes anyway. So, no, I don't do a diaper service, I actually wash them all myself in washing machine, and yes, we still maintain a clean washer!
At first I was overwhelmed by all the cloth choices and terminology. These are NOT your mother's cloth diapers though. The type I use are all in one dipes. They are basically the same as a disposable diaper, but you use them over and over. I am happy to say we have had not one explosion since we switched. Well that's not totally true, there have been two in the very beginning and it was my fault for leaving the diaper on for too long and it couldn't hold anymore. You do have to change them more often, but come on, is that really a bad thing?! They contain odors better. Most of the time I can't even tell when he's dirty.
Cloth diapering is addictive too. The styles and prints are so cute I just want to keep buying more even though we have enough to get through a few days. We still use disposables for nighttime. To start your diaper collection it costs the same as buying 4-5 months worth of disposables. It's definitely not for everyone, but I am really happy doing it. I wish Kai wasn't so badly in between sizes because I would do it for him too. We aren't rushing to potty train him since he's a pretty lazy guy and I have a feeling it will be slow going if I start too soon. Maybe I'll just potty train him and Noah together...J/K!!!!!!! But seriously, look how cute they are.