Scribbles 'n Scraps

I am doing this again, because someone tagged me on facebook to do it there, and since I am not really into the whole ‘notes’ thing on facebook, I thought I would just put it here on my blog. I have done this before, so my answers will be all new (and two years later!) lol

60 MORE Things You Possibly Didn’t Know About Me

1. What is in the back seat of your car right now?
Two deflated papasan float chairs, 1 deflated raft, 2 pool noodles, a fishing pole, a really sandy towel, an empty fast food cup, a half filled bottle of water, a small plastic container and a lot of sand. Can you tell we spend a lot of time at the lake?

2. When was the last time you threw up?
erm. I don’t remember. It’s been awhile. 2003?

3. What’s your favorite curse word?
I am trying not to say curse words, but I use ‘flippin’ a lot. Oh, and crap.

4. Name 3 people who made you smile today?
Sandy, Mike & all of my kids – yeah I know… shhhh – I can’t pick just one

5. What were you doing at 8 am this morning?
Sleeping. I never sleep in. But I woke up at 6:10am and decided after an hour to go back to sleep.

6. What were you doing 30 minutes ago?
Reading blogs.

7. What will you be doing 3 hours from now?
Probably making dinner.

8. Have you ever been to a strip club?
once. my ex husband and some friends from work convinced me to go when I was pregnant with my son. (that was over 16 years ago). It was really not fun.

9. What is the last thing you said aloud?
“Give that duck tape back to her!” I did not think I would say that ever. lol My son took the duck tape away from the girls because he thinks they are using too much. They are making cool duck tape thing.

10. What is the best ice cream flavor?
Pistachio. I love it with chocolate chips in it, or a little chocolate sauce on top. Just a little though.

11. What was the last thing you had to drink?
Coffee.

12. What are you wearing right now?
Black shorts and a blue t-shirt. I look beeeutiful. Not.

13. What was the last thing you ate?
Yogurt

14. Have you bought any new clothing items this week?
Nope.

15. When was the last time you ran?
The other night. We saw a friend at the lake, and I ran to catch up and say hi.

16. What’s the last sporting event you watched?
Uhm. I really don’t do sports, so I cannot even remember the last sporting event I watched. Maybe Jesse in Girls on the Run? Or Alexis in Cross Country? Can’t remember which came later.

18. Who is the last person you emailed?
A member of our Fife and Drum corp.

19. Ever go camping?
Every summer.

20. Do you have a tan?
A little bit. I’m definitely more tan than I was a couple of weeks ago. It helps that we have spent a lot of time outside at the lake.

24. Do you drink your soda from a straw?
Yes, because I don’t do cans. I usually drink fountain sodas.

25. What did your last IM say?
“I need help Aaron.” I only IM one person. My best friends hubby. He works on my computer for me, and I don’t know – it’s been awhile. I can only assume that is what I would have said. Wait, does Facebook chat count too? Because if it does, the last thing I said was “I can hardly wait…” because my friend Shawn told me he had a story to tell me about someone I really don’t like talking about. LOL

26. Are you someone’s best friend?
Yes.

27. What are you doing tomorrow?
Going to Fife and Drum corp. practice.

28. Where is your mom right now?
I would imagine she is at home. Wait, what day is it? Maybe she is out running errands.

29. Look to your left, what do you see?
A giant mirror that needs to be hung on the wall. So I guess I see myself. LOL

30. What color is your watch?
Black

31. What do you think of when you think of Australia ?
When does the next flight leave?

32. Would you consider plastic surgery?
I doubt it.

33. What is your birthstone?
It’s a peridot which I hate. I was born at the tail end of August so I adopted the sapphire which is my favorite. Most jewelry that I own that has a gem is Sapphire.

34. Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit thedrive thru?
I prefer the drive thru. Mike prefers to go in. It depends on who’s driving or if he’s with us.

35.How many kids do you want?
5. I already have them all.

36. Do you have a dog?
Yes – four. Max, Maggie, Lily and Bella.

37. Last person you talked to on the phone?
Amy

38. Have you met anyone famous?
Yes, many. I want to school with Scott Foley, a childhood friend is the nephew of Kevin Kline so we spent a lot of time with him when he was in town, I’ve met Leann Rimes several times and there are more but those are the ones I’ve known, well.. met the most.

39. Any plans today?
Going to the library. That is all.

40. How many states have you lived in?
Yowser. Let’s see. Missouri, Florida, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Arkansas (though it was temp), Texas.

41. Ever go to college?
Yes. Early Childhood Education was my major.

42. Where are you right now?
Sitting on one corner of my sectional.

43. Biggest annoyance in your life right now?
I don’t think I have any annoyances. I’m pretty mellow. At any rate, my neighbors are annoying.

44. Last song listened to?
3Oh3! “Deja Vu”

46. Are you allergic to anything?
A few VERY minor outdoor allergies. And sulfa drugs.

47. Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time?
I hate shoes. Loathe shoes. I wear flip flops or sandals whenever I need to wear shoes.

48. Are you jealous of anyone?
I try hard not to be jealous, but of course it does come up from time to time. The things I can think of are usually talent related. Writing and scrapbooking come to mind.

50. Is anyone jealous of you?
Probably not. Don’t care either way.

51. What time is it?
1:54pm

52. Do any of your friends have children?
Uhm. Yes.

53. Do you eat healthy?
Much more so than ever before in my life, yes.

54. What do you usually do during the day?
Hmm… drink coffee, write, scrapbook, run errands, parent, clean and hang out with my friends

55. Do you hate anyone right now?
I do not hate people. I strongly dislike my neighbors.

56. Do you use the word ‘hello’ daily?
Yes. Except it’s usually in the drawn out DUH sorta way. “Do you want me to clean this up mom?” “Helllllooooo?” LOL

58. How old will you be turning on your next birthday?
37

59. Have you ever been to Six Flags?
Yep. A lot. We have season passes.

60. How did you get one of your scars?
Fell when I was four and cracked my chin open. The scar is still there, though you can barely tell.

1. How long have you been a Mom? Wow. 15 1/2 years!

2. How many children call you Mommy? Well, five all together (maybe even six – yeah, no. Not pregnant.) Two are my biological children.

3. Girl? Boy? or both?: 4 girls (5 if you include the extra) and 1 boy. Biologically I was blessed with 1 boy, 1 girl.

4. Did you know what you were having? Yes, both times. I always swore if I ever did it again, I wouldn’t find out because I have my boy and my girl. That’s not happening now. LOL

5. How old were you when you became a Mom? 21 and 25

6. How long were you in labor? The first time was about 8-10 hours which resulted in a completely natural birth (against my wishes!) and the second time was only like an hour or so plus epidural – wonderful!

7. What’s your favorite thing about being a Mom? Wow. I’m not even sure I can answer a favorite thing. I guess its just having them in my life. Knowing I am someones mother. Hearing them call me mom and tell me I’m the best mom ever. Those things combined. I always wanted to be a mom, and even on my worst days (or theirs) I try to remember that I am living my dream.

8. What’s your least favorite thing? Teenagers. That about sums it up. LOL

9. Do you want more kids? Nope, I’m all done. And perfectly content.

10. Do you plan on having more soon? No.

11. How many times have you been pee’d on? I have actually never been pee’d on, but B & R’s father has! LOL Too many times to list.

12. Barfed on? Gosh I couldn’t even answer this. I guess an estimated 15-20 times but that’s counting spit up barf from little babies.

13. Is your child named after anyone? Ryan is not. Brielle’s middle name is Marie and it was after my great grandmother, so I guess yes.

14. How did you come up with their name? Ryan’s father named him – it was the only boy name he really had any experience with (the only kid he’d ever met was named Ryan @@) Brielle was named by me, and the name was given to me by a friend who knew I wanted my daughter named something unique that would work with Brie (Brianna and Brianne had been done too much). I fell in love with the name and told NOBODY what I was naming her until I put it on the birth certificate. I’m so glad I did. She’s such a Brielle.

15. When your child gets in trouble, who is the bad guy? Well, that would be me. Mike likes to be their comedy entertainment almost 24-7. Of course he also works nights and sleeps days so he doesn’t really experience the bad stuff.

16. What is the longest you have been away from your children? A whole summer – six weeks. They had to go visit their father. I hated it, they hated it. It hasn’t repeated itself since.

17. Bedtime routine?

9:00pm They are sent to their rooms to get ready and read, and lights are out at 9:45pm for the middle schoolers.
The older ones are sent back at 9:00 also, but I don’t limit what time they go to bed. They know they have to get up at 6am so they make really good choices and only occasionally does one stay up “late”.

18. Are your toes painted?

Not right now, no.

19. Last movie you saw in the theater? Wow. I cannot even actually remember. We have an extensive DVD collection and mostly buy them and watch them when they come out on DVD. I think it might have been New Moon.

20. One thing you will not give up just because you’re a mom? My “me” time. I love reading, writing, scrapbooking, hanging out with my girlfriends, etc. I’m lucky now because my kids are older – it was a lot harder when they were younger!

21. One thing you did give up now that you’re a mom: Late nights, the bar scene,

22. Best Mom perk: Always having someone to laugh with, hang out with and have fun with!

23. Snack, you sneak bites from your child? Probably ice cream. LOL oooooh or chocolate!

24. When the kid is napping, you are: My kiddo’s are FAR away from the napping stage so we can go with while they are outside playing or watching a favorite TV program – I use that time usually to prepare meals, get some cleaning and organizing done, scrapbooking and writing – almost always writing.

25. Where is your child(ren) now? All five (and six) are at school.

26. Favorite place to buy maternity clothes? Well, back when I was buying maternity clothes, I really liked Motherhood and JCPenney.

27. If I could do it over… I wouldn’t change a single thing that has gotten me to this point. God is with me and helping me grow and learn from every mistake I’ve ever made.

28. Did it turn out the way you expected? Sort of. I always dreamed of a huge family, I just thought I was going to have them all on my own. LOL I got the big family and didn’t have to do the birthing stuff – but still get to raise them, love them and grow with them!

If you do this, leave me a comment so I can check it out!

I was tagged awhile back for this meme, and I cannot for the life of me find the link of who tagged me. I just had it saved, so decided to do it.

Here are the rules: All you have to do is Google your first name with the word needs behind it and post the results. I typed in “Nicole needs,” and here are 15 of the 11,300 results:

1. Nicole needs a stylist (how ironic that this is #1 – lol yeah I really actually do)
2. Nicole needs school (hmm… and I’ve been thinking about going back!)
3. Nicole Needs No Food when she can Shop Till She Drops (ha! I’m a total foodie and could not possibly shop without it!)
4. Nicole needs money (well duh!)
5. Nicole needs a reality show (what in the world would it be about? blended families or an insane supply hoarding scrapbooker!)
6. Nicole needs an urban love nest (this had to do with Keith and I’m all over his Urban love nest – yikes, what would Mike think?)
7. Nicole needs photoshop (not really)
8. Nicole needs to drink the water and eat a burger (uhm…okay, I love burgers)
9. Nicole needs Trevor’s job (Well, that would all depend on exactly what Trevor’s job is!)
10. Nicole needs to take a pill (I’ve totally heard that one before)
11. Nicole needs help (don’t we all?)
12. Nicole needs a patient family (Yes, yes I do.)
13. Nicole needs a new page (with all the websites I have, the LAST thing I need is a new page)
14. Nicole needs a monogram (for what?)
15. Nicole needs some satisfaction (amen!)

Well, wasn’t that entertaining!

1. What is your favorite color? Blue
2. What color are your socks right now? No socks, hate socks in summer.
3. What are you listening to right now? tv background noise
4. What was the last thing you ate? chips
5. Can you drive a stick shift? yes
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? wedgewood blue
7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Portia
8. How old are you today? 34
9. Favorite drink? Iced Tea (especially lightly flavored with fresh fruit)
10. What is your favorite sport to watch? Horseback riding (my daughter mainly)
11. Have you ever dyed your hair? yes
12. Favorite reality TV show? well, I like a few – I really liked A&E Interventions but I’m not sure that qualifies so much as a reality TV show.
13. What was the last movie you watched? I have no idea. The last DVD I watched was Celtic Thunder.
14. Favorite day of the year? Probably Christmas. I just like the day with family, etc. Good food, children’s smiles and laughter.
15. What do you do to vent anger? Read or Write
16. What was your favorite toy as a child? Fisher Price Little People Sets
17. What is your favorite, fall or spring? Fall – hands down.
18. Hugs or kisses? Hugs
19. Cherries or blueberries? both – actually it just depends on what they are in.
20. Chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin? Chocolate Chips
21. Favorite dessert? Chocolate (especially cake or mousse)
22. Living arrangement? In a house
23. When was the last time you cried? Yesterday watching a video of my dd.
24. What is on the floor of your closet? Well, we cleaned our bedroom so currently all the stuff that needs a new home is on my closet floor.
25. What did you do last night? Prayed my children would arrive home safely, and hung out with my friend Portia so I wouldn’t obsess about them coming home.
26. What inspires you? Colors, Music, Seeing other peoples art and crations
(Um, where are 27 through 29?)
30. What are you afraid of? Not too much. Don’t care for spiders or snakes, but I am not sure that I am ‘afraid’.
31. Plain, cheese, or spicy burgers? Spicy WITH cheese
32. Favorite breed of dog? Shih-tzu – Have you seen Max?
33. Favorite car? Any that gets me from point A to B and back.
34. Favorite day of the week? Saturday
35. How many states have you lived in? Six I think.
36. Favorite breed of cat? Manx, my cat Maple is a Manx. I also really love Himalayan Persians.
37. Ever driven a motorcycle or heavy machinery? no, well the biggest U-Haul truck they make.
38. Who is your favourite NFL team? Totally hate football.
39. Do you have a house phone that is not cordless? Yes, but not plugged in. Need to get one attached.
40. 10 inches of snow or 100 degree weather? I’ll take the snow. I do not care for HOT weather.

I’ve been tagged by Jane at Scrappy-Gram’s Designs.

Consider yourself tagged–now you’re IT!–if you’re reading this and have a blog!

‘Random Tag’ rules:
1) Link to the person who tagged you
2) Post the rules on your blog
3) Write 6 random things about yourself (see below)
4) Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them
5) Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6) Let the tagger know when your entry is up

Here are 6 random things about me:

1) I was born in Texas, raised in Missouri.
2) I’d really like to move to a small town and live on a farm/ranch.
3) I’ve visited all 50 states at some point in my lifetime although a few were simply drive-thrus. LOL
4) My favorite place in the world is our barn. Well, not my barn but where my daughter rides. It’s in the middle of nowhere, quiet, peaceful and God’s creatures are so incredibly beautiful to watch. Plus, oddly I like the smell of the barn.
5) Speaking of smells, I cannot smell a skunk. I have no idea what one smells like and yes I have apparently been around some pretty strong skunk smells, but nothing has ever smelled like anything to me. Weird, but apparently not unheard of. 1/1000 cannot smell skunks. Well we always knew I marched to the beat of my own drum – eh mom?
6) If I had the money and the space, I’d own every animal imagineable. I love animals, pets and the exotic ones get me everytime.

Whew! That was fun. Now get to thinkin’ and make your list and share it with me if you like.

Thanks Jane, for tagging me! (I had about six more I could have done but picked these instead)

I accidentally stumbled across a post on The Happy Husband, that seriously called my name. The project is based on a beautiful, memory-filled poem called Where I’m From by George Ella Lyons about her childhood. A group of bloggers got together and wrote essay style poems in the same fashion as the poem. Never one to turn up my nose at a writing assignment, I decided to take on the challenge. Hey! I’m a scrapbooker after all, and it will fit beautifully within the depths of my All About Me album. I’m a sentimental fool anyway.

So here it is, in all it’s glory. It started out slow, and then it arose from the thunder…

I am From…

I am from adoption, from Texas, from birth and then from the city of St. Louis. I am from a Gift from God.
I am from an airline pilot for Eastern airlines and a photographer. I am from a tennis player, a jokester, a bible study attendee, an artist. I am from a family.
I am from a childhood home that lasted until I was 18, from white pillars and brick, from weeping willows to creeks.
I am from teddy bears and bigger than life Raggedy Anne’s and Andy’s, in the confines of a pink floral room.
I am from blue Schwinn bikes, sprinklers and plunging deep into a world of water.

I am from chocolate sheet cake and rum rolls, I am from horribly cooked ‘Gourmet Dinners’ in which I really wish I wasn’t from. I am from “no additives” and “no preservatives” and I am from no Twinkies or Ding Dongs. I am from a world of longing.
I am from yellow tile floors, orange carpets and ugly wall-paper. I am from a world that has changed so much since then.

I am from new boxes of crayons and coloring books, paints and stickers. I am from diaries and journals that are filled with private thoughts. And eventually I am from a new computer era, and from a Radio Shack TSR-80.
I am from Care Bears and Smurfs, from Strawberry Shortcake and Holly Hobby. I am from a world where Barbie dominated a large portion of time.

I am from the creek behind our house, from the cool summer grass beneath my barefeet, from willows and vines that hung low enough to swing. I am from a world where outdoors was the only place I wanted to be and where it is safe to roam.

I am from slumber parties, to hiding friends in the car so we could remain together. I am from skating parties to dress up parties, to fake weddings and real funerals for lost pets, bugs and reptiles.

I am from a broken heart when that first guy decided he didn’t want to be together. I am from first love, first kisses and first dates. I am from true friends and memories that last a lifetime.

I am from ear aches and stomaches, and seeking out care. I am from unspoken love and priviledge that left me wishing I was from somewhere else. I was from somewhere else originally.

I am from fuzzy white and spiky haired orange guinea pigs. I am from a diabetic cat. I am from 3 Old English Sheepdogs, my protectors, my playmates, my friends. And later I am from 4 Newfoundlands and 1 Australian Shepherd, that were more than just for show. I am from cuddling and playtime. I am from the president of a Newfoundland rescue group and family vacations that consisted of dog shows only.

I am from a Catholic home. I am from God. I am from a Christian lifestyle, largely adapted from childhood, from one that has been modified to fit my family. I am from reading the bible, to going to church, perhaps not regularly, but often enough. I am from a world where our God loves me, and I am a child of God.

I am from hope, from praise, from devotion. I am from song and prayer. I am from lifting my voice to call out His name. I am from life changing events, from tragedy, sorrow and pain. I am from happiness and joy.

I am from changing. I am from learning to live. I am from past mistakes that have shaped me, pushed me in the right direction. I am from needing the direction of God. I am from a place that being human is acceptible and quite frankly demanded. I am from God. I am always from God.

— Well, that’s it folks. I have thought about going back and editing it. Changing it up a bit. But I kinda like how scattered it is. How it hints at certain things while being ‘in your face’ about others. I don’t want to change the original. I might go back and try a more “adult” I am from. I sorta left off somewhere around age 18. So that’s where I’m from. Where are you from?

If you participate or decide to do this, leave a comment below so I can come visit you.

These come courtesty of Amie’s Blog.

60 Things You Possibly Didn’t Know About Me

1. What is in the back seat of your car right now?
huh. I don’t know. I don’t get back there often. Let me check. Let’s see, among a unidentifiable variety of crumbs, I found an empty fast food cup, two happy meal toys, six stray french fries, a dime, a pencil, two crayons and a helmet (my daughter’s horseback riding helmet). I think it’s time to clean it out.

2. When was the last time you threw up?
I have absolutely no idea. I think in 2003.

3. What’s your favorite curse word?
I don’t have a favorite, but I use the “slang” words for curse words a lot. I need to stop that too.

4. Name 3 people who made you smile today?
Ryan, Jessica and Mike. I am hoping my gal pal Amy will be able to make me smile in a little bit. She is driving back from the farm and I am super excited. I keep looking out the window to see if her car is back yet.

5. What were you doing at 8 am this morning?
Somewhere near 8 am I was hitting publish on an article.

6. What were you doing 30 minutes ago?
asking my son to mow the lawn

7. What will you be doing 3 hours from now?
preparing dinner, or at least starting

8. Have you ever been to a strip club?
once. my ex husband and some friends from work convinced me to go when I was pregnant with my son. (that was over 13 years ago). It was really not fun.

9. What is the last thing you said aloud?
“Drop It”. I was talking to  Max my doggie and asking him to drop a Reeses Peanut Butter wrapper he found somewhere. I have no clue cause we haven’t had them lately.

10. What is the best ice cream flavor?
Dark chocolate with peanut butter sauce is my usual favorite. My other favorite is Mocha Mudslide. Yum!

11. What was the last thing you had to drink?
Starbucks Frappucino from my fridge.

12. What are you wearing right now?
Olive green (army green?) capri’s and a black shirt

13. What was the last thing you ate?
A chocolate chip pancake. Yeah. And I wonder why I can’t lose these 15 lbs. LOL

14. Have you bought any new clothing items this week?
Yes. Two shirts – the one I am wearing and a blue one.

15. When was the last time you ran?
Two weekends ago in the sand at the edge of the lake. I was chasing kids. We were playing some weird chase game. I have no clue. I just played along.

16. What’s the last sporting event you watched?
I really do not do sports. So the last event I watched was the Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event – Yay Phillip Dutton. It was an awesome weekend, though I’m sorry for Frodo Baggins who had to be put down. It was sad.

18. Who is the last person you emailed?
Jacque – our previous horse trainer.

19. Ever go camping?
Every summer.

20. Do you have a tan?
no. I have two skin tones. Pale and Burnt. LOL

24. Do you drink your soda from a straw?
Yes, because I don’t do cans. I usually drink fountain sodas.

25. What did your last IM say?
I have absolutely no clue. I haven’t IM’d in FOREVER! (5+ years!)

26. Are you someone’s best friend?
Yes.

27. What are you doing tomorrow?
Getting kids off to school, picking one up at 6pm from a final year book party and heading straight for the barn to say goodbye to Jacque one last time. *sniffle* I’m seriously going to be a wreck tomorrow night.

28. Where is your mom right now?
I would imagine she’s at home in her house about 25 minutes away.

29. Look to your left, what do you see?
A shelf containing a few layouts I’m working on (just need to add journaling) and a stack of photographs I need to work on.

30. What color is your watch?
silver but i hardly ever wear it.

31. What do you think of when you think of Australia ?
I think I want to go there. I’ve always wanted to visit Australia!

32. Would you consider plastic surgery?
I don’t think so. I don’t know. I really cannot see myself ever doing it. But I always say, never say never.

33. What is your birthstone?
I think it’s a peridot. I hate those things. They are like lime green and yuck. I was born at the tail end of August so I adopted the sapphire which is my favorite. Most jewelry that I own that has a diamond or gem is Sapphire.

34. Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit thedrive thru?
Depends on the day. I prefer the drive thru.

35.How many kids do you want?
Pretty happy with the five I have. We don’t need anymore.

36. Do you have a dog?
Yes. Max.

37. Last person you talked to on the phone?
Jacque. (can you see a theme here yet? I’m obsessing over this stupid thing)

38. Have you met anyone famous?
Yes, many. I want to school with Scott Foley, a childhood friend is the nephew of Kevin Kline, I’ve met Leann Rimes several times and there are more but those are the ones I’ve known more met the most.

39. Any plans today?
It’s already 2pm and the only plans that I can think of are that Mike’s girls will go have dinner with their mom tonight. Otherwise, nope. Maybe my two and I will go grab some dinner and I won’t have to cook. So scratch #7.

40. How many states have you lived in?
Yowser. Let’s see. Missouri, Florida, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Arkansas (though it was temp), Texas.

41. Ever go to college?
Yes. Early Childhood Education was my major.

42. Where are you right now?
Sitting at my scrap table staring out the window periodically and answering this insanely long questionairre. Might I remind myself, I didn’t HAVE to do it.

43. Biggest annoyance in your life right now?
Having to find a new barn and trainer for my daughter to ride with. Other than that, my neighbors are really annoying. LOL

44. Last song listened to?
Jeremy Camp’s “Hear My Voice”. I’m hearing it Jeremy and its amazing!

46. Are you allergic to anything?
Cleaning toilets? Nah, not really.

47. Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time?
Probably my paddock boots, so comfy and they go with almost anything. Weird, I know. Except I’m usually not WEARING shoes.

48. Are you jealous of anyone?
I try hard not to be jealous, but of course it does come up from time to time. The things I can think of are usually talent related. Writing and scrapbooking come to mind.

50. Is anyone jealous of you?
Probably not. Don’t care either way.

51. What time is it?
2:03pm

52. Do any of your friends have children?
Well, Amie mentioned this question is ridiculous and I have to agree. Of course many of my friends have children. Of course my best friend does not. She wants a baby, but does not have one yet. And yes, she’s my exact age. I keep offering her one of mine.

53. Do you eat healthy?
I try. I really do. I tried a cool Macaroni and Cheese last night with Carrot puree. The kids gobbled it up and had absolutely NO idea. In fact, my pickiest eater (the reason I am doing it) had THREE servings. So I’m thinking this puree thing is definitely a plus. (check out The Sneaky Chef – it’s an AWESOME book – love ya Missy, you’ve made my life so much easier!)

54. What do you usually do during the day?
Hmm… drink coffee, write, scrapbook, homeschool my son (thankfully that’s about over for the school year), run errands, clean and hang out with my friend (sometimes all at once – so maybe not)

55. Do you hate anyone right now?
I do not hate people. I strongly dislike a neighbor.

56. Do you use the word ‘hello’ daily?
Yes. Except it’s usually in the drawn out DUH sorta way. “Do you want me to clean this up mom?” “Helllllooooo?” LOL

58. How old will you be turning on your next birthday?
The big 3-5

59. Have you ever been to Six Flags?
A lot. Yes. My mother lives literally five minutes from Six Flags over Mid America. So yeah we went a lot when we were kids. Is it even still called that or is it now Six Flags St. Louis? Anyway, yes. Lots.

60. How did you get one of your scars?
Well, I have a brand new one. So let’s share the story. My 10 year old daughter decided to argue with me one evening while I was preparing dinner. It was over something that had NOTHING to do with her and that she literally knew nothing about. I was tense and irritated, I lifted a hot boiling pot of water to drain it and my forarm hit the pot for a second too long. I have a nice pinkish brownish scar leftover. That was over a month ago. *sigh* Thanks sweetie.

Just another fabulous survey/questionairre I borrowed stole from Amie’s blog.

1. Do you like blue cheese? I liked Amie’s answer best, but NO.

2. Have you ever smoked? yes. not exactly proud of it.

3. Do you own a gun? no. thank goodness.

4. What flavor Kool Aid is your favorite? I’m not a huge kool-aid nut. I prefer iced tea or flavored water but not actually kool-aid. If I do make it, I tend to use FAR less sugar and a bit more water. The blue ice lemonade one is my favorite.

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointment? Sometimes. Not normally.

6. What do you think of hot dogs? As long as they are 100% beef I am totally okay with them and they taste great. Anything else – ick!

7. Favorite Christmas movie? The Christmas Shoes

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? coffee

9. Can you do push ups? not even a little bit, I’d fall flat on my face.

10. What’s your favorite piece of jewelry? I don’t own a ton of jewelry, but my favorite piece would probably have to be a 14kt gold necklace my mother bought me several years ago with a son and a daughter charm on it. It is prettier than any other I’ve ever seen anywhere.

11. Favorite hobby? Do I even need to answer this?

12. Do you have A.D.D.? No, but I have A.D.H.D., non medicated of course.

13. What’s your weight? 160 and trying to lose about fifteen pounds.

14. Middle name? Nicole – long story.

15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment. I should be writing and not filling in this survey. I have three projects I want to do right now. Why is she crying? (watching tv)

16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? coffee, diet coke and water.

17. Current worry? our horseback riding trainer is leaving and going to train with the very famous and amazing Andre Dignelli. My daughter wants to leave her barn and find a new place. *sigh*

18. Current hate right now? I try so hard not to hate. But really, I hate that our Jaq (our trainer) is leaving. (but Jacque I’m REALLY happy for you!!)

19. Favorite place to be? Yikes. Well I used to say the barn, but after last nights events – not so much. So now I would have to say the lake.

20. How did you bring in the New Year? Hanging out with my family and my kids. I think only three of them made it to midnight.

21. Where would you like to go? Montana. We’ll be there someday.

22. Name three people who will complete this? I’m not the “tagging” kind usually, so I just hope someone will steal it and try it out.

23. Do you own slippers? no. I want some, but I go barefoot so much (not a big fan of shoes or socks) I don’t need them.

24. What color shirt are you wearing right now? black

25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? I don’t own any, so not sure. I bet it would be nice though – so silky and cool.

26. Can you whistle?  Yup! In and out.

27. Favorite color? wedgewood blue. Isn’t that weird?

28. Would you be a pirate? Probably not.

29. What songs do you sing in the shower? Anything that comes to mind. Usually Contemp. Christian music, that’s weird isn’t it? Worshipping God in the shower. LOL

30. Favorite Girl’s Name? Brielle

31. Favorite boy’s name? Nicholas

32. What’s in your pocket right now? Not a thing.

33. Last thing that made you laugh? my friend’s daughter Brittany and her sarcastic comments. They truly make me laugh. (she 18 so it’s okay)

34. Best bed sheets as a child? I think the only sheets I ever had were white or pink. So maybe the pink ones?

35. Worst injury you’ve ever had? I’ve dislocated my right elbow a total of nine times. If I do it again I need to have surgery to have a pin put in it. Thankfully, it’s been 15 years since I had a problem. YAY!

36. Do you love where you live? Do you mean – The house? The City? The State? The Neighborhood? Uhm, the house is alright, the neighborhood sucks (its my neighbor mostly), I love living in St. Charles and I’d never leave Missouri again unless we buy a ranch in Montana.

37. How many TVs do you have in your house? Three that are plugged in. Otherwise I think we have like 7 of them.

38. Who is your loudest friend? Amy. But she knows it. And I love her.

39. How many dogs do you have? One. His name is Max.

40. Does someone have a crush on you? Well, I certainly hope that Mike has a crush on me. We’ve been together for too long to find out he doesn’t. Maybe that guy at the gas station that gives me free sodas.

41. What is your favorite book? Love almost anything Nicholas Sparks. Favorite I think was The Notebook.

42. What is your favorite candy? Reeses peanut butter cups.

43. Favorite Sports Team? Sports? Yeah. No. Thank you.

44. What song do you want played at your funeral? I’ve gone through a lot, but so far one that I really, really love is called “Please Remember” by LeAnn Rimes. There are a few others, but definitely that one.

Thirteen Ways To Remind Your Kids You Love Them.

1. Give compliments often. Focus on the positive and not the negative so much. Be sure your kids know you are proud of them often.

2. Pull out the scrapbooks, photo albums and pictures. Sit with your children and look through them. If you want a sweet story, check out this one. A Touching Moment With Scrapbook in Hand.

3. Allow your children more freedom in making their own choices. For younger children, you might offer them a few choices and let them select one. Older children you might allow them to make a choice and see where it takes them. It teaches your children to make good choices, it allows for them to feel just slightly indpendent and in control of their lives, and makes them realize that you respect them.

4. Eat dinner together as a family as often as you can. Take turn sharing stories about the good things and funny things that happened that day. Try to avoid the negative turn of events that might have occured, focus on happy times.

5. Send in a little notes and special treats in their lunches to school. Sometimes I hide little notes in their books and they find them a day or two later. They are always so excited to come home and tell me they found it (even our 13 year old girl).

6. Wear their creations. Display their creations. Hang good tests and homework assignments on the fridge. Wear that tacky, multi colored mismatched bracelet that they made you. Display their art creations where everyone can see. We choose one special art piece at the end of the year and have it framed. It goes on the wall. Yes, our wall is filled with oddly colored, brightly colored pictures, some of which are totally indistinguishable (I have no idea what that purple blob is with yellow and red dots and stripes, but someone made it and it was special to them).

7. Start fresh each day. Don’t reflect on past transgressions. Allow your children to feel like each day is a new day.

8. Hug them whenever you can. Kiss them whenever you can. The old saying “children grow up so fast”, is truer than you might think right now. Teach them affection while reminding them how much you love them.

9. Attend special events at school whenever possible. We have trouble because with five kids its so difficult to attend everything, but we ALWAYS go to anything that is awarding them something, anything that they have worked really hard at (art fair, band concerts, music concerts), and with the holiday parties and other school wide events, we go but we split up our time between classrooms.

10. Don’t point out everytime your child makes a mistake. If they are doing something wrong, try saying “Why don’t you try it this way and see if that helps.” Allow them to decide whether or not they want to try it that way (unless they are in danger of hurting themselves). Showing them new ways to do things is our job as a parent, but allowing them the freedom to decide how they want to do it is also important.

11. Play with your children. Get down on their level and enjoy them. Read to them. Play Barbies or Power Rangers with them. Play a board game. Do a craft with them. Spend time with them. Time is a valuable way that your children will learn that they are loved. They will not remember all the material items you buy, but they will definitely remember the times that you played with them.

12. Bend the rules once in awhile. Surprise them with an elaborate breakfast for dinner, or take them to the park at 7:30pm to play for an hour before bed, allow them to dance and play in the rain, allow them to get muddy once in awhile. Change your rules from time to time to allow it. Be sure and explain to them that it is a special time and that just this once you will bend the rules. This way they don’t expect it.

13. Tell your kids “I love you” at least once a day. Communication is key and always remember that actions do speak louder than words.

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