t.m.i. Tuesday

The Truth About Me According to My Family
What started out as a silly little survey everyone was posting on Facebook turned out to be very revealing. Who'd have thunk it? My initial thought was to ask my youngest two the interview questions because the little ones always give those endearing, sweet, innocent answers, but then after hearing their answers, I was hooked. I had to see what the others had to say too. And then, because I really couldn't stop myself, I asked my husband the questions too (about me, not his mom). I really am a glutton for punishment!
See what you think. . .
1. What is something mom always says to you?

• Olivia (4): That'll do donkey. (a quote from Shrek--funny, I do say that.)
• Patia (6): Be a good girl.
• Levi (10): Think before you ask questions.
• Madeline (13): Madeline!
• Jasmine (16): Clean your room!
• John : Honey, would you (fill in the blank)

2. What makes mom happy?

• Pretty much each answer had to do with them doing what they were supposed to do, particularly without being told to do it.
• Jasmine: Coffee (SO true!!)
• John: a clean house (which explains why I'm rarely happy?)

3. What makes mom sad?

• Olivia: not listening to you.
• Patia: when we don't obey. (are you beginning to see a pattern here?)

4. How does your mom make you laugh?

• Olivia: jokes.
• Patia: saying something really funny.
• Jasmine: sarcasm.
• John: she doesn't. (okay, now that one made me mad.)

5. What was your mom like as a child?

• Olivia: brown hair
• Patia: pretty, smart (she might be my favorite)
• John: sneaky (he's right. . .)

6. How old is your mom?

• Olivia: 6--I don't know--14?
• Patia: 32 (I love her more and more all the time.)
• Everyone else was close or right

7. How tall is your mom?

• Olivia: wait, I wanna measure you real quick! (she got a tape measure out of the drawer) 4! I say, "4 what?" She says, "just 4."
• Patia: (she also measured first) 30, just 30
• Everyone else guessed close. Inquiring minds want to know. . . 4'11".

8. What is her favorite thing to do?

• Olivia: exercise!
• Patia: do grocery lists, no workout! (yes to the first, no to the last)
• Madeline: correct people.
• Levi: cut out coupons

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?

• Olivia, Patia, Levi: clean up.
• Madeline: go out to eat. (when the numbers are down, we are more likely to go out.)
• Jasmine: celebrate!

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?

• Mostly the standard fare. . .model, rock star. . .yeah, right!
• Jasmine: Saving money.
• John: writing. (okay, he redeemed himself a little on this one, but he rarely reads anything I write.)

11. What is your mom really good at?

• Olivia: exercising.
• Patia: writing. (that's my girl!)
• Levi: smart shopping (good boy!)
• Madeline: see question #8 (she really does have my sense of humor)
• John: being a mom (he's just sucking up, now)

12. What is your mom not very good at?

• Olivia: painting. (she means that I don't let them paint or paint with them very often)
• Patia: playing games with us. ( I want to cry)
• Levi: sports in general. (that is true, sadly in my competition driven family, true. . .)
• Madeline: Guitar Hero. (also true, but I care not)
• Jasmine: Mowing. (true again, never ever done it!)
• John: having patience. (alas, true again.)
• Good news: we had to skip this one and come back to it. They all struggled to think of what I'm bad at. But all were true, some sad, all true.

13. What does your mom do for her job?

• Olivia: get toys for other little kids. (I'm Santa)
• Patia: work at a toy store.
• Older kids: they knew this one of course1
• John: play on the computer. (ass)

14. What is your mom's favorite food?

• Nothing fun to report here, they mostly picked things we had on our menu in the last week. Short attention spans, I suspect.

15. What makes you proud of your mom?

• Olivia: because you do your jobs good and that you love me. (she is sweet)
• Patia: you always love us. (I'm glad she knows this)
• Levi: you take us to church every Sunday. (Thank you! Finally a good answer out of these kids!)
• Madeline: you don't embarrass me in public. (Clearly I need to up my game!)
• Jasmine: your attempts to help me solve my relationship problems.
• John: being a Christian mom. (wife?)

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?

• Olivia: Cinderella (Cinderella! Cinderella! All I hear is Cinderella!)
• Patia: Daphne
• Madeline: Mr. Crab because he likes to save money. (Jazz says he's greedy. . .I'm not greedy.)
• Levi: Betty Boop (She's hot!)
• Jasmine: Belle because you like to read. (And because I'm pretty?)

17. What do you and your mom do together?

• Olivia: homeschool preschool
• Patia: read
• Levi & Jasmine: eat together
• Madeline: ride in the car
• John: go to church
• Bad news: based on how long it took them to come up with these answers, we aren't spending enough quality time together. Riding in the car? Are you kidding me?

18. How are you and your mom the same?

• Olivia: same skin
• Patia: we're girls
• Levi: we both like stuff organized
• Madeline: big lips
• Jasmine: we are stubborn (she is)
• John: we both want to raise good kids

19. How are you and your mom different?

• Olivia: we don't have the same hair
• Patia: you are bigger, I am smaller
• Levi: I like to play in the snow and you don't (cold and wet are not my thing)
• Madeline: I'm more free spirit, you are more regulation (she would have the free spirit thing totally in common with her mom)
• Jasmine: I'm (she) more argumentative (no argument here!)

20. How do you know your mom loves you?

• Olivia: kissing (I do love me some kisses!)
• Patia: by what you say
• Levi: you take care of me and provide me with stuff (Madeline echoed this)
• Jasmine: you keep me on track (I try)
• John: you put up with me (and he puts up with me)

21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?

• Olivia: grocery shopping
• Patia: grocery store, now workout at church
• Levi: church or anywhere with Nancy (excellent point)
• Madeline: church

This survey revealed three major things to me:

1. I'm doing something right--they see that I value a dollar and want to make each one stretch. They have all helped me clip and sort coupons. They see the list making process and they know I do my best shopping BY MYSELF!
2. They value the basics. We provide for their needs, take them to church, and give kisses.
3. I need to have more fun with my kids. Their childhoods are flying by and I might just be too busy looking at grocery ads and making lists to really enjoy them. Painting, anyone?

t.m.i. Tuesday

So, almost anyone reading this at this point knows me fairly well, but just for the sake of posterity, I'm going to give you the scoop on my crazy family tree. Just so you understand the format of how I'm sharing this info, I remember learning that when you are giving some one feedback, it is good to make a "positive sandwich." Meaning, say something positive, give your criticism, say something positive. Nice, huh? It is supposed to take the sting out of the criticism (which is clearly constructive) and end on a positive note. Keeping that in mind, here is the run down on my husband and 8 (yes, EIGHT) kids.

1. Steven (22) Sweet, unemployed, making me a grandma again (#2)
2. Michael (20) Funny, attending college?, has his own posse
3. Jade (18) Fiercely loyal, fiercely stubborn, has a fiercely tall boyfriend
4. Jasmine (16) Currently making all A's in school, creates a mess faster than anyone I know, gives me her hand-me-downs
5. Madeline (13) Very smart, no common sense, will ask almost anyone almost anything
6. Levi (10) Good, good boy, also completely devoid of common sense, keeps a tidy room (mostly)
7. Patia (p-long a-shu) (6) Passionate (her word) about singing and dancing, sneaky, has her dad's dimples (DO NOT ask my mom where dimples come from)
8. Olivia (4) Sweet little voice, unrealistically afraid of being left for even a second, LOVES to talk to me ALL DAY LONG...
9. Last, but not least, is John (40) Good Christian father, very little phone etiquette, loves me just the way I am (I know, hard to believe, right?)

So, there you have it--that's the scoop. On the off chance that anyone who hasn't seen me since high school is reading this, think back--you know I didn't begin having kids at the tender age of 13. I married a man with 4 kids. I know what you are thinking--and yes I had quit drinking by then. And although there are some days I consider taking up the habit again, I instead find solace in a cup of coffee, a quick cry, and an encouraging word from a friend. Besides, better to practice parenting on someone else's kids, right? We also have 2 kids together, Patia and Olivia. That brings the kid-count to 6 if you are keeping track. The last two we added 2 1/2 years ago after their parents passed away with in 6 months of each other. Madeline and Levi are John's niece and nephew from his older sister, Christine. We had a 10 year age gap to fill in between Jasmine and Patia, so that worked out nicely. It has been interesting, challenging, and a complete blessing to add them to our family.

I'm not sure t.m.i. is an accurate heading for this blog, but it sure is a lot of info to digest. Knowing what you now know about each of them, feel free to take the quiz below! Next Tuesday I promise something a little less lengthy and a little more scandalous. Ooohhh, ya! Of course, I will change the names to protect the innocent!

Tomorrow will be Word-Free Wednesday. And, yes Jeni, I completely plagiarised this from your blog. But like any good plagiariser, I changed it just enough to make it my own! Since I am vowing not to use any words tomorrow--here's the caption for the picture you will see:

"My dirty little secret."