LOL/LOL: A few more questions

I hope you’re enjoying this series as much as I am. I don’t know about you, but I definitely feel like I know me better already. :-) This will be our last interview-type post—next week we’ll start to focus on those burning questions of motherhood, like “How have I NOT pulled out all of my hair yet?”

I’ll be honest, I had a hard time with a lot of these questions, but I’ve answered them the best that I can. And as always, don’t forget to visit Zehlahlum Family for Jamey’s answers and to post your own answers either as a comment here or in your own blog and put a link in a comment!

1. If you weren't a SAHM what do you think you'd miss the most?
I think I would miss the opportunities that I have to build fun memories with my kids. Trips to the zoo, the local orchetra’s “Concerts for Kids” that we go to every year, even weekly pajama days would all be a big void if I couldn’t be home with them.

2. Do you have a favorite family ritual?

Believe it or not, car rides. When it’s just me and the kids we typically just listen to the radio or Adventures in Odyssey or something, but when my husband is with us we have a blast together. We sing, we play “I’m thinking of something” (basically “20 Questions” but a bit more little-kid friendly), we tell jokes. It’s really a lot of fun.

3. Are you the only cook in your house?

Weeeeellllllllllllll… no, not really, but I probably do about 95% of the cooking. Jon enjoys cooking, and we especially like to cook together, but most of the time it’s just me. I do, however, belong to a Supper Swap group, which is a fabulous thing. You can learn more about it from Trish Berg, the true Supper Swap authority. Anyway, thanks to the Supper Swap, I really only have to cook 1 or 2 nights most weeks.

4. Are you a good housekeeper?
That is a loaded question in this house. My dear husband is borderline OCD and a super-duper neat freak. Rarely is our house up to his ideal, especially with three kids. But I think I do a fairly decent job… or at least I did before Roo came along. How anyone can maintain a clean and organized house with an infant in it is beyond me.

5. What do you and your husband do for couple time?
Twice a month we have a date night, which varies from hanging out in his office and me scrapbooking/blogging/Facebooking while he works to running errands together to having a real actual date with dinner and maybe even a movie. Apart from that, right now we just try to carve out time to keep up with each other, even if it’s just a couple of phone calls during the day. He has been insanely busy at work, so time is a scarce commodity.

6. What's the one parenting rule that you never break?
Oh gosh, that’s a tough one. I learned long ago to throw most of my parenting absolutes out the window. I guess the two things I strive to do no matter what are to apologize when I’m wrong (I don’t know if there is anything more humbling than apologizing to your children.) and to make sure my kids know that I love them no matter what. It is very common for me to tell Monkey that I love him, and for him to reply, “And you’ll never stop loving me, right?”

7. What do you want your kiddos to grow up knowing?
Many things, really. I want them to know Jesus as their personal Savior. First and foremost. Everything else is a distant second. But within the scope of our family, I go back to my previous answer—I want them to know that they are loved unconditionally.

8. What role does faith play in your life?
My faith isn’t just a role in my life, it is… it is the substance in which my life is wrapped. I make no claims to have it all together or to be the expert—I struggle (greatly) in these areas every day—but I want to parent the way God parents me, to forgive as God has forgiven me, and to live my life for God’s pleasure and not that the approval of others.

9. What's the most important item in your home?
My word, I’m not letting Jamey pick the questions anymore! ;-) Just kidding, Jamey! Honestly, I just can’t think of a thing in my house that I couldn’t live without. Yes, I know that wasn’t really the question. I guess just coming off of my answers from the last two questions, I’d have to say the most important item in our home is my Bible!

10. Are there any more kids in your future?
There are no more kids in my womb’s future, at least not that I’m planning. But I have always wanted to adopt, and while some events of the last 5 years have made that less concrete…… it’s still a definite possibility. Someday.

11. Where do you see yourself five years from now?
As I think I mentioned before, ever since Roo was diagnosed, I have become much more of a short-term planner. I really have no idea what life will look like for us in five years. I would love to be speaking to groups of women/moms or teaching some kind of class or Bible study. Maybe have a book out/in process. But maybe I’ll be so wrapped up in therapy and preparing Roo for school and doctor’s appointments and who-knows-what that I’ll have to put those things on the back burner for a while longer, and that’s OK too.

So there you have it—me in a 1,000 words or less! Coming soon: Pictures of our non-beach beach vacation! :-)