i am going to start with some of the easy questions… and let my thoughts swirl a little longer on the deeper issues. 🙂
Q: HOW TALL ARE YOU? HOW TALL IS YOUR HUSBAND? (because your kids seem so tall!)
A: i am 5’7″ and Craig is 6’4″ and our kids are not short.
Q: WHAT WAS THAT GREEN THING IN YOUR COFFEE PHOTO?
A: it is a frother. it is at World Market for $2.99. (also at ikea or probably anywhere)
i use that coconut almond milk in my coffee but you can choose whatever “cream” you like.
pour it into a cup and then put the frother in the cream and turn it on.
it spins around and makes the cream into “whipped cream”
then you pour that into your coffee and you have a latte.
OR you can do that all in the same cup if your mug is big enough.
i usually buy two frothers at a time when i purchase them because my kids can’t seem to resist trying to make the spinning stop when it’s on… and they break them.
they are also AWESOME for hot chocolate (which is also why it gets broken…)
but worth it for $2.99 every month or so.
Q: DO YOU NEED A LOT OF SLEEP?
A: well i am sure that i do.
BUT i have a terrible habit of staying up really late.
every night.
even when i have to be up early with the kids or things to do… my brain just doesn’t shut down.
so i just go with it… push through the sleepiness the next day.
but when i get to sleep late… i do it.
since we got stanley at christmas there is rarely a day to sleep in anymore.
that nerd is awake at dawn and whines little annoying fake cries to get out of his kennel until you go.
it’s A W F U L.
and i say all kinds of unpleasant things in my half sleep in the dark at him.
it is one of my least favorite things ever. not kidding.
🙂
Q: WHERE DID YOU GET THAT CAT MUG ON INSTAGRAM?
A: It’s from Allen Designs! It’s so dang cute! You need one.
and the shopper bags she sells…. MY FAVORITE!
i use them now for all my groceries and they hold a ton and they are strong & sturdy.
and everyone says “those bags are so cool?! where did you get these?!”
every single time.
Q: WHAT IS YOUR FULL NAME?
A: Megan 🙂
Q: HAVE YOU EVER WATCHED GILMORE GIRLS?
A: I actually have never seen one minute of that show?!
that’s probably weird right?
i barely watch tv at all anymore though so i most likely won’t start it either.
i watch Parenthood, Grey’s Anatomy, Madmen, Saturday Night Live and Jimmy Fallon a few times a week maybe.
the first four i ONLY watch on dvr.
jimmy is usually live while getting ready for bed.
and i haven’t even watched any of the new shoes yet that started 2 weeks ago!
im not against tv… there just isn’t time?!
Q: CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR KIDS IN THE YOUNGER YEARS?
A: actually… i have been blogging since annie was tiny.
so you can go back into the archives (bottom right sidebar) and read the blog backwards kind of like a book.
i get caught up doing that sometimes.
and usually start to cry.
ha ha ha
so that is my answer… i did write about what they were like in the younger years.
and it’s fun to go back and read it.
(and man i miss those rainbow crazy days…)
Q: DO YOUR KIDS PLAY ANY INSTRUMENTS?
A: right now talby is playing percussion in band class.
in the past they have all taken piano.
lauren took guitar lessons in high school & sean played the saxophone for a school year.
i do not have the discipline to make them practice. i am not that mom.
but we have provided the opportunity to play anything they wanted.
and i figured if we had one of them LOVE something then we would know how much effort to put back into it too.
none of them loved any of those things.
i could’ve made them continue but really… if they don’t love it in the beginning i don’t think they are going to love it a few years down the road after a million hours of practice? i don’t know… maybe they would? it’s hard to keep up on it!
i just want them to find THEIR thing… not what i want to be their thing.
Q: HAVE YOU ALWAYS BEEN ARTISTIC?
A: Yes. 🙂
i was always encouraged to draw or create by my parents..jpg)
and late at night (again with that habit) i would draw and draw.
my favorite subject in every grade every year was art.
i took it every elective all year round.
i was a… high energy… loud mouthed… rowdy…some might even say “difficult” student.
but not in art class.
never in art class.
art was MINE.
and the teachers were nice.
i would have suffocated without art class all those years.
Q: WHAT DOES CRAIG DO FOR A LIVING?
A: He a commercial banker.
my kids ask him all the time “did you crunch the numbers dad?”
he loves people, numbers and business-y stuff.
we are complete opposites.
but that is working for us so far.
he has a huge glass marker board in his office and all i want to do when i am there is draw a giant mural on it.
i can promise you 100% he has never thought that one time in 9 years.
ha ha ha
Q: HOW DO YOU STORE THAT BUNTING YOU MAKE?
A: I don’t. i make it and hang it or make it and sell it. 🙂
but if i were going to store it…. i would wrap it around a piece of cardboard.
that is how we sell it in the shop.
Q: DO YOU EVER WISHED YOU HAD HOMESCHOOLED? (or felt guilty about not?)
A: never.
it is not my area of gifting.
i love school for my kids. i love that they get to see their friends there.
i love that they can learn from so many different people.
i love that they have to learn how to deal with teachers they may not particularly like.
but that they also get to experience teachers that change their lives in a great way too.
my kids LOVE sports and being on a team.
they are so active and competitive and athletic.
it makes for a LOT of activities for us to go to but to watch them excel and push themselves and have fun is worth it.
AND we enjoy the games. we truly do.
and ME? i love being alone a few hours a day.
i wasn’t sure at first when my youngest went to kindergarten but i quickly got used to the beautiful silence.
i adore being with them and would choose that over anything but i also like getting groceries by myself so i can focus… trying on clothes in a dressing room alone… eating lunch with my friends… basically doing whatever i want from 7:30 – 3:30!
not to say that you can’t do those things as a homeschool mom.
or that homeschooling is wrong in ANY way.
but i know me. i know my limits. i know what i need personally to be a decent mom to my kids.
i WISH i had the desire to homeschool.
but it’s just not there… so i recognize that as a clear answer.
public school is the best fit for my family.
again: there is nothing wrong with homeschooling. it’s just not my desire or gift. 🙂
and i am not looking for anyone to convince me as to how i could do it.
it’s not happening.
jennifer Wood - Can you tell me a little bit about your decision to get lean and fit? You look wonderful and I’m entering this journey myself and I’m a little bit scared 😉
kristie Browning - a question i would like you to answer is about your work out clothes… where do you get them? which ones are the best quality for your$$? your favorites? thanks! LOVE YOUR BLOG!
all the bright colors and the pics make me happy just looking at them!
Trista - just wondering where you got that cardigan your wearing with those stripped pjs from old navy? tried to ask on instagram but it wouldn’t allow, and i’m technically challenged.
Katy Apicello - Loved this set of questions and answers!
misty - love reading your answers !
I played the flute from 5th grade until my senior year. I hated it so much. I never practiced & I would cry every year {in my room} when it was time to choose classes because I didn’t get to take the electives I wanted to take because band was always on my schedule. My senior year I think my band director just felt so sorry for me because my heart was NOT in it & he let me spend the hour doing homework for other classes.
Because of that I have promised myself my kids can try any sport, instrument, activity they want & I’ll never force them to do it. My only rule is they must finish the season so they don’t let their team down. I was so excited to read your answer to that question. I hope parents take note & remember that if they think about forcing their kids to do do an activity their heart isn’t in. 🙂
Deb Meyers - these were great! and the marker board comment……… oh my word. Incidentally, my husband is an entertainer personality, in sales, and Engineers are his least favorite clients because they never fly by the seat of their pants and buy things on impulse 🙂
I am Sarah Braverman and my daughter is Amber. She is 17, and just learned about Gilmore Girls and so I anticipate what we’ll be doing during snowdays this year 🙂
Holly - All 7 seasons of Gilmore Girls is on Netflix now. They were added Oct. 1st. Lauren Graham’s character in Gilmore Girls has some similarities to her Parenthood character. So if you like her on Parenthood, you would probably like her on Gilmore Girls. Although now she has much better hair.
Kirsten J - Excellent answers…and comments, too. I’m with Lisa. Well said. And I like Lauren Graham better as Sarah. GG’s just not my favorite. But you should try it. And. I wanted to ask above but knew it would get lost…do you have bugs on your weeds?….errrr….flowers? It seems like anything I cut and bring in has bugs. Yuck.
Jacci - I think I’m the only homeschooler to comment so far. We have 5 kids, too, and we’ve been homeschooling for 8 years now. Just wanted to say I loved your answer, too! 🙂
Tracie M. - I have an aeorlatte frother from Bed, Bath, and Beyond that was a little more expensive, but pretty sturdy. I think it was $20. My best friend gifted one that we had for almost 2 years and then my daughter broke it. I bought another one about a year ago. We love it!
Jen - And……..popping back to say, you MUST watch “Gilmore Girls”! I believe all the seasons are now on Netflix-or they’re coming sometime this month. I think you would LOVE it!
Now, I won’t go so far as Kimberly and say it’s better than Parenthood or Mad Men (that’s kinda like comparing apples and oranges as they are all very different shows) but it is WONDERFUL! I have two girls (now 22 and 19) and watching GG together are some of our best memories. And we STILL quote many lines from it!
Caroline - Thanks for being so transparent. This marks my second comment ever. I commented once when you mentioned Andy Stanley’s sermons because I work for him, and felt the need to comment. 🙂 I don’t remember how I found your blog, but my sisters and I talk about it often. I have read since Annie was small…and with my own little one, treasure the posts, when they are so small. Thanks again. (I’m not crafty, so my sisters and I also joke that we wouldn’t make it to a Craft Weekend because we would only sit around and drink the margs as we learned from everyone else there.)
Carol S - Alrightee then! Interesting Q&A.
Maggie - Thank you for sharing your stories with us, Meg. I truly love them!
I’m just curious, as a public school teacher, why everyone feels the need to explain why they aren’t homeschooling. I truly appreciate the bloggers (Meg, Shannan) who stand up for us public school teachers. Thank you.
Rhiannon - I will say this about the music thing….not that’s it’s something you should ever regret. 🙂
My dad (and mom, but mostly dad) MADE us play an instrument when we were kids. We had to stick with it. It’s probably one of the only things he insisted on. I HATED it when I was still in grade school. I liked it when I was in junior high. And I loved it in high school. Many times throughout my adult life I am now thankful for that and I wish desperately I was still playing. I miss it. A lot. 🙂
Flower Patch Farmgirl - That thing about the marker board is making me LOL.
ashley gray - I rarely comment, but I read every day & loved your answers. I look forward to the next group of answers!
Kimberly - The q & a is a great idea– everyone asked questions that I would have written, so I didn’t add to the list! But, I do have to chime in and say, someday when you get a chanceand have some free time and need something to watch– you’ve GOT to try Gilmore Girls. Watch it with Talby and Annie when they are a little bit older.(like high school age) You will all 3 love it– (& it’s intelligently written, funny, witty, with great characters, and waaaay better than all of the shows you mentioned that you watch. just sayin….)
Dawn - Love the picture of you as a child! Soo cute!
Julie - Wow – loving these questions and answers so far. Looking forward to the next 12. No pressure.
Lisa - I too love your answer to Homeschooling….I have met my best friends through my daughters’ school ( we all volunteered and did PTA together) and can’t imagine all I would have missed out on if I had not had my kids in public school. I actually now work for the school district my kids went to school in, so it also provided me with a career when I got divorced and had to go back to work. I admire moms who do it, but I personally feel that there are so many +’s to public school, including the sports and social aspect, I never considered anything else. I just stayed very involved all the years they were in school….PTA & PTO vp, pres., chairperson for committees, Room Mom, etc. Met so many great people over the years from it!
Jen - A. I’ve never seen Gilmore Girls either.
B. My response to homeschooling would have been exactly like yours. Hat’s off to those who do it, but public schooling is better for our family. Our girls are much better off that way.
C. (Random) I know you’re around Chapman, KS. Have I ever told you that my grandma is from Chapman? She is slightly famous there. She was a Women’s Air Force Service Pilot in WWII. She’ll be 96 this month and still lives on her own. You Kansas women are tough! I love seeing your sunflower pictures (Grandma and I are in Ohio) because it reminds me of Grandma and Kansas. 🙂
D. Hope you’re having a wonderful weekend!
Angela - Your comment about Craig’s marker board CRACKED. ME. UP. My husband is an engineer and I teach preschool at a zoo, and I swear, doing half the stuff I spend my days doing would never, ever cross his mind.
Jen - I have NEVER EVER NOT ONCE FOR EVEN A NANO SECOND wanted to homeschool. Nope! Not once! I’m happy for anyone who enjoys it. Go for it! But it’s not for our family. I, too, enjoy my time and I think that’s a totally normal part of parenthood/motherhood and growing up! I raise them to GO OUT AND BE GREAT! And I’m happy to give them that opportunity when they are 5 or so! 🙂
Interestingly, that’s also my biggest issue with many (not all!) homeschooling families: the idea that homeschooling is the ONLY way and it’s wrong NOT to homeschool. Nope. Not buying it. And what so many don’t realize is that it’s that VERY attitude that turns so many people off to the very thing they are hoping to advocate! Okay-off my soapbox.
Oh, and where do you put Stanley’s crate?? I think I’d find a place as far away as possible so I couldn’t hear the whining! 🙂
Jill - Love the homeschool answer – honest, respectful to the point. I feel EXACTLY as you do.
xo~