what are your favorite blogs?
here are a few of my faves in NO particular order:
julie ashley PW shauna kimberlee nic michelle laura *e* tara jasmine kelle wendy
sarah carissa megan jess elizabeth crystal melissa edie jeanne elisa amy
julie heather amy karen aimee jenny kristin courtney heather marylea emily
how is that for a list?!
how long have you lived in that house?
6 years.
we moved here when annie was 2 weeks old.
it was planned for months.
we chose to leave the "city" life (chicago-land area) and move back to small town kansas.
just 25 minutes from where both craig and i grew up.
it was one of the best decisions we ever made for our family.
we haven't regretted it once.
this house was a real project.
our living room.
the playroom/guest room.
our kitchen.
talby and annie's room.
the yard had no grass. the walls were all wallpapered. and it was not pretty.
but craig and i could see the potential and it had GREAT bones.
and we've been working on it ever since.
who gave you the Meg quilt?
my super fabulous friend PAM who took me all the way to africa.
she was so excited to give it to me shouting "IT"S THE NAME OFF YOUR BLOG!!!"
i loved that by making it she got some time to be creative for HER.
that made me as happy as the gift itself…to know that she enjoyed her sewing time while making it.
it's so cool.
pam you are an artist!
how did you find time to be creative when your kids were little?
i just did it.
i had scrapbook stuff out everywhere all the time.
i painted a dresser in the middle of my living room.
i sewed on the dining room table.
i just did it.
i couldn't NOT do it….i have to make stuff.
(this was in 2008 with my scrapbooking girls)
go away with friends for a craft weekend…or have one at your house.
that was so good for my creativity and social needs when i had little ones at home.
find a retreat house near you or a rental and GO!
and sometimes…you don't even need to bring crafts.
when did you get to start sleeping through the night?
we finally got to sleep through the night on a regular basis about 2 years ago.
when annie turned four…everyone else was older and we realized we finally felt rested.
it was a 13 year stretch of rarely sleeping all night.
and we survived.
i think my bed is my favorite spot in my whole house!
i love to sleep….is that bad?
what does that say about me?
what kind of lens do you use….and camera…auto or manual?
i have a Canon 50D with a 24-105 lens.
i also have an 85mm lens but it's hard for me to use. i feel i have to be VERY far away when i use it.
like shouting to the families i am shooting…but it's a good lens.
i am ready for a new lens….if i can save my money long enough!
i had a 50 mm lens but i sold it to lauren when i sold her my Canon Rebel in April.
i used a canon rebel since i started this blog until this past april….it's a great camera!
i shoot in auto focus but will be switching to manual more this year….when i can….i hope.
can you tell us your birth stories?
absolutely!
here we go…..it was 1995…..on a dark and stormy night….
just kidding.
check out these lovely photos….
newborn lauren in the purple hat.
<— 1998 pregnant with scott.
my birth stories are more funny than anything else.
i had epidurals with all my girls and not with my boys.
i chose to have the epidurals because it hurt more than i could handle.
newborn scott.
sean just born.
2000 – 10 days before sean was born. talby just born.
my boys' labors were quick…both 5 hours total.
talby's was long (for me) and lauren and annie were induced….meaning longer HARD contractions.
i had no c-sections or horror stories of 30 hour labors or morning sickness.
i learned how to breath….on my 5th baby.
i never knew i was holding my breath during contractions.
but i was.
i never took a lamaze class….or had help from a lactation consultant…because i thought i knew it all.
and believe me….i did NOT.
chicago jen's mom was my labor and delivery nurse who taught me how to breath. i love her.
we barely made it to the hospital with sean….that was crazy.
craig had to lie down….on the delivery room floor.
it was all just too much…happening too fast…he was light headed…and then BOOM…there was SEAN!
craig and talby.
one of my most favorite photos…
talby liked to be held after her naps….this day we were cuddling on the porch swing…..with baby annie crowding in on our space!
2004 – my friends lisa and chicago jen were at annie's birth…..that was AWESOME!
talby and annie newborn annie.
with scott and with talby i went into the hospital before i was in real labor and came back home.
i wish i would've nursed longer but i had a crazy deep down reaction after a few weeks in with all of them
that i needed some breathing room!
i just couldn't nurse any longer.
i felt smothered.
but it didn't feel that way feeding them a bottle.
the shortest i lasted nursing was 2 weeks and the longest was 6 weeks.
i always wished i was one that could have made it a long time….but i wasn't.
are you going to stay home now that your kids are in school?
i sure hope so.
i have my photography business and this blog and the etsy shop to provide income so YES i will be staying home….if you can even call that staying home….because really….that is a lot of work!
what does craig do for a living?
he is a commercial banker.
and he looks good in a suit.
mmm-hmmm.
do you have any advice on raising teenagers?
pray.
stay consistent.
try not to yell or engage in arguments.
find a close friend to share your feelings, frustrations and fears with…don't hold back.
talking about things you are dealing with out loud makes a HUGE difference in how you feel.
with a trusted friend you can share ideas, get advice or let them show you a new angle of parenting.
it's safe.
that is all i have learned so far…..
was your house in a magazine?
not pictures but linda featured me as a Blogger in Flea Market Style in 2010.
and there was a blurb in Country Living in 2009 called My Country Life
do you have a kindle….do you like to read….what is your favorite book?
we got sean a kindle for christmas but i don't have one.
nor would i want one.
i am not a reader.
i wish i was….
my dad and my sister are crazy about books.
sean, lauren and talby are in love with reading.
i don't have the ability to concentrate that long.
i did read "A Long Way Gone" last year before going to africa and it was fascinating.
and so sad….and traumatic.
i think it was made so much more real because i went to that exact place the next week.
and met boys who would have been that same age.
it was a life changing book to me.
and of course….Crazy Love.
why do you workout in an assisted living facility?
🙂
i live in a small town.
i drive to a different really small town to workout because the gym there is nicer….and less expensive.
you can buy a membership there because it's the only place in that community as far as i know.
i like it because i am the youngest…it's REALLY quiet…and it's almost always nearly empty.
the machines have tv sound with headphones and i can watch will & grace on lifetime and no one cares.
or regis and kelly!
(this is not at my gym…this is a stock photo from google images…and these people look way more active than at my gym 🙂
if you want to feel strong and fast and young….workout at a retirement center!
seriously…it's helpful mentally.
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WOW that was a really long post!
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Angelo - I honestly can say i hate apple. i gueartne its a bunch of old dudes that just don’t understand.who ever buys this thing is mentally challenged. Its a bigge i touch. THATS IT.a few more features.im gonna say though, congratz on the iphone. but your next 10 products don’t need to be the exact same shit. its old. for fucks sake -.-
ann foster - have you read the blog
http://www.growing4.blogspot.com??
she seems like someone you might enjoy. i do.
love yours!!!everytime i read it.
ellen patton - Thanks for sharing some favorite blogs. I already read some of them but am happy to add a few more good ones to my reader.
Stephanie Howell - I just want to say i adore you. And you are fabulous. That is all.
amy d - ahh thanks neighbor…
you could’ve put all you kids baby pictures up with no names and i could still be able to tell which ones are which…they all look so much like their baby pics. i love all the different hair do’s through the years!
Shannon - That pic of Lauren was the same one you sent right after she was born. I can remember thinking she was so beautiful and I couldn’t wait to have my own.
Liz - Aw Meg! I’m so flattered to be listed w/ your favorite blogs. Seriously! What a treat first thing in the morning! And congrats for having your playroom shown on Lettered Cottage, you deserve it! I’m trying really hard to use that pic as a jumping off point for the nursery. 🙂
Linda - Great post! Love the before pictures! I would love to see like an old blueprint of your house. I have always just been in love with old Victorian styled homes. Thanks for the home tour! Awesome!
Sarah - Thank you thank you thank you. I am flattered seriously. And I loved seeing your pregnancy pictures. You look so cute.
Lorri - I have a sweet little Annie, too! Loved reading your blog tonight.
rebecca - these are my favorite blog posts that you do!! because everyone’s life is so interesting and different… i hope you don’t ever feel like the posts are too long, boring or self-focused. because i love them!!
Julie - I will never be able to fully appreciate the awesome awfulness that once was totally matching wallpaper and fabric in the guest/playroom. When the curtains were closed… it must have looked like a windowless make believe funhouse. To think that was chosen on purpose. For lots of money. That the owner was excited. Wow. Just wow. The good old days!!!!! Can’t believe how much you guys have done in six years. That is crazytown!!!
Jaime - Love your honesty in all your posts and I got teary eyed looking at all your “baby” pics. Beautiful. What a blessing it is to be a mom, and it goes too quickly.
Emily - thank you for your blog… you inspire me…
Brooke - It is so weird to read about someones life for over two years….everyday….and not know them. But to be honest, meg, if I saw you on the street, I think you would be so concerned. Because I would walk up to you and talk to you about talby and annie and sean and lauren….we would talk about craig and how he reminds me of my hubby (minus the banker), how I hope to stay home with my kids and continue blogging, create an etsy and continue to pursue photography, etc,etc,etc.
SO, here’s hoping to you never seeing me on the streets, since I live in Georgia. I love the dining room. It looks SUPER cute!
Elizabeth - I loved this post and never comment but had to on this one because I enjoyed it so much:) I’m so impressed with the transformations you have made on the house – SO Lovely! You wrote you “chose to leave the “city” life (chicago-land area) and move back to small town kansas” and we are currently seeking to do this same thing! We live in the Philadelphia area and are anxious to relocate near southwestern PA to be close to my husbands family and where he grew up. We’re having a heck of a time getting considered for jobs though since we are out of the area. Any tips on how you made the move happen?!? Would LOVE to hear them! I hope by the time my son starts school (he’s 2 1/2 now) to be near family in a permanent home:)
andrea - Love the q and a!
Do share more house pictures! I love seeing before and after and I get so much inspiration from you!! Love this blog, Meg!
Carol S. - Love the porch picture with Talby, sooooo sweet. Miss those snuggles! Great answers.
No.17 CherryTreeLane - the pictures of you pregnant and of the babies made me tear up. time moves so fast….
Mallory - I love what little I saw of your scrapbooks! Do you think you could post a couple layouts? I am always looking for inspiration. Love your blog!
HEATHER R. - I think I can see where you look like that Dixie Chick near Annie’s birthday. I love the pics of the house. I bet you know the best way to take down wallpaper, huh? 🙂
Sarah - love these answer posts! Fun fun! Great pics! Can we still ask questions??? LOL If so, have you ever posted pics of your chicago house? And, any plans for the awesome upstairs room??? That room is “BEAST”. HA!
amy jupin - meg, your birth stories and pictures are adorable. you look so young (and freckled and sun-kissed) and so in love with each of your babies. i couldn’t stop smiling and giggling, looking at you all preggo and the sweet newborn pics.
and my, oh my, how your home has changed! i never really knew how much work you guys did to change it. the house seemed so dark and chopped up before. now it looks so bright and spacious–what a transformation!
i loved this post. i’m thinking others did too. thank you for taking the time to do this. you have a generous, giving heart. 🙂
shauna reed - i love these answering questions posts….you might think they are dumb, but they aren’t. they are fun. makes me feel like i really know you in real, non internet life.
Kristin S - Loved this answers post too!
I work out at a “wellness center”. Today we are waiting for a snow/ice storm to roll in so I’m working from home. Anticipating closing of the gym early, I decided to head over around 10am to exercise. Totally forgot that cardiac rehab was going on. I was the youngest there by 30 years this morning. Since I normally go after work or late in the evening, this was a whole new world!
But at least it isn’t a meat market.
Love your stories Meg. AND you look younger now than 1995!
princess lasertron - cool answers 🙂 your babies are so adorable.
Shar - Great post. You are so pretty and photogenic. Even in pregnancy! Thanks for sharing…
Dana@Bungalow'56 - I’ve already checked out some of your fav blogs even before reading the post. Thanks a bunch. I think I will also check out my Nana’s retirement home. Your last bit of advice made me smile. I need to start hanging around seniors more for sure.
Dana
Heather - Oh,your pregnancy and newborn pictures made me cry! Thanks for sharing pieces of your life 🙂
Kari - wow! sometimes i read your blog and i feel like i’m reading a lot about myself…. i have the same haircut, felt the same way about nursing my kids, just recently we sold our FR furniture and put in a 3-in-1 table and a foos ball table. i just wish i could get my husband to work on our 70s house like your husband works on yours 🙂 he does fix cars though – he can do brakes and everything – just doesn’t like home projects so much. oh well! snow day here in nebraska – enjoy your day!
Ashlyn@pinecone - I really love what you have done with your house. Seeing the before to now is pretty amazing.
Have a fab day,
Ashlyn
crystal beutler - Cool post. Man, you worked magic with your house. I would never know by looking that those pictures it was the same house in your blog. You guys must have worked like dogs!!! Dogs!!!! Thanks for the shout out friend. I have to say “right back at you!” You are one of my favorites too. I always end up inspired when a stop here. 🙂
x0 crystal
p.s. I’m counting on your for Spark. I’ll give you a heads up when I hear about registration.
RLG - You look fourteen (in the picture at the hospital with Annie)!
Fun post, Meg. xoxo
Maine Mummy - Wow. “i needed some breathing room! i just couldn’t nurse any longer. i felt smothered.” My baby is 16 months old and I have never been able to appropriately sum up what I felt – maybe for fear of being judged. Thank you. Knowing that someone else felt that is amazingly liberating!
Shana - I knew Pam made that! It was screaming of her.
Forgot how much work the house has been.
Don’t think I’ve ever heard any birthing stories.
Fun.
Carla G. - Wow! I’ve missed these two days and really enjoyed catching up!! As I sit here in my quiet house, thinking about what I want to do today, it was delightful to get to know you better!! Thanks so much for everything!!
michelle - Your explanation for working out at the assisted living facility is HILARIOUS! Great blog!
Anna - WOW! I’ve never seen such beautiful “I just gave birth” photos EVER. So beautiful. I was bloated and had multiple chins after I gave birth to my babies (and I was never brave enough to post them!)
Congratulations on your beautiful family and beautiful home.
Gemma @ Musings of a gem - Hi Meg!
Wow looking at the transformation on your home is AMAZING! The pictures just look so stressful but your home now looks so welcoming : )
It’s great that you’ve got your own business type thing..inspiring!!
Gemma x
Kori - Thank you for answering our questions…it’s very cool of you. You seem like a fun chick and I feel like getting to ‘know’ you this way is better than not getting to know you at all.
Does that make sense?? Hope so.
🙂
Jeanne - You are the sweetest!!! Thank you for including me. One of my friends just told me. I LOVED seeing the photos of you and your babies…YOU looked like a baby too!!!!
Michele - Thank you for sharing! Your advice about raising teenagers was so wonderful and helpful for me to read. Thank you!
Amy - You are a beautiful woman, Meg. You have lovely eyes.
It is really fun reading all your answers. I LOVE your home, before and after. You have/had great vision to get it to where you are today.
LOVE the pregnancy and baby pictures. Makes me wish I were pregnant again. Then again, I’m enjoying having my body to myself for the first time in 6 years. lol.
Can’t wait to read the rest of your answers.
Allison - Thanks for answering all these questions. And wow, you looked fabulous right after having your babies!
Jenny B. - Meg, you are so fun! 🙂 I can’t wait to check out all your favorite blogs. And you look amazing in all your hospital pics!
bobbie - I love all the baby pictures, so sweet.
I blogged about why God gave women creativity today and then I read your post and it just confirmed it to me that I need to keep making time to be creative. thanks 😉
jessicakiehn - this is great! You guys are totally made for each other to be on the same page and tackle that house together. And look what’s come of it! That’s a beautiful thing.
LOVE your maternity pics from the scrapbooks. You’re like me, you’re belly gets HUGE! None of this “can’t even tell you’re pregnant” going on.
And the picture of you and Talby on the porch swing, pregnant with Annie is literally one of the most beautiful pictures I’ve ever seen. I deeply love motherhood and pregnancy and this so beautifully captures both.
joni - I’m loving these posts!
I’m a new reader and was wondering is Lauren not your biological daughter?
Libby - Thank you, thank you for your refreshing honesty! Your sense of humor and zest for life make for some fun reading. And what a good reminder – if I want to tackle some projects NOW, even while the kids are little – I just need to do it. Enough already! 🙂
Joyce - wow- you are gorgeously big with your babies! I got belly on my knees big with #3- wondering what this one will be- although Im tiny so far!
Thank for sharing your answers 🙂
Ryanne - I soooo needed this post for several reasons. Especially about sleep, raising young ones and needing time for yourself. I absolutely loved that photo of you and Talby on the porch swing, it made me want to cry. Too sweet. Would you ever come to KC to do photos? How far is Newton from KC?
emily anderson - so, i feel like when i start a comment here, i need to always either begin it, or end it with “whatever”…
so, thanks for putting me on your bloggy list. whatever.
(oh, and i love your prego pics 🙂 )
Risa - Megan,
My mom said she talked to you at Amy’s wedding and that you said I should comment sometime. So here I am. I ADORE your blog . . . I think it’s all the house pictures I love best, so I extra-loved this post with the pre-reno shots =) And I’m loving these “answers” installments!
Jess - Love the old family pictures. “Little Talby” is so cute. That picture of the two of you on the porch swing is just perfect.
hayley - 1. you look absolutely beautiful in the pics right after having those babes.
2.i have been up forever watching HIMYM. it’s 4:30am here in germany. i haven’t slept. hilarious, and addicting.
3. thanks for posting up those blog chicas. i love kelle. i’ll have to creep the others tomorrow.
thanks for always having such great posts 🙂
Holly - I have a stack of photos from when we first bought our house that I need to scan. We have been here for almost 5 years and like yours we saw its potential. It also has good bones!
Heidi Hentze - Hi Megan, Thanks so much for sharing! It’s always such a treat to read about your life because of the spirit, energy and goodwill you bring to all you do. I stop by most everyday to experience a little of your world. Your photos tell such a story, you have a gift for capturing all the small moments that constitute the goodness that life can be; and is. I think it is very generous of you to spread the joy; thanks:)
Flower Patch Farmgirl - 1. I love sleep.
2. I LOVE Courtney. So happy to see her on your list!
3. Those wallpaper stripping photos make me cringe. That has been the story of my residential life.
sara@augustfields - that was a long post! it was GREAT! thanks for the fun read and encouragement 🙂
Colleen - I just listed your blog as one of my favorite blogs on MY blog! Lol!
sarah w. - that picture of you on the swing pregnant with annie, holding talby is beautiful. Perfect. Heart melting.
Kate @ Songs Kate Sang - I love sleep, too 🙂 It makes me happy. Bri gave me a one hour nap today AND did some work for me. It was the best thing he could have done ever. I love sleep. Amen.
kendal - had no idea one could work out at a retirement facility. and i read a long way gone recently. loved it. (i’m a reader, so i read numerous books on africa recently when i moved from 8th grade to 7th to teach social studies.) your blog is fun!
Michele - I really liked learning more about you. I like your everyday posts, but I enjoy the Q&A, too. I’ve been wondering about your camera and lenses and now I know. I think it’s too funny that you work out with the geriatrics. So great! Thanks for sharing!
sue - Well Meg ,you have done it again. A great blog to read and I think you answered my question on what camera and lens do you use. Thankyou.
Vera - I’ve been stepping away from my computer a little lately to spend more time with the kids, so that means skimming blogs on Google Reader instead of opening them… BUT I had to come here and tell you that you look SO amazingly beautiful and radiant is every single one of those after-birth pictures!
Sandy - I love what you’ve done to your home and hadn’t realized it’s all been within the past 6 years. You’ve done an amazing job!
melissa @ the inspired room - Oh I just love seeing all your pictures of your house when you first bought it. It makes me feel like a less insane person for the last house we owned, you just had to have vision! Your house is so gorgeous, it just needed your magic touch to bring that out.
And your pregnant photos! LOL! I don’t think I’ll be sharing mine any time soon. You are a brave woman, and so darn adorable.
Ok so seriously, if you hadn’t put me in your list of favorite blogs you’d have been in trouble. 😉 Thank you Meg.
Happy night!