Liebster Award-Part 1

My friend, Michelle, from high school nominated me for the Liebster Award! You can meet Michelle here:http://badjujubeansandotherlifestories.blogspot.com. I LOVE Michelle's blog. She is candid and honest and says all the things that the rest of us think but don't say out loud.

Being nominated kind of cracked me up considering I have TWO followers on my blog! But, I am honored that she is one of the two and this sounds like it could be a lot of fun. Plus, I might even bump it up to five followers this year! So, the rules....

The rules, should you be nominated:

1. If you were nominated, post 11 things about yourselves.

2. Then answer the 11 questions that the person who nominated you created.

3. Create 11 more questions to ask the bloggers you decided to nominate.

4. Choose 11 bloggers to nominate with less than 200 followers.

5. Make sure and let these people know you nominated them! No tag backs, so don't nominate someone who nominated you.

I'm going to break my post up into a couple parts because that's all nap time will allow! 

11 things about myself:

1. I am borderline OCD. I like to have a place for everything and I do not like clutter. Having everything in it's place and clean gives me a sense of control. I feel like I can take on a hectic day just by making my bed. My husband jokes that I make the bed with him still in it (not true...I only make my side while he's still in it). So, is it good to have a clean, organized house? Sure. The bad part...I have 4 kids under my roof. When everything isn't in it's place (which is most of the time they are home), I have a lot of anxiety. This can move into my patience factor, etc... This is definitely something I'm trying to work on. My goal is to get the house clean and just the way I want it as soon as everybody leaves in the morning. Then, I have 8 hours to enjoy it before they come and ransack it. I want to be able to let go when they are home and just have some fun instead of being so anxious! 

2. I legally changed my middle name from Maurine to Thomason when I got married. Couple of reasons: one-I've never like Maurine, two-My dad has no boys so I felt like I had to carry on the family name. My son's middle name is also Thomason. 

3. I am a terrible eater. Just terrible. If I could eat carbs and cheese and drink coffee and diet coke every single day I would. Sometimes I do. Terrible eater...I'm telling you! That's another thing I'm really working on. Now that I'm in my 30s, I'm realizing I'm going to have to work harder to be fit. 80% of that is about food. So, I'm making myself eat a  veggie with every meal and making sure it takes up at least 1/2 my plate. Baby steps...

4. I actually have no other ambition in life than to be a mommy and wife. There, I said it people. I know you've all had your suspicions! I've got a B.S. in business management with an emphasis in management and I am only one quarter away from my Masters in middle school math education. Do I want to do any of those things? Nope. I just want to be a stay at home mommy. I realize one day all my kids will be in school and it will be time to enter the working world, but it will be a sad day for me. I like to serve my husband and my children. I like being at every single school function and volunteering for everything I can. I like wearing yoga pants everyday. I know this isn't everybody's cup of tea and I am in no way suggesting this is what is best for kids...it is just what is best for our family. I am super lucky to have a husband who believes that as well. 

5. If we won the lottery, I'd want to keep popping out babies! I can't get enough of them...I love babies, I love toddlers, I love kids, I'm learning to love pre-teens (I SWEAR that was a joke-love you very much Savannah). I love the way they look at you like you are the only person in the world. I love how they squeeze you. I love how they hold their arms out to you. I love the rolls. I love the funny things they say. I just really, really love being a mommy. I am beyond sad that Sadie will be our last baby. I probably have a little cry once a day when she does something super cute and I realize this is the last time I will experience this. Enough about this because yes, I am crying.

6. I secretly love my mini van. After we had Sadie, I realized that my Tahoe just wasn't going to cut it anymore. No storage space and it was a pain in the butt getting kids into the backseat. Yes, I miss looking/feeling cool, but  my mini van is seriously awesome! I can get all the kids in and out of it easily without breaking my back. I can climb in the back easily if one of them needs me. The gas mileage is MUCH better. It's not cool to look at, especially with all my school stickers on the back but it is exactly what our family needed. Of course, I do feel silly when I'm riding in it alone listening to Kanye West. 

7. My husband is my best friend. Seriously. There is nobody I'd rather spend my free time with than my husband. I love, love, love my girlfriends and I love having girl time, but sometimes it really is hard to break away from him. He works so much that when he is home, I want to be home with him. We have so much fun together. I've never laughed like I do with him with anybody else. He literally makes me laugh to the point of snorting every single day. If I could stick him in my pocket and take him with me everywhere, I would. 

8. I am super, duper non-confrontational. In fact, if you asked me if you could run over me with your car I'd probably let you so you wouldn't get your feelings hurt. Sometimes this is a good thing because I'm pretty laid back about what gets to me, but it is a hindrance. I tend to let the people who are the worst to me get away with more than the people who are the best to me. I don't understand it. I guess sometimes I feel conflicted about standing up for myself and doing what I think Jesus would want me to do. I think I need to read the book Boundries again. 

9. I know absolutely nothing about sports. This is problematic considering my husband is a coach and my kids play every sport under the sun. I also think this is probably a good thing because Josh is so over the top with sports and being competitive that I think we balance one another out....I just don't really give a crud about how to play or who wins. I want to see my kids smiling and having fun. 

10. Pinterest makes me feel like a crappy mom. I KNOW there are other moms who agree with me. I pin and pin and pin crafts and food and home decor and then feel like crap because I hardly end up doing any of the things I've pinned. The ones I actually do, end up looking like a Frankenstein invention. I wish I had the perfect snack and card and outfit for every school event, but I'm usually the one who shows up in my yoga pants with a bag of goldfish. Guess what? The kids usually end up liking the simple things the best. I need to remind myself of this with Valentine's day coming up. I'm sure I'll strike out on  a journey to make the perfect cards for all the kids and they will end up liking the Spongebob ones at Wal-Mart better. Have you ever thought badly of a mom who didn't do everything home-made?? Me either...so, why do I think I have to do everything home-made to be a good mom? 

11. I wish I was one of those women who got up and looked really great everyday. I would love to be put together all the time and look like grown up. What actually happens everyday is this: I wake up wearing one of my husband's tee shirts and a baggy pair of flannel pants, I change into workout clothes to take the kids to school and then I actually do go to the gym. I come home, shower, and put on my third outfit of the day. The tee shirt and yoga pants ensemble. Seriously, where am I going??? Maybe to soccer or basketball practice. Every now and then I will feel guilty because I want my husband to come home to a wife who looks nice, so on those days I will put on jeans, a sweater, and makeup. Within a couple hours of him being home, I'll go put on my yoga pants and he perks up. He LOVES it when I'm comfy with no makeup and my hair pulled up....or at least that's what he tells me. So, to try to strike a balance I've decided to start wearing pretty underwear. That way I can wear my yoga pants and be comfy while parenting 4 kids, but I can flash my hubby my pretty underpants while the kids aren't looking just to let him know I care. :) 

11 questions from Michelle:

1. What is your favorite childhood memory? 

I have a couple. Making houses out of refrigerator boxes was a big one. I didn't just make little houses. I would get two or three boxes and make houses. I even had a two story one once (and it was functional)! I would hang curtains and everything! Another one is sidewalk chalk. I would make a town with shops and houses on our entire driveway with sidewalk chalk and play for DAYS! One last one is decorating Christmas cookies. My mom always made sugar cookies with homemade icing around Christmas time. She would cover the table in newspaper and let us decorate all of them however we wanted. That makes me wonder what my kids favorite memories will be....

2. What is your favorite color and why? 

Bright blue. It's just happy.

  

3. If you had the chance to travel abroad for 6 months, where would you go? What would you do? Money would not be an issue so live it up in this question! 

I would go everywhere! I would see everything! I would love to just live it up on the British Virgin Islands if I had to stay in one area. Just wear a bathing suit everyday and have absolutely no agenda.

  

4. What is the hardest part of being a mom for you? If you are not a mom, what is the hardest part of being an adult or the profession that you are in?

The hardest part of motherhood for me, would be our blended family. Josh and I had different rules, expectations, and parenting styles before we met and meeting in the middle is hard. It is hard having an 8 year who was the baby and now has to share the spotlight with a 3  year old and a 6 month old. It is hard watching the 3 year old learn to navigate sibling fights when he's been an only child. I guess I'm saying the hardest part of being a mom with a blended family is watching yours kids try to adjust and being fair and just when problems arise. 

5. If you could meet any celebrity, who would you pick and why? They must be living. 

Hmmm... I'm not a big star-struck kind of person. I'd probably pick somebody who could help me with something....like Staci on What Not to Wear! 

6. What is the most romantic thing you have ever done, received, been a part of, etc.?

The most romantic thing I've ever experienced was my wedding day with Josh. We had a SMALL wedding. Just immediate family, our kids, and we each had one friend there. It was on the porch of the house where my father was born and raised in the country. It really felt like there was no one else in the world except for us when we were saying our vows. It was one of the purest moments I've ever had aside from the birth of my children.

  

7. What is your favorite animal and why? 

Dog. They are just loyal and show the most unconditional love.

 8. What are two of your pet peeves? 

one-Messiness. HUGE PET PEEVE. Along with messiness comes not picking up what others have done. If you see a mess, I don't care who made it, PICK IT UP! If I walk past litter, I pick it up.  I hate the attitude of only taking care of what you've done and doing nothing more. 

two-This one is kind of personal and I don't want to get too deep. I will just say, people need to learn to put their needs/wants aside and think about what others need/want...especially when it comes to their children. 

  

9. Are you a routine person or a fly be the seat of your pants person? 

If you haven't figured it out already....routine.

10. If you could start a charity (anything or anywhere), what would your cause be?

Something to do with children. Abused/neglected children. The problem is, I couldn't hear any of the stories or see any of the pictures. It just makes me imagine something horrific happening to my children and I can't take it. 

11. If you had to pick a last meal, what would it be?

Probably a burnt end brisket sandwich on a buttery bun!

I hope you enjoyed my post and learned something you didn't know about me! I'm really looking forward to finding out more about my friends and finding some new friends to follow!

I'm going to do a Liebster Award-Part 2 where I nominate friends and post questions for them to answer!