Category Archives: Five Question Friday

Another week of summer done and another week closer to school starting – it’s coming quickly, people! Are you ready, I’m not. And for those of you who have already started school – bless you!

We have some fun planned for the weekend. This afternoon the little boys and I are heading to a hotel to hang out with my parents and swim. And then tomorrow we’re all headed to the beach for the day – I can’t believe it’s the end of August and we haven’t even been once but at least we’re making it before it’s too cold! But I can’t wait to get a little more tan, play in the lake and have some ice cream on the way home. Hopefully Jack won’t try to drown himself more than once, I’m optimistic.

Here are my answers to 5QF:

1. Did you make any fun purchases this week?
I’d say fun is relative. I bought Liam a new lunchbox and thermos with a Star Wars Clone Wars theme. He is thrilled – he has carried that thermos wherever he goes since Wednesday – drinking water like a [something – I can’t think at the moment].

2. If you could go to any musical concert, what would it be?
Before this summer I would have said U2 but then I saw them and so now I guess I need a new one… it’s hard because I’ve seen most of the people I’d love to see. Perhaps I’ll go with a venue, I’d love to see someone at the Red Rocks Ampitheatre outside of Denver, Colorado. Beautiful.

3. What is your least fav/ most fav house chore?
Least favorite: dusting
Most favorite: emptying the dishwasher or folding laundry

4. Would you prefer new appliances or clothes?
New appliances – stove/oven and washer dryer. We just got a new fridge and dishwasher a couple years ago but the rest could use upgrading. I’d love, love, love the fancy red Electrolux front-loading washer and dryer set. I’d happily wash all my old clothes in them for years to come.

5. Miracle Whip or Mayo?
Mayo, Miracle Whip just tastes funny to me. I won’t notice if it’s in a sandwich but in a pasta or potato salad, mayo all the way. But what I really love is mustard (deli mustard is best, but I also enjoy plain, old yellow mustard).

How about a little five question Friday at the end of the day? I’m game if you are!

1. Do you close the bathroom door when you are home alone? 
Nope. I don’t even close the bathroom door when my immediate family is home, unless I need to take a book (if you know what I mean). Well, I guess I shouldn’t say that, sometimes I go in there and lock the door just to have a moment of peace, otherwise I’m likely to end up entertaining the children while I’m there. There’s the glamorous side of motherhood no one tells you about: potty breaks = peace (unless there’s a child pounding on the door or laying down outside of it, trying to get a look at you). Also, I should note, Simon HATES that I don’t shut the door but there are a bunch of things he does that bugs me and I realize it’s my own hang-up so I deal with them and therefore, he can deal with my one imperfection (ahem).

2. You have to walk around with a word on your forehead. That word describes you. One word. What is it?
That is a hard one… anyone have an immediate answer? Initially I thought to be sassy and picked fabulous. Then I thought, self-helpy and thought: trying. Then I thought literal and went with: Michelle (not technically a word, I know). And then I drew a blank…

3. What store do you refuse to shop at and why? 
Despite my love of their cologne when I was in college, I now refuse to shop at Abercrombie. I find the whole store ridiculous (same with Hollister). I could say Coach but I totally buy one of their purses in a heartbeat if I could justify the expense (I like finding bargains at Target for $6).

4. If you participated in arranged marriages for your child(ren), who would you choose for your child(ren)?
My friend Tracey’s daughters, Keila and Ellery. Liam is seven weeks older than Keila and Jack is 10 weeks younger than Ellery so they are basically the same ages. We joke all the time about them ending up together but really we do just hope they (at least) remain friends forever. Plus with those two girls, we’d only have one set of in-laws to vie with for our boys’ time and we already love their parents so we’d just all have great family holidays. See, perfect.

5. If you could pick how and when you would die, would you?
Yes, most definitely because I’d much rather die in my sleep at a very, very old age than say, next week in a car accident or in another decade from cancer. It would most definitely be nice to pick how to die. Though given the choice, I don’t think I’d want to know when exactly I was going to die. I’d hate living, just knowing how many days I had left.

This has been another one of those weeks where, when each day reaches its end, I have to think of what I’ve accomplished because it doesn’t feel like anything got done. The days flew right by, which is good and bad. But sometimes when these weeks do happen, it’s hard to remember to be thankful for things or what has been checked off the list. So, how about a little thankfulness/done list?

• I’m thankful for my husband who did all the kids’ laundry today “so I would have one less thing to think about.” Awww – so thoughtful.
• I’m thankful for my parents who spent last weekend with us, herding children and celebrating Liam’s birthday. I hope I can work as hard as they do when I’m 75-years-young
• Also super thankful for our families and friends who love our kids and help them have special birthdays
• I’m glad to finally get our new smart phones (another Droid for me and an iPhone for Simon to replace his “dumb” phone)
• Ever-amazed by capable medical professionals both for myself and for my friends
• Grateful to the teachers at the boys’ daycare – they are excited to go there their two days a week and that takes a load off my mind
• Blessed to be able to spend time with two of my best friends at the Sara Barielles concert two nights ago (especially thankful for our contraband mixed drinks and wine); equally blessed by the thoughtful husband who gave me the gift.
• Glad the flow of work is consistent at my office, though I could use a few more hours in a day at the moment
• Appreciative of friends, always.

And because it wouldn’t be Friday, without Five Questions, here are the five questions I hear most often:

1. Can I watch [Wiggles or Noggin]?
2. Can I have [food – mainly chicken nuggets, gogurts, monkey drinks or caramel milk]?
3. Is it my turn to…? (Even though he’s 2.5 years younger, Jack seems to think it’s only fair that he share equal turns/responsibility for things like giving George treats and holding the door open between our garage and house.)
4. Can I play with my Legos? (We keep the Legos up out of Jack’s reach to avoid the typical choking hazards but mostly to avoid sibling fighting that would inevitably arise from Jack messing with Liam’s toys.)
5. What are we going to do today that’s special? (Liam’s apparently of the mindset that every day needs to have an element of the unordinary in it – thankfully going to daycare, church and the mall both count as special things along with parks and playdates.)

While everyone else and their brother seems to be on vacation right now (or getting ready for a blogging conference), we’re still life as usual at our house and will be pretty much up until school starts when the new normal begins. I don’t mind, we had our long vacation when we went to Texas this spring and I’m sure I’ll at least take a week off at Christmas. Continue reading →