Mommy Q & A

I thought I'd do something a little different today so I found some questions online and will post my answers. Enjoy!

1. What is your favorite part of being a mommy? Sharing my life, love, happiness & adventures with Rhonda & Brielle, as a family. That's the best part about being a mommy. Oh, and I love the snuggles, hugs and kisses.

2. What has being a mom taught you about yourself? That I do have patience within me, even though sometimes I have to dig down deep. I've also realized that I don't want her to grow up too fast. The thought of her going to school makes me want her to stay little. I'm soooooo not ready for that!

3. What do you think is your best quality when it comes to your children? That I really want to be a mom....the best mom I can be. I feel bad for kids who's parents don't want to commit to being the best parents they can be. Nobody said it would be easy but it is soooooooo worth all I've got.

4. In 10 words or less, describe yourself as a mom. Loving & fun, yet firm when I need.

5. What do you think is your DH's or SO's best quality when it comes to your children? That she too really wants to be the best mom she can be. Obviously having kids didn't come easy for us, so we don't take our daughter for granted and we're working hard to do the best we can for both her & us, as a family.

6. If you had a magic wand and could have as many children as you wanted and never had to worry about finances or any other outside factors, how many children would you have, where would you live/raise them and how would your life be different or the same? I used to want two kids, but now I'm not feeling it. I'm happy just where we are, with one. Maybe that'll change one day, but for now, this is where I stand. As for where, well that's easy. She needs to be raised with both mommies and daddy near her as much as possible. We are with her every day but she needs to be able to see daddy whenever she wants, so taking her away just isn't an option. If things could be different in any way, I only wish for a bigger house for us and the ability to travel more. Otherwise, we've got everything we need.

7. What was your absolute favorite part of seeing your baby grow up so far? Everything! She's so smart, beautiful, fun and she amazes me every day. In the beginning, getting to know her was absolutely amazing. I spent hours just watching her, holding her, touching her....being with her. Her little facial expressions were priceless. I loved, and still love, dressing her in cute outfits and doing her hair. That'll never change. I loved seeing her start to eat solid foods and grow into this food connoisseur. She is sooooo food motivated! It's been fun to watch her hold her head up on her own, then to be able to sit up on her own, then crawl and now walk, walk, walk everywhere. Soon she'll be running! Teaching her sign language, potty training her early, teaching her to say words and just seeing how smart she is and how fast she learns, has been so much fun. Makes this mommy proud! She's such a social butterfly. It's fun to take her out and have others enjoy her just as much as we do. And now I especially love her sense of humor. She cracks me up daily! I could go on and on and on....

8. What are you most looking forward to within the next year? As much as I don't want her to grow up, I do. She is such an amazing little being that I can't wait to see her blossom even more. The more she grows, the more we can learn, explore and have fun. I see lots of coloring and crafts in our future. It's what's going to keep us going this winter. I hope we have a true artist on our hands. We will if this mommy has anything to do with it.

9. If you could change one thing about parenting/raising a child so far, what would it be? Nothing. So far I don't have any regrets. Everything we talked about parenting and raising a child, we've followed through with. And because of it, we have a special little girl.
10. What's the hardest thing about being a mom? So far, not everyone who is supposed to love and accept her, does. That's hard for me because I don't want anyone to hurt my baby girl!

11. How did you choose your baby's name? Brielle Rain. We were on one of our road trips from Houston to SK and decided to start writing down names we loved. There was a boys and a girls column and over time we chose our top boys name and top girls name. We knew her first name long before she was ever conceived. It was the one! As for her middle name, I loved Brielle Rain or Brielle Rose. Rhonda liked the name Rain better, so Rain it was.

12. What is the one thing you never had that you want for your kids? Opportunity. I never really had the option for any extra curricular activities growing up, so we are going to make it a point to let Brielle try things. We waited to have kids later in life, which means we're a little more financially stable than if we had we chosen to have kids in our 20's, back when we were broke. There would have been no opportunity then. Also the opportunity for further education. I could have done it but I had zero guidance in that department, so it seemed to not be an option for me. We're already planning for her future education, if she so chooses when the time comes.

13. What is your biggest fear as a mother? That I will lose my child. I just can't imagine life without her. And how could I ever cope if she were taken from us? Blah....can't think of it any longer.

14. What is something you miss about life before kids? Not much other than maybe going to the bathroom without having to rush, wondering what she's getting into. Or going to the bathroom alone, although I have had pets for years and years and at least one of them is always there as well. Sometimes 2, 3 or 4....and now with the baby, 5 of them crowded into our half-bath is pretty ridiculous. I also miss sleeping in sometimes.

15. Hardest moment you've had to deal with as a parent? Spending 17 days in the hospital and being apart from Rhonda & Brielle was the hardest thing for me so far. There have been challenging days with parenting but nothing as challenging as not being at home with my family. Not seeing Brielle first thing in the morning and last thing at night.

16. Moment that makes you smile the most? Seeing that toothy grin first thing in the morning when I get Brielle out of her crib. She always make me smile....unless it's 5 am. But thankfully that doesn't happen very often. :)

17. If your children get one quality from you, what would you want it to be? My ability to try to find the good in every day and every situation. Gratitude is so important and I hope to pass that along to Brielle.

18. Travel; with or without kids? Hands down, with kids! We love spending time with Brielle and love to share every moment with her, so we don't plan on leaving her at home for vacation. Maybe someday, or if we absolutely needed to, but planned vacation will likely always include her, which is why we're taking her to Maui in February. Yay!!

19. Any pet peeves about parenting & raising children? Oh boy, don't get me started. Kids too old for pacifiers & bottles. What's too old, in my opinion? Brielle has neither and she's 13 months....but again, that's my opinion. 2, 3 & 4 year olds with pacifiers & bottles. Have seen far too many! 3, 4 & 5 year olds still not potty trained. I can't imagine!!! Many are not even attempting to potty train their kids by these ages. I'm hoping that by 2, Brielle is potty trained. She already poops & pee's on the potty any time we put her on. Parents who spend more time on their phone and computer than with their children. Kids who are allowed to be rude and disrespectful. Parents who don't take their role seriously. Parents who make excuses for the way their children behave and don't take any responsibility for it. Parents who favor one child over the other. Yah, I need to stop.

20. Any advise for future moms? Enjoy every single moment. Hold them when they are little. Give them a little freedom as they grow and develop into little people. Hug, kiss and snuggle them every change they give you. Steal hugs, kisses and snuggles from time to time. Tell them every single day (a million times if you want to) how much you love them. Never take them for granted. Teach them kindness, respect, manners and compassion. Put your phone down and play with them. Always encourage the good and don't focus on the bad. And most importantly, let them be little.

Feel free to copy these questions to your own blog and share your answers with everyone reading. Just post your blog address in the comments section when your done. :)