Mommy Survey

I thought it would be fun to do this survey. Something a little different.

I saw it on a blog I read often - http://blog.wantingwhatyouhave.com/ Check it out!

First: Post a picture of you and your kid(s).

Second: Answer the questions.
1. How many children do you have? One
2. What are their ages? 10 months
3. What time of day do you start your day? 7am, when Hannah starts screaming (she does not wake up happy, despite my best efforts)

4. What do you eat for breakfast? cereal, lately I am loving Kashi!
5. Do they watch TV? No, she has seen tv before and has watched her Baby Einstein Sign Language dvd a couple times, but definitely doesn't watch on a regular basis.

6. What are their favorite activities? crawling, pulling up on everything, cruising, climbing up the stairs, playing with mommy and daddy, eating

7. Do you get a break during the day from them? Not for long, Hannah takes 2 naps each day, but they are normally only 30 minutes each. However, I make her stay in her crib for an hour for each nap, which results in a lot of screaming on her part....praying that she gets it eventually.

8. How do you end your day? Brian and I usually watch a little tv (something on DVR because we are addicted to skipping commercials!) and try to get in bed by 10pm.

9. What is your best parenting advice or tip? Everything with a baby is a phase...don't get too comfortable. Try to enjoy every moment, good or bad. And just know that nothing will go as you planned.

2010 Summary

I saw this survey on a blog that I have been following since I found out I was pregnant - Baby Dickey - and thought it was a good way to sum up 2010.  Enjoy!


1. What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before?
- So much!!  Birthed a child (unmedicated, I might add!), nursed a child for 9.5 months (and still going), did everything required to keep a newborn alive and raise her to be a healthy and happy 9 month old, became a MOM!

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
- I don't remember making any last year (not a big resolution fan), but this year I did feel a sense of renewal and have been determined to be more intentional with my time.  I'm not sure that doing a survey like this is very "intentional", but I figured it would be an insightful way to summarize the last year of my life.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
- ME!  And several of my close friends - Amy, Lindsay, Asheley, Heather, Lindsay (another one), and more...

4. Did anyone close to you die?
- Thankfully, no

5. What countries did you visit?
- Definitely didn't make it out of the country, but did make it to several different place - NYC, Flagler Beach (3 times), Panama City (3 times), Siesta Key, and probably other places I am forgetting.

6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
- More time to enjoy with family and friends - 2010 was ALL about the baby and I want 2011 to be more about the world outside of these four walls!

7. What dates from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
- March 11 - Hannah was born!!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
- Delivering my first child without any medications (not even a tylenol people!)
- Succesfully nursing my child for 9.5 months (and counting)
- Keeping her alive for 9.5 months (and counting!!)

9. What was your biggest failure?
- I wouldn't call it a failure, but I do feel like I didn't get to enjoy Hannah's newborn stage like I thought I would because I was so concerned with her schedule and making sure she did 'xyz' every day.  I was definitely obsessed with that (and still am, if I let myself be).

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
- A cold here and there, but nothing serious.  Recovering from my labor was illness enough!

11. What was the best thing you bought?
- Our new camera (Nikon D3100) - just have to figure out how to use it in a mode other than auto now!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
- Brian's!  He has been the most amazing husband and father!  During my labor he was unbelievable!  He didn't even sit down for 8+ hours and was by my side the entire time.  He was the best father right from the beginning - so involved and just in love.  He would wake up with me in the middle of night when Hannah would cry and come into her room with me while I nursed her.  He was my rock!  He was understanding of my crazy hormones and listened to me cry over the silliest things.  I wouldn't have made it this past year without his amazing support!

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
- No one I can think of

14. Where did most of your money go?
- Hannah!

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
- All of Hannah's milestones: smiling, laughing, rolling over, sitting up, crawling, pulling up, sleeping through the night!

16. What song will always remind you of 2010?
- "Goodnight Sweetheart" - I sing it to Hannah every time I put her down for a nap or at night

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? Happier
b) thinner or fatter? Thinner
c) richer or poorer? Probably about the same - nah, poorer because we are remodeling our kitchen soon! ;-)

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
- Spent more time with friends, but babies make things so much more complicated!

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
- Wasting time

20. How did you spend Christmas?
- In Panama City with Brian's family

21. Did you fall in love in 2010?
- Absolutely!  Hannah has made me understand God's love for me in a whole new way.  I am madly in love with that baby!!

22. What was your favorite TV program?
- We became DVR junkies this year, so we watched a lot of shows (that's what happens when you have a baby that has to be in bed by 8pm) - Top faves were Modern Family and The Middle

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
- I don't hate anyone - I might not like their choices or actions, but I don't hate them.

24. What was the best book you read?
- I don't think I read any books in 2010 (besides children's and parenting books)...sad

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
- Hmmm....not sure.  I think I knew about him in 2009, but Mat Kearney became a BIG fave this year.  We went to the most amazing concert at Eddie's Attic in the summer and were blown away!

26. What did you want and get?
- Hannah!
- Our new camera
- Lots of baby things

27. What did you want and not get?
- Nothing...I mean there are things that I would like to have, but nothing that I need.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
- I don't even know if we went to the theater once in 2010.  I know I saw the new(er) movie with Katherine Heigel about raising a baby, but I can't even remember who I was with or where we were.  It was cute, but definitely not the best movie I saw.  We just watched Inception a few weeks ago and that was good.  But there really wasn't a stand out movie that I saw this year.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
- I turned 28!!  At first I wrote 27 because there is no way I am 28, but I am!!  Yikes!  Brian's parents were in town on my birthday and we went out to dinner at Maggiano's (technically I think we went out the night before my birthday). 

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
- It was overal a wonderful year!!  But if Hannah has been born a natural sleeper, that would have made my stress level a lot less! ;-)

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?
- Whatever fits and is clean and comfy.  I spent the majority of 2010 on the floor with a drooly, reflux baby!  Fashion wasn't really in my vocabulary.

32. What kept you sane?
- Brian, my mom, my playgroup girls!!!

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
- No one I can think of

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
- Political issue??  I don't even watch the news, I hate politics!  I only want to know the stuff that impacts me directly and that I can do something about.  If something is going on that I have no control over, I want nothing to do with it.  What's the point??

35. Who did you miss?
- Family!  I hate that we live so far away from everyone.

36. Who was the best new person you met?
- My playgroup girls!  Heather, Asheley and Lindsay, I don't know what I would have done these past few months without you!!

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010.
- Take things one day at a time. 
- Life flies by, so enjoy every second. 
- Everything with a baby is a phase!

All About Me...A to Z

A: Attached or single? Definitely attached and loving it!!  We will celebrate our 6 year anniversary on Aug. 7!

B: Best friends? My husband, Brian is my best friend hands down!  But I am also blessed with some great girlfriends and family members that I consider to be my best friends

C: Cake or Pie? Can I pick both?!  I really like them both...just depends on my mood.  But if I had one of each side by side, I guess I would pick pie (as long as it's apple, pumpkin, key lime, or something else yummy)

D: Day of choice? Saturday because Brian is here with us and we don't normally have any obligations.

E: Essential item? Jesus, my family and friends

F: Favorite color? Depends on my mood....blue I guess.  But having a little girl is starting to change that.

G: Gummy bears or worms? Both...I LOVE gummies!!

H: Hometown? Born and raised in the Daytona Beach, FL area (but no longer live there)

I: Favorite indulgence?  Lately it's been ice cream :-)

J: January or July? July!  I definitely like summer better than winter

K: Kids? Our sweet baby girl, Hannah who is 3 months old

L: Life isn't complete without....? My family and friends!

M: Marriage date? August 7, 2004

N: Number of brothers & sisters? One of each, plus 2 brother in laws and 2 sister in laws

O: Oranges or apples? Apples...green ones.  But I also love orange juice.

P: Phobias? Bugs of all kinds!!  YUCK!

Q: Quotes: I'm really not a quote kind of person

R: Reason to smile? My sweet little girl makes me smile every day!  She is such a blessing from the Lord.

S: Season? Fall

T: Tattoos?  Nope

U: Unknown facts:  See my previous post - 25 Things About Me

V: Veggie? I like most veggies but the first one that comes to mind is corn on the cob

W: Worst habit: Picking the skin around my nails

X: X-ray or Ultrasound? Ultrasound!  What an amazing day it was to see our little peanut on her first ultrasound!

Y: Your favourite food? Pasta...yum!

Z: Zinc or sunscreen? Sunscreen

25 Things About Me

I thought it would be fun to share some random facts with everyone.  Some you may already know and some may surprise you. :-)  These are in no particular order and are VERY random!   Enjoy!

1.  I am a sinner, saved by grace! I love the Lord with all my heart!
2. I have been married for almost 6 years (in August).  I have one child (Hannah) who is 3 months old.
3. We tried to conceive for 2 years and were successful after our second round of the fertility drug, Clomid.
4. I grew up in Florida (lived there for 22 years before moving to Georgia after getting married)
5. My husband (Brian) is my best friend!  We are so alike, it is scary.  We rarely fight because we are so similar and truly have nothing to fight about.  We are definitely a go with the flow couple.
6. I will be 28 this year.  (I actually just had to do the math in my head because I wasn't sure if I was 26 or 27 right now!  WOW!)
7. I was born with a life-threatening condition called Pyloric Stenosis where the valve from my stomach to my intestines was narrowed.  This meant that I wasn't receiving the nutrition that I needed and was vomitting up all of my meals.  I dropped down to an unhealthy weight and required emergency surgery on Christmas Eve 1982 (at 1 month old).  Thankfully there were no further complications and all I am left with is a scar across my stomach.
8. My favorite tv shows are: "Friends", "Bachelor/Bachelorette", "The Office", "Grey's Anatomy", "19 Kids and Counting", "King of Queens", "Modern Family", and "The Middle".  But I rarely have time to watch tv these days.
9. I love to clean and organize!  I am obsessed with organizing everything.  I have even toyed with the idea of being a professional organizer.
10. I love being a stay at home mom and this is what I have always wanted to do.  Even as a small child I always said, "I want to be a mommy when I grow up."
11. We love the SAW movies!  Hard to believe, I know...but we have seen them all and it is our yearly tradition to see the latest in the theater (If you know us, we never see movies in the theater, so this is a special treat!)
12. One of my greatest pet peeves is when I see a woman driving the car with a man in the passenger seat.  I don't know why this bothers me so much, but it does.  I guess because in my family my dad ALWAYS drove, I just got used to that.  Now seeing it any other way is just weird. 
13. I LOVE being out and about.  I also like being home some, but I get very antsy if I don't leave the house often enough.
14. I am a couponer.  We subscribe to the Sunday paper just for the coupons.  I'm addicted to www.southernsavers.com
15. I have recently developed a love of ice cream (following in my father's footsteps).  My favorite flavor has to be chocolate peanut butter.
16. I hate cats.  Yuck!
17. 5 jobs I have had: secretary at a heating and air company, cashier and then office staff personnel at Publix, daycare worker, teacher, mother
18. I'm definitely not a morning person.  I can stay up late, but hate getting up early.
19. I took dance lessons for a good portion of my life (12 years).  I did ballett, tap, jazz, lyrical, pointe, and gymnastics.  I plan on enrolling Hannah in dance classes as soon as she is old enough.
20. I am obsessed with keeping my toe nails very short.  Brian always says I cut them too short, but I definitely don't think so.  I can't stand to have any nail hanging over.  The nail must be flush with the skin....does that make sense?
21. I shave my legs every time I shower (even in the winter).
22. I used to bite my nails til they bled!  It was a horrible habit.  I stopped when we got engaged and I wanted to show off my ring without being embarrassed of my fingers. 
23. I love to cook but I rarely make the same meal twice.  I like to experiment in the kitchen, which has resulted in some meals that had to be tossed in the trash (only 2 or 3 times).  I keep thinking that once I get a good repertoire of recipes I will start making the same ones over and over....but what constitutes a good repertoire?  
24. I rotate all of my clothes (including socks and underwear).  After I wear something, it is put to the back of the closet or the bottom of the pile in the dresser so that I don't wear it again too soon and so that everything is worn equally.  Obsessive?  But that way I also make sure to purge my closet of things I don't wear...if it's in the front and I keep skipping over it, it's time to get rid of it! :-)
25. I love to travel (or did before Hannah came along).  We to some amazing places in the past 6 years: London, Paris, Hawaii, Vegas, NYC, St. Lucia, all over FL, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Key West, St. Louis and more.  Life sure is different now that we are parents. :-)