Thanks to everyone who participated. I received several questions via the comment section on my blog and Twitter. Without further ado, the answers:
Good question Jillian. I think a lot of people wonder how I balance being a nanny to one year old twins and having three kids of my own. I love children. I have always loved children. I've worked with children since I was 12, first babysitting, then in a daycare center, then as a nanny. I worked several corporate jobs in between, banking, politics, at a law firm, but none of those jobs gave me the flexibility needed to be a mom of three. I always left my job feeling like my job got the best of me (time, patience, and energy) and my kids got the leftovers (which wasn't much). I think this is a much better fit for my family now.
That is not to say that there aren't days where the babies don't nap or are particularly whiny or I am just not feeling well, where I go home and I am not as patient with my children as I'd like to be. Overall I feel very blessed. I work for a great family. I have the ability to bring income into our household to help us meet our financial goals, I get breaks and summers off to spend with my children because my bosses are teachers, and I get to play and have fun with two adorable toddlers all day.
Are you a runner? How long have you been doing that?
Yes, I am a runner and I love that I can say that! I only started running last March. Before that I HATED running. I always hated running and never thought I would become a runner. Funny thing is once I started running I became addicted. It has quickly become one of my passions. I think what I enjoy most about running is setting personal goals and meeting them, I don't run to win the race, I run to meet my goals, I love how I feel, I sleep better, have so much more energy. It truly is amazing. I ran my first race last July, a 5K, and now am training for a November 10K.
What does your husband do for a living?
My husband is an engineer. He was in the Navy for 6 years, right after high school. Worked a few engineering tech jobs after the Navy before going to school to become a Mechanical Engineer. He is one of the smartest people I know and was recently accepted into the Biomedical Engineering Masters program at Johns Hopkins and is hoping to start that this summer (thanks for giving me the chance to brag on my hubby).
Aeg1084 asked:
How did you first get started as a blogger and what do you enjoy most about blogging?
One of my best and oldest friends,
Catherine, started blogging in the fall of 2008, at the same time I had recently left my job at the law firm to work from home, providing child care. Catherine talked about her blog and sent over links. After a few tries I started reading and then started reading people who commented on her blog and some of her followers blogs. The way blogging, especially mom blogging is so connected is amazing. After a couple months (December 2008) I decided I could do this too. I've always loved to write and now had a bit of time to fit it in. I was immediately hooked. I have connected with so many amazing women through blogging that I would've never met otherwise. It is always nice as a mom, knowing you are not on this journey called motherhood alone.
Have you figured out how to survive on less than 9 hours of sleep? ;)
No, I have not. I think I've been living most of the past 3 1/2 years in a constant state of sleep deprivation. I didn't realize how good I feel on 9-10 hours of sleep until I did it consistently this summer. I seriously feel like a totally different person. With leaving for work before 6:30AM, 9-10 hours of sleep isn't in the cards for me now. I think the early mornings are the only negative things I can say about my job or running (which is at 7AM Sundays). I love sleep!
Wait, 2 that are 6 months apart? Do share!
Hubby and I were both married and divorced previously. We both married young, had our kids, and were divorced by the time we were 23. Not an easy way to start out your adulthood. B is the oldest and from my first marriage, Wyn is 6 months younger and from hubby's first marriage, FiFi is the youngest and 26 months younger than Wyn. Only 2 years 8 months separate all 3 kids. Talk about closely spaced children.
NASA asked:
Would you be willing to live with your husband as pioneers on a Martian outpost and try to establish the first human colony in space? Why or why not?
Sure, Mars sounds like a great adventure. Can we bring our kids too?
The real LA love story asked:
I am always curious about how people decide who to spend the rest of their lives with so do you mind sharing the story of how you and your husband met?
Hubby and I met on Match.com. We were both divorced and a little disillusioned with the dating process. I met him after 3 weeks on Match.com, he was the first person I went on a date with from the site. His Match.com experience was a little different, he had to kiss a few toads to find his princess. We were engaged after 13 months of dating and married 15 months later. There is more of our love story here if you are interested.
Bethany asked:
If you or your husband got a job opportunity that required a move overseas for a year, would you let your family experience a new country or turn down the opportunity and stay home? (I always think it's fascinating when people do this!) I suppose a lot of factors would go into this decision but if it was a job my husband wanted to take and the money was enough I would jump on the opportunity in a heartbeat. I think there is something said for stability and keeping your kids in the same school but I would never pass up an opportunity to experience another culture like that.
Bethany also asked:
How did you choose your kids' names? I use nicknames for my kids on my blog here but their names are not secrets. Hubby and I both like unique names since we both have uber popular names, Nathan and Michelle. We both hated sharing our names as kid and having to go by your first name and last initial. We don't have any kids together so we haven't named any together but he tends to like more unique names than I do.
Our oldest is Brennan. I knew a little girl from church named Brenna, when I was pregnant. Before I knew if Brennan was a boy or a girl, I had decided on Brenna Riley for a girl. When I found out he was a boy, every name I suggested his dad didn't like. Finally at about 6 months pregnant, Brennan's dad suggested his name. I liked the name but wasn't convinced it was the one. After a few weeks it stuck and we have Brennan. I love his name, I love that it is unique. I do not love that people cannot pronounce his name when said verbally, something I never thought of when naming him.
Our middle child, is Wynter. Hubby's ex-wife had read a book with Winter as the main character and suggested it to hubby. He liked the name and changed it to Wynter. You know, 10 years ago that was the trendy thing to do. I love her name, the most unique of all our children but I would've spelled it like the season to keep things simple.
Our youngest is Phoenix. Hubby and his ex-wife separated while she was still pregnant. They each made a list of names they liked and Phoenix was on both lists. Easy to decide. Almost 8 years ago the name was very unique and neither masculine or feminine. Over the last few years it has gained popularity as a boys name, although there was another Phoenix in her dance class of 10 girls.
I love talking baby names!
I hope you enjoyed reading and learned a little something new about me and my family. Thanks again to everyone who participated, it was a lot of fun!
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