Only Ten?

I secretly love reading list about other people and have seen several lately on other blogs. I decided to list ten things about myself as a Mother that people might not know. I know at least one person will enjoy reading this. I included a parting shot at the end as a reward for reading the whole list.

1. I sing to the girls all the time. Jay does too, but I have the lesser voice for it. They don't seem to mind and I especially love making up words to familiar tunes.

2. I can't do hair. People compliment Katie Jo's hair cut and I completly agree that it's to die for but I have to admit I keep it short enough so that I don't have to do anything with it. Give me a blow dryer and a rolling brush and I can create magic, but creating a straight line down the back of her head isn't going to happen.

3. I go yard selling. I would get up at 7am on a Saturday after a sleepless night with Georgia when I wouldn't take a call from the president on a regular day. My friend Kayci is the Queen of yard sales and between the two of us we can hunt down some major deals. I love finding clothes and toys. It's amazing what people will sell for such menial prices. It's truly addicting.

4. On that note I also love to ebay. I buy the girls' high end clothes on ebay. I really love the special occasion stuff since the child you're buying it from probably only wore it once. The best deal was three pairs of Angel shoes for $20 (regularly $60-70) and the girl was local so she dropped them off at my house and I didn't have to pay shipping.

5. I make bows. Again, my friend Kayci and I started a little bow business called Bossy Bows. It's been on hiatus since Georgia was born but we'll start up again in the spring. We call ourselves the "carnies" since we only sell at school carnivals! Saddly Katie Jo doesn't wear bows so I'm not a very good salesperson.

6. I'm not very creative. I hear people say how they made this craft or that art project with their child and I think "What? Who has time for all this?" You would think someone like myself who was a former teacher and in first grade for heaven's sake would do all these wonderful projects with her own children. Nope. There's always tomorrow though.

7. I am so about reading with the girls. I'd say between Jay and I, we read 15 books a day. Katie Jo has to have several read to her before her nap and bed time. I also try to read to both the girls and now that Georgia sits up I can put them in front of me and read just like a teacher. Katie Jo even will take Georgia's little board books and picture walk through them. She'll look at a page, say the words to describe the picture, and then turn the book around so Georgia and I can see the picture. I love it!

8. I am super organized with the girls stuff. I am a fanatic about keeping their clothes organized. They're all in rubbermaid containers marked by size. I also have their toys organized by type and Georgia's toys are in separate "baby" baskets. Now don't confuse this with cleanliness because Lord knows they may all have a bin or basket but they're not always in them! I do have a new moto this year I am going to try and stick by, "Everything has a home. If you can't find it a home then give it away."

9. I'm all about routines. This is such a teacher thing too. I loved the daily comfort of knowing what came next in the classroom and it makes for such smooth sailing. If anything ever came up like a fire drill or assembly then you'd "monitor and adjust," but there was still a routine to follow once you got back to normal. This so carries over for me in being at home. We go and do with the best of them but I try to stick to a routine so the girls know what's coming next.

10. I'm a slave to good sleep habits. I have a wonderful book I found when Katie Jo was 3 months old and have adopted it as my one book to suggest to any mother. It is "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child." The author doesn't subscribe to one child rearing method but to the natural rythms of children's sleep patterns. Any problems I've had related to sleep I have always found a solution to in this book. I believe a well rested child is a happy child. I'm pretty rigid when it comes to bed times, especially for Georgia and I try to not interfere with her getting a good night's sleep. Her sleeping through the night? Now that's a whole other post, but she wakes up with a smile on her face and that's all that matters.

Now here's the super cute photo you've been waiting on.