Answers, Part I

Before I was a Boy Mom

I have never been career driven, ever since a very young age, I wanted to get married and have kids and be a full-time homemaker. I think this stemmed from being raised by a very hard working single mom. In my mind, I wanted the fairy tale two parent home, with a mom who baked cookies and a dad that considered me his princess. Since that wasn't going to happen, I reconciled to be the soccer mom myself and find a husband who would take care of me and treat me like his princess. EVERYONE tried talking sense into me - telling me I needed a degree, that I was too smart not to go to college, and that my desire for an old-fashion family was, well, completely old fashion.

Interestingly enough, I found myself dating the valedictorian of our class, who was headed off to an Ivy League school after graduation. With no proposal on the horizon, I had to do something, so I enrolled at a local private college and spent 3 semesters living on campus. I had a 3.8 GPA when I decided I'd had my fill of the college experience (I majored in English/Secondary Education with a minor in Sociology) and dropped out. I also broke up with my med-school bound boyfriend because sheesh, he wasn't going to be marriage ready for years -lol (no seriously, there were other things, too!) I got my own charming little apartment(which I loved decorating!), and a job at Merck Pharmaceutical doing clerical work. Working for such a power-house company at that time I was actually earning a salary that exceeded what I would have made as a new teacher. I worked in the same department for 5 years and quit when I had my first son.

I am happy to say that I did travel quite a bit, including to Europe, before having my kids, but it's something I wish I had done more of! I was also lucky enough to have a mom that took us to museums, Broadway shows and five star restaurants - none of which I get to indulge in raising three young boys and having no babysitters to speak of. It's a season ;) I have no regrets about not finishing college, and I never feel inferior or embarrassed about it. Hey! I was smart enough to marry a good guy, and they are hard to find!

Jonathan + Jan

My husband and I met at church. At the time I was very seriously dating someone else, and he was too - but I didn't know it! In fact, I kept thinking he was an attractive, well established, kind gentleman and who could I set him up with? His girlfriend at the time attended her own church and since that is the only place I saw Jonathan, I didn't even know he was involved. As it worked out, both our relationships ended and I started to think maybe I should be the one to date such a nice guy! So my girlfriend at church invited us to random things together - like watching the hockey game at her house, leading a game for the teen group, etc. Finally, Jonathan asked me out on a date, but I still had an obstacle to clear....our almost 12 year age difference! I've always been considered "mature" for my age, and I was living in my own apartment with a full-time job, so I didn't know if Jonathan had a clue that I was only 20 at the time, while he was in his 30's - gulp.

Also, many people were convinced that Jonathan would never marry. One woman told me so at a ladies retreat and that I was setting myself up to be heartbroken since he was too happily independent to wed. A few months later, she sang the solo at our wedding ceremony ;) We dated a year before he proposed, and were engaged for nine months. This January we will celebrate 10 years of marriage. I'd call it wedded bliss, but marriage is HARD. I know we'll be together forever, but we certainly have our peeks and valleys.

Think Pink!

Jonathan and I have always wanted 3 or 4 children. Right now we both feel pretty maxed out raising our boys, but neither of us are ready to close the door completely on a fourth child. I do feel a certain sadness that I might not experience raising a daughter - braiding hair, dolls, prom dresses...they all give me pangs. However, when I'm pregnant "worry" isn't my middle name, it's my first - and my pregnancy with Graham was full of scares - low HCG levels, a cervical polyp that caused lots of bleeding, a cyst on his brain that I was told could be a soft marker for Down Syndrome, my high blood pressure, exposure to Fifth's Disease, the cord around his neck during delivery AND the fact that I hemorrhaged afterwards. I'm not sure I can sign on for any of that again. It's something I pray about often, and right now I can say I don't have a peace either way - so the decision remains unclear.

You need to get a hobby!

Hmm...other interests...I love to read, but it goes in waves and I'm really picky about what I like. I mostly enjoy realistic fiction or memoirs - a recent favorite was The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls and an all-time favorite author for me is Kaye Gibbons (I'm not interested in Nicholas Sparks or Twilight but you can bet I loved the entire Shopaholic series) I also love my "celebrity rags" and subscribe to both People and Us Weekly. I watch almost no tv and I hate the movies. Going to movies, renting movies, previews for movies - just not my thing. When I do watch tv it's all reality shows, all found on 3 channels - HGTV, TLC and Bravo (Real Housewives are a guilty pleasure). I have a lot of fun hosting game nights - Taboo, Guesstures, Pictionary - I can get competitive! Obviously, I love to shop - but not just for myself! I adore buying clothes for my boys (especially layette!) and also buying for/decorating my house. Logistics prevent me from other things I enjoy - going out to eat, bike riding, working out, tennis, skiing, boating, actually relaxing on a vacation...but there will be time for those things again when my boys are older.

I don't work or work out

As mentioned above, I do not work out. I wish I did, because while I have gone back to my pre-pregnancy weight, trust me when I tell you that nothing is firm. I would love to tone up! My excuses for not exercising are as follows:

-No babysitter

-Paranoia about leaving my kids in the childcare room at the gym

-a baby who only lasts 15 minutes in the stroller when I take him on walks

-laziness

-I'm too tired

To keep my weight down, there is no secret to tell. I'm hungry! I try to eat as little as possible. It makes me cranky. It also makes me prone to using my calories on Starburst and potato chips instead of real meals. I am a very average weight for someone my height, and feel self conscious about my body, like most women do. In order to look good in the pictures I post, I take about 20 until I find an angle that flatters - lol.

Okay - that covers about half the questions that were asked, the others are more fashion oriented, so I will be back to answer those in another post! If you fell asleep reading this, wake up - shakes shoulders - its over!