10 on the 10th; Motherhood Questions and Answers

When Leslie from Once Upon a Time & Happily Every after came up with this month's 10 on the 10th questions she gave multiple questions for each of the 10 questions so that we could answer based on pets or children.  I decided I really wanted to focus on motherhood as it's traditionally defined and trimmed her questions to the parts that pertained to my actual children (as my answers were just so long and cumbersome otherwise).  

Truth be told that while we have owned many pets over the years I have never been a real "pet" person.  I like animals but I really don't enjoy taking care of them.  I am much more suited to motherhood.  




Please forgive the not so great photos but all of these are OLD and I took photos of photos-- that were on scrapbook pages at that. 


1. Do you have pets or children at home now?  If so, tell us more about them.

I have three boys ages 16, 14, & 12.  All three of them have vastly different personalities but get along fairly well.  Ian is my worker; loving being outside running any sort of equipment.  Alec is my baker and loves experimenting with desserts and baked good recipes in the kitchen.  Evan is my gamer and is into all thing video game related. 






2.  What age were you when you became a mommy for the first time?

I was 26 when I had my oldest son.  

Ian

3.  Are your children biological or adopted?

All three are biological (and look so much like my husband and I that there is no denying we are all related)

Alec
Ian and Alec meeting Evan for the first time

4. If you have children, did you deliver them naturally or with pain meds or by C-section? 

I had all three boys vaginally but needed pain meds. In fact my doctor (who was against all meds) encouraged me to have an epidural with Ian since they just could not get my body to go into labor after almost 2 full days in the hospital.  Good thing I had had an epidural too as I ended up needing a D&C afterward for a retained placenta.  

While I was great with pregnancy and great with delivery my body just does not like to be in labor I guess.  Luckily once they could break my waters (with all three boys they HAD to be broken) I usually delivered within just a short hour or so with minimal problems or complications.


Ian meeting Alec for the first time


5.  Did you breast feed or bottle feed or pump for your human babies?

I had no desire to breastfeed at all but once I gave it a try with my first, I found I was quite a natural at it.  I often pumped milk to store in the fridge to use just on occasion so I could sleep or go out of the house without the baby (like on a date!).  I ended up breastfeeding all three boys for a full year each. 


6. Cloth diapers or disposable diapers with your babies?

We used disposable diapers. 


7. Prenatal and parenting classes? Homeschool or public school or private school for your children?

The only class we ever took as parents was our childbirth classes (which we only went to for the first one).  

My oldest two boys started out in private school and when it was shut down we tried a year or two in public school before I pulled them out and began homeschooling. My youngest spent 2 years in a private preschool but has been homeschooling ever since.  It was the best decision I have ever made hands down. It just really clicked for us all.  



Alec's first day of pre-k (but his second year if that makes sense)

Alec and Ian graduating from Preschool together 
Evan's preschool graduation



Evan's preschool play


8. What is the significance of your children’s names? 

My boys first names don't really have a significance to them; I was teaching at the time and my only stipulation was that the name we chose could not remind me of any one of my students.  My husband and I had a hard time agreeing on names but once we began those short vowel names (Ian, Alec, and Evan) we stuck with them. The boys do all have a middle name that comes from a close family member though.  


9.  If you have children, did you travel with them as babies?  Did you use daycare for your children?  Play dates? Do you take your children to stores and restaurants with you?  

We began traveling with our children when they were quite young.  In fact I think Ian was just a few months old for our first trip.  We almost always managed a family vacation each year (you can read a summary of our vacations from 1995-2016 here).  Trips have gotten so much easier as they got older and we're still waiting to go on this year's trip. 


Ian's first vacation was in Maine

Alec's first vacation was to Sesame Place in Pennsylvania 

Evan's first vacation was at Sesame Place too 

Our first vacation with all three boys and Alec was scared of the characters so just Ian, Evan and I met the count
Ian and Alec at Disney

My youngest was the only one that ended up in daycare and just for a few weeks.  The school my older boys were attending needed a long term substitute one year and I volunteered for the job.

My boys were so lucky that so many of my friends and family members had babies around the same time/same age so we almost always had weekly play dates with someone.  I always took them grocery shopping and out to lunch or even to the mall with me starting at very young ages and I distinctly remember getting compliments on their behaviors from other people; especially when we took them out to eat with us.


Alec meeting my best friend's son who was just a few months older

Ian and Alec with me at the zoo; we went with some friends of ours


10. What is one lesson you have learned or one take away from being a parent?

Oh boy.. only 1?  I guess I'd have to say my biggest lesson is that life moves pretty fast; if you don't stop and look around once in a while you could miss it-- oh wait that's what I learned watching Ferris Bueller.  

My biggest take away is that you don't have to have all the answers (no one does!) just love them, laugh with them, share in their pain, and be there to support them, focus on building a real relationship with your kids and everything else will fall into place. 

Linking Up With: Spread the Kindness, A Cup of Joe,











Comments

  1. Such wise words!! I made loads of mistakes with my babies but I would say I do have a relationship, a real true, deep relationship with them both.

    What darling babies your boys were. I enjoyed seeing them as babies and toddlers and meeting each other for the first time. I was interested to know at what ages you began homeschooling. Now I know!

    Thank you for joining me for 10 on the 10th again this month.

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    1. OH don't we all?! Mistakes are inevitable but it is definitely the relationship that counts. Yeah Ian had just finished up second grade and Alec Kindergarten when we began homeschooling.

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  2. Enjoyed learning about your parenting journey! I used to love taking the kids to Sesame Place.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! We always had such a great time there.

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  3. This was such an interesting read! I love hearing about other's experiences.
    www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com

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  4. Oh I love posts like these. These prompts get you to dig deeper and I love that. :)

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    Replies
    1. I think they do too; I love reading how other people respond too and seeing where our experiences overlap and how they are different.

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  5. This was so fun to read! I applaud you and your patience with 3 boys all 2 years apart! I have 2 boys who are 2 years apart and they are driving me bonkers! I also completely applaud you for homeschooling them. It was something I never considered doing and now that I am being forced to do it, I understand why I never considered it. It is really hard and frustrating and my children do not take well to being taught by mommy. Thanks for sharing and linking up with me.

    Shelbee
    www.shelbeeontheedge.com

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! It was harder when they were younger and had so much more energy. Our first year or even two of homeschooling I must have threatened to send them back to school on almost a daily basis. It took that long for MY mind to shift what I saw as schoolwork with what I know as learning. Once we turned to a more hands on/ play based approach and ditched most of our written work until middle school things went much more smoothly. My boys are eager to learn because they get to pick what we're learning about plus they hear about their public school friend working at school all day and tackling school work each evening when we're typically done school by lunch so they are quite eager to keep going. Plus, no offense, but what you are doing now it nothing like homeschooling. Heck, homeschoolers aren't even homeschooling right now! We are so used to meeting up with friends and taking classes several times a week and it's a bit of a shock to us all. I think we're all sort of crisis schooling and all we can expect and hope for is just that they've learned SOMETHING by the end of the day. Even if is just more about current events, or hiking, or how to cook a healthy meal.

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  6. It's so nice to learn a little more about you and your family! I really enjoyed seeing your photographs as well. Thank you for sharing this glimpse into your life and for being a part of the Hearth and Soul Link Party Community. Take care and have a lovely week.

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