Questions and Answers

Every now and then I like to ask the people on my facebook page to ask me questions, and then I answer them in a blog post. I haven't done that for a while, so I thought that I'd do it tonight. And in less than an hour I had a bunch of really great questions!

Heather asked: Do you have any facebook stalkers?
Well, that depends on your definition of "stalker". As far as I know, I don't have any of the weird creepy I Am Watching Your Every Move And I'm Going To Find You And Lock You In A Box And Keep You Forever stalkers. But I do have a few people on both my personal profile and on my page who I consider 'stalkerish' - you know the kind who comment on virtually everything, or 'like' everything, or better yet - they see that I've commented on a public post (maybe on another page) and then feel the need to comment after I do even if it's a page that to the best of my knowledge wouldn't normally interest them. Now if I see strange cars start driving past my house every day.....I might start to wonder.

Dana asked: When did you know The Dude was a keeper?
That one's pretty easy. We hadn't been dating very long, but we both knew that our relationship had the potential to get serious. We were having a pretty deep conversation about it, and Daniel was playing on the floor in front of us. The Dude is a few years younger than I am, and he's never been married and doesn't have any kids, and this concerned me - I felt like if he chose to stay with me, he'd be giving up his chances to do both of those things - especially having kids of his own. I told him that I was worried about that, and he looked at Daniel and then looked at me and said "I can leave a legacy for this world that doesn't involve my DNA." That's the moment that I fell, but I didn't admit it to him (or myself) for quite a few months after that.

Carolyn asked: How is your and your older kids relationship with their stepmother?
For the most part, it's good. I know without a doubt that she loves the kids and that is the most important thing in the big picture. We do have differing views on a lot of things, but honestly, it hasn't been that big of a deal. We disagree at times, but that's part of life.

Heather asked: Who is YOUR favorite blogger?
Totally not fair! Honestly, I don't have a favorite. I'm horrible at reading other people's blogs because I do get caught up in my own stuff and then I run out of time. But here's a hint: if you want me to read your blog, just send me a link. I always say that I'm going to get caught up on my reading list, but yeah, it hasn't happened yet.

Heather asked: What parenting 'no-no' are you guilty of doing, just to get a little 'you' time, or to get the kids to listen to you?
To get them to listen? Ha. Garbage bag rampage. The biggest thing that they don't listen to me about is picking up their toys. If they refuse, I get a garbage bag and start chucking stuff into it - then the fear of losing their stuff kicks in and they get moving. I've had some people tell me that it's a horrible thing to do, but I say "you gotta' do what you gotta' do".

Heather asked: Will you come clean my house?
It'll cost you.

Heather asked: With that many people, do you do some {laundry} every day? Or do you let it pile up and just have a laundry day when someone runs out of clean underwear? (Like I do.) 
For the most part, it gets done every day, otherwise I just can't keep up. I try to do the older three kids' laundry when they're not here so that all of their stuff is clean when they get back. Everyone else's stuff gets done when it needs to be done. Since there are still occasional toileting issues, the laundry is pretty much always going. And towels....ugh, don't get me started on towels.....

Debi asked: Cream, sugar, or black coffee? (How did I not know this one, anyway?!)
Depends on my mood and what kind of coffee it is. If I'm out running around and stop to get some, I usually get a vanilla cappucino. If I'm at home and I'm making my own, it's usually with sugar, sometimes with milk, sometimes with both, sometimes black..... or if I remember to get it at the store I'll get some kind of creamer (usually vanilla). And you didn't know this because back when we worked together, I didn't drink the stuff!

Honey asked: Where the hell do you get all your energy to keep going everyday? It seems as if you never get enough sleep. Up late, up early, I wish I had half your energy. 
Amanda asked: It seems you do so much through out the day...how do make a schedule and stick to it? I'm a fairly new SAHM of only 2 and sometimes feel I get nothing done.
(I'm combining both of these because ..... well, because.)

Honestly, it's a survival thing. Being the only adult in the house, I know that if I don't get it all done, no one else is going to do it for me. After my first divorce, I worked two jobs and I got maybe 2 hours of sleep per night - but I had no choice if I wanted to survive. That habit has continued, even though I know that it's not good for me. I try to get as much done as I can during the day while the kids aren't here so that I can actually spend some time with them in the evenings, but it doesn't always work that way. Then I'm up late playing around on the computer because that's my me-time (but I'm also usually folding laundry or doing paperwork at the same time). At this point, I think I probably average 4-5 hours of sleep per night. It's not easy - but it's how I get things done. And every now and then I take a day when the kids are in school and I sleep and recharge.

And of course, caffeine is my friend.