Self Portrait & 11 Things

The lovely Sarah at Nurse Loves Farmer started up the "11 Things" game, and I thought, "why not?" Here are the rules:

1. Post a photo of yourself
2. Answer the questions set for you in the original post.
3. Create 11 new questions and ask people to answer them.

Sarah's questions for me:

1. How did you choose your first child's name?

Believe it or not, Colin was a name my husband has thought about for a very long time. There's no particular reason, but it doesn't hurt that Colin Cowherd is at the top of his list of people he'd like to hang out with. When he brought up the name, I loved it too and it stuck.

2. If money wasn't an option, where would you love to live?

I actually think our location is pretty great right now (small town South Carolina), although it might be nice to live somewhere with more defined seasons. This former Michigander misses the snow. Yes, I am crazy. If I didn't have to worry about money, I might consider moving to the mountains of North Carolina.

3. What is the most embarrassing thing you have ever done?

The first thing that comes to mind is when I was in middle school. My family went to a public pool to swim, and I stupidly did a cannonball off the diving board while wearing a two piece swimsuit. The top was a tube top style, and it slipped right off and into the pool. Oops.

4. What catch-phrases annoy you?

I hate it when people say "at this point in time." Why can't you just say "at this time?" It just sounds so redundant.

5. Do you have any phobias?

I'm kind of phobic of vomiting. It is just the worst feeling in the world, and I get totally nervous and freaked out when someone close to me comes down with a stomach bug. If someone gets sick in public, I flee the scene. Toddler vomit is slightly less horrible, since it's my own kid, but it's still scary because you never know when it's going to strike and you have such little warning.

6. What's the best concert you've ever been to?

NEEDTOBREATHE. Favorite band. Boom.

7. Do you believe in love at first sight?

I don't. Love, by definition, is much more than an immediate attraction to someone. Love is something that must stand the test of time, and that takes work to maintain. Infatuation is not the same thing as love.

8. High school - loved it? Or hated it?

I had a love/hate relationship with high school. Looking back, though, it was more love than hate. I didn't belong in any cliques, other than maybe the fact that I was in band (drumline, to be more specific). I had a ton of acquaintances, but only a few close friends, and I liked it that way. I also had a job at a local coffee shop which taught me a lot.

9. Do you have a funny auto correct story to share?

It's not my own story, but my brother and his ex used to text, and auto correct turned "snuggle" into "smuggle." People in my family still sometimes say that they want to smuggle each other. :)

10. If you could witness any event past, present or future, what would it be?

Being a Christian, I would love to witness Christ's resurrection. I can't even imagine.

11.  What is the hardest thing you've ever done?

Being a mother has been the hardest and the best thing I've ever done. 


My 11 questions for YOU:

1. What was your first job?

2. What food could you eat every day for a month and not get tired of it?

3. If you won the lottery today, what is the first material thing you'd purchase?

4. Are your toenails currently painted? What do they look like?

5. How do you feel about pets? Do you have any?

6. When was the last time you went out to a movie? What did you see?

7. Do you have any vacations coming up? If not, where would you love to go?

8. What would you do with a kid free night? If you're not a parent, what would you do with an evening all to yourself?

9. What's your guilty pleasure movie or TV show?

10. Which website do you waste the most time on?

11. What's for dinner tonight? Give me some ideas!


Please let me know if you decide to play along. I'd love to hear your answers!                       

Katie Vaughan, Chaos Manager

By day, I am an Information Resource Consultant, but by night, I am Chaos Manager Extraordinaire. I am not even kidding when I say that right now, my home life is often more stressful than my work life, and it's all because I'm back to being a working mom. It's nearly impossible to do everything that needs to be done and stay sane right now. Being a mom presents challenges of its own, especially with more than one kid. Working full time is stressful, too. But add them both together? Holy moly. The only way we're making it work right now is to live in the moment and take it one day at a time.

Our new morning routine looks a little like this, with a few minor adjustments here and there:

5:45 - wake up and pump

6:00 - give Reid a bottle of pumped milk

6:15 - quickly get dressed, brush teeth, throw on makeup, brush hair

6:25 - get Colin up, change his diaper & get him dressed 

6:40 - give Colin a quick breakfast (something he can feed himself on the go)

6:45 - load up the car (breast pump, Reid's milk for the day, Colin's sippy, my breakfast and water bottle)

6:50 - get Colin's jacket on, stick Reid in the car seat, get both kids in the car and GO!

Of course, the routine also includes the hubs getting ready, and he helps out wherever he is needed. This morning, Reid woke up earlier than I thought he would, so Justin finished feeding him and helped get Colin ready to go.

We've only done the "2 kids out the door" routine three times now, and we certainly haven't perfected it yet. When will the weekend be here again?!

Right now, I'm handling daycare drop-off and Justin is picking the kids up at the end of the day. That gives me a few minutes to start dinner, feed the dog, and do whatever else needs to be done before the chaos returns. :)

On a semi-related note, I've had a few people inquire lately about how pumping at work is going. It's going very well so far! I have been given a small conference room to pump in, and I'm currently pumping every 3 hours, so I'm taking 2 pump breaks during the work day and pumping once on my lunch break. It's a little bit of a hassle to drag my pump around and clean the parts, but I really feel like it's worth it. Reid is doing very well on the bottle, too, and is eating like a champ during the day. I'm so thankful to still be breastfeeding 2 months out. It feels like a huge accomplishment after the struggles we had the first time around.

More to come, including my thoughts on breastfeeding: take 2!