Thursday, February 21, 2008

100 random things about me

I've thought about posting random stuff but could never pull myself to doing it. 100 things is a lot so I may shorten as I get further along.... we'll see how long it takes and how much I have to think as that's usually the determining factor in whether or not I complete something. Get comfy because here we go! You know me, but did you know this?

1. Never in a million years did we think we would have four cute (not kidding… they're cute – we have seen ugly kids before!) boys in 4
½ years.

2. Except for with Mr. Zeke, I have really
easy pregnancies. I guess the same could be said for the delivery as they have all been c-section. My job is to tell them when everything is numb, lay there patiently while my insides get rearranged, then smile (and cry) when I can take a deep breath again and our sweet punky doodles starts crying.

3. Speaking of pregnancy, I've been blessed with being able to
lose all the "baby weight" by the 6 week check-up, if not sooner. I figure it's God's compensation for the extra baggage I've carried the rest of my life.

4. We have more kids shows recorded on our DVR than shows for ourselves. We love being able to record stuff and not live our life around a TV programming schedule.

5. I have an obsession with contemporary, modern, funky stuff, which of course leads me to the next thing...

6. My favorite colors are silver, chocolate brown, blue, and lime green (all of which you can find throughout our house)

7. I am
extremely straight forward and everyone around me can usually tell what I’m thinking. I’m very open about stuff and will talk to most anyone. I sometimes come across as a snob because I’m very confident.

8. I'm a little overly independent and will think of every excuse to never ask anybody for help, but will drop everything at a moments notice to help a friend.


9. I used to consider myself lucky if I got a shower by noon, but now that we have 4 kids at home all day, that has since changed to getting one before going to bed. Daddy considers himself lucky if Mommy has showered and brushed her teeth before he comes home!

10. We love our iPod nano. 2 years ago, CompUSA had a $200 store rebate towards anything in their store if you signed up for a new cell phone plan… Efren got the cell phone, I got the free iPod.

11. We're both spontaneous so you can usually find us doing something very last minute.

12. I'm extremely competitive and always up for a challenge, hence my fascination with family history.

13. Pet Peeve #1 - People touching my face. I will start to back away if I have the smallest sense that something/someone is getting a little to close to my face. I'm a freak, I know, but I swear it's a genetic thing because my sisters are the same way.

14. Pet Peeve #2 - A messy house. It hurts my head to see things not in order and perfect. I think this is why I’m so horrible about consistently updating the blog because blogging takes a back seat to keeping the house clean.I don’t have time for that because my house would be a tornado zone.

15. Pet Peeve #3 - People who wear socks and sandals, especially people wearing flip-flops. People, people, people – don’t wear socks with sandals!

16. When I put the laundry away, it's organized by first color, then regular collar/collared shirts, then by short sleeve/long sleeve. For this reason, I love putting the laundry away... heaven forbid the green short sleeve shirt be sandwiched between 2 white long sleeved shirts. =)

17. Baby things we love.... we're a (double electric) Medela pumping, Bumbo sitting, Baby Bjorn carrying, Dex Stage 2 Dura Bib wearing, and Graco traveling family. We should have bought these the first time around with our first kid and not waiting until our #2, 3 or 4.



18. I only write with blue ink pens. It doesn't even have to be the expensive ones. We were at my sisters house once and they had an abundance of black pens. Hidden way in the back I hit the jackpot by coming across a few blue ones and went to use them…. one by one… and all of them were dried up. Aaaahhh, you’re kidding me!

19. Pre-Motherhood I was a queasy lady - fast forward almost 5 years and boogers/runny noses, spit-up, vomit, blood, poop and the newborn poop blow-outs (for those of you who don't have children yet, yes, there is a difference!), I handle ‘em all.

20. 99% of the time, I'm the household bug killer. Scorpions, spiders, pincher bugs, you name it, I'll kill it - it's usually followed by a long "eeeehhhhh" and a funky dance, but nevertheless, I killed it.

21. I hate dirt! It takes a lot for me to walk outside barefoot. If I'm working in the yard, I have to wear gloves because dirt may get under my nails. This also filters to my shoe choice for the day.....

22. I have “I'm going to work in the yard” shoes, “I'm working out” shoes, “I hope my feet don't get to sweaty while wearing these” shoes, “I'm looking good!” shoes, "Pay close attention so I don't walk too close to the dirt" shoes, and of course my "old faithful" flip-flops. Unfortunately I think I might have shared this trait with Diggies.

23. I don’t touch raw meat. I'm going the extra mile for you if I prepare a meal that requires me to do so. I can usually get by with using a knife and fork, but if I gotta get all down and messy, consider yourself a lucky person.

24. I'm a little (....or maybe a lot!) sound sensitive. You'd never know it since we've got 4 kids, but the loud screaming and yelling still gets to me.

25. I had chronic ear problems growing up, mostly in one ear. Ear infections are a common thing for me, as are ruptured ear drums and the occasion draining. I am partially deaf in one ear, but can hear the high frequency pitch that the electronic sensors give off when they're turned on.

26. We have a little tradition around our house, and it's called New Years Nachos. The phrase is interchangeable and can become Christmas Nachos or Thanksgiving Nachos when need be. The tradition started with I asked Efren if he wanted anything special for New Years. His request of course was nachos and now anytime the whole family gets together, at least one person will ask where Efren's New Years Nachos are.


27. In Efren's world, anything can be turned into a sandwich. I wish I were kidding, but it's true. Efren will eat a minimum of 5 sandwiches in a weeks time. It doesn't have to be a specific kind, anything works..... chicken, ham, PB&J, tuna, pulled pork, spaghetti, whatever you've got, he'll throw between 2 pieces of bread. (In case the spaghetti one peaked your curiosity, he says it’s quite delicious. I’ll take his word for it)

28. I love the way little babies curl into a little ball when you pick them up. I also love the way babies heads rest so perfectly between your shoulder and neck.

29. I always slightly tilt my head while taking pictures. If I don’t think I look good in a picture, it’s probably because my head isn’t in the properly tilted position.


then now

30. In my “youth” (mid-late teens) I had super blonde hair and was a fake ‘n bake regular.

31. My favorite phrase that I learned from my sister is it happened on the way. In most situations it really did, but other times I’m just lazy. Stuff always seems to happen a few minutes before we walk out the door and I don’t feel like changing clothes again (whether myself or the kids/baby). It quite the phrase though as it works for nearly everything.

32. I have never been to Disneyland. Rumor has it that I went as a newborn, but I have yet to see any evidence of that. Efren’s got me beat as he has been twice.

33. Neither one of else has read any of the Harry Potter book collection, nor watched any of the movies.

34. I have read (and own) all of Dan Brown’s books.

35. Speaking of books, it’s not in my best interest to read any literature if I’m the slightest bit tired as my mind won’t turn off and I become different characters in the story and weird things chase me.

36. Our favorite shows include October Road, Private Practice, Brothers & Sisters, Law & Order, Grey’s Anatomy, and Biggest Loser.

37. We are contemplating buying Rock Band because we played it at a friends’ house and thought it was the best.

38. For those of you with children and have seen Veggies Tales - no, we have NOT been to Boston in the fall.

39. My favorite perfume is Victoria Secret’s Heavenly. It truly lives up to its name and can cover up most any funkiness I may produce!

40. I love pumpkin pie, minus the crust. My new favorite is the Pumpkin Cobbler from Costco. If you haven’t had it, stop everything and go buy it now!

41. On the (sometimes frequent) occasion that I eat pie/cobbler out of the pan, I never just cut a piece and it eat it, that would be way too easy. Instead I have like a 1/8” sliver all the way across. Efren can tell if I had some pie because instead of it being 1/2 gone (and a 1/2 circle) it’s more like a smaller version of what a 1/2 circle once was.

42. When I was pregnant with Nathaniel, I told Efren I needed to go to TGI Friday’s and get the Sizzlin’ Chicken and Cheese because the people on the commercial were happy while they were eating it and I thought it would make me happy too!

43. I’m a perfectionist so having #42 not together with #2 and 3 is driving me crazy!

44. But since we’re going out of order, I totally craved protein all the time with Zeke. I discovered tortilla chips and peanut butter are quite a yummy combo.

45. I still have 2 baby teeth and will someday need to be yanked out as they don’t have any adult teeth to knock ‘em loose.

46. We still are amazed that 3 of our 4 boys got my blue eyes and not daddy’s browns.

47. Just in case you’ve ever heard about baby Isabelle…. Yes, we do talk about her as if she is part of our family. We thought #3 would be a girl, it was a Sammy. We thought #4 would be a girl, it was a Zeke. All the while, the boys still ask about their sister Isabelle. At church in Primary, both Nathaniel and Gabriel were sharing with everyone how they have a sister that is still living with Jesus. The other day Nathaniel asked if worms die. I explained that everything dies, just like people, and goes back to live with Heavenly Father and Jesus. Nathaniel quickly said, “oh mom, that’s where Isabelle is. When you die and go live with Jesus, you and her could have a tea party and that would probably be lots of fun.”

48. We both have “stupid” accidents – Efren ran into a post while playing football, I ran into a parked car while riding my bike. In my defense, I was looking in the opposite direction and so it doesn’t count. It’s still stupid, but it makes me feel better. Efren said his doesn’t count because he still caught the football. Yah, whatever Efren!

49. The best things about having all boys...

…When they start picking their own clothes, it was be acceptable for them to not match.

…Someone will get hurt and it’s ok for me to give them a hug and then send them on their way.

…There can be hand me downs without any commotion.

…(if we wanted to) We could have all 4 of them share one room.

…Not having to deal with all the emotional drama that girls bring about.

…They can make a toy or game out of most anything.

Mommy can build anything out of Kid K’nex (numerous years of lego and Lincoln log practice from playing with my little brother)

…saving a ton of money by not having to buy accessories, make-up, clothing, and shoes.

…I can fix everyone’s hair in less than 5 minutes.

…Having plenty of strong muscle to help around the house.

…Ensuring that in 20+ years there will be 4 fabulous, caring gentlemen that will be complete marriage material.

50. The worst things about having all boys

…Dreading the day when 2 shopping carts full of food from Costco is considered just picking up a few things.

…Hearing “I’m soooo hungry” an hour after eating.

…Auto insurance premiums for 3 teenage boy drivers at one time.

…Nobody understanding why it would take anyone more than 10 minutes from getting in the shower to walking out the door.

…Always getting questioned why I’m the only one without a king.

…(During the dating years) Having an endless line of dumb girls calling and coming by the house. I guess it comes with having such a large selection of choices.

…Cleaning toilets and the surrounding areas which falls victim to their dangerous line of fire.

51. I am a shower woman. Of course this only applies on the few days I get a shower in, but something about sitting in dirty water isn’t so appealing to me. I think I’ve taken all of 2 or 3 baths since we’ve been in this house. Our master bathroom has a big separate tub that is the designated boys bathtub/ spot for storing the baby bathtub/ washing dirty feet/ soaking a big batch of dirty clothes with Oxi Clean tub.

52. When I do take a shower, I can not take a shower without washing my hair. My brain goes into “eeehhh!” mode and I can’t finish unless the hair has been washed.

53. After 19 hours of labor and then an emergency c-section with our first boy, we opted to having c-sections with all of them. I’m very grateful for this choice because both Gabriel and Zeke were born weeks earlier than their due date and still weighed 9 lbs, and 9 lbs 14 oz and there’s no way they would have made it out the other way.

54. I’m waiting for the yellow teeth thing to come back into style. =) They say you’re not supposed to whitening while your pregnant or nursing, and I have fallen into one of those categories for the last 5½ years.

55. I’m super excited that we are part of the nFS (new FamilySearch) live because of the area we live in. I only started playing around with it, but I know it will be 10x easier to do Family History research.

56. I’m not a big flower person. I like daisies, and a single rose every now and then, but I can’t stand the smell of flowers. The smells reminds me of what dead people smell like. My MIL sent me some flowers….. the kind from edible arrangements and they were fabulous, I loved them!

57. I have curly toes. They curl so much under that when I wear certain sandals, it looks as though I only have 4 toes. =)

58. Everyone in our house owns more clothing than I do. Our walk-in closet is maybe 2/3 full. I can always justify buying them clothes, but rarely buy stuff for me.

59. Beyond milk and bread, chips and salsa are staples at our house.

60. We’ve been to Tyler Perry’s play Madea goes to Jail. We were among the few lighter folks, but we had lots of fun. We love Tyler!

61. Weird pregnancies food cravings…. with #1 – milk, cheese, and peanut m&m’s (I was not a regular milk drinker prior to children), with #2 – milk, ice cream, and cheese (see a pattern here?), with #3 – anything with red sauce and spicy (thought it might be a girl), with #4 – protein… and lots of it! Steak, chicken, more steak, more chicken, I couldn’t get enough meat (thought it’d be a girl for sure)

62. I read the fine print to everything. Even if it’s stuff I already know, I still read it.

63. I used to work at a bank. I was Efren’s sugar momma. I was a teller, opened new accounts, sold annuities, handled all the customer service issues, and some lending.

64. I made up a song when Nate was only a few days old to get him to calm down (he was a very colicky baby) and it’s called Mommy loves me. The boys request it ewguarly, especially when they’re hurt.

65. (in case you haven’t noticed) We never call our children just one name. They’re Nathaniel, Gabriel, Samuel, Ezekiel…. also known as Diggies, Gabers, Sammy, Zeke…. also known as Digs, Heta face, Sam-I-Am, Zekey…. also known as Nate, Gaber-goos, Bonkers, Zeekey Weekey… also known as Batman, Robyn, Scooby Doo, and ? (he doesn’t have a name yet) One thing is always the same, they’re all my punky doodles, baby baloogas, and my pumpkin pie, and Mommy is always Catwoman!

66. I’m extremely particular as to what my children and husband wear. It’s not that it has to be a particular designer or anything, but it has to have a certain style. Of course, it’s usually in one of my favorite colors as well.

67. I love Savers. I know lots of people who won’t shop at 2nd hand stores but love the clothes the boys wear. I’d say about 50% of their wardrobe is from a thrift store. A few weeks back I found some cute Tommy Hilfiger button-up oxford shirts for $1.50 a piece, super cute brown Dickies dress shoes for $2. The key is to still be selective while shopping at these kinds of stores.

68. I have a dollar limit at stores. For instance, if I’m at Savers, I won’t buy anything over $6 because… it’s 2nd hand. If I’m at Target, I won’t buy clothing that is more than $15 because… I’m at Target. Obviously the limit changes with whatever store I’m at as the $6 and $15 rule doesn’t work when I’m at the mall.

69. We love Craigslist.

70. From time to time we entertain the idea of trying for a girl, but then we take into consideration that God has a sense of humor and would probably send us twin boys just to have a good laugh.

71. I love shopping at TJ Max and Marshalls.

72. I haven’t scrapbooked anything for our albums since Nate was a baby. I do stuff for other people, but haven’t made time for our stuff.

73. I have really, really cute scrapbook paper that is referred to as my pizza box paper (translation, it’s so cute that I don’t want to cut it, but take it out from time to time to remind myself how cute it is)

74. I find that painting to be very cathartic. I’ve painted our whole house from top to bottom (minus a few ceilings in a couple rooms) and could always use a friend that needs the inside of their house painted. Efren hates doing it so he does kid patrol while I go about my therapy.

75. We love to travel. It’s a bit challenging with 4 kids, but we love it nonetheless.

76. Depending on the day, I go back and forth between wanting a professional career and being a busy at home mom when all the kids are in school. Efren assures me that I don’t need to do anything until all the kids are in school, and then I can figure it all out. Ya hear that guys? Mommy can’t do anything per Daddy’s orders. Unfortunately the weeds in the front yard didn’t get to memo that I’m off duty for the next 5 years.

77. I’m a big GH fan. I’m not so excited that the added the “not so modest” Claudia Zaccara to the picture. Put some clothes on woman!

78. I will only swim in places where I can see to the bottom. You won’t catch me dead swimming in a lake.

79. I can never decide whether I want my hair short or long. I like the look of slightly longer hair, but hate the time it takes to blow dry and fix it because…

80. I have the thickest hair I’ve ever seen. I (kinda) love that the postpartum hair shedding phrase that is naturally thinning my hair out.

81. My husband enjoys me being pregnant because he says it makes him feel really smart. (my brain works at 33% capacity during pregnancy)

82. When we turn the lights out at night time, I can’t see in the dark. Efren would be able to tell you whether your eyes were opened or closed, or in which direction you were looking. Not me – you turn the lights out and everything is black until morning!

83. I don’t know what I would do without the internet. Yes, I know life would go on but at a much slower pace. I like having the convenience of being able to google just about anything I’d like to know.

84. I wish my body (and brain) would hurry up and figure out what size it wants to be. I get frustrated with different areas of my body that are too big for average people, but too skinny for the big people. Where am I? Am I a fat average person, or skinny fat person? I don’t know!

85. I have the awesomest husband in the whole wide world. He is so good to both me and the children. He’s also patient and puts up with all my stuff… he’s pretty much heard it all.

86. I am an avid DDR (dance dance revolution) girl. Don’t mess with me and my dance pad.

87. I love 4 seasons, especially the beginning of spring. It’s so pretty to see the flowers blooming while the remnants of snow melt away. It also happens to include my "colors". (see #6 if you're confused)

88. We have been married for almost 7 years. During that time, we had 4 children that were born in 3 different states, owned 3 homes, and moved 7 times.


89. We miss Chicago. Someday we would love to live there again, but not while the boys are still at home.

90. Motherhood has made it me a bit more relaxed. Well not entirely, but having so many boys, I’ve come to terms with some things being disposable. For instance, our lovely Sammy got a hold of a pen and drew all over our light sand colored microfiber sectional while daddy was on duty and I was out shopping. When Nate was Sam’s age, he drew on our nubuck leather couch and I totally flipped. I surprisingly didn’t get upset with Efren over Sam and the sectional incident. I just said, “well, you know we’ll be needing a new couch in 5 or 6 years anyways so whatever.”

91. We love all the deals daddy gets from work. Our iPod speaker, original price $215, our price $40… Dyson ball vacuum, original price $539, our price $215… Simple Human stainless steel trashcan, original price $107, our price $35.. Henckel knives, original price $600+, our price, $200

92. We don’t own any pets. We figure that having 4 boys is more than enough to pick up and clean up after. Perhaps when the kids get old enough to take care of the pet, we’ll get something. Maybe a fish, yeah, I could handle a fish. A dog? Not so much. I don’t do the messy hair all over the house thing. Cats, oh, cats are just dumb and I’ve got enough of that in my life already.

93. Around our house, we can make a song about pretty much anything. Even if it’s just 1 line, the kids will sing it all day around the house. For instance, the other day Gabe had to go potty while I was nursing the baby and he was asking what he should do next. I was a little busy and I told him to, “pull up your undies” so all day the boys were singing, “pull up your undies! Pull up your undies!”

94. Our UPS guy thinks we run a daycare because of all the kids that we have.

95. I used to think that I was busy with 1 child….. haha that’s funny. Now looking back, I’m positive that I had no clue what busy really meant. In 5 years from now, I’ll probably be saying the same thing about my spot in life now.

96. Most of our friends are older than us. Not intentionally, but because of our family dynamics and size, it puts us in the younger of the older folks category.

97. I have a bad habit of being a wee bit judgmental. I would give you an example and justify why I am, but in the end, I’m still judgmental.

98. When I was in 3rd grade, I was convinced that Steve Urkle was really a white guy with black make-up. My sister was at band camp and there was a guy that they nicknamed Steve Urkle and I assumed he was the real deal. A few months later at school, I was trying to explain to a black boy that Steve Urkle was really white. He of course laughed at me, but it didn’t matter because I had met him and knew the truth.

99. My favorite scent is vanilla bean.

100. I can’t eat the same food more than twice in a row. You give me something 3 times in a week and I probably wouldn’t eat it.

4 comments:

Pollock Palooza said...

Let's be honest... I didn't read all 100 things because I'm ADD, but I think you should still take the kids to Disneyland... you would LOVE it!

Millers! said...

Ok I did read all 100, and I cant believe that you actually came up with 100, I would be sitting here for DAYS trying to just think up something creative... We are probably going to go to Disneyland this summer, my brother, his wife and kids are going (they live in Guatemala) so we might meet them down there, instead of going to Utah...

Tad and Jennifer said...

I'm impressed that you came up with 100. A friend "tagged" me a couple of weeks ago and I can't even come up with 7 interesting things about me. You do need to take the family to Disneyland though. You'll love it. Just ask Julie, they go all the time.

Danika said...

Hey Julia! Found your blog via Cicily's. I am impressed you can think of 100 things about yourself! And AMEN to Savers! I love thrift store shopping...
If you want to read my blog: www.danikapark.blogspot.com
Not nearly as cute or funny as yours, but oh well.