Location: Boise, ID

Kids:

Ryan (9), Brennon (7), Meili (6), Gage (4), Treg Jr., (3) Lili (2) and Trinli (6 months)

Why do you choose to stay at home?

Being home with my children allows me the freedom to raise them in a positive light.  I am homeschooling my kids, which I have found to be such a blessing in our lives.  Instead of being in a room full of 30+ kids, they are home where they get all of their questions answered and their education is tailored to them.  It’s also nice to be home to show them by example how people should be treated and respected.  That is a difficult concept to teach if I were working and having to have my children be with other adults all day.  I can teach them principles and values that I trust, and not have to rely on someone else to do my teaching for me.

What are your favorite things about being at home?

I love that I never miss an a-ha moment in their lives!  I was here for every first step, every first word, every mess and every silly thing they’ve said.  When my son had his breakthrough in multiplication, I was here to see his eyes light up. 

What do you find the most difficult?

It is hard that my husband can’t be here for those moments as well.  We’re working on that, though.    Also, it is sometimes overwhelming to keep a clean and organized house.  It seems that I get one room done while they trash another.  I have a FANTASTIC husband who is really good about helping me out when I need to go grocery shopping or run errands and can’t take the kids with me.

Your (just yours, not what with your kids) favorite things to do?

I have an absolute LOVE of reading and researching.  I also love to crochet, sew and cook.

One mom MUST have you can’t live with out?

Car seats and strollers!  How in the world would I ever get out of my house?!

If you were on a deserted island, name three things you’d have with you:

My husband, food and books

If you weren’t staying at home, what job would you have?

I would love to be a holistic nutritionist.

One thing you wish you could do but don’t have time during the day?

Read

Advice for moms:

Patience is a virtue…  they aren’t little adults.

If you could do anything different with your life what would that be?

I don’t think I would change the past, but I am certainly working on the future.

What is the best and worst day of your stay at home mom “hood”?

The best days are when I can keep a good attitude.  It really changes everything in the house if I can model a good attitude to my kids.  The worst days are… well…  the days I don’t have such a good attitude!

What is the most fun date you have ever been on with your hubby?

One year for our anniversary my husband took me on a fun trip in downtown Salt Lake City.  We went to see a famous choir sing, went to a jazz music festival, ate ice cream and walked around looking at all the cool shops.  Then he took me to a romantic room at the Anniversary Inn and I even got breakfast in bed the next morning.  Yes, he’s awesome. 

Who is your favorite Woman Hero?

There are so many!! I admire any woman who I think is doing her best in the world.  Women who serve others, have a positive attitude, take care of their families and love whatever it is that they do…  those are my heroes!

What do you most want your children to remember about you when they are grown?

I just hope that they remember that I loved them very much and was always there for them whenever they have need of me.

What was the funnest thing you’ve ever done with your kids??

That’s a hard one…  we like to have “sleepovers” in the family room some nights and watch movies.  Sometimes we just take the day off on a Saturday to play at the park.  Sometimes my husband builds a fire in the backyard and we roast marshmallows.  My kids are a lot of fun, so there are lots of experiences to choose from.

When you have a question about raising your children who do you turn to?

It’s mostly my mom.  We are living far from home now though, so sometimes I just ask some of my local “hero” moms for advice.

Add one question for the next stay at home mom being spotlighted!

What advice do you hope your children take from you?

Oh the things I wish I knew about when my kids were little! This week is about Shopping cart covers! I’m one of those moms who go into the store and grab a disinfectant wipe (thank goodness they have these now) and wipe down the whole cart. To know all the germs that get on the carts..yuck! How great to be able to sick your little baby/toddler into the cart with a nice big cover for them to sit on and then throw it in the washer when it’s dirty! I found this site with some pretty dang cute shopping cart covers! Ritzy Baby is the name of  CUTE little shop! Go check out all their fun stuff!

Location:

Within the next week my new place of living will be Orem! We are buying a new house and should be closing very soon!!

Kids:

Cedric: 3 wild and crazy! Katelyn: 1 sweet and smiley

Why do you choose to stay at home?

I think it is important that my kids have me there to watch them and teach them. Hopefully in these early years we can build an open relationship so they know I will always be there for them.

What are your favorite things about being at home?

My favorite thing is being able to see my kids mile stones. I have worked in daycare and think it is so sad when kids do things for the first time at daycare and parents miss it.

What do you find the most difficult?

A better question is who! I need to learn to take control of my three year old.

Your (just yours, not what with your kids) favorite things to do?

Watch TV series and do whatever on the internet.

One mom MUST have you can’t live with out?

Currently I LOVE my Ring sling. It even holds my three year old! It is WONDERFUL!

If you were on a deserted island, name three things you’d have with you:

Food, Water, Computer. Lol!

If you weren’t staying at home, what job would you have?

Teacher then I could make a difference in someone’s life.

One thing you wish you could do but don’t have time during the day?

Read. I love reading but my kids won’t allow me to sit down with a book.

Advice for moms:

Eat, Drink, and play for tomorrow we will play more!!

If you could do anything different with your life what would that be?

I would have finished my degree before having kids. It is a lot harder after.

What is the best and worst day of your stay at home mom “hood”?

Best day is when Daddy has work off! Lol! Worst day is when my three year old is in destruction mode!

What is the most fun date you have ever been on with your hubby?

Well he wasn’t my hubby at the time but when we were dating he made me a lobster dinner and took me up in the mountains for a romantic dinner. He put so much effort into planning that. It was special.

Who is your favorite Woman Hero?

My Mom because she raised 6 kids for 7 years on her own and was amazing. She still is but I am glad my step dad is there with her to help now because together they are the best parents ever!

What do you most want your children to remember about you when they are grown?

I just want them to feel good when they think back and not feel bad about me as a person.

What was the funnest thing you’ve ever done with your kids??

We do lots of fun things but painting with pudding was one of the most fun things Cedric and I have done. We haven’t done it with Katelyn yet so we will have to do that.

Add one question for the next stay at home mom being spotlighted!

When you have a question about raising your children who do you turn to?

Hey guys! I’m sorry I haven’t updated the blog this past week. I got a new computer and have been switching things from the old one to the new one and in that process my PhotoShop program stopped working and I haven’t been able to do what I’ve wanted (needed) to do to post. And I’ll just be honest…last week was kind of a blah week for me. You know those days that you just don’t feel like doing anything even though you KNOW you should be? Yep, that was my week. I started going into “well, nobody REALLY reads or comes to this blog and it takes so much of my time…for what?” mode. I know, bad attitude huh? But it happens….

So with that said, if you are reading, I’d love a little shout of that you are checking in here…it would make me feel better he he he…..