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It is time for another round of Ask Away Friday! I don’t typically like to Ask Away Fridays back to back, but last week we were away on vacation!

Ask Away Friday is a great way to get to know each other better. 2 bloggers trade 10 questions, answer those questions on their own blog, and link up!

MrsTeeLoveLifeLaughter

This week, I am swapping with Christy from Sweet And Savoring. Christy lives in upstate New York and loves traveling, photography, and sustainable living! Every time I visit her blog, I want to take a trip! Make sure you head over to her blog to check out her answers to my questions!

Sweet And Savoring

1. Just to start off with a challenge, give me your autobiography in six words.

Small town girl moved far away.

2. I read that you like doing things with your son more than playing on the floor with him. I baby-sit for a four-year-old and can identify with that one! Do you have any favorite children’s books you read with him?

I always feel as though I’m not reading enough to Malone, but when I look back on our day, we’ve done more than I thought. I need to keep a book journal for him this summer so we can see how many we get through!

Before bed, he listens to us read out of a chapter book. We’ve read The Wizard Of Oz and are in the middle of a Box Car Children book. We’ve also got most of the Little House Series and a few Roald Dahl books on hand. We’ve found that reading chapter books is a great way for him to wind down at he end of the day. It also is a great way to practice paying attention and focusing!

He also still really loves picture books and has a few board books he’s interested in. The board books he still loves are the ones he’s always loved and has memorized. These days, he “reads” those to Lola.

Here are five of my favorite picture books to read aloud.

  1. Don’t Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus by Mo Willems
  2. It’s A Great Day For Up by Dr. Seuss (this is Malone’s all time favorite right now)
  3. The Moon Shines Down by Margarate Wise Brown (my favorite of all time)
  4. Frog And Toad by Arnold Lobel
  5. Sammy The Seal by Syd Hoff

3. What was your very first vacation and what was particularly memorable about it?

The first vacation I remember is traveling from Illinois to Iowa to visit my great grandparents who lived in my grandmother’s hometown. I went a few times a year with my grandparents and it was always made out to be an epic adventure even though it was only a few hours away.

I remember stopping to watch the boats on the Mississippi River at a lock and dam and eating donuts. I remember getting to getting to chew Wrigley’s gum in the car and I remember walking in to my great grandparents house to lunch on the table.

It was such a sweet time to visit with them and I miss going back there.

We just got home from our own epic road trip (1000 miles one way…we drive straight through) and I hope that my kids feel as fondly about my hometown as I do about my grandmother’s in Iowa.

 4. Would you say you gravitate more towards arts, music, or sports?

I am definitely a sports girl. I come from a long line of sports lovers! My favorite is baseball, in fact Michael and I share a mutual love of the Boston Red Sox. Even though Lola was only about six weeks old last fall, we took the kids into the World Series Parade and it was one of the best days of our life!

 5. With two kids, what are some ways you and your husband stay connected to each other as a couple?

We connect every morning in the kitchen. Sometimes the kids aren’t up yet, so we get that time completely to ourselves. If they are up, they are quietly eating breakfast and it gives us a chance to talk for a few minutes before we move forward with our days. We almost always read the day’s lesson from Jesus Calling and pray before he goes to work.

Honestly, we just need a few minutes together everyday. The rest of the time, we’re focused on connecting as a family unit or one of us has the kids so the other can pursue their passions outside of parenthood. For Mike, that is training for a triathlon. For me, it is blogging and building my (tiny) media empire.

 6. I’m in the Hudson Valley and you’re in Western Mass. We’re practically neighbors! What do you prefer about living in the Northeast as opposed to the Midwest?

I adore being just a short drive from the ocean and being able to go to the beach!

 7. Your kids’ names are Malone and Lola- so cute and unique! Did it take you and your husband  long time to agree on names? What were some other contenders?

Thank you! With Malone- we agreed that if we were going to find out at the ultrasound, we had to have agreed upon names before hand. Malone’s name didn’t take long for us to come up with at all. He’s named after Sam Malone from Cheers (my husband and I met in Boston). If he was a girl, his name would have been Hartley (my great grandfather’s first name).

With Malone, those were the only name options.

From the moment we told Malone we were going to have another baby, he said to us “it’s a sister, her name is Lola.” We took him to the big ultra sound and we were shocked that it was indeed a girl. While I was pregnant, he only called her Lola so much that it just stuck. Her middle name is Kaylee Cheshire. Kaylee is the combination of my grandparent’s middle names (Kay and Lee) and Cheshire is a family name on Mike’s side.

Lola’s other name options.

Girl- Sage, Piper, Eloise

Boy- Seamus, August, Titus

8. On my wedding day, I was overcome with anxiety and going through a rough time with Seasonal Affective Disorder. What was yours like? Would you do anything differently?

Our wedding was amazing and we had a blast. We had a friend fly in and surprise us at our rehearsal. I wouldn’t have changed a single THING.

Photo Credit Paul Specht

 9. My typical travel-related question: Would you rather hike the Appalachian trail for two months or do a six week tour of European capital cities?

I would rather go to Europe but my husband would choose hiking. Hiking really isn’t my thing. I go because my boys like to go, but I’m not a huge fan of bugs!

 10. Last question inspired by James Liption of Inside the Actor’s Studio: What is your favorite word? Least favorite?

My favorite word is hearing my kids call me Mama. My least favorite word is dishes! I do the dishes 3-4 times a day and I HATE THEM.