Mrs. Tee

I’ve wanted to play along with #AskAwayFriday for a few weeks because it seemed like such a fun idea. The premise is simple- trade 10 questions with another blogger  and answer the questions they have for you on your blog. I had a lot of fun ones for Mrs. Tee. Head over to her space to check them out! 

Here are her questions for me.

1. Your Site’s Tagline is “Life, Love and Breaking the Parenting Rules” .  So, what parenting ‘rules’ have you broken so far?  Do you regret it or would you do it again?

On a daily basis, we break the “food” rules with Malone. It is more important to us that our kids learn to make good choices about food, to listen to their bodies, and to learn when they’ve had enough to eat than it is for them to clean their plates at a meal.

We do not fight about food. PERIOD. If you’re hungry, I will give you something to eat. If you’re not hungry, you don’t have to eat just because society says it is lunch time. If it is a table meal and you’re not hungry, you need to sit and be part of the community for a few minutes before running off.

We’re also really liberal with snacks. Malone typically prefers to eat little bits of food throughout the day instead of three large meals. He eats three meals a day at the table with us but then often asks for 3-7 snacks a day. We don’t keep a lot of junk around. His favorite snacks are carrots, celery, a piece of fruit, almonds or pecans, or popcorn.

The only rule we have is no one is allowed to make negative commentary about a meal I serve and everyone has to take at least one bite. If, after one bite someone doesn’t care for it they can say “no thank you, I do not care for this.” More often than not, the “no thank you bite” is actually a win and Malone asks for more.

I don’t regret this method at all. I have seen Malone decline a piece of cake at a birthday party because he wasn’t hungry. His favorite foods are things most kids run from – leafy greens, which was a no thank you bite discovery.

2. You said if we lived in the same town you would want to go out for coffee and ‘dig deep’.  You had me at COFFEE!  What else would we do if say I lived in YOUR town for a day?

We’d go for a hike around the reservoir. It is one of my favorite places on earth.

Then we’d have a picnic at this park. It’s not technically in my town, but it is about five minutes from my house- just on the other side of the river. This splash pad is in the middle of two great playgrounds and a set of swings. I’ve seen high school kids have a blast at the bigger structure- it is an huge obstetrical course with a lot of climbing and agility activities..

 3. I know you love the slow moments but what have you done in some of your crazier moments?

A few weeks ago my husband and I took Malone and Lola (who was 2 months old) into Boston to watch the Red Sox rolling rally World Series parade. There were 2 million people in the city for the parade. It was AMAZING. I love adventure and am usually game for just about anything. I’ve para sailed and bungee jumped. And I adore to road trip for the sake of finding adventure along the way. I also cannonball into pools whenever I get the chance, and especially if I am 37+ weeks pregnant. Because, of course.

 4. I love the names Malone and Lola!  How did you choose them?  Is there any special meaning did they simply stick with you?

Thank you! Malone is named after Sam Malone from Cheers. Michael and I met in Boston (where Cheers is set). We wanted a name that represented a piece of our love story. Malone named Lola. I had morning sickness with Lola from day one, so we had to tell Malone much sooner than we had hoped. From the day we told him, he told us “it is a sister and her name is Lola.” He picked Lola because his favorite song of all time is Lola by the Kinks.

 5. What brought you to the place of starting a Blog?

I have always been a writer. I’ve known since high school that I had a story to tell. I’ve kept a blog off and on since 2003, but nothing has every felt sticky they way A Cookie Before Dinner does. It is home. It feels cozy here. I blog because I want others to know they are not alone- especially mothers. I share the good, the bad, and the ugly here because life is real. And it can be really messy at times. Oh, and I love to make people laugh.

6. What is your favorite brand or flavor of Coffee?

I’m a New Englander, so I drink iced coffee year round, except for at the holidays. Once November comes, I want a peppermint mocha from Starbucks. I know I could order them throughout the year, but it seems extra special drinking it from a red cup.  At home, I drink whatever dark roast is on sale. I’m not picky. If I’m hitting the drive through window of Dunkin Donuts, I order it regular. Regular here in MA means 3 creams and 3 sugars, not black.

7. If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go?

It is a tie. I’d love to go to Turks and Caicos and sleep in a bungalow over the water and just relax. Malone is obsessed with the Eiffel Tower and I’d love to take him to Paris to see it in person.

8. What is your favorite Holiday and why?

My favorite holiday is any one where someone is throwing a bbq and inviting us. I love the meaning behind summer holidays and the fact that they’re not super commercialized.

9. What is your favorite post you have written so far? Why that one?  Share a link here.

It is SO HARD to pick just one! I wrote this one almost exactly one year ago. It is a tale of a series of unfortunate events that happened while we were traveling to PA for Thanksgiving. It is a day in the life post that ends with my crying and eating a cheese steak on the toilet. I look back at this day and LAUGH but at the time it sucked. I love this post because it really shows what motherhood can really be like sometimes. It is so easy to project a perfect image through a blog or via a social media site because you can share your world through a very filtered lens. This post isn’t filtered. It’s real life.

10. Ok I haven’t asked this question in a bit and I borrowed it from my friend TheMissusV over at The Vanilla Housewife.  Quick!  No clean up, sort through or arranging allowed.  What’s in your purse?  A pic would be an EXTRA Bonus! 🙂

I keep it really simple with a wristlet from Target. Inside there is enough room for my iPhone, cash, my checkbook, my keys, chapstick, my wallet, and ONE of Malone’s matchbox cars (which is a lifesaver if we’re at an appointment that is running late). I ditched a huge bag years ago when I realized I was lugging half of the world around with me but never using it.

That was fun! Thanks again to Mrs. Tee for those amazing questions!

How do you order your coffee?