Mom&Me Meme

For the first time in a long time I have been short on time and ideas for my blog so I am very thankful that I have been tagged by both Laura C. and London for this Mom&Me meme:

First, post a picture of you and your kid(s):
Nothing too recent with both kids and any good pics I have of me and the kids would have been posted numerously already as they are so rare. So with Fall upon us, how about a trip down memory lane to this picture (pre-blog) of the kids and I shortly before Halloween:

1. How many children do you have?
Two kiddos: Robert Jacob (Jake) and Jadyn Ashley

2. What are their ages?
4 years and 2 years.

3. What time do you start your day?
Roughly between 6:30 and 7am.

4. What do you eat for breakfast?
I am creature of habit: Coffee with low-fat creamer and Splenda and then usually whole wheat toast with peanut butter and a banana.

5. Do your kids watch TV?
Yes – one cartoon in the morning, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. They switch favorites between Dora, Diego, Letter Factory and Curious Buddies, occasionally watching Backyardigans and Sponge Bob. We are a Nick Jr. family.

6. What are their favorite activities?
Jake loves his cars but he also loves to complete mazes, color and practice writing his letters. He also loves video games, trains and sports. Jadyn is really into playing mommy to her babies and stuffed animals, making meals in her kitchen and doing whatever big brother is doing. She also likes to color, draw and have books read to her.

7. Do you get a break during the day for some you time?
Yes, usually in the morning I have about 30 minutes before the kids wake up, then again during Jadyn’s nap time and Jake’s quiet time and finally again after the kids are in bed BUT 5 days a week those breaks are usually spent working. The other days I am reading, catching up on TV shows or blogging. I am very fortunate in this department but it took a long time to get to this point.

8. How do you end your day?
See above – either reading, watching TV shows or surfing my favorite sites on the internet.

9. What is your best parenting advice or tip?
I think parenting is all about balance. I am a better and more focused mom because I make time for me to do other things I love. I think it is extremely important to try and have alone time with each child when you have more than one. Children thrive on consistency and routine. This can be harder for stay at home moms who don’t have a set schedule but planning things out to a degree makes a huge difference. Kids behave better and thrive when they know to expect one thing to follow another. You cannot let the kids jump on the couch one day and then tell them it’s not okay the next. LOL!

Tagging people: Hmmm…. Who has not done this yet?

Steph
Maria
Karla
Julie