questions answered, part 1

The random number generator from 1 to 13 picked number 9 so Kim wins! She had good odds :).

Where do you shop for your kid's clothes (they are always so cute)?
I looooooove to shop, much to my husband's dismay. I am a bargain shopper and NEVER pay full price for anything. My kid's clothes are pretty much all from a few places: Etsy, Gap, Hanna Andersson (hanna pjs are the only way to go), Tea Collection (I have a soft spot for Tea and you can get their Daily Tea lines really cheap if you shop the sales), Old Navy and Target.

What is your favorite decoration on your Christmas tree?
Ski and I spend hours going through our ornaments when we put up our tree because we can remember getting most of them as kids. I'm drawing a blank on my favorite one, I think probably the Bible I handpainted when I was a teenager. I can remember doing it with the neighbor lady and it's so heavy that it never stays on right.

What store do you visit the most (not including any grocery store)?
In person, Target. I think I go to Target 3-4 times a week. Online, probably Gap.

Tell me an work story about my dorky brother (FatJ):
This is a brilliant question. I worked with Anne's brother (Kim's husband) at two different jobs. When we started working at my current job, there was this guy working here whose life read a lot like a soap opera. A really over-the-top soap opera. We called him The Mumbler because he mumbled play-by-plays while he was writing code. In the year that the three of us worked together, he got married to a seriously white trash girl who had like eight kids with eight different men, had a baby with her (that was probably not actually his), got his car stolen (more than once), his apartment broken into. You name it, it happened. The daily fights between The Mumbler and Brandi, The Crazy, made for some of the most hilarious working moments of my career. They would scream and swear and hang up on each other daily and Tom and I would narrate the girl's side of the call over IM. I would bite my tongue for hours trying to not laugh out loud at work. Then there was this one time that Tom, Kim and I went on a field trip to Soup-town because we just had to see where The Mumbler lived. Good times.

Would you hang a gong in your living room?
I guess I probably would if I had a reason to own a gong. I guess I probably do and that reason is my insane husband. If he wanted one, I'd probably let it slide.

Do you think this is cool for a 14 month old?
We happen to have that very toy and neither of my kids have used a trike of any sort yet. Renee isn't interested and I think Cam is still a bit too little. I think someday it will be cool though :)

What do you think Cameron and Renee will be when they grow up...chef, WWF?
I can't even begin to guess on this without laughing because right now Renee would be best suited for a role in the latest Television Drama involving someone bitching and moaning and whining about EVERYTHING and Cam would be an electrician because HOLY SHIT THAT KID IS OBSESSED WITH WIRES.

I'd like to know how your husband proposed? My husband proposed on my 25th birthday. We went out to dinner, he hit his knee in the living room right when we got home and blurted out "Marry me?" I've never seen him so nervous and awkward. I actually laughed at him and then for a minute I thought he was joking because I had been waiting for a while. Then I said yes :)

Where did you go to college and what is your degree in?
I went to a small-ish private Catholic school called the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. I doubled majored in English and Computer Science (because I couldn't make up my mind) and never actually finished the English degree. I think I have like five credits left or something but honestly, what would I do with that degree anyways?

If you could go back in time...just once...and change or relive something...what would it be and why? This question is hard. The obvious answers are my wedding day and when my kids were born, especially when Renee was born. I was so scared something was going to be wrong with her when she came out that I think my brain sort of shut off. I don't remember much of it. The one moment I would like to relive with a slightly different result is when I told my mom that we had named Renee after her. She got teary eyed and before I could get any explanation out of my mouth about how wonderful of a mom she has been to me, the nurse came in to change my dressings and kicked out my mom out. I was pissed. I would like to have that moment back...without the nurse.

If you could do something other than be a programmer, what would you do?
This is tough because there are a lot of things I'd like to do. The most realistic option being that I'd like to teach programming at the college level. I'd love to be a Chef (minus the long hours), a Party Planner (that actually makes money), or an interior decorator (after some training). I'd really love to spend a spring working in a greenhouse learning about plants and gardening. I hope to someday do that after I retire. In like eighty years.

Where else would be your ideal place to live? Let's just pretend that your extended family would also be moving there, so you wouldn't have to worry about being so far away from them.
Two words: SOMEWHERE WARM. Please, please, please, get me out of this winter crap. Someday, PLEASE?

What was your favorite subject/class in high school and why? Was it the teacher, or the other people in the class, or did it just come naturally to you?
Math was always the easiest subject for me but I liked English the best because I like to write. The trouble is that I suck at reading comprehension. I know some people that can read something once and totally remember everything from it but my brain doesn't work that way. I have to try hard to comprehend things. Like, if I read a photography book, I have to read it 10 times before it starts to sink in. It's VERY frustrating. I always scored the lowest on reading comprehension on those standardized tests in school and I am still that way to this day.

How do you find time to write such personal posts, complete with beautiful photos, all while working and raising two little ones so close in age (all while keeping a semblance of your sanity?) This comment totally made my day so thanks Kourtney! The writing comes naturally to me. I write posts in my head while I'm driving or working and then I slap it down fast without caring much about the proper tense and grammar before I go to bed at night. I spend a lot of time taking and putzing with pictures because it is my hobby and one of the only things that I actually enjoy doing. Me keeping a semblance of my sanity? Umm yeah, you should probably talk to my husband about this. I'm actually a raging lunatic :)

Tell me about something you've done that was so silly or stupid that you laughed until you cried. It can be with someone else, but I would prefer it was just you...alone. Tonight Renee was picking her nose and I took her 'big boog' off her finger and put it in the garbage and she laid down on the floor kicking and screaming and crying because she wanted her 'big booger' back. I laughed so hard I almost peed myself. There I was sitting there arguing with a two year old about why she can't take her 'big boog' out of the garbage.

Do you like d-town? Where did you guys grow up? We do like d-town. I wish someone in either of our families lived closer though. It has been really hard to have little kids with everyone so spread out. I grew up in the I. Falls, the Icebox of the Nation (GO BRONCOS!) and my hubby grew up in Moon Township, a suburb of Pittsburgh, PA.

Thanks for the questions!!!!

Comments

[anne]

Ah hahahaha!! I can totally see you guys on a field trip to stalk The Mumbler's house. Thx for the laugh.

[kim]

seriously, I won?!? freaking awesome. that makes my day (night?)!

I love the tantrums sometimes, so funny what they throw fits over... also the mumbler story brings back happy memories, I enjoyed the daily updates.

dude, I can't believe I won something. and here I've been relying on Michael to win the powerball and get us all out of programming forever.

[The Mommy]

It's always great to read a post like this. It's fun getting to know family through the internet!

My DH proposed to me on my birthday, too (my 28th). Only he didn't technically "ask". He sort of said, "I think we should get married." And he also bought me a weather radio that year. Ah, romance!