I got a supplement of Real Simple magazine last week--their family issue. It is packed with goodness--one of those issues where I definitely have too many dog-eared corners. But there were four little pages tucked in different parts of the issue called, "meet a Real Simple mom". I loved the questions they posed to the mothers and I couldn't stop thinking about what my answers might be, if they had asked me. I chose some of my favorites below and answered them. It was really a lot of fun coming up with my answers.

name: molly age: 31 hometown: maryland

occupation: homemaker (I do not like the term stay-at-home mom. It's as if you're missing out on something: "Wanna come over and play?" .... "No, I have to stay at home..." But homemaker, that really captures it all.

family members: husband, Dan, daughters Emma, 5; Mary 3; and Elizabeth, 4 months.

I realized I had turned into my mother when...: I said, "I JUST cleaned the house 20 minutes ago, how can you girls have made it such a mess already!" --I never fully understood her frustration behind this.

the last time my children made me laugh: when my talkative three year-old exclaimed that, "I just realized I can breathe, even when I'm not talking!"

the last time I made my children laugh: when I told them that if they went to bed without calling me in again, I would scream my pants off in the morning. ( I meant scream my head off, now it's their favorite saying.)

when i need to get dinner on the table in a hurry: I go for breakfast--cereal and milk or pancakes and orange juice.

i carve out time for myself by: being diligent about my children taking naps

the last book i read to my child: The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White, and The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Horse Breeds and Horse Care. (just paused to read Em a page of that in the middle of this post)

the gadget that saves me the most time: an electric fan. each child sleeps with one on in their rooms. then i don't have to tiptoe around the house while they are sleeping. i get more accomplished, they get good rest. (the downside? 1. figuring out how to travel with an electric fan. 2. they are making fans too quiet these days. 3. my husband and i both wonder if our children will still be dragging fans along on their honeymoon?)

when I was a kid, I said, "When I'm a parent, I will never...": wake my children in the mornings by saying, (in a loud energetic voice,) "Alright girls! If we each put in one hour in the garden/yard/cleaning the house that's FOUR man-hours. Think of all the things we'll get accomplished!" My kids are still too young to use this technique that my mom always used, but with the way things are shaping up, I have a feeling I'll be using it one day, too.

the invention i would create to make my life easier: drive-up grocery store windows. place your order online, arrange a pickup time, drive up and let them load it in.

what surprises me most about being a parent: how I can be incredibly patient and incredible impatient, all in the same day. how many things I can accomplish with just one hand.

favorite outdoor activity to do with my children: exploring the stream or woods and collecting things.

how i get my children to eat vegetables when they refuse: actually, they're pretty good about this, but Ranch Dressing. Anything dipped in this seems to go easily into the mouth.

the most fun thing about being a mom: each day is new and full of potential

i hope my kids inherit: my husband's love of learning, my love of art and craft and music.

the most important lesson I want my children to learn about life: serve God. trust your instincts. never stop being curious. use your gifts.

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some more questions from the magazine that I didn't take the time to answer:
before I turn off the lights at bedtime, I say to my children:
the most noticeable way parenting has changed me:
favorite tradition I share with my children:
three things my children have taught me are:
the hardest thing about being a mom:
I carve out time for myself by:
when I have 30 minutes to myself I:
when I was a kid, I said, "When I'm a parent, I will never..."
the television mom I'm most like:
one thing I wish I had known about parenting before I became a parent:

*****

Ahna played along, too. Read her answers here:

And some from Georgia. thanks!