Get to know a mama: Christopher and Tia

– Anywhere else we can find you on the web? Yes, and no. I used to write a little diddy over at The Mama Dramalogues (http://www.themamadramalogues.blogspot.com) every Friday, but had to throw in the towel earlier this year. One blog is plenty for this Mama.

– Why did you start a blog? I actually started blogging as a way of promoting my (failed) Etsy shop. The more I started writing, the less I cared about trying to make and sell my handmade cards and recipe boxes, and everything just kind of fell into place. Turns out, I’m way better at writing than I am crafting, haha.

– What is your favorite thing about being a mom? Do you have any idea how difficult this question is? …I honestly just sat here for 15 minutes, staring at the screen, unable to put into words how overwhelming all of it is. Everything, is my favorite thing about being a mom.

– Any blogging tips to share? Yes!

Now, I don’t know about anybody else, but I just cannot get into a blog that doesn’t have photographs. And I don’t mean just any ol’ stock photo that you’ve pulled from a google seach, but- a photo taken by you, with your camera. That’s not saying that everyone needs to be a professional photographer, or put up 9 billion photos in each post, but- I’m not going to lie, if a post doesn’t have a photo, I generally don’t read it.

Also, reading a post that’s been broken up into paragraphs or sections is so much easier than reading a solid wall of writing. Whenever I’ve finished a post, I make sure to go back and re read it, double checking that all of those paragraphs were actually necessary. I do a lot of editing.

– Any advice for a new mom? Don’t compare yourself to other Moms. I know its in our nature, as women, but really- give yourself a break, find your own balance (it takes time), and do it your way. And its ok to ask for help. Whatever “help” for you, might be.

– How about the link to your favorite post: I just went back into my archives, and every time I’d collect a link to what I thought might be my favorite, I found a new link to replace it. So, here is a link to all of my favorite posts- http://www.christopherandtia.blogspot.com/search/label/myfavorite

– As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? I was kind of confused, when I was younger. I think I wanted to be something different every week. I always wanted to be a writer though. In the 4th grade I had a poem published, and ever since, I’ve wanted to write an entire book.

– Do you know how to play an instrument? I play the flute, and the piccolo. I started playing in 5th grade, and played all the way through my sophomore year of high school. I would have played longer, had I not switched schools, but- high school was a rough time for me, and somewhere in all of that, my love for the flute got pushed aside. I’ve saved both instruments though, in case one of my babies wants to play when they get older.

– Assuming you didn’t have 3 kids… what would be your dream car? Oh I’m really not much of a car person. At all. My first car was an 1976 AMC Pacer that my dad picked up for $25, and I always felt like a badass in that. Um… I’m actually kind of in love with my Honda Odyssey? I feel like I should be embarrassed about that, but I’m not, haha.

– What’s your favorite color? Right now I’m really liking turquoise. Its bright and it makes me happy.

– What is your all-time favorite band? Alkaline Trio.

– Do you like to ride roller coasters? I’m actually terrified of rides. I don’t like the “I’m falling” sensation. I have a hard time going on even a simple playground swing.

– Have you ever traveled to another country? I’ve been to Canada a few times. Once in 8th grade for the school’s “8th grade trip”, and a few times for various concerts and tours. Christopher and I really hope to get stationed overseas one day, just to say that we’ve seen a part of the world other than our own. I’d love for our kids to have that experience as well.

– How would you describe your fashion? I wish I had a good answer for this one. A few years ago I would have said “rockabilly”, but now I just wear whatever makes me feel confident. Before getting pregnant with Bean last November, I had lost about 60 pounds, and hadn’t yet replaced my wardrobe. The only new clothes that I had bought myself were workout clothes. I was wanting to reach my goal weight before going out and buying new things. And then… I got pregnant. My grammy had come to visit us at Christmas, and her gift to me was going to be a shopping spree for things to fit my new body, but it ended up being a shopping spree of maternity clothes (which I’m so grateful for, because after losing the 60 pounds, I had none of those either!). For now I’m rocking the functional and totally ugly Merona brand sweat shorts, with plain tanks and v-necks. Ask me this question again in 5 years, and hopefully I’ll have a better answer.

– Do you have any guilty pleasure tv shows? Greys Anatomy. This past season was pretty awful, but did you see the season finale?? So good.

– What was your first job, what did you do, and how old were you? Oh boy, haha. There’s this burger chain in the pacific northwest called “Burgerville”. I grew up on their cheeseburgers- I can’t even tell you how many times my dad brought them home for dinner. When I was 16 I heard they hired just about anyone, and that proved to be true. I started working the register, but was horrible at it. It didn’t last long.

– What is your current profession? If you could do anything or be any
professional what would you do and why? My current profession?? Does being awesome count? Har har. Ok but seriously, I haven’t worked in years. I had a part time job when Eleanore was a baby, working at Lane Bryant. It was nice, getting out of the house and having a reason to put on makeup. The extra money didn’t hurt either, but- with our lifestyle, working just isn’t an option for me. If I could do anything, I think I’d like to be a photographer. I almost feel embarrassed saying that, knowing 20398089 people who have said the same thing, but- really, taking pictures makes me happy.

– When and how did you discover your intolerance’s to certain foods and
do you think it negatively or positively affects your lives? It all started the week after giving birth to my daughter. I’m not going to say that my pregnancy and/or c-section were the direct cause, but- after childbirth, my body was the never the same again. I saw doctors for my unexplained weight gain, headaches, and fatigue, and nobody could help me. Literally, I was prescribed fiber and anti depressants. It took years of doing research on my own, listening very carefully to my body, and lots and lots of trial and error. Its only been about a year that I’ve had control of things. And I’d have to say for sure, my food allergies are a total blessing. I’ve never been in better health than I am right now. Both physically and mentally.

– What can you tell us about eating gluten-free? Its expensive, and in order to do it the right way (the healthy way), its time consuming. I spend hours in the kitchen, daily. Baking is the hardest. Everything has 20 more ingredients than it would in a “normal” recipe, they all cost 10x as much, and when looking at the batter, you’d swear that you did something wrong, and on that instinct, mess with it, and end up ruining it. Basically anything and everything that you ever learned about baking, is worthless- you have to start back at square one. When I find a good recipe, I KEEP IT. My kitchen cabinets are covered in recipes. Some on post it notes, some on notebook paper. If I find something that works for us, I tape it up on the door to the spices, so that I never forget.

– What’s the one food you miss eating the most because of your
allergies? Mexican food. All of it. Burritos, and tacos, and- beans. I miss beans, you guys. I miss beans so bad, sometimes it brings me to tears. And can you imagine cooking without tomato? Think about all of the things that you and your family typically eat. How many of those recipes contain tomato? Stews and spaghetti, and pizza, and- its agonizing.

– When you’re all done making babies are you going to get one big
“tribute” tattoo for the kids? I’ve thought about this a few times, but I haven’t decided on anything yet. I figure I’ve got years to plan out exactly what I want, so I’m in no hurry. I do hope to get something for all of the kids though, yes.

– Did you always want kids or did this come about when you met Chris? I never even held a baby until I had Eleanore. I had no idea I wanted to be a Mother until Christopher and I got pregnant.

– Where did you meet Christopher? I met him while he was working one of his last nights at the Taco Bell drive thru. I ordered a crunchwrap, and when I pulled up to the window to collect my order, I told him “you’re pretty cute”. That was the very first time I had ever hit on a guy. Ever. And it payed off 🙂

– What bases are on your dream sheet? This is kind of a weird question, since we’re at an in between place right now. See, Christopher’s enlistment is up in a little less than 2 years. But, a year from now, hes eligible to re apply for his re training. Hes currently working in aircraft maintenance, but wants to cross train into something else. So I guess whats on our dream sheet kind of depends on whether he cross trains, or stays in hydraulics. IF he stays in hydraulics, we’d like to go to either base in Washington state (to be closer to friends and family), we wouldn’t mind going up to Alaska, maybe Idaho, since Christopher has some family there. IF he cross trains, we’re hoping to get sent to an AFB in northern California. We haven’t even touched his dream sheet in months, knowing that either way, we probably won’t leave Dyess for another two years.

– How did you feel when Christopher enlisted? Did you know at the time
that you’d be in it (the military, that is) for the long haul? When Christopher signed up, it was mostly because we needed to. We were pregnant, I was unemployed, we couldn’t afford anything more than top ramen, and we had no medical. One night when we were lying in bed, going crazy with the stress of not having a future, I suggested that he join the military. And when he asked me “what will you and the baby do?”, I simply replied with “we’ll come with you”. He went to meet with a recruiter the next week, and everything after that just fell into place. It turns out, it was the very best desicion we could have made. I can’t even tell you how much we’ve changed, over the last 4 years. And yes, we’re in it for life. We had originally planned to sign up for 6 years, and then move back home. But now that we’re here and we’re in it, we’re staying.

– Since Christopher is enlisted, what are his chances of deployment? Well, he is in the military, so- he can go at the drop of a hat. If they tell him tomorrow that he has to go, then he has to go. But, with his particular job, his chances aren’t very likely. Most of the guys from his shop that go, volunteer. Before getting pregnant with Bean, we had actually been talking about him raising his hand, but since he doesn’t have to go yet, hes not going to. He’ll go someday, and although we’re trying to be prepared, I’m sure it will still catch us off guard.

– If he deploys, will you stay in TX (or whatever base you are at?) or
move back closer to where you might have more help on a daily basis? When Christopher deploys, we’ll stay wherever we are. I used to say that I wouldn’t dare stay here alone, but now that we’ve lived in Abilene for going on 4 years… this is our home. I imagine no matter where we end up living, it will be the same situation.

– If Eleanor had been a boy, would SHE have been called Charlie or did
you have a different name? Aww, cute question! We never picked out a name for boy-Eleanore, had things have turned out differently. Or maybe we did, but- I don’t remember what it was, so it must not have been very good, haha. We didn’t come up with Charlie, until Charlie was halfway done cookin’.

– When are we going to find out what the bean is? after birth? THAT’S
TWO MONTHS AWAY! On August 9th, my dears. And really, its only a few weeks ago. The waiting game is fun, right? Heeeeee.

– Do you know how good a mommy you are? Oh my goodness, who asked this question? Please, come over to my house and let me bake you an entire pan of brownies and give you an hour long foot rub. Really though, thank you. I try my best, and I hope that I’m doing something right.