25 Random Things: Mommy

I signed up for Facebook over a year ago. My intention, at the time, was to use it ONLY for work purposes (for the occasional time when I needed to check on some of our student-athletes). Anytime anyone would attempt to "friend" me, I would warn them that I NEVER checked it or spent any time on it, so it was probably a waste of their effort.

Then, at the request of one of his customers, my husband got a Facebook page. And started adding friends. Who then saw that I had a Facebook page, too. And it was all over. I couldn't fight it. I now have 156 friends (which is a pretty small number compared to a lot of folks). And I admit that I actually enjoy keeping my "status" updated and checking out what those 156 people are up to.

One of the latest Facebook crazes is writing what they call a "note" with 25 Random Things about yourself. Then you send it to several friends so that they can read/learn about you. I've been "tagged" on several of these notes, and the peer pressure finally got to me. So today I wrote my own list of 25 Random Things.

After sharing them on Facebook, I thought that it might be a good blog post. And then I got an even better idea! Why not have our extended family members each do their own lists of 25 Random Things so that I can post them to my blog as "Guest Blog Entries"? Wouldn't it be great fun for Ivie and Macie to someday be able to read random things about their extended family?

So I've got my Mom and Dad working on their lists. And I'm officially using this blog entry to notify my siblings of their duty to start theirs, as well. (Also a good way to find out if they actually READ my blog.)

So, without further ado, here is my list of 25 Random Things. And stay tuned for future posts spotlighting our family. This should be fun...


1. I eat like a 3-year-old. One of my favorite meals is fish sticks and macaroni. And I have a really bad sweet tooth.

2. I hate spending money, but love to get new things.

3. My husband and I are currently in an on-going, good-natured, and pleasant debate about how many children we want to have. I say 3, he says 2...

4. I'm very anal and organized when it comes to work - it helps me to be more productive and efficient. I USED to be anal about my household. But having a toddler and a baby has effectively squashed that. For example, you can find a handful of used/torn/no-more-stick stickers (Disney characters, primarily) in pretty much every room of our house. On the ground. And I step right over them like they don't exist.

5. I love that I'm still friends with all of my ex-boyfriends. Didn't have many, so that makes it easier.

6. My biggest fear is of something happening to my kids or my husband.

7. I used to belong to a gym and lift weights religiously. The last day I went to said gym was the day before my wedding. Haven't been back since. Pretty sure the "morning crew" (those of us who worked out at 5:30 am when the gym opened) wonders to this day if my husband kidnapped me after our wedding...

8. I don't remember anything before the 6th grade. And the first 6th grade memory I have is of being called a boy by a substitute teacher (my hair was really short). At that fateful moment, I started letting it grow out. It's been long (long enough for a ponytail, at least) ever since.

9. Because of my experience in #8, I really don't want my daughters to have bangs. At least not until they're old enough to understand how annoying it is to let them grow out.

10. My job is about as close as I could get to being a lawyer without actually being one (though my Dad still says that he'd pay for me to go to law school). And I get to hang out around college athletics. Best of both worlds. Too bad I don't make the money a lawyer does...

11. I never thought I'd be "that mom" that pierced her daughter's ears before she was old enough to make the decision on her own. In June, I had Ivie's ears pierced at age 2, and I plan to do it again with Macie at the same age!

12. I'm an extreme introvert. But those who know me only from work probably wouldn't believe it (I'm pretty outgoing there!).

13. I love to read, although I don't have much time for it these days. In fact, my parents say that when I was in elementary school, the worried about me because the teachers said I would take a book out to recess and sit in a corner by myself and read.

14. I used to bite my nails. I finally overcame that, but now I'm obsessed with my cuticles. Nervous habit that I hope I don't pass on to my daughters, as it is the biggest thing about my appearance that I would like to change.

15. I collect Pez Dispensers. At last count, I had around 200. Someday I'll have a room in which I can put them on a shelf to display. Right now they're in a plastic bag.

16. I also collect shot glasses. But I've never tasted beer. In fact, I didn't have alcohol until my 21st birthday, when my sister took me out in Owensville and I had an Amaretto Sour. Drank less than half of it, because I was scared of getting drunk. My favorite drink now is a Strawberry Daiquiri, though it's been awhile since I've had one.

17. I can probably count on 2 hands (maybe 3) the number of times I've worn make-up.

18. The first race I ever ran was a marathon. I've since done 2 halves, and hope to be able to do them again someday (when I can figure out how to make time for daily runs).

19. I love basketball, and used to be a decent shooter. But I can't remember the last time I took a shot on a regulation goal (Dale's parents' driveway doesn't count). Now I get my basketball fill watching UNC's men's team (usually on television, since game times that work around naps and bedtimes are hard to come by).

20. I'm very proud that I was able to give Ivie exclusively breastmilk (no formula!) for the entire first year of her life. My goal is to be able to do the same with Macie.

21. I think it's really cool that my daughter, Ivie, is named after my husband's grandmother.

22. To learn how to spell our last name growing up, our parents taught us a song to the tune of Jingle Bells:

S-c-h
a-e-p
e-r-k-o-e
t-t-e-r is my name
Schaeperkoetter is my name!

I still sing this song in my head sometimes.

23. I count stairs pretty much every time I walk up (or down) them.

24. I won't drown, but I'm not a very good swimmer. I don't like to put my head under water - I blame it on wearing contacts.

25. For being a former college athlete, I'm not very competitive. I don't really like games (playing them, at least).