Some Answers

I am beat! After the big kids went to Vacation Bible School tonight, we headed over to the grill I work at for open mic night with the little kids. Back in the day, John used to play guitar and sing at open mics, but it had been years since he'd played in public. The owner of the restaurant asked if he wanted to come play at open mic night, and we thought it would be a fun thing to do since the big kids were off at VBS this week.

I'm John's biggest critic, or close to it at least, and even I have to say he did a great job. I was really impressed. So was Seth! He danced through all three songs and he and Evany managed to charm both of John's roommates. And after getting home and getting the kids to bed, I can tell you for sure that Ava and Jace's late nights are starting to catch up with them. They were two of the whinest whiners I've ever seen tonight.

So my best friend Keith is coming to visit me this weekend! That's exciting. I'm going to post the answers to the questions you all sent me in a few different posts over the next few days, since I know once he gets here I'll be all dorked out and nonsensical.

OK, here we go!


Mallory Jones asked: In the post where you said how you came up with the kids' names, you didn't really explain how you came up with Ava's. So my question is how you came up with Avelyn Monet? It's very unique (like all your kids' names!) and absolutely gorgeous.


Wow, did I really leave Ava out in the cold like that? Harsh. Ava is named after her Great Grandmother, Evelyn, just like I'm named after my Great Grandmother, Ellen. I wanted to differentiate from her name, though, so we used an A at the beginning. We knew we'd call her Ava, though, and probably call her Avelyn only if there was another Ava in her class, although now that she's getting older she asks to be called by her full name sometimes. Her middle name...well, I was a french minor in college and I liked the name and the art and John liked it too. And I liked how her name sounded altogether. So that was that. 




Rachel Leverone asked: I wanted to ask you if you knew anything about cloth diapers...


Rachel, you do know that we are friends in real life, right? You crack me up. Congratulations, by the way! I'm so excited for you. But yes, I do know something about cloth diapers. Ava, Jace, and Seth were/are all cloth diapered, and when I stop being lazy, Evany will be, too. I use BumGenius organic all in ones, personally, but there are a ton of different kinds out there. Universally, though, they save a whole lot of money are are not at all hard to deal with, to tell you the truth. I'm lazy, so if it was difficult, I totally wouldn't do it. It's totally worth a shot!




Mandy Hornbuckle asked: Okay, so yes, I have a question. If there was a chance that a food could kill you and leave your many, many children motherless, would you still eat it because it tasted delicious?


Yes, Mandy. I would risk leaving my thousands of children without a mother to eat devilishly delicious cookie dough. It's one of my guilty pleasures, so shut it. =P




Wonder Woman Wannabe asked:One of my dear friends just had a miscarriage. I want to do something for her, but no clue on what. She lives pretty far away, so I can't cook or go over and let her cry on my shoulder, but I really want to do something for her. What was the best or most precious thing someone did for you after Eli?


Oh, man. How nice of you to think of this, first of all. The best gift...well, the keepsakes, really. One of my friends got me a statuette of an angel holding a baby boy, and another made Eli a blanket with his name and birthdate embroidered onto it. There are several websites that specialize in memorial jewelry, which is really nice, too. After Mara had one of her miscarriages, I got her one of the Willow Tree figurines of an angel holding a baby. Anything you can keep in remembrance is really, really precious. Also, just remembering that after the newness of it all wears off she'll still be going through a grieving process is really important...letting her know that you remember and are thinking of her down the road is a huge gift as well. 




Natalie Eve said: A comment - no question. I just wanted to tell you that my hubs & I found out yesterday that baby #4 is going to be another little girl. We've named her already - Evany Aaryn! I am sooooo in love with that name that I'm being a big ol' copycat and using it! (no worries, I give props to you being the wonder namer from where I got it!) Plus FL and WI are very far away! My oldest daughter is named Nora and when I see the Evany & Nora posts I just KNEW we found a keeper. Thanks for your creative genius. Love her name!


I am so honored by this! I can't wait to see pictures of your baby Evany...when are you due? Please keep me updated! The Evany's totally have to stick together. =)




Sahetrick said: Evany is so precious. She looks just like you! And wow--stunning eyes. My question is--Do you and John have visitation/child support set up through the court? Friends of mine are going through a similar situation and he doesn't want court involved but her family is recommending that it is the only way to assure the dad assists. What is your take?!


I'm so sorry your friends are going through this. That sucks! Yes, we set up visitation and support in mediation. It is court ordered, although he pays me directly instead of going through the state. It works for us, for now...since the court order is there, if he stopped paying, there would be repercussions, but we didn't go so far as to have the payments taken out of his paychecks, although that is possible. I think it's very important to have an official document in place with the courts, especially for custody, to protect everyone involved. Our parenting plan is super simple, but it's there, and it's official. In a perfect world, everyone would be friendly and there would be no need for the courts, but unfortunately emotions can run high at times and in those cases, it's really nice to have something official on record. 




OK, I'm off to bed! I'll be answering more questions throughout the weekend, so shoot if you've got any! And there are answers coming for all the carseat questions...I need my brain to be fresh for that. Have a good night, guys!