{Ask Away Friday} Questions with Mrs. AOK

This is my first ever #AskAwayFriday!!  For those of you who aren’t familiar with #AskAwayFriday it’s an amazing way to meet new bloggers, make friends and ask some questions to get to know them better!  You and a blogger will swap ten questions, and then post their questions and your answers on your blog.

I exchanged questions with Dean from Mrs. AOK, A Work in Progress.  You can find my questions to Dean and her answers here.  If you don’t know her by now, make it a point to get to know her ASAP!  She’s the hostess-with-the-mostess when it comes to blog parties and link-ups.  I met her on Twitter during one of the Saturday SITSShareFest, so be sure to follow @Mrs_AOK on Twitter as well!

Now here’s what Mrs. AOK asked me:

1. We’re both located in Chicagoland… sadly we’ve never crossed paths 🙁 I’m in the western burbs…I didn’t grow up here, and as much as I love my town, I could do without the winter! What are your thoughts on Chicagoland winters, and what do you do to beat the winter blues?

Chicagoland winters are long, cold, and dreary.  I’m a total homebody, so I’m quite happy staying at home with A&Z where it is warm and cozy.

2. Top five Chicagoland Winter must haves:

Besides an ice scraper and lots and lots of blankets…Here are my top 5 Chicagoland Winter must-haves:

 

Clockwise: Mitten flip gloves // boots // fleece-lined leggings // chunky scarf // coffee, lots of hot coffee!

3. I have to ask what’s in your bag? 

Let’s take a peek, shall we?  Here’s my current bag that my awesome parents bought me for my birthday. I love Kate Spade!  Either they were pretty proud of me for turning 30 the second time around, or I’m just really spoiled:

4. In your bag what could you NOT live without?

I’m sickly and prone to dying; so literally, I could NOT live without my inhaler, benedryl, and epipen in my bag.  

5.  Your plate is full; you’re a working mama with two ADORABLE babies and your blog– how do you manage it all and what do you do to relax?

Blogging is my form of relaxation, if that makes any sense.  The only downtime I have is after 9pm when A&Z go to sleep, so I stay up really late just catching up on TV, reading, or blogging.  This totally interferes with my sleep schedule – but sleep? Who needs sleep?!

6. Your about page is MARVELOUS! How long did it take you to put it together? 

{Blushing} Why, thank you!  My About Me page took about a day. The intent was to give high-level info in the beginning for readers who are just passing through, and then go into ridiculous amounts of detail to satisfy the creepers and my stalkers.  

7.  Is there a story behind your children’s names?

Arielle Rose:  During the time I was preggers with Arielle, Jeffrey and I were obsessed with American Idol.  We looked up the meaning of all the names on our short list and found out that “Ariel” means “heavenly singer” so we knew that was the perfect name.  We added the “elle” to match my name “GraciELLE.”  Her middle name is for my beloved grandmother, “Rosalita.”

Zavier James: It’s so hard to pick a boy’s name that is masculine, yet not boring and common!  I liked “Zavier” and it was appropriate at that time when our dream was to buy a home because the meaning of his name is literally “new home.”  Jeff’s dad is named “Jaime,” but we knocked the unisex out of it and changed it to “James.”

BOTH names are spelled exactly as they should be pronounced.  That was intentional because people eff up my name “Gracielle” all the time.  Turns out, people eff up their names regardless of how it’s spelled (e.g., “EX-zavier” and “Ari-uhl”). Guess you can never win, no matter how much thought you put into naming your kids.  

8.  Does everyone in your family know your blog, and what do they think of you blogging?

My family members are my #1 readers!  It helps them stay up-to-date on A&Z.  They also call me out when I don’t post regularly.  Ooops…sorry!

9.  I think it’s hilarious that you say your husband doesn’t like your cooking. I’m sure you have a special dish that makes him happy:)  What’s your best dish?

I think he likes my pork chops the best, which is kinda nice because it’s super simple.  All I have to do is marinate it with salt, pepper, soy sauce, brown sugar, and lemon juice; and then, throw those suckers onto a frying pan and it’s good to go!

10. What is the number one thing you want your readers to walk away with after visiting Mommy A-Z?

I’m just an everyday, working mother who is trying to do my best.  There’s nothing extraordinary going on here; however, I hope my readers can relate and connect in some way – whether it’s to be inspired from one of my DIY posts, to laugh from one of my mishaps, or to relate to a parenting moment that I’ve gone through.  Either way, I’m thankful for every person who stops to take the time to read Mommy A-Z.  🙂

Big thanks to Mrs. AOK for swapping questions with me for #AskAwayFriday.  Hope you all enjoyed learning a little bit more about me!

xoxo // gracielle.