About me

 1. Hello!  My name is Monica and I live in Elmhurst, IL.  I am a stay at home mother of four.  I spend a lot of my time taking care of my family which includes driving to hockey, soccer, softball and lacrosse during the Spring months.  I feel I am pretty easy going and like to have fun.  I am a member of a travel tennis team, which is a big passion of mine.  I also volunteer at the library, YMCA and numerous school programs.  I would call my family my number one passion and hope that I am doing a good job!

2.  As you can see from my picture, I have a lot of kids close in age!  Four kids in six years.  Three boys in a row and then a girl.  The personality of my household is somewhat hyper.   There is always something going on.  Kinda like the song "My House in the Middle of our Street."  "There's always something happening and it's usally quite loud!"  My kids have friends over, or are going to other friends houses or to extra curricular activities.  My boys are all percussionists and that brings me great joy.  I'm lucky my kids are thriving although it is hard to control the chaos sometimes.  My role in the household is the one who keeps it together.  I am responsible for much of the household including bills, shopping, forms, you name it!  I organize and arrange for most of my family's outside activities.  I believe my family would agree because they see me doing stuff all day.  It's my joke that I never sit down!

3.  I would quote Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Life is a succession of lessons, which must be lived to be understood."  I like to take each experience and try not to judge.  My husband sometimes hates how open I am, but I can't help it.  You never know what you might learn from someone or a new experience.  I think I am a pretty friendly and open minded person.  I always like to tell people," you never know what someone else is going through."   It's easy to talk bad and be harsh but you never know when you may find yourself in a troublesome spot.  I think compassion is what I would most like my children to understand.

4.  I am most proud of the family I have.  I am so lucky to have pretty good kids.  I have tried hard to raise them right and to be loving.  They are good students, well liked and most important healthy.  Conversely, I do struggle with parenting at times.  I could put even more into my job as mom.  Especially for my younger kids.  It seems my older two boys got a lot of my early energy, but my younger two get a little less active mom. I sometimes feel guilty when I know I could do more.  I see the super moms at school and it makes a little uneasy!  But then again, I have to be sane and happy too.

5.  My goals and aspirations are something that I have confusion with sometimes.  I would like to work, but feel it may be too late now since my kids have never know me to work.  However, I am considering going back to school for massage therapy.  The schedule is manageable and would give me a new goal!  I'm not certain yet what I want to "do,"  but again my family is my priority.  Five years from now I will hopefully have one child in college, two in high school and one in middle school.  I imagine my daily craziness will be similiar, but hopefully crazy boy behavior will be more tame.  I would like to have some kind of job, hopefully fulfilling.  If not fulfilling, at least a little extra money would be helpful with college!

6.  Top ten brands, I will start with the beginning of the day to the end.

1.  I make my own coffee at home and tend to buy Dominick's store brand.  I love the chocolate coffee and start every day with a pot of coffee that I drink throughout the day.  I love the taste of the coffee and the routine of relaxing with my coffee.
2.  I use my skincare both in the morning and in the evening.  I use Olay Pro V, both moisturizers and eye cream.  I am religious about taking care of my skin.  I love the products, they have been winners of all kinds of beauty awards.  I want to "preserve" what I have left!  lol!
3. I go to the grocery store almost every day.  I go to either Dominick's or Jewel depending on where I am coming from.  I don't really love these stores, they are just convenient and I have to get my groceries!
4. I go to Target or Walmart at least once a week.  I like Target better than Walmart because I can find "good" items too, like clothes or home items or gifts.  Walmart is definitely out of convience, I think I can find a lot of good deals on food and other items there.  Target is more of an experience.  I know what I going to get but don't mind browsing for other stuff I don't need!
5. Face greek yogurt is my new favorite food.  I have been eating a ton of it since last month.  It is pretty tasty and only 150 calories, plus all the good probiotics.
6. Dunkin Donuts.  If I need a quick coffee or snack I love Dunkin Donuts.  I love their Vanilla Nut coffee.  Also, they have a great vegetarian flat bread sandwich I don't feel guilty about eating.
7.Thomas Bagels.  This is more for my kids.  They eat bagels every day!  Either for breakfast or lunch.  I will occasionally have one.  I love the whole wheat bagels, I feel that at least they are not total junk.
8.Oscar Meyer Bacon.  Again, more of my kids food.  We go through 2 lbs of bacon a week.  My kids love making bacon egg and cheese sandwiches in the morning.  I love Oscar Meyer bacon, it is a little more expensive than the other brands but worth it.  My husband always brings home cheaper brands and it makes me mad!
9. Tide.  This should be my first entry! I do so much laundry!  I only buy Tide.  It is a brand I trust and don't even think about buying anything else.  I don't necessary love it, it is just a necessity.
10. I do like shopping and would categorize the stores I like in the same paragraph.  I love Nordstrom.  Favorite store hands down.  Customer service is outstanding and the merchandise is always up to date.  Too expensive though....I also like the Gap and Banana Republic.  They are both solid stores for basic clothes.  I can't always find something I like in them, but eventually I do.  These stores are always on my list when shopping.