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I recently came across a list of questions on a friend’s Facebook wall. It was a list of questions for moms to ask their kids. I read through my friends list of questions and read her kid’s answers and loved it. I searched GOOGLE.COM for similar questions. I found these on a website here .

There were so many funny interview questions listed on every site I visited, but the questions below are my favorite.

I asked each of my son’s the questions, separately and got such funny answers! As the quiz went on, I found myself realizing that they really don’t know me as a person. Or as my own person. Everything I do for myself, I do when they are at school or hanging out with their dad. I have just realized that I do not allow myself to be me with them. I am always on MOM time. I am always there for them. The perception they have of me is that I am around just for their needs. Granted, their Dad does a lot too, but seriously folks, I’m the default Parent. I have to be.

It’s the curse of the working mom. The morning windshield time is when we do our chats, our morning prayers, our lessons learned from the day before. And that’s when I do my best lecturing. They are mine for 25 minutes and I can control (nearly) everything on that commute. Usually, at the end of the day, I’m consoling someone’s tears, helping to solve a problem with a friend, how to speak to the teacher about missed/forgotten/late homework. And it’s all from my car.

I envy the moms who get to school, linger in the classroom, speak to the teachers, the principal, and have face time with the parents of my kids’ friends.

So to make up for some of the harsh realities of being the working mom, I got some perspective from my two sons, and boy, is it good!

Child’s Name: Jacob Age: 11 and Oliver Age: 9

1. What is something Mommy always says to you?

Jacob: XYZPDQ  Oliver: I love you 

2. What makes Mommy happy?

Jacob: Me and Oliver, Daddy, the dogs, the sun and the garden. Oliver:  Everything about me.

3. What makes Mommy sad?

Jacob:  The book The Giving Tree. Oliver: Fighting with my brother

4. How does Mommy make you laugh?

Jacob: When you try to talk about football and you get the plays wrong and the names of the positions wrong. Oliver: Telling funny jokes

5. What was Mommy like as a child?

Jacob: You were probably good. But I’ll need to talk to Grandpa to be sure. Oliver:  I don’t know if you were a child

6. How old is Mommy? Jacob: 48. Or are you? Oliver: 46

7. How tall is Mommy? Jacob:  5 feet 3 Oliver:  5 foot 8

8. What is Mummy’s favorite thing to do?

Jacob: Garden, search yard sales for more garden stuff and buy old smelly furniture. Oliver: Gardening 

9. What does Mommy do when you’re not here?

Jacob: You talk to girlfriends about cooking shows. Oliver: You stay home when I’m not here?

10. If Mommy becomes famous what will it be for? Jacob:  Writing stories and cooking. Oliver: Hiking Mountains

11. What is Mommy really good at?

Jacob: Fixing stuff around the house that daddy breaks. Oliver: Gardening, cooking, buying things and yard sales

12. What is Mommy not very good at? Jacob: Feeding the pet snake. Oliver: Nothing

13. What is Mommy’s job? Jacob: Help people to be better humans  Oliver: Help people with disabilities 

14. What makes you proud of Mommy? Jacob: You ran a race at the Grand Canyon and when you finished the marathon holding me and Ollie’s hands. Oliver:  Helping people with disabilities and being my mom

15. What is Mummy’s favorite food? Jacob: Salad with sticks. Oliver: Salad, French Fries and Coffee

16. What do you and Mommy do together? Jacob: Hiking, cooking, being silly. Oliver: Hiking, swimming, going on vacations

17. How are you and Mommy the same? Jacob: we have the same hair color, eye color, and laugh at the same jokes. Oliver: We are both cool

18. If your Mommy was a cartoon character who would she be? Jacob: Sandy from SpongeBob Square-pants.

Oliver: Raven from Teen Titans.

19. How are you and Mommy different? Jacob: You like to watch cooking shows and I like to watch football.

Oliver: You work and I go to school

20. How do you know Mommy loves you? Jacob: Letting me sleep in on weekends, helping me when I’m sad.

Oliver: You do stuff that is awesome for everyone in our family

21. What does Mommy like best about Daddy? Jacob: That he can fix our electricity and can fix our stuff for free. Oliver: He cooks BBQ

22. Where is Mummy’s favorite place to go? Jacob: Madison, Wisconsin. Oliver: The Gardening Store

23. How old was Mommy when she had you? Jacob: 33   Oliver: 21

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Deb Burke

I grew up in the picturesque town of Madison, Wisconsin. That's the only normal thing about me. I also grew up in a family shoe repair business and soon learned that child labor laws don't apply to family businesses. I left Madison to finish college in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Here I became a spelunker, a cyclist, a mountain trail runner, an avid hot air balloon watcher (much to the dismay of the drivers behind me) and quite the connoisseur of green chili cheese burgers. Eventually, I fell in love, had 2 children, bought a house, and then got married (in that order). Life is certainly crazy keeping up with my two boys!

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