Answer Me This: Ice Cream and the End (for now . . .)

by | Jul 26, 2015 | Answer Me This, Pop Culture | 28 comments

Hiya, and welcome to this summer’s FINAL edition of Answer Me This, the internet’s
favorite virtual cocktail party, where we all answer the same six random
questions and get to know each other a little better. If you’ve always want to play along, now’s your chance!

1. What’s your favorite grocery store splurge?

I FEEL like I’m not super picky about groceries. I used to buy all organic, but I’m no longer convinced that buying organic is worth how much more it costs to buy. Now I just buy lots of whatever fruits and veggies are on sale and mostly remember to rinse them before we eat them. I do still try to buy stuff with real sugar. Except for Dr. Pepper. He gets a free pass.

I guess my main splurge is toilet paper. I really think that’s a product where you notice if you buy the really cheap stuff.

2. How’s your penmanship?

My penmanship is not great. I love looking at the beautiful hand lettering that folks like Carolyn and Erica do. I do NOT have those skills.

The thing I write out by hand most often is shopping lists, and if I wrote it in a hurry, I’m probably the only one who’ll be able to decipher it.

3. Do you have a “Summer Bucket List?”

No. Probably I should have. When I don’t put things down on the calendar or a list of some sort, they just really don’t get past the nebulous, “Hey we should . . . “stage.

I’ve had the good excuse of being awfully pregnant this summer.

But aside from getting the kids to camp and going to the beach a couple times (so I could catch up on my correspondence), we’ve had a mostly just hanging out-type summer.

I could make the case that it’s because I want to encourage self-discovery and unstructured playtime for my kids. But, really, it’s because I just didn’t feel like going any where.

I might be able to handle Kelly’s.

4. What’s the best thing on the radio right now?

A couple of summers ago, I got what I think we’d have to call “super-ranty” about the inappropriateness of the hit pop songs that year.

THIS year, I’m just . . . I just don’t . . . I’m . . . I don’t know WHAT to think.

They are SO catchy. They are so fun. They actually have pretty good messages. But those messages are expressed in such a way that my twenty month old’s verbal repertoire now includes “Shuh up, dance.” “Got baah bluh.” and “Hah damn.”

But I love them still. Here’s why I do . . . and why I maybe shouldn’t.

Shut Up and Dance

Pro: The video is hilariously early eighties MTV — brilliant, and the song itself is very True Love. He’s not “up all night to get lucky,” like SOME songs, this woman is his “destiny,” they were “born to get together.” It’s all very sweet. AND catchy.
Con: We don’t say “shut up” in our family. At least we didn’t used to.

Honey I’m Good

Pro: It’s the near occasion of sin theme song. It, in the toe-tappingest way you can imagine, reminds us that love is a decision. That monogamy must be guarded. That that one more drink could mean that hearts and vows are broken. Seriously, this song features capital T Truth.
Con: It also features Mr. Grammer calling the young lady from whom he is ostensibly guarding himself “honey” and remarking on her legs and ass. Not very gentlemanly.

Dear Future Husband


Pro: I cannot get enough of the doo-wop vibe Meghan Trainor brings. When girl says she can write a hook, she’s not kidding. And this song gets a lot right about commitment, and how a lady should be treated by her beloved. It’s even okay with me that she doesn’t want to cook, that’s not the only way a wife can take care of her husband.
Con: There’s a secret inappropriate almost rhyme in there that my kids wouldn’t get, thankfully, but *I* do, and Ms. Trainor seems to be under the mistaken impression that wives should barter sex for the good behavior of their husbands. St. JPII would disagree.
5. Ice cream or frozen yogurt?
Yes, please.
I like both.
But my favorite, favorite is “tart” flavor frozen yogurt. The husband does NOT get it. It makes him say this to me:

6. Have you had that baby NOW? (Again, you can skip this one if you want.)

Yes!

And it was a doozy. Read all about it.

We’re back home now, getting to know her!

Here are some more photos . . .

Thanks so much to all of you who linked up and played along in the comments these past two months. So fun! We’ll do it again sometime.

28 Comments

  1. Joanne Kibbe

    Congrats!!! She does look like the rest of the crew!

    I've been interested in asking you if y'alls stance on BSA has changed in light of the recent decisions that have been made so maybe you can do a follow-up post when you have 2.5 minutes to type one out.

    Enjoy the newborn snuggles : )

  2. Holly

    That last picture of the whole family is just gorgeous. Congrats!

  3. Amanda

    I love those pics! Keep 'em coming.

    I don't really listen to the radio anymore. We've always been country listeners, and they've gotten pretty skeevy the last few years. Plus, I can't hear my kids over the noise and that leaves me frustrated. (Too many noises at once is thing for me.) So we pray the rosary or they drive me nuts without the radio 😉 I'm going to play these later though and try out fun music.

    Hey! I have the exact grocery policy. Real sugar (and no artificial colors generally) except Dr Pepper, which is grandfathered in.

  4. The Minears

    We sing 'come on and dance with me' instead of 'shut up', it's one of our favorite songs!

    • EVF

      I sing "Hush up and dance with me" and said it so much that I got my husband singing my version too! 🙂

  5. Lisa Healy

    Congratulations and whew, THAT was an experience, wasn't it?! Thanks for hosting all the fun this summer and I hope in-between baby snuggles you'll have a chance to meander over and join in with my new thing this Saturday!

  6. Amanda

    I had not heard that "shut up and dance" song, cause we just emerged from under the un-cultural rock that is central PA 2 months ago, I like it though 🙂 I do like Megan Trainor, she's just so peppy and catchy, and the 1950's video is cute. I think the "treat me like a lady, even when I'm acting crazy" should be the theme song of my marriage, rofl! Luckily my husband has that down 😉

    As for groceries we're all about real foods too, except for Coca Cola, that is my one vice!

  7. Brigid Hogan

    The scout uniform + baby combo just made my heart melt! These Mary Jane updates are so lovely and joyful.

  8. Sylvia

    1. Favorite splurge at the grocery store would have to be the occasional coconut water because it's NOT cheap, but I do like it so much. So so much.

    2. I don't know how to answer this without sounding disingenuous or fake-humble, so I'll just come out and say that my penmanship is pretty awesome. I usually decorate cards in said penmanship for birthdays, or just because I'm sending something in the mail.

    3. No bucket lists for the summer. Maybe finishing a book without having to renew it more than twice.

    4. No good radio stations around here, so it's usually iTunes or Spotify, although these days I've been playing a lot of Depeche Mode and ABBA Gold.

    5. There's not a frozen treat that I don't like. But I would agree with the tart frozen yogurt — it's kind of awesome.

    So happy for you all as you enjoy all the sweet newborn cuddles with Mary Jane! Congratulations!

  9. Melissa Hunter-Kilmer

    That baby—I'd say she's the best, but I have to answer to my kids and their kids, so I guess I'll say she is astoundingly cute. I love her story! And *you* look WONDERFUL!

    Meghan Trainor is *adorable*. But maybe her clothes and gestures are just a little too suggestive?

  10. Breeze

    Could I suggest changing the lyrics to those poppy songs? I have a teen who is, thankfully, sensitive to her little brothers' ears. She's got them all singing, "I'm too hot! Hot dance!" and "Come up and dance w/ me!" It doesn't totally make sense but they don't notice and if they do, they know it's better if we sing nice words. (Please note, I realize that saying "shut up" is not Earth shattering. This is just a little trick I wanted to share. I'm not judging.)

    • Cat

      My 3-year-old knows it as "hot dog!" for the Bruno Mars song. Another friend told me her kids are convinced it's "hot ham" (which sounds pretty much the same out loud).

    • Bonnie

      We do the same thing with those songs – and others!
      The Meaghan Trainor (or however she spells her name) song is so good… except for those very reasons you listed. I've also wondered about the moment when my kids are listening to an oldies station and the songs from their childhoods play and they realize, "Mom was singing THAT in the minivan?!"

  11. Tori

    My favorite grocery splurge is definitely parmesan cheese. I just can't do the stuff in the can. We get a wedge from Trader Joe's and I run it through the food processor until it's nice and fine. Come to think of it, most of our splurges are from Trader Joe's, which is always easier on the wallet than I expected.

    • Kendra

      Yes! Trader Joe's is great! It's a whole store full of fun stuff that doesn't break my food rules. But I don't go as often as I'd like because we are really at a constant Costco/Smart n Final level of food consumption.

    • Tori

      Oh, I hear that! We get a good bit from Costco, too. It's a must. I wish I could hit Smart n Final more often. It's not very far, but it's in a direction that I rarely go and I have to be efficient with my outings these days.

  12. October Rose

    Congratulations!!!!!

    Oh, and that Meghan Trainor video–where she's scrubbing the obscenely bright pink and yellow kitchen floor? We have the EXACT SAME floor in our kitchen!! (Put in by the previous owner.) That just made my day.

    • Kendra

      How funny. Think how much you'll appreciate cleaning it now. 🙂

  13. me

    1- I mostly buy what's on sale at the grocery store though real Cheerios are an absolute necessity. A treat for the family : buying salami for the kids' lunches. I stopped buying diet Coke at the grocery store (I don'r keep it in the house anymore after my last pregnancy), so my splurge is buying one from the convenience store or fast food place. It tastes so good….

    2. My writing is not good – grad school ruined my legibility. When I used to teach, I would avoid board work and do overheads ahead of time so I could concentrate and make sure they were neat.

    3. Bucket list Visit some family maybe? Nothing special. Too many kids and too many demands on my time. Survival with the minimum of screaming is my goal ( though my two toddlers seem to have the opposite ideal!).

    4. "Sugar" by Maroon 5 – it was the saving grace on our monrning school runs in the late spring. Everyone one would stop bickering and quiet down. Also "Shut up and Dance with Me" – usually one of them came on at the critical time.

    5. I love both ice cream and frozon yogurt, provided it's simple like vanilla or chocolate. A few M&M's or chocolate chips don't hurt either!

    Congratulations on the birth of your sweet little girl! I hope the whole family enjoys her!

  14. Sarah

    Oh my! I published my "Answer Me This" post hours ago and forgot to link up! And I do not have a newborn to blame! Your family is beautiful, BTW. Congratulations once again!

  15. Anonymous

    1. Grocery Store Splurge: Right now, it's Morningstar patties, especially the "chicken" ones. Trying a mostly vegetarian diet and seeing how it goes.

    2. Penmanship: If I actually try, it's really nice. But generally, I have really big and slanted letters, which is a problem when I have to sign my name.

    3. Do you have a summer bucket list?: Not really. Summer is my time to relax and recharge, aside from the yearly purge of my bedroom. My sister and I try to see some movies during the summer, and I've been learning songs on guitar. I've also become a new blogger, so I'll see how that goes in the coming months.

    4. Best Thing on the Radio: I love listening to Fight Song by Rachel Platten, Bright by Echosmith, and Photograph by Ed Sheeran.

    5. Ice cream or frozen yogurt?: Well, that depends on what flavors you have. 😉 In all seriousness, I generally like going to frozen yogurt places because of all the toppings I can put on it. But I've also been making my own ice cream by freezing banana slices, then blending those up, blending it with Nutella and a little vanilla extract, then freezing the contents. It's kinda messy, but the taste is totally worth it!

    Congrats on your new daughter!

  16. Mary

    I am just delighted to see your happy family start a babymoon! Beautiful! I had two 45 minute labors but had planned the home birth. I loved it!

  17. Charity Shepherd

    1. What's your favorite grocery store splurge?
    Anything on clearance, I love clearance!

    2. How's your penmanship?
    Depends on the pen, which I collect, like a hoarder lol

    3. Do you have a summer bucket list?
    No, no bucket list. Just hanging with the family.

    4. What's the best thing on the radio right now?
    Mostly I listen to my prime music playlist of Matt Maher, when at home. When driving around, I like the Catholic Channel on Sirius. 😀

    5. Ice cream or frozen yogurt?
    Both, either, I'm not picky.

    6. Have you had that baby NOW?
    Nope, no baby. Practice makes perfect, praying and practicing, maybe one day we can have an awesome birth story like yours.

  18. Lauren @ Here We Geaux

    (Referencing an earlier post of yours.) Your kids really are all mirror images of each other! It's almost eerie. 😉

  19. Angela Bashaw

    So sad I missed it. I just started blogging again and was looking forward to playing along. I'll keep my eyes peeled for the return of Answer Me This!

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Hi! I’m Kendra.

For twenty years now, I’ve been using food, prayer, and conversation based around the liturgical calendar to share the lives of the saints and the beautiful truths and traditions of our Catholic faith. My own ten children, our friends and neighbors, and people just like you have been on this journey with me.

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