Tammy Hoyt
Age: 34 (until December, then 35 and holding!)
Location: Emporia
Occupation: RN/charge nurse at Stormont-Vail, pediatric intensive care unit
Family: husband, Craig, 38; CaLee, 12; Spenser, 9; Connor, 8; JoCee, 6
The last time I made my children laugh: When I try to play RockBand with them; they make it look so easy. I get so frustrated.
I carve out time for myself by: Driving to Topeka to go to work. I get my needed alone time and get a lot of thinking done. My next mission is world peace; however, I might have to drive further than Topeka to solve this one.
The hardest thing about being a mom: Discipline and following through with the consequences. A parenting tip: Don’t threaten consequences that you don’t plan to enforce. I once set my son out for the first five minutes of a basketball game to prove my follow through; that was really tough on me.
The most fun thing about being a mom: Playing with my children, attending school and sporting events.
My favorite outdoor activity to do with my child: Going on our “adventure walks” or riding our bikes.
The most important life lesson I want my child to learn: To believe in themselves and to never give up.
The invention I wish I could create to make my life easier: A machine to stop certain moments in time. All of my children playing well together; and fast forward through the “disagreeing” stages.
The way I encourage green habits in my kids: We recycle almost everything, they take turns sorting the materials into the correct barrels and also help empty them at the recycling center.
Favorite way to slow down as a family: We have Family Day. This consists of a day of family activities. Each child picks something; we play board games, work puzzles, play a game of family football, basketball, soccer or baseball, followed by an attempt at family Rock Band, then we settle in for a movie. My children will beg for more after each Family Day.
One way I fit fitness into my life is: We are a family that enjoys playing sports. We are outside a lot playing different sports together, this is where having four children can be a disadvantage because they like to play kids versus parents. I guess you can figure out who usually wins.
The future parenting moment I fear the most: The years when I will have four teen drivers.
The biggest challenge I’ve faced as a parent is: Trying to explain violence and death to my children.
The best thing money can’t buy is: The unconditional love you receive from your children, despite any faults we have.
The last time I said “I’m sorry” to my children was for: Eating the last of the ice cream; it seems like I say this one a lot.
If I had an “I’d rather be...” bumper sticker on my car, it would say: I’d rather be with my family.
Stop by my house tonight and you’ll most likely find me: Being the referee during the “great candy exchange” between my children; of course I have to “test” several pieces of candy that may not be appropriate for the children. LOL.