By the Numbers

Thirteen days of school.

Three phone calls with three different staff members working with J.

Four email messages sent.

One meeting at school.

One thousand deep sighs.

Three nights of crying.

 

 

 

I found this in J's backpack on the third day of school...

 

I couldn't have said it better myself.

A Little Out of the Ordinary

 

Amie from Eat.Pray.Love.Run. nominated me for the award of the Liebster Blog many weeks ago, but I just haven't had a chance to do this.  I'm going to be totally honest when I say that it isn't like me to follow through on these kind of things, but I actually did this one time.  This is an award for blogs that have less than 200 followers.

Here's how it works!

• someone "gave" this award to you. Create a blog post including 11 random facts about yourself
• also in that blog post, answer the 11 question the person that nominated you has given you and make up another 11 questions for the people you will nominate
• give this award to at least 5 blogs (up to 11) and link them in your post!
• tell those people that you have nominated them for the award
• you cannot nominate the person that has nominated you
• remember to tag blogs with less than 200 followers

 

Side note:  Get your reading glasses out.  I have no idea why the font is microscopic despite changing the size of it several times.  Sorry.

My Random Facts

1- If I (or someone I know) didn't make the soup, I pick the chicken out of chicken noodle soup.  True story.

2- I am a night owl...always have been.  Most nights of the week I get a second wind about 10:00 and can go for hours.  I catch up on sleep every now and then by falling asleep during J and E's bedtime routine.  My ideal schedule would be staying up until 2 or 3:00 am and awaking about 10:00 am.  Unfortunately, my kids must have misplaced that memo.

3- I simply don't understand some things in this life...car shows, personalized license plates, sororities, tractor pulls, and dialysis for animals just to name a few.  But to each their own.

4- I accepted Jesus as my Savior after (barely) enduring some really tough post-partum weeks when I was 25.

5- My husband and I really get into theme parties.  Didn't know that, huh?



6- I had to live on campus as a college freshmen.  I only slept there three nights the entire year.

7- I grew up with my cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents nearby.  This was such a blessing that I will always cherish!

8- I still miss the crash and burn, sick patients even after being out of bedside nursing for almost four years.  I don't miss the twelve hour weekend night shifts at all.  This pretty much explains my life as a nurse these days...



9- Favorite thing in the world...a sleeping baby/child on my chest.

10- I have a "hole" in my leg from a poorly administered immunization when I was a child.

11- I am really, really behind on blogging right now.  I'm going to have to do some major backtracking and summarizing to catch up because I long to blog in "real time" again. 

 

Answers to Questions

1-Favorite restaurant?  That's a toss up, but my go-to place is Grisanti's because I love soup...and bread because I can ring the butter out of it right into my mouth.  Mmmmmm.

2-Would you rather be hot or cold?  hot...unless I'm trying to sleep.

3-Favorite bible verse?  Philippians 4:4-7
⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

4-Dream place to travel?  Fiji or Africa

5-Cookies or brownies?  Cookies (without raisins) are one of God's greatest gifts to the human race.

6-Runner, jogger, or walker?  Runner/jogger...depends how you define these.

7-What is your expert meal you like to cook?  Chicken noodle soup on a cold day

8-Secret band you jam to?  It's usually Christian bands for me, but I do reach out a little...sometimes.  Go Fish...I'll admit that I listen sometimes even when the kids aren't in the car.  P!nk...I don't listen to this when the kids are in the car.  Oh, I almost forgot.  E and I have been dancing around to Boyfriend lately, but I hardly have Bieber fever since that is his only song I actually know.  J hates it when we sing it, too.  It's not my favorite either, but the darn song really gets stuck in my head.
 

9-Are you a Pinterester?  Oh, heck ya.  Even though it's a total time-sucker.

10-Favorite blog to follow? There are so many great ones out there, but this one's near the top of the list. http://kristencook.com.au/blog/  Love, love, love her work with babies!  Sometimes I wish I lived in Melbourne so I could spend a day with her...and see my sweet friend, J, of course.  J, you should look this lady up and have her take pics of Baby W.  Then I could live vicariously through you...once again!

11-Dream vehicle if you could choose?  Cars don't get me going, so anything that's reliable.  Lately, that doesn't exactly describe our vehicle. :( 

My questions to ask:
1)  Early bird or night owl?
2)  What is your most embarrassing moment as a mom?
3)   Favorite travel destination?
4)  If you were given $10 million, what would be the first indulgent luxury item you would buy for yourself?
5)  If I ever had a free day all to myself, I would...
6)  What's your favorite recipe?
7)  Romney or Obama?
8)  What's your best organizational/time management advice?
9)  What are you reading now?
10)  How often do you yell at your kids?  Like really yell?  (This is not to judge you but rather to see where I fall in line.  I yell a lot (and loudly) when we're trying to get out of the house. Not bragging about this, people.  Just keeping it real.)
11)  Do you usually play along with these kind of get-to-know-me games and emails?  I never do...until today.

Nominees (consider this your notification)...if you're willing to play nicely with others...
Asian Treasures
Keesler Chaos
My Heart Runneth Over
Mystery Addition(s)
Team Kollar
 

 

Wrapping Up

By Sunday our competitive field had narrowed, so after a sink ball tournament and push-up competition, a few of us headed to the (hot, hot) park for an obstacle course.

M showed up for the only the last two events and walked away with two golds.  Who invited this guy?!?

Monkey bar hang...

All in all, this was a weekend we'll all remember for years to come. 

It was about creating memories with people we love.

Not even a gold medal can match that.



Throw, Shoot, Tumble, Balance, Sleep

Being an athlete is exhausting!

Other events of the day:  thumb wrestling, Trivial Pursuit, mini golf, sand volleyball, and more card playing including Jackson's Match and Hearts.  And, of course, eating.