Tagged

Okay, so I am new to the blogging thing and don't know a whole lot of other people who blog... but my friend from high school/college, Kristen, "tagged" me on her blog, which means I now have to share 7 interesting things, stories, etc. about myself. Trouble is, I'm not very interesting. But here goes:

1. Even though I have been squeamish my entire life and known to faint at the sight of blood, I managed to have natural completely drug-free child births with all three of my babies. Brave, stupid, who knows. But they are three of the best memories of my life, bar-none, so that must say something.

2. I hate cilantro. Not just a little - a lot. I have been known to avoid mexican restaurants whose salsas contain cilantro. My family and my husband think I'm crazy. The only thing I might hate more than that is vinegar. It's too close to call.

3. I am also not known for my outdoorsy-ness. But I did manage to go backpacking (not camping people - backpacking - like going off into the woods and not seeing another person or civilization for a few days) with Josh once way back before we had children. I'm not sure I knew what I was signing up for when I agreed to go. It involved carrying everything we needed for our trip on our backs (now that I have an over 30 lb 22 month old, this doesn't seem so hard), and we had to cross a stream, river, some kind of body of water, at least a dozen times. It sucked. We climbed a talis slope (I have no idea how to spell talis) but for those of you who don't know, it is basically all rock, at a very high incline. At one point I stopped, told Josh to go back and find someone to come get me in a helicopter because I was DONE. We rested, there may have been a power bar or some bribery involved, I don't remember now - it was ten years ago - but I continued and we made it. That night we slept above a waterfall and it was the most amazing thing. I see now how and why people do things like attempt to climb Mt. Everest. It was a really neat experience. That being said, I am happy to have sons who might want to do this with Josh again in the future so I don't have to. Riley and I can get a room at the Ritz.

4. I have two sisters - no brothers. I can't imagine life any other way. There is something so comfortable about this to me. When my sisters and I are together, we kind of have our own language, our own inside jokes, etc. Josh says our voices somehow all morph and we sound exactly the same - the things we say, the way we say them. I'd have to say it's true. We're all very different but we actually truly genuinely love being together.

5. I am a darn good scrabble-player. Josh and I have been known to play for hours, game after game. So far, he's the only person I have ever played with that has beaten me. We're about 50-50. Maybe that's why I married him.

6. I am not a wedding-person. Most people love them - throwing them, going to them, planning them. Not for me. I've been a bridesmaid - MANY times - and I've been to more weddings than I can count. They're okay, I don't hate them or dread them, but when it came to my own, I feel like one of the best decisions I've ever made was not to have a big wedding. I loved my wedding - family only, outside, Key West, beautiful sunny 80 degree day in January. So much more my speed.

7. I can't swim... my sisters say doggy paddling to save your life doesn't count.

So that's me. Not very exciting.

I think I'm supposed to tag 7 fellow bloggers but unfortunately, I only know a couple. Kristen tagged me so that's out. So I'm tagging Tiffany and Shandra, the only two other people I know that blog.

Happy Day after Valentine's Day!

If you are wondering why it's been a while since I've had a chance to write, it's because I have been knee-deep in Bascomb Elementary family fun night. My wish to get involved in the pta here was answered - and then some. Somehow I found myself pta chairperson for the school's family fun night. This is big business here... my first event, a spaghetti dinner in November, brought in over 500 people. This Tuesday was my second event, a sock hop, which drew over 725 people. That's A LOT of people to feed and entertain, not to mention shop for, decorate for, and clean up after. But it was a hug hit! That being said, I am soooo glad it's over!

Yesterday was Valentine's Day. I always like this holiday - just a fun time to tell people you love them. We passed on the family tradition my mom started with us and always have a little treat for the kids from Josh and myself. They are always surprised and thrilled. Conor and Riley got a wii game and Quinn got some new elmo books. Josh, who promised he wouldn't buy me something but always does, got me a 1 1/2 hour massage at the spa and some new workout clothes from the kids. To top it off, we went out for a family dinner (Mexican, our favorite). I know someday Josh and I will be able to go out for a quiet evening just the two of us, but in the meanwhile, I am just as happy to spend it all together!

Our other exciting news - no we're NOT moving or having another baby - I know that's what you were thinking... is that the kids and I are off to Columbus tomorrow for a long weekend. I'm not looking forward to the plane ride with three kids (one very squirmy active 21 month old boy included!) by myself, but I am REALLY looking forward to being there!

Some highlights....

Things going on in the Bowen house:

I picked up some invitations for Riley's upcoming birthday party. She is having a few girls over for a Friday night "girls night in" with pizza and cake and a wacky hair lady (she comes and does whimsical hair design for each girl - right up Riley's alley)... when I showed Riley the invitations, which have a princess on them, she said "Oh mom, she looks just like me". One thing I will never have to worry about with Riley is low-self esteem.

Quinn fell today and bit through his lip - literally. You can see the imprint of two teeth marks in his bottom lip. Poor guy. Lots of blood, lots of crying (me of course), but we both made it through.

And Conor - well, it's Valentine's Day next week and my guess is there will be a lot of little girls sending special valentines his way. He's so cute and the girls just love him and he has no idea what to do with that. Though I did buy him the perfect shirt today for St. Patrick's Day - it says "Irish girls love me." Well - we do.

Play ball!

Yesterday was ground hog's day... and apprently Puxatawny (sp?) Phil predicts 6 more weeks of winter... but here in good ole Georgia, spring has begun... because it's officially BASEBALL SEASON! Conor had his first practice with his new team yesterday. It was in the 60's and sunny, and Conor came home with a huge smile on his face. Nothing like a little baseball to lift your spirits.

A call from the nurse

So yesterday at about 1 pm, I received a call from the school nurse at Conor and Riley's school. She told me Riley had been down to the clinic complaining of a headache and sore throat. All three of them have small colds, so I wasn't that suprised. The nurse told me she sent Riley back to class because she didn't have a fever, but that if I wanted to come pick her up, I could.

I did go to the school and they called her down from her class to the office. She looked so cute with her big backpack on walking down the hall toward me. Her hair was crazy and her bow was crooked, she just looked over-all tired and not her usual peppy self.

I said "Riley, do you not feel well?", and she answered "Mom, I just have a really bad headache and I could feel my heart beeping." Not sure exactly what that meant, but I brought her home and gave her a little tlc, which seemed to be just what the doctor ordered.

TGIF!

It's been a long week. Josh is in Houston until tomorrow, so it's just been me and the kids. Quinn and I have spent much of the week preschool-shopping. Hard to believe, but he'll be ready for a two year old two morning a week class next year. I am sure he will love it, but I'm having a hard time wrapping my brain around him not being home with me full-time. If you ask him if he wants to go to school next year, his one-word response is "bus?"... because he is so used to seeing Conor and Riley off to school on the bus each morning. Not quite yet, Quinn. There aren't enough tissues in the world for me to handle that.

Riley had her daisy scout investiture ceremony last night. She wanted to dress up for it, so we changed her out of her school clothes and into a skirt and tights, even changed her earrings. She must have been feeling good about herself, because she got mad at Conor for not telling her she looked pretty, and then she told him he wasn't allowed to watch the other girls at the ceremony, only her. Luckily, Conor wasn't looking at anyone else, because he was playing his nintendo ds with two other older brothers of daisies the entire time.

Thank God it's Friday!

Some highlights...

Here are some highlights from the past few days:

Thursday was a (no) snow day for the kids. Seriously, they called off school for snow but there was none. It was raining and dipped below freezing for like an hour that morning, so the kids had a free day. Me, not so much.

I attempted to make a delicious stir-fry the other night, which turned out so bad that Josh literally spit it out after he tried it. And he's used to my cooking, so it takes a lot to surprise him. Anyways, it gave us a reason to get Chili's instead.

Conor had a cub scout friend spend the night Friday. The boys were great - lots of guitar hero on the wii and pokemon talk. Josh took Riley out for an hour or so to the mall to get a hot pretzel (they went on a date)... and she came back with two outfits, some new earrings and headbands. When I asked if she had fun, she said "Dad got me everything I ever wanted." Hey, what am I!?! Chopped liver?

Then Saturday night we had neighbors over (with their three kids). The kids played downstairs (more guitar hero, it's an epidemic in this house), and after a few glasses of wine, the adults went down to have a go at the wii.... unfortunately, we decided on Boogie. Anyone familiar? It's like karaoke on the wii. One person sings and the other dances. So scary. So after a few rounds of "Don't Cha (wish your girlfriend was hot like me)" and "You're the One that I want" and the faces of our horrified children, we called it a night.

The rest of the weekend, Josh and I have been spending watching Twin Peaks... think early 90's, "who killed Laura Palmer", with a very young looking Kyle Maclachlan (sp?) and Lara Flynn Boyle. I sort of remember watching it from time to time in high school but Josh apparently loved it, so I got him the box set when it came out in dvd for his birthday. We're now completely obsessed.