Wordless Wednesday - Pucker up Buttercup!

Haunted

So - it is not too often that I get serious on the ol' bowheads blog. For whatever reason though tonight - I felt like sharing.

I am haunted

I am haunted by Nie Nie - so beautiful - so much in love with her husband and children - such an amazing story - such a horrific accident......

she haunts me

I am haunted by stories like this

I am haunted

by the babies lost,

the soldiers fallen,

the families torn

I feel so lucky, I feel so blessed, I love them so much. I love him so much.

I am haunted.

I fear loss

and yet

I continue to read these blogs

I continue to be haunted

because

I don't want to let a single day go by. I don't want to miss this.

I will continue to pray for the ones that haunt me because they help me appreciate each boring day. Each day that my life is so normal. I don't mind being haunted - it just makes me feel grateful.

Stick 'Em Up!

Mother of the Year

So today - I got my girls dropped off at school, went home and played educational games with my three year old.

That's right

Mother of the Year

Then I went on a BIG long walk with said three year old talking about nature and bark on trees and singing the bumblebee song all while exercising my body.

That's right

Mother of the Year

Then I went home and continued my spring cleaning all the while keeping an eye on my three year old playing outside and writing a cute note for my second grader for when we pick her up from school.

That's right

Mother of the Year

Then

The Phone Rings

ummm Mrs. Bowheads (love my blog name) , we have your 5 year old here along with her best friend (who carpools with us) and we were wondering if you were coming to pick them up from school?

(cuz it was your day to pick up and you forgot your own child......)

sigh

maybe next year.........

I heart....

Making Easter Lilies with little kids on Palm Sunday at

church.

Big Skies







Soccer Chairs







And sweet soccer Dads








Hope you had a great weekend!!!!!


Holly

-- Post From My iPhone

We are ready for game day....

Are you?

:)

Have a great one!

Holly

Because sometimes, what you really need, is a BFF

So today after school

she was grumpy

really, really grumpy

Nothing I said was right and she was pretty much in a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad mood. (Yes - I took that from a children's book.)

She was ugly to me

ugly to her brother

ugly to her sister.

She was just grumpy and I couldn't fix it, I couldn't discipline it out, I couldn't sweet talk it out - she didn't need her Mom.

She needed her friend. Her very best friend from school called and her face lit up. I am SO glad that I let her talk because she went back to being my sweet ladybug after that call.

Sometimes - it takes a best friend forever to fix it.

I am so grateful for mine and I am so grateful that she is finding hers.

You Tweeps!

Very excited to participate in this again this week:

Now I highly recommend you go here for the explanation:

and then of course you gotta click on my cute little follow me on twitter guy and follow me on twitter - can I just say - I really do heart my twitter button.

By TwitterIcon.com

I did this last week and really enjoyed it! I feel like I made new twitter BFF's and even made a new Farmville buddy because - as you read in THIS post - I Heart Farmville.

Pukapalooza is over for the moment - she says typing hjwkfosohfk - (that is what typing with your fingers crossed looks like) and knocking on wood furiously.

Portrait of a stomach virus

The Calm Before The Storm

Supplies are very important

Riding through the worst of it....

Clean up is essential

Even your toes hurt

and then.....

as quickly as it came......

it is over and you get to sit in bed with your Mom all day and watch ALL the TV you want.

Stick 'em Up!

Because this deserves it's own post......

I was just sitting around one day on one of my bar stools checking my email when I got the email from Ashley at CSN that I got to do a product review!!!!! I can't wait to get review these pretty things. :)

Anyway - I will let you know how this one works out! I am excited. Thanks CSN for giving me the opportunity! Did you know they have over 200 websites that sell everything from baby toys to bar stools to blenders! So many wonderful items!!

:)

A Giveaway, a Review, and a Cute Joke

So we had this awesome giveaway here

to this awesome website .....

http://www.fibers.com/

I chose a winner from my AWESOME commenters by using the random generator widget and the number is

6

Now I went through this whole copy and paste deal so that I could PROVE that was the winner and well - it seems - I have random generator widget issues.

Anyway - commenter number 6 is

Megan!

Congrats! I am excited to get to give something cool to a new bloggy friend!

Thank you Business 2 Blogger for helping me find http://www.fibers.com/

It was fun doing a giveaway with them and now I am thrilled to be their customer.

On to my first review....
So - I was just sitting around one day on one of my bar stools checking my email when I got the email from Ashley at CSN that I got to do a product review!!!!! I can't wait to get review these pretty things. :)

Anyway - I will let you know how this one works out! I am excited. Thanks CSN for giving me the opportunity! Did you know they have over 200 websites that sell everything from baby toys to bar stools to blenders! So many wonderful items!!

Finally - a joke - just because I don't think this post is QUITE long enough yet.....

How do you know if a dinosaur is hiding under your bed?

If your nose is touching the ceiling.

:)

Funny - right? It's my second graders new fav.

Stay on track....

to have an AWESOME weekend!!!!!

Dear Bowheads Blog,

Dear Bowheads Blog,

I have really enjoyed working on you this week! I feel like this has been a fun bloggy week and we have done some cool stuff. We got a new makeover from her:

We did an awesome giveaway here (that is still open - go enter QUICK!)

We figured out how to bloghop here:




and here

and thanks to her

We have this awesome new twitter button

By TwitterIcon.com

Found a new Tuesday Meme

and I owe it all to you - the Bowheads Blog and the amazing bloggy community that I am enjoying immensely!

Much love,

Holly

(and we were even able to participate in Julie's letters of intent! Head on over and check her out!)

A Post Called Lucky (Alternatively titled 10 days before 10 years ago)

So - today is my 10th Wedding Anniversary. I could write an ooey gooey post about how much I Heart my Husband and I reserve the right to do so but I thought it would be much more interesting to tell a story.

This story happened 10 days before 10 years ago..............

Now, a story that is told by the storyteller is typically told from the storytellers memory. I have VERY little memory of this story so this story will be told from what I remember and what people have told me.

I think I should begin the story with a bachelorette party in Vegas (and yes - what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas although nothing really happened in Vegas except I had a really good time with some very sweet girls .)

The reason that the weekend in Vegas is important is because coming home from that trip on a Sunday is the last thing that I remember.......

Here is what I remember:

I remember coming home and meeting up with my husband - er then husband to be, his sister, brother in law and children. I remember that we ate at Razoo's.

That is the last thing I remember before the accident...........

That was a Sunday

My accident was on a Thursday

At the time I rode horses - Hunters and Jumpers specifically - and we actually lived on the farm where I worked. I was taking a riding lesson and from what I have been told - my horse jumped a jump and when he was in the air he looked down and his feet never uncurled. He literally hit on his knees and then head and then flipped - me along with him.

For ten years now I have tried to remember what that felt like. I just can't. I don't remember any of it.

I don't remember going to the hospital in an ambulance.

I don't remember them cutting my clothes off of me.

My husband says that he came home and someone told him where the ambulance had taken me and that when he got to the hospital to see me they had not cleaned me up.

I don't remember being covered in blood and dirt.

I don't remember his reaction when he saw me.

I don't remember them telling my family that they would not let me go home until I could walk myself down the hall.

I don't remember my Mother half carrying me down the hall because she felt like what I needed was to be out of the hospital and home to rest.

(I guess I should explain at this point that I suffered from a pretty severe concussion, had a bad case of road rash if you will on my face (or dirt rash or mane rash or I don't know) and the white of one eye had blood in it - looked kind of freaky. AMAZINGLY - in my wedding pictures the only things that you can see is the eye if I was looking the right way and you can see where the backs of my hands were bruised from the IV's)

I don't remember why I needed IV's

I don't remember coming home.

I don't remember my husband - er - to be - running to the store to get something and coming home to find me standing in the living room crying because I didn't know where I was.

I don't remember my mother INSISTING that he go ahead and go on his bachelor party and her coming to watch me. (She still tells how funny and nice he was coming through the door wearing a fabric helmet and carrying the giant gorilla from Dave N Busters that originally wore it.)

I don't remember 7 days.

I remember waking up and walking into my bathroom and looking at myself in the mirror and thinking - "I have had a terrible car accident".

That was Monday (so to recap - I lost 3 days before the accident, the day of the accident, and 3 days following the accident)

I remember walking slowly down to the barn to see my horse.

I remember that they told me that he was heart broken.

I remember calling his name and hearing him stir. I remember the sound that he made as I came closer and continued to say his name.

I remember thinking, He thinks that he killed me. He can't believe that I am alive.

I remember the incredible effort that was made by my friends and family to pull off my wedding.

I remember that my poor maid of honor had to sit and wrap toole around plastic spoons and hersey's kisses and little notes that said, "a spoon full of kisses from the Mr. and the Mrs."

I remember how important those silly spoons seemed before my wedding and I remember how unimportant they seemed after my accident.

I remember being completely relaxed on my wedding day.

I remember being very grateful to be alive.

I remember sitting in a wedding dress, feeling tired, holding the hand of a sweet little blond flower girl (who is now in college by the way - sniff) when they told me that it was time to walk down the aisle.

I remember his face and I remember smiling for him.

I remember the reception. I remember that it was fun and I think I remember cutting the cake. I remember it was pretty and yellow and that my mother in law made it and that it looked exactly like I wanted it to look.

I remember my maid of honor helping me go to the bathroom and I think I remember her telling me it was almost over and I would get to rest soon.

I remember my first dance and I remember that I no longer liked my idea of having all of the children blow bubbles at me because I remember feeling crowded and panicked.

I remember pressing my face into his chest and feeling better.

I remember getting into the limo and driving away. I remember my Mom's face and the way she held her hands together as we left.

I do not remember anything about the travel to our wedding destination - that is completely gone.

I remember walking down steps holding my husband - yes now my husband's hand and having to go left leg, together, right leg together - very slowly because I was still a little shaky.

I remember his head peeking around the corner to check on me in a big bath filled with bubbles - just to make sure my head was above water.

I remember dozing and then smiling because I would see his head and then doze and smile at his big blue eyes and then doze and smile...

I remember my honeymoon because each day I felt better. Each day I felt more like me. I could even walk down steps like normal by the time we came home.

Treasures

Yo Tweeps Twaffic Exchange Week 1

ok - before we get started here - I would like to clarify a few things here at I Heart Bowheads. In light of recent attention to Mom Bloggers I would like to state my intentions for I Heart Bowheads.

I Heart Bowheads is:

* A Creative Outlet for Me - this, in no way, takes away from my family but rather makes me a better wife and mother. One of the things about being a stay at home Mom is that your husband goes off to work all day and gets his "props". He goes to meetings and people give him feedback. He has lunch with friends and people give him feedback. He recieves emails and calls and people give hime feedback.

My only feedback comes from an 8 year old, a 5 year old, and a 3 year old.

I KNOW that I am doing a good job. I KNOW that I am a funny, intelligent person. But guess what - no one ever tells me that until.....

my blog came along. I get feedback. I get props. I feel like Sally Field - people like me they really like me!!!!!!

and now - the pressure is off of my husband to come home and compliment my clean toilet bowl. I do not need that or want that. I don't even care if he thinks I am funny (although he does get a pretty big kick out of me) BECAUSE you guys say that I am funny and appreciate you!!!!

Now let me clarify a few things that I Heart Bowheads is not:

A way to make me famous - I have NO DESIRE for fame.

My "brand" - I have NO DESIRE to make a brand

A way for me to make money - I have NO DESIRE to put up advertising or make money of any kind off of this blog. Now - will I take free stuff, review it and give it away to my bloggy (and real life) friends - ummm yeah.

Now that being said and this post already growing WAY too long. Why Tweet? It took me a little while to jump on the tweet bandwagon. I had to figure out if I wanted Twitter to be like my Facebook where I put only people I actually know in real life or do I want "strange tweeps". Guess what - in this day and age of smart phones - twitter is a WONDERFUL keep busy for me because I find myself........

sitting in my car, or at the doctors office, or at soccer, or at soccer, or at soccer, or back at the doctors office, or in the carpool line, or in the carpool line, or in the carpool line, or back at the doctors office

A LOT

and once again - I get to chat. I am a fairly chatty person and this is a nice way for me to chat without running up my phone bill. :)

Now the final thing that I would like to clarify for the world and for the poor lady who wrote the NYT article that is now on the hit list of every Mom blogger in the world (don't get me wrong - I hated what she wrote and I HATE being stereotyped and she deserves the backlash - I am not even going to write her name here because I don't think that she deserves any more press here than she has recieved.)

Anyway - my final clarification - I have to laugh that someone would think that because I blog or tweet that my children are running amuck naked, hungry, and neglected. Look at the pictures people - do these children really look like Mommy is neglecting them??????

Now that said - on to the business of the day :) Jumping on the Twitter train. I am excited to try this.......

Check out my new tech saavy - I now I have a Follow Me on Twitter button!!!!!!

By TwitterIcon.com

Now hold on - I have to click back over to Supah Mommy and see what I do next..........

Well what do you know? That's it!!!! I am not going to copy and paste the instructions (this post is phew LONG winded) - just click on over to Supah Mommy and get them

Oh Yeah - don't forget to enter my giveaway HERE!!!!!!!!!!!