Random Tidbits About Me!

OK...I've been tagged by my friends Ansku and Sarah to do this, so here we go! Here are some random tidbits of info about me!

1. I think the worst smells in the world are the smells of dirty rags and old banana peels. I can handle dirty diapers or anything else of that genre, but if there's a dirty rag in the sink, I want to throw up!
2. I don't do well with little sleep. I actually HATE staying up late because I'm thinking the whole time about waking up in the morning...just the THOUGHT of being tired makes me grumpy. However, I can't go to bed if anyone else is up or anything remotely exciting is going on. Growing up, I was always really grumpy after sleepovers. My mom threatened me with no more...she should have followed through with her threats for all of our benefit! I guess I haven't grown out of that!
3. Regardless of the grumpiness resulting from sleep deprivation, I get up almost every morning at 5:15 am to go to the gym. It's the only time that I never have any other commitments to prevent me from working out and I actually love this time to myself and feel more productive for the rest of the day as a result. Somehow the endorphins must cancel out the grumpiness from lack of sleep, or my husband would be suffering terribly!
4. I LOVE reading. I used to think this made me really dorky. One year my parents put really fun stuff about Kimberly and Michael in our family Christmas letter (Kimberly dating and driving, Michael doing crazy little boy stuff, etc.) and then said about me "Robyn loves to read." I was livid! I thought I sounded like the most boring 13-year old on the planet. Now I'm really thankful for the escape a good book brings and hope my kids have the same love for reading!
5. I have lived in Japan, the Dominican Republic and Finland for extended periods of time. I won a scholarship to be an exchange student in Japan the summer between my Junior and Senior years of High School. It was my first time really being away from home. I loved the DR and Finland (years later), but spent the whole 6 weeks in Japan counting down until I could go home! I really wish I would have appreciated what a great opportunity it was instead of being homesick the whole time!
6. I love math! Besides Spanish and Choir, it was always my favorite class in High School. I especially love Algebra...I get a high from solving hard equations! I went to college with the intent of becoming a Math and Spanish teacher. However, I hated my first college Calculus class. I blamed it on the teacher, but really it was probably me being too into the social scene to bother putting the time and effort into really understanding what was going on. I graduated in Marriage, Family and Human Development instead.
7. I turn red really easily...even when I'm not embarrassed! Growing up I had several nicknames resulting from this. I remember boys calling me "Glow Worm" in the 6th grade, and "Red Robyn" later. The ultimate, however, was my Freshman and Sophomore Spanish teacher, Mr. Garcia. He nick-named me "Tomate" (tomato in Spanish). Every single day for two years, he would spend a portion of the class saying, "OK, lets see how red we can get tomate to turn today" and I would--on-cue--proceed to turn very red. I couldn't help it...it worked every time! And yes,unfortunately, it still does!

So that's me! I guess I will tag Michael, Maylene, Eleisha, and Evelyn (and whoever else wants to share!). Tell us some random facts about YOU!

Music City

Well, we're home from our trip to Nashville. I had THE BEST time...it was actually a trip that didn't end with me feeling ready to come home. I guess I'm still in denial since it's taken me 3 days to blog about it! After an emotionally draining START to the trip, it was very rejuvenating!

The Airport
Traveling by myself with Parker was a NIGHTMARE! I don't know how people do it with multiple children...I felt like I'd run three marathons by the time I got to Nashville. It started with security. I was in line, carrying my carry-ons (i.e. Parker's flight entertainment items...not a small bag), trying to take my shoes off, taking Parker out of the stroller, folding the stroller up, chasing Parker as he runs the other direction, having the security guy tell me to take Parker's shoes and jacket off, while Parker squirms and cries the WHOLE time. We made it through, but the worst was yet to come. THE STROLLER was the cause of MANY tantrums on the trip...this was the first. Parker's usually fine going IN the stroller to begin with, but trying to put him BACK in after taking him out is another story.

side note: I took Parker on a walk a few months ago and let him get out at the end to help me push the stroller. He now FREAKS OUT anytime he sees the stroller or hears the word stroller because HE wants to push it.

So yes, Parker threw the fit of the century when I forced him back into the stroller (while trying to put our gear back on). I was feeling flustered and embarrassed, so when Joe called a few minutes later, I was bound to cry. He proceeded to tell me that we'd forgotten to take the car seat out of the car. I started bawling...pregnant, pushing a crying toddler in a stroller, talking on the phone in hysterics...not a pretty picture. My parents now have a toddler car seat of their own...yay!

The Flight
When I booked it, I didn't realize I had TWO layovers. I never changed planes, so it looked direct to me...oops! On each flight, Parker got tired and ALMOST fell asleep, but then we landed. Grrrrr... And took off again. He was pretty good, but I felt really sorry for the person in front of us. Constant tray banging and seat kicking. There was minimal crying, however, so I can't complain TOO much. I told Joe that on the way home I was going to sit by myself so I could read and sleep and HE could entertain for 6 hours! I still wish I had done that...

Heaven
I met my mom at the airport and everything was all better. I was in heaven for a week and a half. Parker instantly knew and loved my parents. He woke up every morning saying, "Bapa? Nannu?" looking for his G-parents. It was SUCH a great break for me!

My mom was an amazing tour guide...she actually knew her way around! Yes, I was shocked when she picked me up by herself at the airport...so not my mom! It's still so weird that they live in Tennessee...I never knew where we were going, but it was beautiful! We didn't do TOO much, but time flew by as we:

• *went on morning walks
• *drank smoothies
• *ate at cute Southern places (BBQ AND Auto Shop, anyone?)
• *visited the Carnton Plantation (civil war site)
• *went shopping
• *watched Elmo OVER and OVER
• *witnessed stroller tantrums

HALLOWEEN

Parker was NEMO. He LOVED his costume. I loved watching him walk as the tail wiggled back and forth with his little waddle. He was SORT OF interested in Trick-Or-Treating, but didn't care that we only went to about 7 houses. He was really excited to dump out his bag afterwards to see what everyone had put in it. He REALLY loved being outside. The weather was BEAUTIFUL, so we sat outside with my mom handing out candy. She actually got her decorations out in her standard fashion at about 4:00 pm on Halloween...nice, mom!

SAYING GOOD-BYE

I really hate living SO FAR AWAY from my parents and family, but I feel like it makes us really cherish the time we have together when we get it, so it must be a blessing in disguise. We'll see them in a few weeks, but when they come here we have to SHARE them. I LOVED having them all to myself for a while!

THE FLIGHT HOME

Traveling with Joe made things five gazillion times better. We did have a few stroller tantrums in the airport, but Joe handled it while I sat and read...so nice! Parker was exhausted, so when he finally fell asleep on me on the way home, I thought it was safe to do the unthinkable and transfer him to Joe. BAD IDEA. This resulted in Parker waking up and kicking and screaming for 20 minutes straight. This included hysterical back arching and head banging. Everyone around us gave us really nice looks...sorry...I'm sure they thought we were TRYING to torture our child by waking him up. He eventually cried himself back to sleep and we made it home in one piece with all of our luggage (this is almost unheard of in our family). The trip was just what I needed...thanks for everything Bapa and Nannu!