Four Hundred Posts...and a million dust bunnies later

Today I officially hit 400 posts! My kitchen floor might be littered with cheerios and dried peas (my children LOVE green peas...blech), but my blog is rockin' four hundred posts. At least I have my priorities together.

In honor of this 400th post, I am going to share seven random things about me. I have been tagged for this little meme more times than I care to remember, but have never followed through...likely because there is an attack duck story to share or I felt the need to recount how one more person asked if my children were twins. Today is the day.....here are seven random things about me!

1. While in Kenya, I was the victim of an attempted mugging. I had gone with a fellow American, along with our Kenyan friend, into the heart of Nairobi to phone my parents (the only time I talked to them during the 2+ months I was there...I think it cost us close to $50!). We were crossing a busy street with about a hundred other people (all locals). Our guide bravely darted across, barely missing several buses barging down the street, but the other American and I hesitated (we were accustomed to nicely designated walkways). Someone must have sensed my hesitation and a man took the opportunity to grab at the wallet that was hanging around my neck (which was smartly concealed under my t-shirt and a jacket. However, a small string must have been showing at the nape of my neck). I quickly realized what was happening and screamed "NO!" and grabbed it back. Because we were going to make these phone calls, I had a credit card, money, and my passport all in that travel wallet (Normally I would not have been carrying more than a few dollars on me). Losing my passport would have been tragic because this was just two years after the US Embassy had been bombed in Nairobi and it was still not completely up and running....I might still be there waiting on a replacement passport. Fortunately my frantic scream scared the man and he ran away. It is custom to yell "Thief!" if being mugged in Nairobi. If you are in a sympathetic crowd at the time, others will chase down the thief and stone him...usually to death. My Kenyan friend questioned me as to why I did not yell "thief" and couldn't quite grasp the fact that I had no such desire to witness a stoning that day.

2. Because I live with two small people with a deep love for snacks, it seems there are crumbs everywhere. I have developed a deep love for vacuuming and get great satisfaction from hearing our little vacuum cleaner suck up various Cheerios, crackers, and goldfish. I currently vacuum twice a week, but am tempted to do it more often simply because I hate seeing stray crumbs lying about.

3.Tobe and I had only dated for one week when we decided to get married. We told our parents and reserved the church. Although this sounds dramatic, it really is not considering we had known each other forever by that point. However, I do like to say, "We reserved the church to get married a week after we started dating."

4. I have horrible fingernails. They do not grow well and break way too easily. I find this odd considering my hair grows at a rapid pace and is thick enough to cover at least three other people's heads. I would love to have beautiful nails, but am not willing to pay the price (or devote the time) for fake ones.

5. Speaking of my hair, I am currently in the process of growing it out in order to donate it to Locks of Love. My original plan was to cut it this month, but I have decided to keep growing it until after a June wedding that I am in. I think I likely will not cut it until the fall because I have become quite attached to its longer length. I worry about Isaac and Evelyn's reactions to a dramatic change in hairstyles....Evelyn currently uses my hair as a handy ladder when attempting to pull herself into a standing position. She will miss it when it is gone.

6. I function much better as a human being when I have some quiet time to myself each morning. I really need at least 10-15 minutes alone with my cup of coffee in order to focus my mind and find a sense of perkiness. I intentionally get up really early in order to have this time for myself. Quiet time is really more important than a few extra minutes of sleep in my book.

7. This morning, as I was attempting to multi-task, I ended up pouring coffee into Evelyn's powdered oatmeal (it was waiting for formula to be added) rather than in my coffee cup. Not only did I pour the coffee into the oatmeal, I then proceeded to stir up the oatmeal and walk over to the table as if I were going to feed Evelyn this caffeinated goop. Fortunately I realized my mistake and fixed her a regular bowl (and myself another cup of coffee) before I accidentally hyped her up for the day. I know this isn't really a random fact about me, but it is slightly amusing.

Yeah for 400 posts!!!