Cool Awards for Some Cool Bloggers

Well, first, thank you to the various bloggy friends who have given me awards both recently and a little while back...
So a big, warm thanks to the following:
 Living Montessori Now
Mondorfment
Mommy Moment
Walk Beside Me
Leptir
Pip - Worm's Eye View
Just figured out within the last few weeks that I could add a new section to the layout / design of my blog to place the lovely awards from people, so there is finally a place to show off the pretty award buttons...
Now, here is the tricky part...for each type of award, I am supposed to tell roughly 7 things about myself, and then, pick anywhere from ten to twenty cool bloggy friends to now receive the award...
The difficult part is selecting whom I should pass the award onto, as there are truly so many amazing blogs out there that I just love to read and follow.
I am only gonna share seven things TOTAL about myself, instead of per award, as seven is plenty...gotta get to the really good stuff...some awesome bloggers!
Have decided to do the list first, and then, the list of seven things at the end...
Alright, now for the really fun part...
Cool Props for Some Cool Bloggers!

Wild About Your Blog Awards:

Please note: These are not in any sort of particular order...just random...thought that it was best to list them randomly, vs. any other sort of way, as they are all awesome!!!
Please, if for some crazy reason, you have not visited the blogs I am listing, please do so...you will enjoy them!

Not Just Cute
Childhood 101
The Artful Parent
Leptir
Counting Coconuts
Worm's Eye View
Walk Beside Me
One Hook Wonder
Mondorfment
Mommy Moment
2 Pequeños Traviesos
Simply Montessori
Miss Patty's Montessori Classroom
Training Happy Hearts
A Montessori Journey
What Did We Do All Day? 
Adventures in McQuill Land 
Montessori Mama
Lily Tots
Sunshine Awards:
 
Also, please note: These are not in any sort of particular order...just random...thought that it was best to list them randomly, vs. any other sort of way, as they are also awesome!!!
The Shafer Family
Little Wonders Days
Our Montessori Home
Homeschool Chick
Jimmie's Collage
Maybe Montessori
Healthy Green and Frugal
Living Montessori Now
Mother Lode 
Earth Friendly Mama 
Waddlee-ah-chaa
Picklebums
Alright, here are 7 things you don't know about me...
# 1. A Stuffed Monkey to Fix a Hurricane...
The worst hurricane we have experienced was not here in the Sunshine State, it was while we lived in Virginia...Hurricane Isabel. I was actually prepped for a scheduled C-Section with Big Bro, as he was very high risk. Well, after they prepped me, IVs, catheter, and all, they came in and the head nurse said, "I don't know how to tell you this, but we don't have enough back up generator power to do your surgery."
They sent me home after the anesthesia wore off and then, that night, we had to sit and wait out the hurricane. We lost power, so Dear Hubby taught my mom and I how to play cards in the dark, by candlelight and flashlight...
We thought, "Hey, this hurricane thing is no biggie" when we heard and then witnessed two trees come crashing through our home!
Dear Hubby had to go up on a ladder, as the rain, leaves, and debris were falling through our home. My mom and I had to help bail water that was pouring into our home. We used the baby bath tub that we had received as a shower gift to collect the water.
It was insane, especially considering that I had been on bed rest since 22 weeks and now, instead of having a baby at the hospital like we thought the plan was in the morning, we were smack dab in the middle of Hurricane Isabel!
Thankfully and by the Grace of God, we all made it through that crazy night unharmed.
The next morning, however, we saw the damage to our home and neighborhood.
Power lines were down for the next few days so we just prayed and prayed that Big Bro would stay put, as we were uncertain how we would possibly get to the hospital.
Big Bro stayed put and then, was born five days later...at nearly 37 weeks.
The hospital gave us a gift card that read, "Sorry for the inconvenience." We were allowed to get anything at all that we wanted from the gift shop...so what did Dear Hubby select?
A stuffed monkey!
# 2.Can't Do Happy Meals & Dixie Cups as My Life's Work...
Originally, while in college, toyed with the idea of being a child psychologist.
Actually majored in psychology until my junior year when I had a class in abnormal child psychology, as the class was called. We had to watch a documentary for two weeks about a student named Harry who lived in an institution and had "severe self injurious behavior", as I think the documentary called it...
Well, they used behavior modification with Harry and got him from pummeling himself to holding dixie cups in each hand to then wearing a tiny band on his wrist. At the end of the year, after very intensive therapy, they took him to McDonald's and he was able to order a Happy Meal without getting nervous and hurting himself. It was interesting and fascinating to see how much he had improved, but I realized at that moment that I was not cut out for that line of work...to work with a child for a whole year and the big payout for him at the end is to get a Happy Meal did not seem like something that I felt comfortable doing.
Have such admiration for child psychologists, but at that moment,  knew that I needed a new plan...a new career path...had always loved working with children, and had a job at the university's child care center...knew that I could handle difficult children, as the child care center had me work one on one with some of the children...but the more I thought about it, knew that I would probably enjoy working with all kinds of children...so walked over and added elementary education to my major...
# 3. Almost Always the Bridesmaid...But Then, I Got Lucky!
Was a bridesmaid thirteen times before ultimately walking down the aisle as the bride!!!
Yes, and one summer, in which I was in four weddings, all of the dresses were periwinkle blue!
They were all just a little bit different than each other...so wish that I could have just worn the same dress four times. Same with the shoes.
Being in a wedding is an expensive venture...fun, yes, but costly, too...
Not sure what the deal was, but it seemed as if most everyone got married way before me.
Some of my friends whom I was a bridesmaid for now have children in their teens, and yet, my oldest one, Big Bro, just turned six. Am okay with this though, as in a way, think that holding off on the whole serious dating and then marriage thing until I was a little older helped me to have a better idea of who I am as a person...what my passions in life are, what I wanted in a husband, etc.
Dear Hubby was well worth waiting for! He is a great husband to me and father to the boys. We have a mutual respect and love for each other that maybe we would not have had if say we would have met and gotten married when we were considerably younger. Always tell him that "We are a great team, you know"? and we are, as we seem to compliment each other. He also puts up with some of my crazy ideas and is a good sport when things area little chaotic due to all of the arts & crafts / science / hands on learning projects we might have going on in our home at any one time...
Feel so grateful and blessed to have him in my life as my hubby and daddy to our boys...
# 4. Hairy Cupcakes...
Decided to enter a cooking contest a while back! This is hilarious if you know my cooking...
There was a contest to make unique cupcakes...
Okay, well I am not the best cook...not totally the worst, but not the best, but now cupcakes!!!
I know about tasty cupcakes!!!
How hard could that be?!?
Well, told Dear Hubby and he did try to be supportive, but did a few eye rolls and reluctantly agreed to have me go for it!!!
Explained to him that this could be just the ticket, as if I made some fabulous cupcake recipe, maybe that could be my new job!
Came up with the idea of making cupcakes that kind of were along the lines of an Almond Joy...
Instead of cupcake tins,  decided to bake the cupcakes right into the halves of the coconuts...
So, went and bought several coconuts, and all of the ingredients to whip up my creation...
Well, lo and behold, some of the coconuts were moldy...oops!
Then, made the chocolate - almond - coconut batter,  put it into the fridge., and went back to buy more coconuts.
Filled the coconuts with the batter and got to baking them. Burned a few batches...
Then, more coconuts, more batter, and another go at this whole process...
Made some great tasting homemade marshmallow goo to go on the top.
Baked the cupcakes, and then drizzled the gooey concoction over the top...
Let me tell you, marshmallow and the stringy brown outer part of the coconut do not mix well!
It was a total fuzzy / sticky mess...you know, the way a gummy bear gets if it ends up getting stuck inside your van or something...
# 5. No Pizza...What Was I Thinking?!?
Did not eat pizza for most of my childhood...from 1st through 11th grade. Got sick in first grade and was convinced that it was pizza's fault. Would not even try a taste of any sort of pizza.
Then, when I switched schools in eleventh grade and was at a restaurant with my class, decided that I had to suck it up and just agree to eat at least a bite of the pizza, as I did not want to stick out as "the new kid".
Well, lo and behold, I liked it! Wished that I never had given it up for so many years.
Now, pizza is one of my favorites, whether it is New York Style, Sicilian White Pizza, California Pizza, Chicago Deep Dish, Vegetarian, or smothered with Pepperoni...
Like just about all of these...
# 6. Doggies Don't Like Food thru Dining Room Windows...
Was deathly afraid of dogs as a kid...actually missed out on learning to play tennis, as there was a dog that lived by the courts... pretended to ride my bike to the lessons each morning, but chickened out...could not bring myself to go past that dog. My dad figured this out one morning, as he passed me...My tennis ability suffered, as I had missed nearly all of my lessons because of this!
My parents thought that getting a dog would overcome my fear of dogs, but not really...we had a black lab named J.D. and my parents gave me the job to feed this dog...was too afraid to go near him, so would have my younger brothers put him outside and I would throw dog food out of our dining room window for him to eat! Did not endear him to me or vice versa...having to dive for food like you are at a Mardi Gras parade trying to grab beads is not a fun thing for a dog (every time it was my turn to feed him).
It is a huge challenge to live in a home when you are deathly afraid of a pet...
Don't think I ever petted J.D. the entire time we had him, or was ever in the room by myself with this dog.
Was not until we got a little dog that had been given away, as the family could have cared less about this dog...they had been abusive to her...when we got her, she was totally matted, covered with gum, and would wince, especially if a man went anywhere near her. I loved this dog, as she was way more afraid of me than I was of her! She helped to get me the fear of dogs. Clancy was a great little doggy, as was her successor, Casey. Both of these dogs were such loving dogs.
We now have a dog named Elliot. He is usually a good pup and we have all grown to love him, even though he can be a little trouble maker...
Dogs and homeschooling do not mix all that well, but it is a work in progress...
# 7. State Hopping...
Have lived in the following states:
Ohio, Pennsylvania,Virginia, Indiana, New York, and Florida.
Lived in Pennsylvania and Virginia the longest, followed closely by my time in Ohio.
New York was a quick stop over as a nanny while in grad school. Indy was just for a year, also while in grad school...
Love, love, love living in Florida!
Life in the Sunshine State is great!
Although I enjoyed aspects of living in these other states (namely other state's way better schools, downhill skiing,  and gorgeous fall leaves), living in a place that is warm and sunny and allows for lots of time spent doing things out in the sun nearly year round just seems to suit our whole family...

Well, award winners, please pick up your bloggy award and spread the bloggy love to some of your favs...again, so many cool blogs out there, I could have gone on listing many, many, many more wonderful blogs:)