I like basketball. I used to love basketball back when I played a whole lot and was in really good shape and shooting a 3 pointer was easy and making one was even easier. Now I can't even muscle one to the basket (Ok, I really can - on most days.) Anyway, Darren likes basketball too. Especially the Cougars. In fact we had quite the male "bunco party" going on at my house today just to watch BYU's big game.
Alright back on track. I like basketball, Darren likes basketball, we want our children to like basketball. So we take them to basketball games. College games, high school games, rec league games. You name it. Exposure is the key. So is popcorn. Lots of it.
Last week while we were cheering on the Lamar Lady Savages I was busy thinking how fun it will be when my kids are old enough to play. I might have even smiled to myself. Me and my dreams.
That's when half-time showed up. Along with it came some horrible music and some even more horrible cheerleaders. I was cringing watching the girls dance but I applauded their effort. I held my breath as they attempted what could only be called "throws". I looked away as they "shimmied". When it finally ended I breathed a sigh of relief and looked around trying to get the images out of my mind. That's when my eyes found Brooklyn.
Brooklyn. It was like a ray of sunshine was spotlighting Brooklyn's face. Eyes bright with excitement. Huge, beautiful smile on her face. Rosy cheeks. I felt a cloud cross my own face.
"Mommy, I want to do THAT when I get big!!"Giggle, giggle. "That looks like soooo much fun!"
I quickly covered Darren's ears, gave Brooklyn what kind of a smile I could manage and acted like nothing had happed.
I couldn't help it. I looked at her from the corner of my eye and knew. I have known for a while now. She's a prima donna. She innately strikes runway poses. Looking good is a top priority. Shwe wants her hair as long as Rapunzles. My little Brooklyn is going to be a cheerleader.
I have already started to accept the fact. Darren, however, is a different story......
And now I will go wipe my tears and see if I can find a pink basketball anywhere. Maybe, just maybe, that's the tide turner I need.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Snow
It's a SNOW DAY!!
Imagine my surpise when my phone woke me up at 6:00 am to tell me that school had been canceled. Imagine my bigger surprise when I looked out the window to see nothing!.....No snow, no drizzle, no nothing. What is going on here? Well I snuck into Abby's room and turned off the alarm anyway (hey, who am I to question higher authorities?) and went back to bed. An hour later we were up again and the snow and made it's arrival!! And now at 3 in the afternoon the snow has come in, set down it's luggage and is making itself right at home.
We decided to make the most of it by heading out right away. It was cold. Really cold. I wasn't wearing gloves because what kind of photographer wears gloves when capturing ice cold moments? My hands were frozen in no time. And now I know for sure had I been one of the pioneers crossing these freezing cold plains I would have been done. No doubt about it. I really can't believe how many of them survived! Anyhoo, moving on to...
Snow Angels!
Brooklyn was the only one brave enough to lay down in the snow. She did a pretty good job of it!
Here's Abby. The poor girl has been sick since last week and was so excited to finally go to school today (she missed Friday and Monday) and what do you know. No school. Oh well, plenty of play time with Brooklyn and Jace!
Here's the little guy. He had been itching to get in this snow since he woke up. Unfortunately, I had to dress him in the only snowpants we have in his size - they just happen to be pink. He didn't mind:) We weren't able to stay out too long and what a mess when we came back in but hey, it's snow! It doesn't happen very often here in Lamar!
Imagine my surpise when my phone woke me up at 6:00 am to tell me that school had been canceled. Imagine my bigger surprise when I looked out the window to see nothing!.....No snow, no drizzle, no nothing. What is going on here? Well I snuck into Abby's room and turned off the alarm anyway (hey, who am I to question higher authorities?) and went back to bed. An hour later we were up again and the snow and made it's arrival!! And now at 3 in the afternoon the snow has come in, set down it's luggage and is making itself right at home.
We decided to make the most of it by heading out right away. It was cold. Really cold. I wasn't wearing gloves because what kind of photographer wears gloves when capturing ice cold moments? My hands were frozen in no time. And now I know for sure had I been one of the pioneers crossing these freezing cold plains I would have been done. No doubt about it. I really can't believe how many of them survived! Anyhoo, moving on to...
Snow Angels!
Brooklyn was the only one brave enough to lay down in the snow. She did a pretty good job of it!
Here's Abby. The poor girl has been sick since last week and was so excited to finally go to school today (she missed Friday and Monday) and what do you know. No school. Oh well, plenty of play time with Brooklyn and Jace!
Here's the little guy. He had been itching to get in this snow since he woke up. Unfortunately, I had to dress him in the only snowpants we have in his size - they just happen to be pink. He didn't mind:) We weren't able to stay out too long and what a mess when we came back in but hey, it's snow! It doesn't happen very often here in Lamar!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Life at the Robbins
Just a quick update to let you know what's been going on.....
1. I've completed not one, or two, but several "better than nothing" workouts in the last few weeks. And I don't feel the least bit guilty about it:)
2. Jace has been doing the usual - methodical destruction. He uses the time I spend cleaning up one mess to create another.
3. Brooklyn's favorite saying as of late (in a very breathy, dramatic voice) - "Mom. Never let go...." And no, she has not seen Titanic.
4. I've recently been told that my rear end looks like it could use a little more "roundness".......
5. Every time Darren's parents come to my house my kids are sicker than they've been since the last time Grandma and Grandpa came. Grandma Dena called to check in today and I was happy to report healthy kids. Tonight as I got the girls ready for bed I discovered that Abby was running a fever. Apparently the Grandma/Grandpa virus is contagious through the phone now.
6. Abby walks to the school bus stop every morning with some older kids. After she left the other day I noticed her lunch box still sitting on the counter. I quickly checked out the window, saw that she was just a few houses down, pulled on my boots and took off after her. The problem was that the garbage man was also on my block, in fact I could hear his laughter as I ran by. Abby couldn't hear me calling after her over the all noise. So I continued my morning sprint all the way to the main road. At which point my neighbors began driving by. Did I mention I was also still in my pajamas? Abby did finally get her peanut butter sandwich. Thank goodness.
7. Darren started his diet a few days ago. That means I'm off the hook for dinner for the next few weeks!!! Oh, don't worry, I'll still feed my kids:)
8. I've been dominating in Words With Friends (on my ipod).........until this week. The game's rigged. That's all I'm saying.
9. Abby has been obsessed with drawing mermaids with "shells". I'm not sure how I feel about that.
10. And finally, did I mention I'm going on a cruise in March? Yahoooooo!! The countdown begins!
1. I've completed not one, or two, but several "better than nothing" workouts in the last few weeks. And I don't feel the least bit guilty about it:)
2. Jace has been doing the usual - methodical destruction. He uses the time I spend cleaning up one mess to create another.
3. Brooklyn's favorite saying as of late (in a very breathy, dramatic voice) - "Mom. Never let go...." And no, she has not seen Titanic.
4. I've recently been told that my rear end looks like it could use a little more "roundness".......
5. Every time Darren's parents come to my house my kids are sicker than they've been since the last time Grandma and Grandpa came. Grandma Dena called to check in today and I was happy to report healthy kids. Tonight as I got the girls ready for bed I discovered that Abby was running a fever. Apparently the Grandma/Grandpa virus is contagious through the phone now.
6. Abby walks to the school bus stop every morning with some older kids. After she left the other day I noticed her lunch box still sitting on the counter. I quickly checked out the window, saw that she was just a few houses down, pulled on my boots and took off after her. The problem was that the garbage man was also on my block, in fact I could hear his laughter as I ran by. Abby couldn't hear me calling after her over the all noise. So I continued my morning sprint all the way to the main road. At which point my neighbors began driving by. Did I mention I was also still in my pajamas? Abby did finally get her peanut butter sandwich. Thank goodness.
7. Darren started his diet a few days ago. That means I'm off the hook for dinner for the next few weeks!!! Oh, don't worry, I'll still feed my kids:)
8. I've been dominating in Words With Friends (on my ipod).........until this week. The game's rigged. That's all I'm saying.
9. Abby has been obsessed with drawing mermaids with "shells". I'm not sure how I feel about that.
10. And finally, did I mention I'm going on a cruise in March? Yahoooooo!! The countdown begins!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Hugs and Kisses
Jace is not an affectionate sort of toddler. He never has been. He's never wanted to cuddle. Giving hugs? He can take it or leave it. Mostly leave it. Squeezes? I don't think so. Really he can't even sit still on my lap for longer than 3 seconds.
Anyway, I've been trying to train him to give hugs and kisses. It's not working. I'm pretty sure he knows what I'm telling him but I'm not totally sure (he's 18 months and knows a whole lot more than he lets on sometimes). So anyway, this week I decided try my efforts with renewed vigor. I would get a kiss from my baby boy. He will not say no to a mother's love. A hug once a day is good for the soul.
This was all met with an upturned nose, a quick look in any other direction but moms, or a complete and encompassing blank stare. Ok fine, maybe he really doesn't know what I'm saying.
But maybe he does.
I decided to try blackmail. An activity I try not to resort to but at times am forced to. Before bathtime the other night Jace was dancing around in his birthday suit just waiting to jump in. Did I mention Jace loves taking a bath? As soon as Jace got mobile he began crawling for the bathtub any time he heard someone turn the water on. When he gets in he swims around in absolute bliss. There's nothing Jace likes better than a nice, warm bath and a rubber ducky. I took one look at Jace's excited little face and knew what I had to do.
"Jace? Do you want to get in the bathtub little guy? Ooooh, the bath is soooooo much fun! Let's get you in..........Give mommy a kiss Jace, and mommy will put in the bath....."
No look of confusion, no blank stare, no glance in the other direction. There was absolutely no hesitation. An open mouthed kiss came my way, about took my nose off, and then it was gone. I was left with a string of slobber and a big smile.
I got my kiss.
Anyway, I've been trying to train him to give hugs and kisses. It's not working. I'm pretty sure he knows what I'm telling him but I'm not totally sure (he's 18 months and knows a whole lot more than he lets on sometimes). So anyway, this week I decided try my efforts with renewed vigor. I would get a kiss from my baby boy. He will not say no to a mother's love. A hug once a day is good for the soul.
This was all met with an upturned nose, a quick look in any other direction but moms, or a complete and encompassing blank stare. Ok fine, maybe he really doesn't know what I'm saying.
But maybe he does.
I decided to try blackmail. An activity I try not to resort to but at times am forced to. Before bathtime the other night Jace was dancing around in his birthday suit just waiting to jump in. Did I mention Jace loves taking a bath? As soon as Jace got mobile he began crawling for the bathtub any time he heard someone turn the water on. When he gets in he swims around in absolute bliss. There's nothing Jace likes better than a nice, warm bath and a rubber ducky. I took one look at Jace's excited little face and knew what I had to do.
"Jace? Do you want to get in the bathtub little guy? Ooooh, the bath is soooooo much fun! Let's get you in..........Give mommy a kiss Jace, and mommy will put in the bath....."
No look of confusion, no blank stare, no glance in the other direction. There was absolutely no hesitation. An open mouthed kiss came my way, about took my nose off, and then it was gone. I was left with a string of slobber and a big smile.
I got my kiss.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Christmas
Merry Christmas everyone! Here we are on Christmas morning getting right to it. We got kind of a late start for the morning because we had sick kids. Abby was hacking up a lung all Christmas Eve night which made it hard for Santa to get everything ready! Which is why she slept in on Christmas morning. She actually came into our room in tears when she first woke up because she felt so bad. Poor little girl! Jace and Brooklyn were up at 7:00 and they came and hung out in our room until Abby woke up (around 8:00). Jace did not understand why he was locked in mom and dad's room and was really not very happy about it!
Here is the new addition to our house. His name is Bucky. We adopted him from someone's front porch!! Really. We had been trying to find a spring horse around here and no one carries them anymore. I went online and discovered that these things were expensive!! Like anywhere from one to two hundred bucks! What!! I am not a good enough mother to justify spending that kind of money for a toy that may or may not be used.
Fortunately, Darren remembered seeing Bucky sitting on someone's porch out in the country where he goes hunting. So, he gave them a call, discovered he actually knew one of the family members and Bucky became part of our family! (Just for the record Darren did throw down 5 dollars for our new toy. He felt it only fair;) Talk about a bargain! And Jace loves his new horse. And so do the girls. I did try to play Cowboys and Indians with Brooklyn but she got scared and ran upstairs. Luckily one of my arrows hit her in the bum on the way up so I won!
Here's Abby with one of her favorite presents - a PillowPet! Why these things are such a craze I have no idea. But my girls think they are pretty awesome!
Here is the new addition to our house. His name is Bucky. We adopted him from someone's front porch!! Really. We had been trying to find a spring horse around here and no one carries them anymore. I went online and discovered that these things were expensive!! Like anywhere from one to two hundred bucks! What!! I am not a good enough mother to justify spending that kind of money for a toy that may or may not be used.
Fortunately, Darren remembered seeing Bucky sitting on someone's porch out in the country where he goes hunting. So, he gave them a call, discovered he actually knew one of the family members and Bucky became part of our family! (Just for the record Darren did throw down 5 dollars for our new toy. He felt it only fair;) Talk about a bargain! And Jace loves his new horse. And so do the girls. I did try to play Cowboys and Indians with Brooklyn but she got scared and ran upstairs. Luckily one of my arrows hit her in the bum on the way up so I won!
Here's Abby with one of her favorite presents - a PillowPet! Why these things are such a craze I have no idea. But my girls think they are pretty awesome!
Jace loves to ride pretty much everything (which is why we got him a horse) and his new truck is no exception.
Later on we headed over to Grandma's and Pa's to open a few more presents and eat Christmas dinner with all the fam.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Sunday, December 19, 2010
The Woes of Childhood
A few days ago I was in my kitchen cleaning up when I heard Brooklyn talking to herself in the living room. She does this quite often. What's really funny is when she's mad at me she goes storming off into her room muttering to herself about what a mean mommy I am. Once she gets the door to her room closed her voice changes from her whispered hisses to normal talking and I really get hammered. I would feel bad about it if it wasn't just so darn funny! As it is I try to ignore these kinds of tirades hoping they absolve themselves!
So back to my original story. I'm in the kitchen (because I basically live there. Not cooking really, mostly cleaning up after Jace who thinks he needs to be eating 24/7. Seriously.) and I hear Brooklyn talking to herself again. I perk up my ears and really listen. Brooklyn, in one of her most sad and dramatic voices is saying "I never asked for this. " Deep sigh. " Why did I get such chubby cheeks?"
At this I peeked around the corner to see Brooklyn looking in a hand mirror with downturned lips and big eyes staring at her reflection. I about lost it. I knew it wasn't funny. But it really was. So I rearranged my face to go talk to her. I started out with the spiel all good mommy's tell their children. It went something like this.
"Brooklyn, you're beautiful and perfect just the way you are!"
And then I gave her a brilliant smile.
She wasn't buying it. "But mom, I have chubby cheeks!" Like that was the worst thing that could happen.
So then I lied. "No you don't Brookie. You're just right."
At this she glared at me and grabbed two chubby fistfuls of cheek. "Yes I do. See."
I began backpedaling. "Well Brooklyn, look at my cheeks. They're chubby too." I blew my cheeks out to make them really chubby. "We're just a family of chubby cheeks."
Another bright smile.
And that was the end of it. And I'm really starting to wonder how to prepare for the teenage years. If I can!
So back to my original story. I'm in the kitchen (because I basically live there. Not cooking really, mostly cleaning up after Jace who thinks he needs to be eating 24/7. Seriously.) and I hear Brooklyn talking to herself again. I perk up my ears and really listen. Brooklyn, in one of her most sad and dramatic voices is saying "I never asked for this. " Deep sigh. " Why did I get such chubby cheeks?"
At this I peeked around the corner to see Brooklyn looking in a hand mirror with downturned lips and big eyes staring at her reflection. I about lost it. I knew it wasn't funny. But it really was. So I rearranged my face to go talk to her. I started out with the spiel all good mommy's tell their children. It went something like this.
"Brooklyn, you're beautiful and perfect just the way you are!"
And then I gave her a brilliant smile.
She wasn't buying it. "But mom, I have chubby cheeks!" Like that was the worst thing that could happen.
So then I lied. "No you don't Brookie. You're just right."
At this she glared at me and grabbed two chubby fistfuls of cheek. "Yes I do. See."
I began backpedaling. "Well Brooklyn, look at my cheeks. They're chubby too." I blew my cheeks out to make them really chubby. "We're just a family of chubby cheeks."
Another bright smile.
And that was the end of it. And I'm really starting to wonder how to prepare for the teenage years. If I can!
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Happy Birthday to our Abby! Abby's big day was December 14 and she turned 6 years old! This is Abby and Brooklyn with their birthday dresses from Grandma Dena. Brooklyn actually got a dress for her birthday on her birthday but it was too small. So Grandma came to the rescue and brought these two out for Abby's birthday. The girls absolutely love them!
To my favorite Abby in the whole world - WE LOVE YOU!!
Here's our birthday girl raking it in! She's reading her birthday cards because she can!
Here are the kids plus Grandma Suzette. Abby didn't have a very specific request for her cake (after I shot down the castle and monster theme) so we just did easy peasy! As long as it's pink who really cares?
Things about Abby now that she's 6!
She started Kindergarten this year and loves, loves, loves it!
She comes home from Kindergarten extremely tired (meaning grumpy!) after her hard day at school (she goes a full day).
She loves to draw and some of her favorite things to draw are her family, herself and Brooklyn as superheros, fairies, princesses etc.
She has started piano lessons and had her first recital 2 days before her birthday and did great!
She always wants to be in charge of her younger siblings (and I'm not talking babysitting, I'm talking bossing around!)
She also loves playing with Brooklyn and she can get Jace to laugh harder than anyone else.
Skirts and tights are a must - unless it's really cold out:)
If Abby could have one wish granted it would be to have real wings that could make her fly.
To my favorite Abby in the whole world - WE LOVE YOU!!
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