Robin and Katie make a decision...

 

Here's the situation last night:

The kids would like to watch a movie.

They are allowed to watch a movie, provided they can agree on the movie.  They decide to play Rock, Paper, Scissors in order to determine what they should watch, since Robin wants Scooby Doo and Katie would like some Dora Explores something movie. 

Katie now has to go potty in the middle of all of this.

She decides to go into the bathroom and shuts the door (which is notable because she NEVER shuts the door).

So, Katie's on the pot and Robin's on the other side of the door.  Robin still demands they should play Rock, Paper, Scissors, because he's impatient and wants this whole thing worked out and obviously can't wait 30 seconds for her to be done (hmmmm....wonder where he gets that trait from?)

Robin is shouting through the door, "Okay, Katie!  Ready?!"

Katie answers, "Yeah!"

Robin starts pounding his fist, "Rock, Paper, Scissors! Okay, Katie I got rock, what did you get?"
Katie yells back through the door, "Um....I got scissors..."

"Okay, Katie best two out of three...rock, paper, scissors!  I got paper, Katie, what did you get?"

"Um...Robin I got rock..."

"Sorry Katie, you lost fair and square, so we're watching Scooby Doo."

Katie mumbles through the door,"I always lose rock, paper, scissors."

Now I'm not even sure she knows the rules...poor kiddo.

So, it's been a long day...

It's been a long day.  Up early, not good sleep last night because of hacking and coughing children and I think someone had a nightmare interruption somewhere....I don't know, I tried to sleep through most of it.....

Sick hubby today, whiney squirts running around and I'm trying to update databases and e-mail addresses in order to get accurate communication out for our church community.

End of the night my eyes feel about crossed (I don't know how people look at a computer screen all day), kids are finally in bed.  Husband is medicated and headed off to hopefully a restful la-la land, when I hear "mom" come from one of the offspring upstairs. 

I was just picking up my guitar too, to work thru some stuff and finally get some time to untie my brain in a quiet living room, so I probably didn't answer with the kindest and most gracious "yes, sweet son of mine" back up the stairs...but somehow he knew I was responding to his call.

He said, "What's on the schedule tomorrow?"

In the back of my brain I'm thinking...."wow, that was a great way to ask that question, and he even used the word 'schedule'...dang!" 

And since I know the next couple of days are going to be crazy with Sean and I at a marriage conference and the kids will be shuffled between grandparents over the next couple of days; I spend a good minute or two explaining to Robin exactly where he goes right after school tomorrow, the activities and plans for tomorrow night, Saturday morning, mid-day, the switchoff to the other grandparents, their activities at Nana's house and then I tell him we'll pick them up Sunday afternoon.  I'm feeling pretty proud of myself for putting this all together in my head and communicating to him precisely what will happen with the "schedule".

He's quiet upstairs for a second and finally goes, "No, mom, what's on the schedule for lunch tomorrow at school?"

"Oh, chili dogs....'night buddy."

"Night mom"

Like I said, it's been a long day....

H :)

Robin Spencer...

Tonight in the car we're all driving along and giving my husband the worst time about his driving. 

In all fairness he did earn it.  He's texting while driving on a dark, windy, rainy night with a car full of loud kids....he was asking for it.

Katie and I (a little heavier on the "I" part) are teasing Sean about his inability to get some of the most basic places in town.  Places we have driven to hundreds of times, but because he's distracted he's making wrong turns and driving right past roads he should turn on.

Robin's in the back seat fully defending his daddy.  He's asking Katie and I to stop laughing and teasing daddy.  Robin starts to get frustrated with us, saying things like, "I can't believe you're saying these things, dad's a good driver!"  Sadly, all of this is completely out of character for my young one.  Normally he's the quickest to jump on the "make fun of daddy" bandwagon.

Finally, I turn around and tease Robin and say, "Oh, buddy, it's so sweet of you to defend your dad....you want good presents for Christmas don't you?"

He looks at me sideways and says, "Um, Yeah!"

Dang, that boy of mine is smarter than I give him credit for.

This picture is Robin as his classic favorite superhero....Nacho Libre.....

Words of Wisdom from Rob-O...

Katie and Robin were having a discussion.

It was movie night and they can only pick a movie we all agree to....that's the rule.  Katie wanted to watch a girlie movie and Robin of course wanted to watch something more masculine....blow stuff up....karate-chop....monster....bad-guy....super-hero.....you get the picture.

So Robin's sitting at the table talking Katie into a specific Scooby Doo movie.  He's telling her all about all the girl parts in some Scooby Doo vs. the Goblin King thing he wanted to watch.  You can see Katie's skeptical....so Robin's pouring it on thick.  He talks all about the scenes with Daphne in the movie and how much Katie likes Daphne. 

Sean looks at Robin and says, "Robin, are you trying to manipulate your sister?"

Robin looks right back at his daddy and says, "But, dad, it's the only way!"..... (he wisely left out the phrase "to get what I want" at the end)

He's figuring this stuff out....

H :)

A moment with Robin...

So, Robin's on the couch in his normal Saturday morning wardrobe (underwear and a giant blanket), doing his normal Saturday morning thing (spacing out in front of a cartoon) and I am making a quick breakfast.

I ask Robin, "What do you want on your toast?"  I hold out both hands and indicate with one hand at a time as I say, "Do you want honey? (hold up one hand) Cinamon and sugar? (hold up other hand).

He gives me the blank "I've been staring at the tv too long look" and says, "I'll have honey, cinamon and sugar"

I look at him again and say, "No, (and I hold out my hands again, one hand for each choice) honey .... cinamon and sugar..."

He says, "honey, cinamon and sugar."

I realize he's too spacey to keep doing what I've been doing so I say, "No, Robin, you can't have both, it's one or the other..."

He says, "I'll have the other."

Gonna be a long day again.

H :)

Happiness is simple....

My kids are happy, and I think it's partially because they are excited about the smallest things.  For example:

• Speed bumps.  As long as I hit them at a pretty good speed, speed bumps are a guaranteed giggle.
• Pants.  Pants are good for wiping dirty hands, snotty fingers, spit...and anything else that belongs in the "generally gross" category.  Pants are handy, and if for some reason the kids aren't wearing pants, they are just beside themselves....and usually cold.
• Popsicles. 
• Farts.  My dad always says, "there's nothing funnier than a fart," and I have yet to have that proven untrue.
• Snow.  Even the idea of snow is exciting to them.
• Horses.  Mostly for Katie....but seriously, the fascination is amazing!
• Change.  And I'm referring to the kind of change that involves nickels and dimes.  A couple of quarters and they are rich.
• Arcade machines. They would like to use above mentioned change for this one, but since change is lost as soon as it's found....they are pretty happy just pushing buttons.
• Backpacks.  It doesn't matter what's inside...a backpack will please them.
• Bubbles.  Not to be confused with bubble-wrap.
• Bubble-wrap.  It just makes a cool sound....I even have an app on my phone, keeps them busy in the grocery store.
• New crayons. 
• Scooby Doo. 
• Candy.  Any kind....it could've been something I picked up in a doctor's office and sat in the bottom of my purse for a year....it's still candy.
• Happy Meals.  "Hey kids, guess what Santa's bringin' this year?  McNuggets and a completely useless toy from a movie we'll never see that will fall apart the second we open it but you will refuse to part with!!"
• Imagination.  We pretend everything....soemtimes to the point I start to forget who I actually am. 
• Fireworks.
• Cabela's.....between the fish tank and the "taxidermy tuft" they think we've been to the zoo.

I just asked Katie what her favorite thing in the world is....she said, "chocolate and horsey's."  Enough said.

H :)

Sooo, following directions? Yeah, not so much...

I am realizing how terrible I am at following directions.  I direct a lot of people throughout the day.  My children, at times my husband, leaders I coach, counseling people....and I am terrible at following the most basic of instructions.  I have a smidge more sympathy for Eve in the garden now...

I tell my kids no candy in the morning, but those little Hershey bars are really awesome if you let them melt in your morning cup of coffee...

I ask the kids to keep their room picked up, meanwhile my own bedroom is the eclectic trash pile and apparently the place where old small group curriculum goes to die...

I love how I move the hairdryer cord out of the way so I can turn on the water and brush my teeth in the sink....while I'm drying my hair and dancing to my latest download....and staring at the sticker of the picture of the dude getting shocked for running the dryer near water and the instructions in spanish that loosely translated say, "don't do this, dummy."

I harp on the kids to get their seatbelt on before I even back the car out, meanwhile, I'm still trying to buckle mine as I'm already leaving the community, adjusting my coffee cup and checking my texts...

The kids need a good night sleep so they aren't cranky and whiny and a pain to wake up the next morning....while I've stayed up crazy late watching 3 weeks of 30 Rock and the Office in the DVR or reading Jane Austen....and I justify it by saying I'll have coffee and catch a 20 minute cat nap the next day...

And sadly, can you tell I've done all of these things in the last 24 hours?  Urgh!

Yeah, feeling a little convicted in the following directions, don't be a big-ol' hypocrite department.  I'll work on it....meanwhile, it's 10am and Katie's already talked me into a lollipop.....so fire me!  :)

H :)

Guess who's back?....It's Grandma Jane! :)

Grandma came to visit us for a couple of days.  It's so stinking good to see her, I can't believe how much I've missed her.  She looks wonderful, she's back to her perky self and talked so fondly of grandpa being with her despite her being along now.  Her smile is wonderful and her laughter and songs are back. 

I walked in the door at my mom and dad's and gave her a big hug and we decided to run some errands and get lunch.  I walked past the guest bath she's using and noticed a large jar of green olives sitting on the bathroom counter.  I asked her why the olives were in the bathroom and she just said...."Oh Sara brought those to me....they are really good olives!"  I told her they must be for her to keep them in the bathroom.  I just hate it when I'm hanging out in the bathroom wondering why I can't find any good olives. 

On the drive to the grocery store she told me how she flies back home on Thursday evening.  She said her flight arrives at 6:55, but Bunco starts at 7:00.  So, they are going to use a dummy for the first part of the game until she gets there and the "second dummy arrives..."

Grandma actually likes all of our political signs around here.  She thinks Labrador is a funny name for a senator and she loves to say Senator Crapo.....of course she says it like "crap-oh" and exaggerates it and just laughs!

At the grocery store I told her I needed toothpaste....she thought I said toothpicks.....then she proceeded to look for the lumber section of Fred Meyer, because that's obviously where us Idahoans would keep toothpicks....

And then when it came time to buy the groceries, she had picked up batteries for her hearing aides along the way and since she had to buy the batteries, she insisted she had to buy all of the groceries.  I threatened to throw it down with her in the store but when she didn't back down I decided to be the bigger person and back off.  Plus I figured I'd get in trouble for elderly abuse or something....and that wouldn't be good for my image.

I'm so happy to have her here...I think she's jumped into another song about ducks....my quacking part is coming up.  Tootles for now.

H :)

I don't think June Cleaver had to put up with this stuff...

Yeah, so kids have a way about them.  An obnoxious way, that's disguised in adorableness...

When I think of the perfect "at home" mom I think of June Cleaver.  Her kids were a bit troubling at times, bringing home frogs in their pockets, or strange friends, or crazy ideas....but there are times with my small metabolizing beings that I think, "Dude, June Cleaver never had to put up with this..."

• This morning I had to move the entire dining room table over so Robin could eat his breakfast in his underwear directly in front of the fire in the fireplace.  Now I know you're thinking....why not ask the kid to just get dressed?  Trust me...it was easier to just move the whole table.

• We've been working on Robin's table manners....they've gotten terrible since he started school.  Belching (and the subsequent pride that follows the belch) at the table is one of my least favorite habits he's recently picked up.  He has to put his nose on the wall every time he burps.  As he was putting on his shoes I heard a noise come from his general direction....and then "don't worry Mom, I didn't burp....that was a fart..."  Yep, new punishment coming for that one soon too.  Ugh!

• I don't think the Cleaver kids ever used the powder bath as their own personal Clark Kent/Superman phone booth...

• I never saw June and Ward disagree over things they could put in the fireplace....I have a very "glass is half full" outlook on life....and a very, "Yeah, we could totally burn that" outlook on everything else. :)

• I don't remember an episode where she had to discuss proper booger-flicking with "the Beav".

• And finally, I doubt Mrs. Cleaver ever struggled to get things done because she was distracted by Facebook!

H :)