Hannah's crazy face

Hannah can't stand to have her picture taken without taking at least one shot of a crazy face.

Revived toy

Nikki got a slide from Santa this Christmas. They really haven't played with it a whole lot unless we have company. However, we moved it out into the living room for a little bit because we need space in the toy room for storage while we are finishing the bonus room upstairs. The girls act like it's a brand new toy. They have been sliding down it all day for the past couple of days.

That's got to hurt

I don't think I've ever seen a clumsier kid than Nikki. She is forever tripping, and there doesn't have to be anything there for her to trip over. Yesterday, just to name the instances I can remember at the moment, she skinned her arm on the way into church. She ran right straight into the computer cabinet, and after she came over to show me where she got hurt she ran right back to the computer and did the same thing again. She fell off the couch, and then she fell while trying to get in her chair at dinnertime. Today she really did a number on her head. She was running to her room and ran right into a corner of the wainscotting (is that the right word?) in our living room that is just the same level as her forehead. That mark will be there for a while. I've been trying to think about what we should get her for her birthday in a couple of months. I'm thinking maybe a football helmet might be best.

my autobiography

I'm just about ready to turn in my portfolio and request my final exam for an independent study class I have been taking from BYU. I have to pass this class to be formally accepted into their Bachelor of General Studies program that I can complete at home. For one assignment I had to write a short autobiography. I wrote it in interview form, which was probably one of the least creative ways, but I was feeling pretty rusty with the whole paper writing process. Anyway, here's my autobiography.

Interviewer: “What are some of your roles?”
Susan: “The first role I fill each day is that of mother. I say it is the first because my two girls are usually the ones to wake me in the morning. It is also the most important role, and I am extremely grateful that I can stay at home each day and spend most of my time fulfilling it. I have also played the part of wife to my husband for six and a half years. I am also a student – a student of BYU, a student of the scriptures, a student of good books, and very often a student of my children. Currently in church, I am using my musical talent to fulfill my role as the Primary singing time leader in our ward, and I also fill in on the organ whenever needed.”
Interviewer: “Tell of a defining moment in your life.”
Susan: “One defining event in my life occurred as my oldest brother served his mission when I was about twelve years old. He would write in his letters about the things he was learning, and I could see how much his testimony was growing. For the first time I had the desire to read the Book of Mormon myself. I read it all that summer and finished it a little after school started again. I gained a love for the scriptures that summer that has continued throughout my life and has often been a source of strength and a place of refuge.
“You only asked for one moment, but I’ll share another shaping moment in my life that occurred when I was nineteen. I was asked to go on a blind date where I met the man who would later become my husband. That night I found the greatest friend I have ever had. My life was forever changed in finding my eternal companion because I now have someone else’s interests to put before my own. I had never learned to serve or love in such a selfless way before meeting him.”
Interviewer: “If you could be anyone you wanted to be and could do anything you wanted to do for one day, who and what would that be? Why?”
Susan: “In the morning I would want to be the organist in the temple. How I would love to just sit there for hours playing hymns in the House of the Lord. I truly cannot think of anything that would bring me closer to heaven. Then that evening, I would like to be the Sugar Plum Princess in the ballet The Nutcracker. I never had dance lessons and am quite uncoordinated, so I would love to experience how it feels to excel in creating such a beautiful art form. It would also be really fun to see my girls’ faces when they saw that their mother was a princess.”
Interviewer: “Describe a difficult time in your life. How did you overcome it, and what have you learned from it?”
Susan: “The most shocking and dramatic difficulty I have had in my life was when at age sixteen my parents, my grandfather, and my grandmother were killed in two car accidents within a six-month period of time. I moved from rural North Carolina to Orem, Utah to live with some close family friends. I remember a few times when I felt so overwhelmed with loneliness that I did not have the energy to do anything but pray. I remember very vividly how my tears and sobs would just stop in the middle of my prayer, and my pleas would turn into expressions of gratitude for the love I felt. Since my father never went to the temple, one year after the accident, my brothers, sisters, and I went to the Provo temple to complete his work and be sealed to our parents. I felt so much joy as we all embraced in the sealing room after the ordinances were completed that I didn’t think my body could contain a single ounce more of happiness. Since then, I cannot remember ever feeling that overwhelming loneliness that had plagued me before. I have learned that families are truly eternal, the priesthood authority is the Lord’s power, and I am never really alone. Alma’s discourse on how faith grows into knowledge makes much more sense to me now. I always had a testimony of those things, but I now know through experience that they are true.”

videos of our stars

Here are a couple of links to videos of Nikki singing ABCs and "Twinkle Little Star" (as she calls it), and Hannah trying to do the same. I was laughing at Hannah, so I couldn't keep the camera very still while she was singing. Her clip gets funnier to me every time I watch it. Of course my girls are once again caught on film in PJs and unbrushed hair. But we didn't have anywhere to go that day, and they didn't want to get dressed, so why fight them? I already emailed this to anybody who would read this blog, but I like it so much that I just had to post it.

Nikki http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3665665739078761057

Hannah http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7881550913355942330

Pretty, Pretty Princess?

I guess this is what a Dad has to do when he only has daughters. Hannah got a Pretty, Pretty Princess game for her birthday where the first one to get all of their jewelry on is the winner. Nate has played it more with her than I have. He's really good not to complain about it, though. The girls get a kick out of dressing him up.

Here are some reasons why today was a really good day.

1. Everyone in the house took a 2+ hour nap.
2. Nate made lunch for me and cleaned up the dishes, too.
3. I'm not the Sunbeam (our 3-year-old Sunday school class) teacher anymore, but my sweet little boys calmed down and behaved when I sat by them in Primary. They are a mess, so I felt really loved by that.
4. Nikki is still taking a nap.
5. Hannah gave a little talk in Primary today, and she spoke clearly and loud enough so everyone could hear. I was really proud of her.
6. I had Cinnamon Toast Crunch for breakfast. Yum!
7. When I was leading the children's singing time in church, the kids were all interested in the game I had for them and sang really well.
8. When I was leaving the house this afternoon, Nikki and Hannah came running up and said, "Wait, I want a big hug and a kiss, too." They are so sweet.
9. Nikki is still napping. After her big scare with spiders this week, she needs some rest!
10. I get to spend all evening at home with just our family. It's nice to have a quiet Sunday together.

Leprechauns

Hannah's preschool celebrated St. Patrick's Day today since they don't have school on Fridays. It's usually like pulling teeth for me to get her to talk about what happened at school. I've learned to avoid yes or no questions because that's all I'll get from her. But today was completely different. While they were playing on the playground, some "leprechauns" snuck in their classroom. They made a mess by putting the chairs on the table and leaving treats everywhere. I guess they had scattered Lucky Charms all over the classroom and left green cookies for the kids. Hannah has not stopped talking about it, and she can't wait for her dad to come home to tell him. She has even already picked out green clothes and necklaces for everyone to wear tomorrow, so we won't get pinched or kissed by the leprechauns. She is also so excited for us to see the treats that the leprechauns will leave us in the morning. I can't bear to disappoint her when she is so worked up about it, so I guess I'll have to give Nate a call to pick up some Lucky Charms on the way home from work!

I'm not the only choco-holic in the house

The girls had been eating frosted shredded wheat for breakfast for about 3 weeks straight, so I thought it was time to switch things up a little bit this week. At the grocery store I asked Nikki what kind of cereal she wanted. Why did I do such a stupid thing? She picked out Cocoa Dyno-bites (generic Cocoa Pebbles), and I have had a hard time getting the girls to eat anything else since. Nikki had three bowls for lunch that day.

Shoo fly, don't bother me

I'm afraid this summer is going to be quite an ordeal for Nikki. With the weather warming up the bugs are starting to come out. The problem started simply enough about a week ago over breakfast. There was a fruit fly zooming around her while she ate her oatmeal. Hannah saw it and tried to scare it away by getting really close (which meant right in Nikki's face) and screaming at it. Well, I think Nikki was scared far more than the fruit fly was. Ever since then she has been terrified of flies. We tried to go for a walk after supper a few days ago and she completely freaked out when she stepped out of the garage. She kept crying, "Flies! Flies!" and was shaking all over. So, she went back in while we walked around the neighborhood (during which I almost stepped on a snake).

Last night she had a hard time going to sleep and stayed up playing in bed way too late. At about 9:30 pm we heard her start screaming hysterically, so I went in and she was standing at the foot of her bed just terrified. It took a while for her to calm down enough to tell me that she had seen a spider in her bed. It just so happens that I'm terrified of spiders, too. So, how am I supposed to calm her down when all of a sudden I feel like brushing off my back and hair and looking all around my feet to make sure the spider isn't on me? I tried my hardest to stay calm, though, and we searched all under her pillow and all through the blankets. It didn't matter -- she wouldn't lay down, and I couldn't take her out or Hannah would want to get out of bed, too, and then there would definitely be problems the next night getting them to bed. So, now that I've made a short story very long, I ended up laying beside her for a little bit and she was asleep in less than 5 minutes.

I'm a little torn between showing sympathy for her bug-phobia and telling her to get over it. I understand how she feels because I don't like them either, but come on ... a fly? It's too bad because we finally have a yard with lots of grass to play in, and I plan on spending a great deal of time out there this summer.

Survey

My friend Kristen sent me this survey, and I had fun reading her answers. These are mine. Feel free to put your answers in a comment (although I'm not holding my breath for anybody since Kristen is the only one that ever comments and I've already seen hers =)).



Four jobs I have had in my life:

1. Little's Nursery
2. EFY counselor
3. maid and cook for the Robbins household
4. currently, I have 3 full-time jobs taking care of Nate, Hannah, and Nikki =)


Four movies I would watch over and over:

1. Pride & Prejudice
2. Mulan (I'll have to agree with you, Kristen, on this one)
3. The Little Mermaid (the girls only think the Disney movies are for them, but they're really mine)
4. any romantic comedy


Four places I have lived:

1. Edenton, NC
2. Orem, UT
3. Provo, UT
4. Georgia, Virginia, South Carolina, and now I've come full circle to Pikeville, NC
what a question for me!!


Four TV shows I love to watch:

1. Alias
2. American Idol
3. Smallville
4. Bob the Builder


Four places I have been on vacation:

1. the Outer Banks
2. Mediterranean cruise (very nice!)
3. Palmyra, NY
4. San Diego, CA


Four web sites I visit daily:

1. www.susanandnate.blogspot.com
2. under the bamboo tree
3. www.sesameworkshop.org/sesamestreet (okay, that is for the girls and not me)
4. I'm still waiting for someone else in my family to create a blog to visit =)


Four of my favorite foods :

1. chocolate
2. Grandma White's pumpkin/sweet potato pie
3. chocolate-covered strawberries
4. cookies n cream ice cream (do you think I have a sweet tooth?)


Four places I would rather be right now:
1. the beach
2. in a hot tub
3. visiting family
4. reading a book


Four Friends that have been tagged that I think will respond

1. probably no one...=) but i'd love to hear your answers if you decide to!

Cute cousins

Nikki & Lexi are so cute together. If I ever ask her what she wants to do today, her answer is always that she wants to play with Lexi. I think Lexi likes the fact that Nikki wants to be her shadow and will do anything she wants.

This picture also makes me laugh because Baby Jay stayed on that little car in the same spot for probably 15 minutes just watching everyone else run around. Maybe his foot was stuck.

A hobby or an obsession?

Reading a good book is a weakness of mine. Of course reading is a good thing, but I just get too wrapped up in a good book. I like reading all kinds of things - history, biographies, parenting books, religious fiction and nonfiction, a good mystery (nothing really scary, though), etc. I think my brothers might be worried sometimes that I read those trashy romance novels. Let me put your minds to rest boys, I don't read those. A good clean romance is always welcome, though, with Pride & Prejudice being one of my favorites.

The funniest thing is that in the time I have been writing this the girls have brought me three books to read to them.

Anyway, a good novel is like a good movie to me. I can see a picture so clearly in my head of what is happening, and I can never just skim. I want to read every word to get the full effect of what the author is saying. The problem comes because I hate putting down a good book right in the middle of it, just like a movie isn't as good if you stop and then come back to finish it later. Dishes and all housework suddenly seem so unimportant. Therefore, nothing gets done when I'm reading. Then I rationalize that I should just keep reading until I'm done to be able to function properly again. That's why I was up until 4 am this morning reading a book I started last night. I wasn't even tired.

Nate can't believe how fast I can read a book, but then it took him a year to get through one of the Harry Potter books. I bought him a couple of books for Christmas that I have really enjoyed, but he hasn't read more than just the titles yet. One was 1776 by David McCullough. I highly recommend this one. I always knew the Revolutionary soldiers were poor, and it was a miracle that America won her independence, but this book brought to life just how miraculous it really was. What are some of your recommendations?

So, I guess I do feel guilty for not keeping things more balanced, but I console myself by thinking that at least I'm not doing something worse with my time like watching soap operas.

Life in Paradise

You might think this is a bland and boring picture, but I think it is marvelous. Especially because it is the view out of our front window. Of course it will be prettier in a few months when the crops are growing, but I sometimes still can't believe that this is where I live. When I left North Carolina at 16 I really believed I would never be back for more than just a visit. This view reminds me of watching for the bus across the cornfields in front of our house growing up. What a pain it was when the corn (or sometimes soybeans) got too tall to see across the field. You never knew if the bus was coming until it was right at the doorstep. Which gets me to thinking about life on Paradise Rd. There was also a cow pasture beside our house. They really aren't very pretty animals, but I still liked watching them. Wouldn't it be nice if I could always be as relaxed as a cow? What am I thinking -- I already spend my days laying around and eating! :) There was also Granddaddy's woods behind our house that Mike & JW used to hunt in. I remember Mike took me with him once and vowed he would never do it again. I remember being so excited when we got up before daylight and had to be so quiet to not wake anyone else up. Sitting in the treestand I thought I was being pretty still, but we didn't see any deer that morning. Mike said it was because I couldn't be quiet enough. I wonder if he even remembers that. Anyway, I guess being a country girl is just in my blood. Who knows how long we'll stay here or where else life may take us, but I am really thankful for every day I live in North Carolina.

New camera

I got a new camera yesterday because our old one was beyond repair. I guess it had been dropped one too many times. Here are a few pictures I've taken as I've been learning how to use it.

Hannah brought home a windsock today that she made in preschool. You can't really tell in the picture, but it is a windy day. They have had a lot of fun with it.

The girls were more than happy to let me try our new camera out on them. And no, I didn't brush Nikki's hair this morning. That's one reason she's still smiling.


Here's our new house. We are really enjoying it. Notice the construction in the background -- that started about a month after we moved in. I guess we're used to it, though, since we watched something like 4 houses built around us in South Carolina, too. At least they haven't blocked my view of the cotton fields. The tractors were out plowing the fields today. I'm so happy spring is almost here.

Hannah ... shh!

Today in the middle of church I started thinking about an incident that happened last week to Nate, and I had to work really hard to keep from laughing about it. Last Sunday I sat up front to sing in the choir and play the organ, so Nate had the girls all to himself. Well, Hannah sneezed and got snot everywhere (sorry, I know that's gross). She starts saying really loudly, "It's in my mouth! It's in my mouth!" Nate couldn't find any wipes or anything to help her, so he grabbed Nikki's emergency pair of clean panties to wipe her face off. But she didn't like that, and Nate could not for the life of him get her to whisper. Once again for all to hear she said, "No, that's Nikki's panties." Poor Nate. He's so tall that his head sticks up way above everyone else around, and I'm sure at that moment he just wished he could be my height and disappear for a little bit. Needless to say, he was very happy that I got to sit with the family today. The girls were very well behaved -- maybe they knew he couldn't take two Sundays like that right in a row!

shoes, shoes, shoes ...

There is one thing about me that I really don't expect Nate to ever understand -- my love of shoes. My shoe collection has dwindled considerably since we have been married because I know there is a line where shoe needs become just wants, but I was just in Payless yesterday and I fantasized about leaving with a whole armload of shoes. This time I really did go because I needed some black dress shoes. I was looking for some really cute closed-toe shoes that I had seen a girl wearing at church last Sunday. They didn't have those in my size, and the others looked like granny shoes on me. So, I ended up buying a pair of black dressy sandals. I thought that was okay at the time because it was warm outside and had been so for the past couple of days. I was so excited about them that I went home and painted my toenails so I could wear them on our date last night. Too bad the cold front hit just about the time the sun went down. I was shivering all night long, and I still don't have any black shoes to wear to church tomorrow. It's a good thing I'm young and still have time to grow up and learn how to be more responsible than buying sandals in the winter.

By the way, Hannah was really cute in the store. She kept picking out shoes for me to try on. They were usually the brightest colored shoes on the rack. I don't think I ever would have even seen the bright blue, yellow, and hot pink ones that were her favorite.

Dancing queen

Nikki had so much fun today. She got to go to dance class with her cousin Lexi. Yesterday when I told her she would get to go, her eyes got really big, she covered her mouth with her hands, and she said, "Oh, oh, YEA!!" It was so cute. Then this morning I could hardly get her dressed because she was jumping up and down and dancing all around. Needless to say, when I packed her in Lexi's van, she barely looked back at me. The report I got was that the teacher was surprised at how well she followed along, and she wasn't afraid to participate. That's not surprising to me because she dances around all day long. Occasionally she'll strike a pose and say, "Look, my dance class move." Plus, she is the world's best copycat. She wants to be like Hannah so much, and Hannah frequently asks, "Mom, why does Nikki copy me all the time?" Then, after we got home, she spilled some lunch on her leotard (there was no way to convince her to take it off to eat) and wanted to change clothes. What did she pick out to wear? Her other leotard!