Happy Birthday, Papa!

Tenny Rober To You! from Kate Rober on Vimeo.

On the fashions of Hollywood

Do your kids ever do that thing where they turn a 4 hour drive into a 12 hour drive by asking every 3 minutes "Are we there yet?"

Ours do. In case you were wondering...

To try and pass the time, they ask which city we are in (as if they know the difference between Thousand Oaks and Sherman Oaks.) When we told them that we were in Hollywood, Briggs replied rather nonchalantly, "Oh. I bet a lot of men in this town have mustaches."

Apparently, he is correct. Thank you, my little random and inciteful child.

More on the Knotts Berry Farm trip later. I'll give you a little teaser by saying it involved a lot of rain, a sign saying "AMUSEMENT PARK CLOSED" and Brian asking a man in a yellow rain slicker "What does that sign mean?" to which the man replied (a little impatiently) "It means the park is closed."

Life in the SLO lane

I love that I get to drive a van full of kids to and from school (depending on my rotation of the car pool). There are usually 6 kids in the car at once, which is just enough for them to forget that an adult is in the car. When this happens they feel more inclined to speak freely of the things which weigh on their young minds. Not every day is a blessing sent from heaven, though. Some days go like this...

Setting: The Honda Odyssey. Kate is driving, Briggs and Ty are in the back seat. They are on their way to the school for the second time that day when the following conversation ensues, for the 3,452nd time...

Briggs: Mom... I can't hear the DVD.
Kate: Alright.
Ty: MOM! I CAN'T HEAR IT!
Kate: Alright.
Briggs: No, wait. What movie is this? Have we seen this one?
Kate: I don't know, Briggs.
Ty: DIS IS DA MUPPET SHOW! I DON'T WANT DAT ONE!
Briggs: Mom! What movie is this?
Kate: The Muppet Show.
Briggs: I know. Which one is this?
Kate: I don't know, Briggs. Just wait and see.
Ty: WHICH ONE IS DIS?
Kate: I don't know, just wait and see.
Briggs and Ty: (at least 24 times...) PRESS PLAY (meaning the menu is showing and I should now press play.)
Kate: ok
Briggs and Ty: (twice as loud and at least 48 times...) PRESS PLAY! (because the reaction of my arm and the DVD player was not fast enough for them)
Briggs: Aww! commercials! I wish we could skip the commercials. Mom can you skip it?
Ty: NO, MOM! DON'T SKIP IT! I DON'T WANT YOU TO SKIP IT! I WANT TO SEE IT!
Briggs: No, Ty! we just saw this! Mom can you skip it?
Kate: (reaching up and turning the power OFF on the entire noise making system and shutting the DVD screen.) OK. That's enough. We are not watching a movie. I'm not here to take orders. I may be here to be your chauffeur, but I'm not your personal lackey (so what if they don't know what "lackey" means! They get my point.)

anyway...
Back to Blessings from Heaven.

We live 300 miles centrally located from nowhere, so in this beautiful SLO town, we get to drive past cow pastures and other variations of farms everyday on the way to school. You can only imagine the types of animal husbandry questions that fly my way (Is that a Llama? I think that's a llama. No. That's not a llama. It's an alpaca. What's an alpaca? It's like a llama...)

Sooo...
Today Ash exclaimed (because she exclaims everything) "Look! I see a baby cow standing with it's back legs on it's mom's b-u-t-t!"
"Where?" everyone else shouts.
"Wait. B-u-t?" (Briggs wants to make sure he is caught up on what is going on.)
"No not b-u-t. That's 'but', like 'but why can't we go?' B-u-t-t is like..." (mumbles something cause she's shy like that.)
"Oh! (giggles) B-u-t-t!" Briggs giggles some more.
Meanwhile, Ashlynn is still prattling on about the cow with it's hind legs on the other cows b-u-t-t.
It's spring time. I'm so glad they are all hung up on their homophones and not what was going on in that grassy field between those two animals...

Inauguration Day

I just had a spiritual experience. . . in public school, no less.
While volunteering in Briggs's k/1 class this morning, I was able to watch the swearing in of our 44th president with the class. The kids were very excited, as their teacher had prepared them well for this occasion. I was just as excited to see President Obama come out on this solemn occasion with his beautiful family. I feel comforted this morning by our nation's choice for President. I feel like he has a vested interest in the future of this nation because of his young girls. What a wonderful thing to share with these kids.
Many of the taboos that society has placed on classrooms were ignored, in honor of tradition and what this nation is truly about. . . God.
The official Bible was shown and discussed. The definition of "invocation" was explained and the children realized that when the prayer was being said, they were to be quiet. Many children had their arms folded and heads bowed. When the prayer came to a close, there were scattered "Amens" around the class, myself, the teacher, and the other parent volunteer included.
My hopes:

• That this invocation will not be the last I ever hear in a classroom.
• That President Obama will help us lift up this nation to be great again for our children.
• That more people will remember that it is God who made this nation, through the hands of men who feared God.
• That God will continue to "Bless America"

The sweetest little sickie

Ty has gotten a bad rap over his two and a half years.
I think he redeemed himself last night...
After hearing him fussing a little last night, I went in his room to check on him. He talks and shouts in his sleep, so it is usually a false alarm. But what can I say, I'm a mom. I still continue to check on him.
Good thing I did.
When I entered the room he announced, "I'm sorry Mom. I made a mess in my bed." Sniff. Sniff.
I quickly noticed that the poor little guy had thrown up pretty bad all over his airplane and cowboy blankies. He didn't really know what he had done. He has never thrown up to his knowledge, so he just thought he made a mess.
That little sweetie didn't whine, cry or complain. We just washed him up, snuggled a little, then put him back in bed once we were sure he wasn't going to get sick again.
Now, my other two children (bless their little pointed heads) would have carried on and whimpered and made a huge dramatic scene even if they were feeling better.
He seems to be doing fine this morning.
Thank you, Ty for being such a sweet heart.

Piston Cup, here we come!

Ty
Brian and Ty were running errands the other day in Brian's '96 Honda Accord. Brian had to gun it harder than usual to get out into the intersection. The process was loud, and the effect was not lost on the little brown-eyed boy in the back seat.
"Whoa Daddy! I didn't know you had a Lighting McQueen car!"
"Your winning, Daddy!"
"Cross the finish line!"

Our little guy is now 100% potty trained! Nap-time, Night-time, he hasn't had an accident since the undies in the toilet episode (which, BTW, were found crumpled in a corner of another bathroom, much to the delight of our plumbing pipes.)

Ashlynn
Our mini-Martha announced the other day that Brian and I had a lot to learn about parenting. She's right. I can't recall what the particular oversight was that prompted this comment, because, let's face it, there are many. Mae was there. Maybe she can remember the infraction.

Briggs
"I'm glad I'm a boy and the girls are the ones who have the babies. That would hurt."

Potty training update

So today, the two year old tried to help me out by flushing his own soiled underwear down the toilet. "I cleaned it up myself, Mommy." He announced this to me, naked, with a hand full of baby wipes desperately trying to clean off his own excrement. The order of events from my point of view was:

• Ty entering the office covered in poo (as Mike Rowe would say)
• Following him upstairs to discover bum marks all over the carpet in his room
• I then asked him where he put his dirty underwear, and that was when I was led to the toilet, neatly flushed but with the telltale marks all over the white porcelain that the child had indeed flushed his Mr. Incredible underoos.

(This is an old picture. )

Potty training

It's potty training season in the Rober household. Ty , being the stong-willed child that he is, is not making it so easy. We are relying on a lot of props and incentives. It's not uncommon to see Ty and myself walking into the bathroom carrying a box of Captain Crunch cereal, a caffeine-free Diet Coke, a bucket and a potty training seat. The cereal is to throw in the toilet to provide something to aim at (he also just likes to snack on them while he's getting ready). The Diet Coke is to drink to stimulate some "flow", if you will. The bucket is to fill with WARM water so Ty can dip his hands in it, flick water at himself, or just drink to fill the time. Once again, trying to stimulate and relax.

Ty doesn't do that last one so well. If we make him sit on the toilet and he doesn't want to or it wasn't his idea, he cries and screams until he shakes.
We have had some successes, but all in all, it's not really a pleasant experience. I don't really enjoy going through 6 pairs of underwear in one day, just to have one success a day. Using disposable diapers, I never thought I would have to "swish" anything in the toilet ( if you know what I mean. Think #2), but alas, me and Buzz Lightyear or Lighting McQueen go for a dip a couple times a day.

I need to remind myself that we have all been through it before. So please share with me some funny P.T. stories if you have any. If your stories involve your child not having success until they were teenagers, please refrain from sharing, as this would NOT be very encouraging to me at the moment.

Christmas

Ash and Briggs decided to fall asleep in the same bed on Christmas Eve.

Christmas morning on the stairs with Grandma and Grandpa
Ash got a letter from Santa in the mail. Briggs did not. This is the explanation of that mishap. To make it up to Briggs, he left one of the buttons from his coat. Briggs was upset about the absence of a letter on Christmas eve, but I'm pretty sure he could have cared less on Christmas morning.

Ty, showing off one of the toys he got, wearing the Tigger costume just because.

Ash found a quiet place to enjoy the magic of her bead kit. Thanks, Aunt Pam. It was a huge hit.

Ty loved his b-ball hoop from Nana and Papa. He plays with it until his cheeks are red!

After some of the mess has been cleaned up. Ash in her new dress, just because.

Happiness is: new hat, new pj's, new video game.

We took a walk with the Grandparents and the kids found a great wall to climb.

Exhausted with Grandpa...

Exhausted with Papa...The tree and all it's magic.

Grandma telling stories to Ty. She's a great story teller.

"Auntie! I'm painting!"

These are the words I heard from Ty before I saw this. . .

Play date

We had a playdate with a few of the Brundage kids. We made cupcakes from ingredients we collected on a scavenger hunt. . .

The kids set up a tea party and celebrated with Christmas crackers given to us by a friend. I'd like to point out Harry's signature move in both pictures. Very cute.

Yes, those are Hawaiian sweet rolls with birthday candles in them. The kids just raided the pantry for this one.

Logan's Birthday

I'm trying to play catch-up with all of the Christmas festivities. I'll start with my nephew's birthday. He is such a cute kid. His bright blue eyes, white blond hair and huge dimples only add to his bubbly personality. The kids all had a blast together. When I asked him if he was having a birthday he grinned from ear to ear and said, clear as day, "Oh, Yeah!" He's two.
Ty liked Logan's gift!

They were giving nose kisses, then giggling.

Playing together.