The birds and the bees and the role of a man.

There have been some pretty heavy conversations going on at our house. I'll start with Annie first. Yesterday morning I was doing her hair and out of the blue she asked, "Mom, why do you have to be married to have kids?" Alright- think this through- does she really need details or can a vague answer satisfy this growing curiousity. Her being only 6, I decide on the latter and respond, "Because you need both a man and a woman to have a baby." To which she responds, "Ohhhh, I see!" At this point I panic a tiny bit because I think some great connection has been made in her brain from the information I gave her and she now really knows how babies are made. I don't know where she may have gotten any additional information- I mean we don't even have cable- but she has surprised me in the past with what she knows already. But then she follows that up with, "Because you need a man to make the boys happy and a woman to make the girls happy." Relief! Just the kind of innocent, sweet and a little bit complimentary to me response you would expect from a 6 year old.
Now on to Finn. I wasn't even here for this conversation, but Annie reported it to me. A few nights ago Eric's younger brother, Steve, was watching our kids for us and Suzie had a poopy diaper. Steve is really cute with the kids, but a poopy diaper was a bit outside his brotherly obligation. So he asked Finn to change it. Keep in mind Finn changes Suzie's diaper for me all the time and he sees his father do it too. Notwithstanding all that, he answers, "I don't change diapers. I'm a man." Just when you thought gender stereotypes were a thing of the past....

He Made It!

2 Timothy 4:6-7

6. For I am now ready to be offered. And the time of my departure is at hand.

7. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.

8. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord the Righteous judge shall give me at that day. And not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing.

I couldn't let the passing of our beloved prophet go by without mentioning it on my blog. This wouldn't be a journal worth its salt if I didn't devote a few thoughts and words to President Gordon B. Hinckley. I have read a number of blogs of people beautifully expressing their sadness of the passing of the prophet and also gratitude for the life he lived and the influence he not only had on our church, but the world as well. I completely agree - there will never be anyone like President Hinckley. I, with millions of others across the world, will miss him greatly and loved him dearly. I met him once- shoot I should have mentioned that in my "brush with celebrity" post :) And funny enough like the celebrities I saw at that party, he was smaller in physical stature than I expected him to be. But his spiritual stature was second to none. He had a great love for all mankind and I personally think the earth mourned some on Monday morning. (If you live in Utah- you know the storm I'm talking about.) Something else that has struck me through all this is how quickly the news of his death spread without it being on the news or radio or even without people finding out via the internet. I know it was all over the media that night, but I found out an hour after he died and from what I have read that is when many others found out too. I think the church released the information an hour after he died and probably within minutes thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people knew about it. And they probably found out about like I did- through a family member or friend calling them. I think this speaks volumes about out church. I think some would be critical saying we are nosey or gossipers, but I see it completely different. I believe we are a close-knit community of family and friends who care greatly about one another. We talk to our family and neighbors and help one another. We laugh and rejoice in each other's successes and we "mourn with those who mourn and comfort those who stand in need of comfort." Which is just what President Hinckley taught us to do. And I know who he was teaching for. I just can't imagine the reception he got when "he made it!"

Suzie -Q turns 1!

Here is my little Suzie-Q. This is a cute clip of her, but watching this is a lot like watching baseball. There is a lot of down-time for a little bit action. But be patient- I think it is worth it!

She turned one this past weekend and in honor of her birthday I am listing the top 10 things I love about Suzie.

1. She is a bald little Q-ball. Like Buddha statues, we rub her head for luck.

2. Her bedtime is 7pm and she sleeps until 7:30 am. It is heaven. Although I didn't factor this into the planning of her birthday party. I had it at 7pm. So she was the first to leave the party at 7:45pm!

3. She loves food and I mean loves it. I have to make more food for dinner now that she eats what we eat. And don't even think of taking away anything sweet she is eating. Hell hath no fury like a Suzie without her ice cream!

4. She loves music. I play the piano each week for the 1st grade and she goes with me. She sings and claps along. Everyone loves it.

5. She is very observant. Nothing gets past her- especially food-stuffs-refer back to #3. She is a little "detective-missy" in training.

6. She loves her siblings- well for the most part. Katie can get her all worked up, but lets' face it- who can't Katie get all worked up! Its a gift she has. But back to Suzie...

7. She is my little octupus. I remember a few years ago I got an email about how to prepare for having kids. It was the funniest email and now I wished I had saved it. Anyway it had suggestions like taking a cat and dog and buckling them in car seats and asking them to get along and also making sure you had separate treats for each of them, so they wouldn't fight. Another one said to get an octupus and try to dress it in 3 layers- a diaper, onesie and outfit. This fits Suzie perfectly. She squirms all over the place while I am trying to dress her. It is amazing how 4 appendages can suddenly seem like 8!

8. She is a blanket baby. I have never had a kid who needed a blankie to go to sleep, but she definitely does. You could give her any blanket or even a scrap of cloth... she has even done it with socks she finds lying around... and her thumb immediately goes in her mouth. She is the easiest baby I've had to put to sleep. Give her a blanket, lay her in her crib and that's it. Well she is a fourth child. I was due for some kind of "parental windfall" so to speak!

9. She is my little bottom feeder. Who needs a dog when you have Suzie. She crawls around eating bits of stale cracker, shriveled apple and dried cheese off the floor. Sometimes while I am sweeping she crawls over to my pile and searches through it for a little snack. Its almost like she is saying, "Oh, look my mother put all my snacks here together in a pile for me. How nice of her!" Oh, stop with the disgusted looks. Again she is a fourth child and I'm a recovering perfectionist. No one's been poisoned, yet!

10. She has this "stink-eye" face that I have yet to catch on camera. She does it so quickly that unless I have my camera in my hand at the time, it is gone by the time I think about getting it. In fact all my girls have done this face. They squintch up one eye and flare their nostrils. Suzie has added a lip curl to it. It is a very endearing quality, but I have found it is a little window into their future personality. And unfortunately I have been on the other side of that window with my other two girls and if you know my girls at all- it is crazy! Pray for me!

Happy Birthday Suzie! I love you!

One other quick story about the day- Finn was helping me with Suzie while I was cleaning the house. I asked him to change her diaper and get her dressed. I called out to him, "Put something cute on her for her birthday." He replied, with a sly little smile, "Like her birthday suit." It is fun to see his personality developing.

I Spy a project finally finished.

So I'm not the best at finishing projects I start- especially crafty ones. I always have lots of ideas, but seem to have a problem with the follow-through. I have been working on an "I Spy" quilt for Annie for years- and that's not even a hyperbole* like "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse." or "Its raining cats and dogs." I mean literally YEARS. I started it when I was pregnant with Katie and that was 4 years ago. You might be asking yourself- "What exactly is an 'I Spy' quilt?" It is a quilt where you "spy" different things in the squares. You usually get a group together of other people who want to do an "I Spy" quilt too. Next you choose a fabric with a cute repeating pattern like butterflies or flowers or fish, etc and then find a cute corresponding fabric to go with it. Then you make about 30-or how ever many people there are in your group- of the same square with these fabrics. Then you switch with the other people in your group and get 29 different squares. It is fun to see what you get- although be cautioned not everyone's taste will be good as yours- I have found! I did about 3 different groups to get enough squares to make a quilt for Annie, plus I got a ton of cute fabric from a neighbor who is quite the quilting bee. Anyway I FINALLY finished it this weekend. Here it is:

Luckily Annie loves it and it is her bedspread. My only problem- now Katie wants one too. Fortunately I could foresee this little complication and saved enough squares to make one for her too. But I probably won't get it done until she graduates from high school. And poor Suzie may just have to make her own. My younger sister, Natalie, knows what this is like. She had to fill in her own baby book. BABY BOOK- oh crap- another unfinished project!

*I used "hyperbole" for my sister, Michelle's benefit. She loves it when I use them big, fancy words. Check out her new blog- Missy and men on my links! :)

My brush with celebrity

I have no specific reason as to why I am telling this story except that I remembered it the other day and wanted to get it written down in the name of "personal history." When I turned 30, my husband surprised me with a trip to Southern California to visit two close high school friends- Lisa Bay and Lara. I have known Lisa since I was 6 and Lara since I was 14. They both have been great influences in my life. We are still very close. So in the fall of 2004 Eric, Katie- she was just a newborn- and I made trip to L.A. Lisa works for a company that advertises movies and at the time of my visit her company was advertising "Ray"-the movie with Jamie Foxx about Ray Charles. She had two tickets to a special event called "A Tribute to Ray" and invited me to go with her. It was a various collection of stars and musicians paying tribute to Ray Charles through his music. It was later broadcast on T.V. But there were many big names at this event- namely- Jamie Fox, Tom Cruise, Ellen Degeneres, Norah Jones, Mary J. Blige and many more. It was a very entertaining evening and I like to think that one Friday night I had the same plans as Tom Cruise! Lisa also had tickets to the after party, so I got to tag along with her. Now the stars at the after party weren't nearly as big as the actual event- in fact I think most of the people there were executives, producers, assistants and the like. But I did get close to a few "stars." When we were walking up to the event I was behind an actress I recognized from a sitcom, but I don't know her name. I do remember I thought she was so small I could fold her up and put her in my pocket. While I waited in the line for the bar the host of "Amazing Race" was right next to me. Again I can't remember his name and he was surprisingly small. While I was in the buffet line I was getting food across from Lou Diamond Phillips and yep you guessed it- he could have been folded up and put in my other pocket. What is it with Hollywood stars being so small and even more importantly why do I want to put them in my pockets?!? But by far the biggest name I saw that night was Bruce Willis. He was so close to me I could have reached out and touched him. Of course I didn't or you know they might have called security and this story would have ended very differently. Anyway it was an evening that was so different from my usual life. It was very interesting to be able to just listen in on conversations because everyone have an agenda or some project they were trying to promote. I got to be there "just for the food." I felt like the country mouse in the city... or maybe it was more like the post-partum mom at the cocktail party. Either way it was a fun evening. But what I remember the absolute best was coming home that night and crawling into bed with my sleeping husband and 6 week old baby and being so grateful that I shared my life with them rather than any too-small Hollywood star. Awwww- I guess I like being the country mouse or the post-partum mom!
Oh, and by the way- Bruce Willis' got nothing on my husband! Plus he's like 5' 6" and I like 'em a little more manly than that!

Tag- 7 unique things about myself:

1.- I have a freakish ability to remember phone numbers. I can remember every phone number I have ever had. Eric will often ask me a phone number before looking it up anywhere. Weird- I know, but you have to admit- unique!
2.- I was born cross-eyed. I had surgery when I was 1 to correct them, but when I get tired my eyes tend to wander. My sister thinks this is hilarous to point out. Right after I had Suzie a little neighbor boy was at our door wanting to see her. I was still in my post-delivery haze and was very tired. As he was talking to me he stopped and asked, "I can't tell- are you looking at me?" My sister couldn't stop laughing at this story.
3.- I had "Jungle Fever" as a teenager. No-this wasn't some rare disease that ran rampant in the South- My first kiss and Junior Prom date was Juan Daniels- although his name sounds Mexican, he was a tall, dark, handsome African American. "Jungle Fever" was a popular movie out during that time about a black and white relationship.
4.- When I make my list out for the grocery store I will write things down on my list in the order I find them in the grocery store. For example I write all the bread products down first because that is the first aisle I go down. If you have read my post "Stuck in 7th grade" you probably thought I couldn't get any geekier, but alas you are wrong. I think I have reached a whole new level of nerdiness with that little nugget of information.
5.- I have never been to a tanning bed and being in my early 30's I see no reason to start now.
6 - I once had a guy friend in college tell me, "You know you're the kind of person someone could pick their wedgie out in front of." Compliments don't get any higher than this my friends!
7.- When I was little I use to try and eat things off my plate in alphabetical order. Again...maybe there are certain parts of my brain I shouldn't let other people into...hmmm.....
Tag- you're it!

DMV Musings

So my birthday was over 3 months ago and I discovered in November that my drivers license expired on my birthday. So it is January now and I still hadn't renewed it. I was telling this to a friend and she looked at me in shock and said, "That doesn't sound like you to let it go for 3 months!" And it doesn't sound like me, at least the me I was 8 years ago- you know before I had 4 children. I could create lists with the best of them and check them off with fervor and zeal. But this is what having 4 children in 8 years does to you- it makes you scatter-brained and what's even better it makes you not care about all those silly details like being law-abiding citizens. Now my to do lists take me days, weeks, even months to check off. (Although I still really do enjoy checking them off.) But with more of a "it will get done when it gets done" attitude. As I was sitting at the DMV for 45 minutes I thought of other things I have learned to let go since having children. Here are a few of them: (Disclaimor: if details of a dirty house make you squeamish you may want to stop reading.)
*We are not an everyday bath family- but in my defense my pediatrician told me not to bathe my kids everyday since it will dry out their skin. But I have taken that ball and rolled with it. Note this only includes my children. I have not let stooped to the level of not bathing myself everyday! well at least most days!
*Laundry may get washed and dried on the same day, but it rarely, rarely gets folded within 2-3 days.
*My bathrooms get deep-cleaned only once a month. I do weekly touch-ups though! Does that count?!?
*My floor doesn't get swepted everyday.
*I sometimes wear the same jeans 2 or 3 days in a row. And I have even worn the same outfit two days in row if I don't think I will see the same people. Although I have been busted on this one.
*I do my girls' hair once a day and that's it. I embrace whatever stylings the wind, play or sleep may do to them.
*Once my kids can dress themselves I don't pick out their clothes. I have only 2 requirements for them- 1. It is modest and 2. It is weather-appropriate.
*I have turned library books in late and -GASP!- I've even lost them.
*I have left dinner dishes in the sink to do the morning.
*Some of my xmas decorations haven't been taken down until February and the outside lights have been left on until July one year- but in my defense that is Eric's jurisdiction.
*When I lose something I don't stress over it and spend huge amounts of time looking for it. In my experience most things usually show back up.
Well I could go on and on about this, but my point is this isn't how I pictured what I would be like as a mother. But I am learning to accept it- key word there is learning. A chaotic house can still set me off at times- just ask my kids! But I have come across a term that describes my condition... I am a recovering perfectionist. (Thanks Lara for that one!) So here it goes "My name is (insert your name here). And I am a recovering perfectionist." Come on now- go ahead and say it with me. I know there are more of you out there!
P.S.- Good news. If your driver's license is over 3 months expired there are no penalties. They won't put you in jail or give you a ticket or make you pay extra or make you take the driver's test again or even ask you any questions. They make act grumpy, but I'm pretty sure that is part of their job description.

Pure Comedy- Robbins Style!

Happy New Year! On New Year's Day we had my family over some good old fashioned fun with spiked french dip sandwiches, WII boxing and karaoke, a trip down TV theme songs memory lane and general merriment! This is my first official video posting and it is a dosey! It is my mom and dad wii boxing against each other. Neither one has ever played wii before and all my family thought it was hilarous. So they are probably the only ones who will really appreciate this. But if you do take the time to watch it be sure to pay attention to my dad's face!