LIFE AS WE KNOW IT...

Ouch!

2008-07-25T16:01:00.003-05:00

I've already been having right leg problems--so running this month has not gone so well. After staying off it for a week and getting new shoes, I went out running yesterday and then had a hard time walking afterwards. So I couldn't run today either--what a bummer!

I was still planning on going out tomorrow though, but apparently I am not supposed to. I was getting the big roll (heavy!) of newsprint out for the boys to paint on when one of my precious darlings pushed it over and it fell right on the edge of my right foot. OUCH!! The side of my foot is totally swollen and very painful to the touch. So I am left with two questions--When can I run again? and Is it broken???

Happy Birthday Rylan!!

2008-07-17T13:16:00.004-05:00

Rylan is turning two years old today! Happy Birthday!!!!

Memories (Kristy's idea!)

2008-07-11T15:41:00.000-05:00

Here is a fun little game... leave a comment on my blog of a memory that you and I have had together. It doesn't matter if you've known me for a short time or a long time, anything that you remember! Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memeory about you. It is pretty funny to read the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you are playing and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. On your mark... get set... blog those memories!

Fourth of July Fun

2008-07-06T21:04:00.004-05:00

We had a crazy-fun Fourth of July. It all started at 4:30AM when we rolled out of bed and headed to Brownville, NE for their Freedom Run. I did my first half-marathon with a time of 1:52:00 which was 8 min. faster than I was hoping for. Darrin and Tate ran/walked the 5K with Rylan in the jogging stroller. Tate did the whole thing...which I think is pretty good for a 3-year old! He did a great job!!

Tate and Rylan especially enjoyed the post-race snacks and "Gata-gator"--Rylan's word for Gatorade. Tate thought he was pretty hot stuff wearing his medal around. Here we are at the end of the run...what a great way to start our morning!

Next, we drove home and took a quick shower and nap, then headed out to our friend's cabin at Horseshoe Lake. Their cabin is right on the lake and they have a little sandy beach for the kids to play on, a paddleboat and lots of water toys. We ate some great food, played in the lake (I even went down the big inflatable slide in the middle!) and just enjoyed the afternoon and evening. We all had a ton of fun--Darrin and I decided that we will have to get a cabin like that--it was a blast!

After dinner we decided to head to Nebraska's 4th of July City--Seward. We stopped at a little firework stand to get sparklers and poppers for the boys, then headed out to see the big fireworks. We didn't know where we needed to go, so at the firework stand some other guys there said we could follow them (I love midwest hospitality!) they just didn't mention that they had to stop and buy beer first before they headed to the park! We finally got to the place and settled in to watch the show. We decided that Seward must be known as the "4th of July City" for some reason other than it's fireworks display though, because the fireworks were okay--after listening to the hype about what the Lincoln fireworks were supposed to be like, I think we picked the wrong city's display to watch! The boys still thought it was great though, and by the time we pulled out of our parking spot, they were sound asleep. All in all, we put 230 miles on our car and did just about everything we could have. I think by the end we were all funned out and exhausted, but it was a great day!

Little Sioux Boy Scout Ranch

2008-06-12T13:45:00.002-05:00

I have been through many severe thunderstorms in my life. I've heard the tornado sirens go off several times. Once, while we were in Missouri, there was a massive storm that produced 97 confirmed tornados in about a two day period. Through all of that, I have felt an air of invincibility. Maybe because I have been through so many without every being really scathed, I have just thought of these storms as part of life and no big deal.

Today, though, I am accutely aware of my mortality and the devestation that can come with a tornado. The boy scout ranch in Iowa where four scouts were killed was the same campground where I stayed last week. The building where the chimney collapsed and the four scouts were killed? That was the building were I had worked on crafts only days before. When we had storms at night, we used that building as our "safe" place to gather all the girls in. Those campers could have easily been me or any of my precious young women.

How grateful I am that we were protected. While at the time, I knew we were taken care of because the storm had split around us, I think I didn't then fully comprehend the horrors that could have occured. I can only imagine how I would feel if any one of those teenage girls that were in our care had gotten hurt or killed last week. My heart goes out to those parents who sent their children to camp and never got to see them alive again. I will keep them in my prayers.

The next 100 miles

2008-06-11T16:52:00.002-05:00

I think I have entered the "This Hurts!" phase of my training--the injuries are starting to set in---Ouch!!!

Young Women's Camp

2008-06-11T16:33:00.002-05:00

Last week I headed to camp with the Young Women from the Lincoln Stake. It was so much fun!! I think I had one of the cushiest jobs at camp--crafts. Sister Reinsch also worked crafts with me and she was fabulous! We worked well together, which always makes things nice. Other than hanging out in the craft cabin in the afternoon, I was pretty much off duty the rest of the week. It was a nice break! I got to know other women from the stake who are such a great bunch of ladies. It was truly a privilege to work with them and get to see them in the wild. :)

We got rained on every night--the first years were flooded out the first night, but the rest of us pretty much stayed dry. On Wed. night, there was a storm that had already produced tornadoes heading straight for us, but then split right at our county line. We were very blessed and I loved how the girls talked the rest of the week about the power of prayer and how they recognized that we had been protected. I can't imagine what would have happened if the storm had not split; we had good tents, but I think we all know who would win in Tent vs. Tornado.

A big thanks goes out to Darrin's parents who came to take care of my little family while I was gone and Darrin was working. I am so thankful for their willingness to help and for all they did while I was gone. Thank you, thank you!

P.S. Sorry no pictures on this one either--I took my camera with me, but I didn't take a single picture all week. I don't think you really need any pictures from camp though--anyone that has ever gone to Young Women's camp knows what it looks (and smells) like!

Havelock Charity Run

2008-06-11T16:28:00.002-05:00

Darrin and I did the Havelock Charity Run 10K last Saturday and it was great! Darrin did fabulous--especially since he hasn't run consistently since last fall. It was nice for us to be able to run together and fun to have Darrin's parents, Tate, and Rylan there to cheer us on. What a fabulous way to start a Saturday!

P.S. I was about to post the pictures, but after seeing the red-faced, sweaty look I was sporting, I think I'll spare you all and just keep those for the scrapbook!

Pet names

2008-05-27T15:20:00.002-05:00

Rylan started calling me "babe" and "sweetheart" today. I guess he thinks that if Darrin can call me that, then he has that right too. I assume that eventually I'll be concerned that I have a little womanizer on my hands; but, I have to admit it's pretty funny to have my toddler drop something and say, "What happened to it, babe?" and pretty darn cute to have him throw his arms around my neck and say, "Hey sweetheart!"

Mission: Accomplished

2008-05-21T13:39:00.002-05:00

Rylan's Operation "Oose da pot-Tee" is pretty much over. Yesterday, he passed the test of being at someone else's house for several hours without mommy and didn't have an accident. While we are still dealing with some here and there accidents, I think he gets the idea and is a confident potty-user. Today he was even asking to use it without reminders from me. Hooray! While potty training is not that much fun, I love not having to change diapers.

What is it about laundry??

2008-05-15T21:08:00.002-05:00

Something about switching over laundry inspires something in children...Courtney's story about Baxter needing surgery after a quick run downstairs to switch over the laundry made me realize that it is not just my children that think that laundry time is mischief time.

Did you know that in the time it takes for me to switch over a load of laundry, my children (or was it one child??) can unravel a whole roll of toilet paper into the toilet, throw all of the flushable wipes in individually, then add the wipes container (for good measure), close the lid, and run off to play with toys like nothing happened?

The second 100 miles

2008-05-12T21:53:00.003-05:00

Another 100 miles have come and gone...things I've learned:

You do finally get used to getting up early.
I am still not a Runner, I'm just a "person who runs". I think true Runners look forward to their runs; I still look forward to the run being over!
It is soooo much easier to run with someone else--Thanks Andrea!

Are you smarter than a Preschooler?

2008-05-08T14:50:00.003-05:00

If you ever want to feel highly unintelligent, please come to my house and have Tate ask you all of his questions. While I have a college degree and feel like I am a well-educated person; there is nothing that humbles me faster than my preschooler's endless questions. Today, the topic was religion, among other things. If anyone knows where God (as in God the Father, not Jesus) was born and can explain it in a way that a three year old would understand, please let me know.

Potty Training, Take 2 (sort of...)

2008-05-01T14:38:00.002-05:00

You'd think that at this point in my children's lives, I would realize that they are very different. And, that because of those differences, I need to tailor my parenting to their uniqueness. For some reason that lesson hasn't totally sunk in yet...

With Tate, potty training was very straightforward. I told him that there were no more diapers for him, put him in undewear, and then off to the potty we went. I reminded him to go, I didn't have to make it fun--he just did his thing, hopped off, got dressed, washed his hands, DONE. After a week, we had a few accidents, but for the most part we were finished.

With Rylan...umm, not so much straightforward...in fact, it's totally a game. Remember my last post saying we were taking a break for my sanity's sake?? Well, Rylan has decided that now that mommy's not into it, HE is going to be into it, so he's been asking to use the potty, is successful, etc. (As long as I read his Elmo potty book to him!) I suppose he just wants to go about it his way.

While I don't think this is anything to battle about, my biggest fear is his approach to the whole situation. I think I'm going to have to get much better at making him think that what I want him to do is really HIS idea. I think if I don't become expert in that, I could be in for serious trouble during the teenage years!

This and That

2008-04-30T14:31:00.003-05:00

Things have been quiet on the blog front lately and here's why:

We decided to start potty training Rylan...after 2 days, 3,864,982 tries, we had 2 successes and 10 accidents. For my sanity's sake, we put it all away and will try again when the last package of diapers runs out in a couple of days.

I ran my first 10K race a little while ago--and I did okay. My time was 57:47--so a 9:18 pace. Which is still slow, but both of my 5K splits were faster than the 5K I ran a month ago, so that is an improvement! As an added bonus, I'm beginning to get used to my alarm--that or else I'm just so worn out by the end of the day that my body doesn't have the ability to worry anymore; it just wants to sleep.

We planted some heirloom tomato seeds to get started for our garden. I was so excited for all the little plants to come up! I put them outside thinking sunlight is good for plants, but apparently not. They all completely fried and withered up and died. What a bummer! Luckily, some of the seeds hadn't sprouted yet, so those ones came up the other day...but they also died when Tate decided to pick all of their leaves. You'd think with my husband's agriculture background and upcoming PhD, we'd be able to grow some simple tomato plants, but I guess when the boys and I undo all his hard work, it's a lost cause!

Those are our highlights for the last few weeks. Of course there has been the day-to-day utter craziness, but all of that is just normal--or at least I think that it is. There is some sort of oxymoron in saying that being crazy is normal, isn't there?

Just for the record...

2008-04-17T14:34:00.003-05:00

Since there is all that craziness going on in Texas, I think some people get confused about the difference between the FLDS church and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). I am a proud member of my LDS church, and I am happy to report that I am not part of a polygamous cult. Courtney sent me this link to a blog that explains the difference very simply: http://thegabblog.blogspot.com/2008/04/just-for-record.html

More Science Observations

2008-04-15T14:07:00.002-05:00

Lead scientist Tate Roberts is studying our solar system. Thanks to The Magic School Bus, Tate has learned that no one lives on Mars. The reason? According to Tate, "Because their mommy told them it was not okay to live there and they need to go home."

Gravity

2008-04-14T14:02:00.002-05:00

The Roberts Brothers Research Facility is constantly trying new science experiments and testing the limits of science (and of their mother). For the past few days, lead scientist Rylan Roberts has been working on studying gravity.

Experiment #1: When eating Cheerios without milk, is it possible for a toddler to keep them on the spoon on the way to his mouth? After 3,897 repeated trials, the outcome: 3 Cheerios made it to the mouth, the rest of the bowl landed on the floor. Gravity wins!

Experiment #2: What happens to a toddler if he flips over the rail of his crib? After 2 trials, the outcome: IT HURTS!! Gravity wins again! (And Rylan wins a new twin bed!)

These findings will be published in: The Journal of Rylan's Childhood.

The first 100 miles

2008-04-11T13:43:00.002-05:00

Today, my cumulative miles add up to over 100! With my new 100-mile wisdom, these are some things that I have learned:

Good running shoes are a must.
Running in rain and snow is not bad, it's the Nebraska wind that is killer!
Waking up to alarm every morning causes me severe anxiety, which is leading to my current problem of insomnia. For the past three and a half years, the boys have been my alarm. Now that I am getting up before them to run, I am scared to death of the alarm going off (I think just b/c I'm not used to it?), which causes me to start waking up at 2:30AM, fall back asleep around 3:30, wake up at 3:45, fall back asleep around 5, then wake up at 6 and lay in bed waiting for the alarm to beep. It makes me feel like I am taking crazy pills! For those of you who get up every morning to the the sound of heart-stopping beeps, and still sleep well at night, I salute you.
I get some sort of sadistic amusement out of running up quietly behind squirrels, then when they notice me, watching them jump 20 feet in the air and take off running as fast as their little legs can carry them. I don't know why this never fails to make me smile; maybe I think it's some sort of payback from them eating my tulip bulbs.
My cross-country coach in high school was right; running is 90% mental, 10% physical.

Those are my insights for now...103 miles down, 780 to go before Indianapolis!

I was book tagged again!

2008-04-07T22:33:00.002-05:00

This time, I was tagged by Natalie...

Closest book: My First Monologue Book
Page 123
Fifth Sentence: "I guess we got a little dirty."

Too funny, I think that is the story of my boys' lives!

This time I'll tag Merilee and Lacy, and anyone else that has a book close by...

The future plans of a three year old

2008-04-04T14:19:00.005-05:00

Tate recently has been really interested in the things that he will do when he grows up. It's pretty cute to hear the things that he wants to do; here are just a few of them (all of these he has come up with on his own, with no coaching from his parents):

Run in "a big race" (aka, marathon) with Daddy
Play basketball for BYU
Go on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Work in Nebraska's Capitol building (Tate has also decided that Rylan will work there too)
Drive firetrucks and police cars
Sing in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Ride his bike to work everyday (like Daddy)
Fly to Barbados in a jet plane with Rylan as the pilot and Tate as the passenger (no insights as to what they will DO when they get there, they just need to fly there.)

The funny thing is that none of them are necessarily mutually exclusive, it is possible that he could do it all...he will just be very busy!

Raise the roof...er, I mean ceiling!

2008-04-03T22:01:00.004-05:00

I never thought that I would be excited about dry wall and paint, but if your ceiling looked like this:

You would be thrilled when it finally looked like this:

Hooray that it is finally fixed!!!! Now we can finally hang up pictures in the hallway!

Baby Sign Language

2008-04-01T23:08:00.004-05:00

A couple of people were asking me about this and then Natalie talked about signing on her blog, and it reminded me of how much I LOVE sign language. The boys know a ton of signs, which really helped cut down on the tantrums. My absolute favorite kid videos are Signing Time. They are the only shows that Rylan will sit through (no other shows keep his attention for longer than about 30 seconds!) and I don't feel bad about the boys watching them, because they are learning another language! The newest signs the boys have are: zebra, tiger, lion, office, helicopter, shark, playground, garden, grow, "may I be excused" and a ton more. I love signing!!!! Here's the SigningTime website: http://www.signingtime.com/ Go check it out!

Back in Action!!

2008-04-01T22:41:00.002-05:00

I am happy to report that we are all feeling much better now, I think the flu has finally passed. Hooray!!! So now my blog will stay much more current. I'm sure everyone has missed the daily updates on our exciting lives. :)

P.S. We are going permanently secure sometime soon, so let me know if you need an invitation (if you haven't already gotten one) so you can keep reading the ins-and-outs of the Roberts family.

Field Trip!

2008-04-01T22:36:00.001-05:00

Rylan and I took a trip to the firestation today--and he LOVED it! He had no fear climbing into the truck and engine...his favorite part was sitting in the front and "driving". I forgot to bring my camera though, so many thanks to my friends for taking pictures for me!