Fun Weekend

The weather, has yet again, been absolutely beautiful!! Joe had the kids outside this past weekend getting the garden ready and even planting some of their crops. Alex and Jenna are so excited to get the garden going. They are adorable, with their little garden tools and gardening gloves, working so seriously. We decided to take a break Saturday night and go out to eat. The kids picked O'Charlie's, with no complaints from Joe and me, kids eat free after all!! After that we headed to the airport to watch for planes, but didn't see any. It was actually just a stalling tactic to allow our food to digest so that we could head to Culver's for some ice-cream. We decided to eat outside and Alex worked his chocolate ice-cream cone like a champ! Not once did we have to do a "clean up" job on the cone - he handled all the drips himself. Jenna also got a chocolate cone. Monkey see, monkey do is all consuming in this house - she must do everything, have everything that Alex has. That is, until she saw my Turtle sundae. After that, her cone was thrust into my hand and she claimed ownership of my sundae. Several times she said to me, while pointing to the cone, "Mommy, that yours now. It's not mine anymore." Oh, the sacrifices of a mother. Joe enjoyed his first, in his recollection, banana split ever. How, I ask, can one go 35 years and not ever have had a banana split? Crazy!!! He, of course, gave us each a bite. The weather was perfect, the sun setting was wonderful, the kids were heavenly. It made Joe and I so excited for our vacation because in that moment, we felt as if we were on vacation. Sunday, it was back to work and I was able to secretly watch Joe teaching Alex how to mow the lawn and then watch Alex push the mower, under Joe's guidance, two paths to finish the yard. The look of achievement on Alex's face was priceless. Being able to watch a father teach his son, being able to watch that bond, far, far, better. It was great weekend!

Sweet Smiles

I took this pictures a couple of days ago while the kids were playing in the backyard. I love their pure, sweet, innocent smiles. In light of recent events at Virginia Tech, I wonder, yet again, how I will be able to let them go. I am so thankful that I have another year to keep Alex close to me. It is sad to say, though, that these days, you are never safe anywhere. But I have also thought about other things in the aftermath of this tragic event. I have realized the absolute importance of teaching my kids to take responsibility for themselves. Alex gets so angry at the object he has stubbed his toe on, or the toy he has tripped over. He blames the object and not himself. It was the toy's fault, not the fact that he wasn't looking were he was going. Or it was Jenna's fault that she hit him, even though he was bothering her to no end. At first, it was easy for me to blame the object along with him..."what was that book thinking, making you trip like that." But it is now time for me to start teaching Alex that he has a role in this. If he were paying attention, he wouldn't have walked into the wall. If he weren't bothering his sister, she wouldn't have hit him. I hope that my kids will learn that they must be responsible for themselves and understand the consequences of their actions. In the bigger picture, I would like for my kids to live life thinking - "I allowed that person to make me upset, now what can I do to change that." I want them to know that they are in control of their lives, and that no one else is to blame, and on the flip side, to take credit for their actions. Good or bad, they are in the driver's seat, with as much guidance,assistance, and support as they need from Joe and me.

I keep thinking of all the things in life that I will teach my kids. What values I want to pass on, what shortfalls in my own attitude I want them to overcome. And it is daunting. And it is hard. But it is my job. Some days I have all the patience in the world for it - explaining why we don't do that, or why we do do this. Other days, it is so very exhausting being the only rational thinker for three people all day. On those days, when Alex comes up to me and tells me Jenna is a "Meany" because she hit him. And I know she hit him because he was in her face taunting and teasing her, I should say "Jenna, hitting is not allowed in this house and Alex, it is not nice to tease your sister" what I find myself saying is "Well, I would hit you, too if you were bothering me like that!" At preschool that other day I heard a wonderful comeback to a child's complaint. The complaint was "Daddy, so and so just called me stupid." In which the Dad replied, "Well, sweetie, don't prove her right." I laughed and realized that we, as parents, will not be right, will not be perfect 100% of the time. How can we, we are only human after all. We do our best and hope that in the end, we have raised good, decent, respectable kids. That's all we can do.

We're going to Disney World!!

As of 10am this morning, the Robeen's are officially heading to Florida for some fun in the sun on our first real vacation since having kids!!! Alex and Jenna are so excited!! Jenna keeps saying "This Saturday, we going to Disney to see Mickey Mouse!!" (Everything is this Saturday to her, don't know how that came about.) But, no, we are not going this Saturday. We will be traveling in September and taking advantage of Disney's free dining plan. Now, starts the hard/fun part - planning on where to eat. A must for this family is Toy Story's Pizza Planet. I mean, how could we NOT eat there!! My kid's are Buzz Lightyear nuts!! And I must eat at Tony's Town Square - it's based on Lady and the Tramp, of course!! Luckily for me, I have been getting much needed advice from a friend who is a seasoned vet at Disney in September. In fact, our trips this year are overlapping each other and the kids are looking forward to playing with their friend at Disney!! I am just happy, happy, happy!!! And of course, in the midst of all this Disney planning, CKC (Creating Keepsakes Convention) has snuck up on me!! My friends and I are taking a one-day road trip for some scrapbooking fun and retail therapy this Saturday. I am looking forward to our class "My Big Fat Chunky Book" to learn some new techniques and am hoping to find my 7 Gypsies stamps that I have been eyeing for some time. I know it will be a great time!! It's a good day.

Happy Birthday Daddy!!

Today is Joe's birthday and I just wanted to wish him a very Happy Birthday!! Like more dads today, Joe is completely hands-on with the kids. I could not ask for a better father, a better, husband, a better friend than I have with Joe. His ability to jump into a never-ending fantasy world with the kids amazes me - from his pirate treasure hunts around the house to his epic-long stories - he captures the kids attention and boosts their imaginations to far reaching ends. I admire, and envy, his relationship with the kids. To Alex, Joe is the greatest person in the world, his buddy, his playmate, his teacher, his Dad. To Jenna, Joe is the tall one, the strong one, and she is learning, the fun one, her Daddy. To me, Joe is everything I could ever want and more.

Happy, happy Birthday, Joe! I love you!!