Pregnant News

Well, thanks for being happy everyone. We, obviously, are super excited. We just never knew how things would turn out with Brian taking all sorts of chemo for three years. But, as it turns out, everything is fine and worked out well.

Details:
Due: I am due June 12. One week after I get out of teaching school. May could be ugly, but at least I won't have to write sub plans.
Sickness: It's probably unfair to some of you, but I haven't been sick at all. I guess Brian was sick enough for the both of us?? I'm also pretty pathetic when I'm sick. I don't like to see me like that often.
Highlights: We've seen the baby once and heard the heartbeat two weeks ago. That was pretty cool. It still is a little strange to hear that sound out of MY stomach.
Emotionally: A wreck. I never knew I was capable of acting the way I do sometimes. I'm just glad Brian still talks to me. :)

Number of stupid pregnant comments I have heard: 2, so far. People, let's get this straight. It is NEVER okay to tell someone TO THEIR FACE that when they saw you last they thought you were filling out. Okay, you can think it, but that's just not right to say out loud. Ever. What in normal human behavior ever made people think that this was socially acceptable?

Anyway, we're all smiley and just keep hoping that the baby is healthy. A healthy whatever-it-is is our vote.

Anything New?

Anyone notice a new feature on my blog??
Yeah for us!

Me, on my 29th birthday...

5 THINGS I WAS DOING 10 YEARS AGO

1. Living with Marijo in Helaman Halls at BYU. And Molly and Amy were there too. Love my suitemates!
2. Working 20 hours a week at the McKay School of Education while taking a full load of classes.
3. Sleeping a LOT. My roommate thought I had a bad case of depression. Nope! Just love to sleep!
4. Today, actually, I had about 6 boys from my ward come and sing to me and bring me roses. It was my one birthday request, and that happened 10 years ago tonight. Very cool. Lots of pictures!
5. Wishing I was back in Arizona with my old buds. I’ve moved on from that now, but I remember feeling torn between the transition to college and the comfort of home.

5 THINGS ON MY TO-DO LIST

1. Learn to play the violin.
2. Keep a clean house – this is ALWAYS on the list. (Probably because this is very hard for me.)
3. Finish Christmas shopping. I don’t love shopping in December. I’m usually mostly done in November.
4. Exercise regularly. Every day would be nice…I’m shooting for 3 days this week. Brian is letting me get a elliptical after Christmas. Yeah!!
5. Just so you all know, I have a daily to do list. Literally. I even make them during Sacrament meeting. I know that’s sacreligious, but it always starts: MONDAY. And Brian always laughs. I’m all about checking things off.

5 THINGS I'D DO IF I WERE A MILLIONAIRE
1. Travel. Hawaii, China, cruise, Church History site tour, etc. are the current ones on the list.
2. Pay off our house. And buy Brian that vinyl fence he’s been dreaming of.
3. Buy us a second car. We’ve been budgeting for years!
4. Donate lots of money to public education – teachers and schools!!!
5. Start my own business. My sister Lynsey and I used to dream of opening “Phi Kappa Scrappa.” I don’t know how that is going to work since I’m in UT and she’s in AZ, but there’s always hope.

5 SHOWS I WATCH (FAITHFULLY!)
1. LOST
2. American Idol
3. Biggest Loser
4. Prison Break
5. The Office

5 FOODS I LOVE
1. Potatoes (You can’t go wrong here. Twice baked, mashed, salad, fried, scalloped, hashed…yum!)
2. Broccoli
3. Zucchini Bread
4. P.F. Changs (and all Chinese)
5. All things sweet. Not good for the figure, but still yummy.

5 THINGS I'D NEVER DO AGAIN
1. Eat ox tongue. Gross.
2. Sneak out of my house to go on a date with a boy I wasn’t supposed to a movie I wasn’t supposed to see. (It happened once, and then I learned my lesson. I’ve felt bad for years.)
3. Yell at my sisters. I really regret that about my growing up years. We’re really good friends now, but I hate to think that they may still think of me that way.
4. Get my hair cut at a certain salon – HOLY HACK JOB!
5. Peek at my Christmas presents BEFORE CHRISTMAS as a 6-year-old. I got grounded from them until the evening of Christmas. How sad is that? And I don’t think I could keep my kids from Christmas morning. That’s just mean! ☺

5 FAVORITE POSSESSIONS
1. My scrapbooks. Besides Brian and my dog, that’s what I would grab if the house was burning down. That’s it. Oh, I would grab my #2 list item as well…
2. My blanket. I have one with me always - even in the summer. I’m like a two-year-old.
3. My MacBook.
4. My kitchen gadgets. If you need some ideas, let me know. Today I’m buying me a pinini (spelling?) press for my birthday.
5. Can I possess a husband? Because I really like Brian. Really.
(6. And Wilson…)

Thanksgiving

We had such a great time in Arizona with my family over the weekend! It's always fun to see my brothers and sisters and their kids. These are two of my nephews - there are a LOT more kids who wouldn't hold still for a picture. Brian went shooting with my dad and all the boys. And we were there when the flipped the lights on at the Arizona Temple. I am THANKSFUL for our families and to spend time with them...and then I'm always GRATEFUL to be back at my own house...my own bed...etc. :)

Go Wildcats!

Don't think we didn't go to Disney's High School Musical on Ice, because we did. And I loved it.
The End.

Donation

Did anyone see Oprah a few weeks ago when Hilary Swank donated her hair? Well, I've been needing a haircut for a long time. I was thinking cutting 3 or 4 inches. After my cute neighbor told me she was donating her hair, I decided to go for it. So Kate and I both cut 8 1/2 inches off to donate to make wigs for women with cancer. You can find the info at beautifulengths.com They are trying to collect one million inches.

Just go for it! Hair grows back. And it makes you feel like you've lost 10 pounds when you really haven't! I'm feeling a little more hip and stylish with my blonde streaks and bangs. And how cute is Kate?? We hope our kids look like her...

National Boards

Just in....I passed my National Boards!!! This may not mean much to you, but for me it represents the last two years of my life. Passing the National Boards for teachers makes me certified to teach in any state for the next 10 years. My friend Cindy and I did it together as part of our Master's program at SUU. She passed as well! Actually passing this is just a big bonus after finishing all of this additional schooling.
I'm just excited and am grateful to know that it's all over...
Sigh of relief -

Update

Okay, people...so my camera died on Halloween right in the middle of me taking pictures. So sad! And this year my costume was AWESOME. Usually I'm kindof a flake about Halloween, but I thought of the brilliant idea all by myself. I was a Guitar Hero. No, THE Guitar Hero. You can imagine...red cape, rocker hair, big star painted over my eye. There's always next year...

In other news, I'm following in the footsteps of my little sis...I am starting to sell Scentsy products. If for some reason I missed you (Allyson, lots of others I am thinking of at the moment) and you are in UT, I am having the opening shin-dig this Thursday night at my house. Check out my website and the catalog - www.scentsy.com/nrobinson
You will love it - fun for your house, great gifts for others.

Hopefully we'll have some other fun pictures/stories to tell soon!

Why 5th Graders Rule

My class earned a party. They wanted to have a crazy hat party. I asked, "What will we do with our crazy hats for 30 minutes??" In time, the class voted for a crazy hat/crazy clothes/dance party USA/fashion show party. Have you ever heard of that?? Anyway, here are pix from the red carpet. The music was playing, the kids were silly, and the boys ruled the show. Fun times...

St. George Trip

Brian and I headed to St. George last weekend for my friend Melanie's wedding. It was a fun conference weekend with just the two of us.
I worked with Melanie at Manila for a few years. It was such a fun day and for those of you that know her, I know you will be happy to see pictures. She and her husband, Clint Nielson, are very happy.

Almost Done

Are you sick of my interior decorating posts? Well, it's all I've been working on and I'm almost done. Here is the (almost) finished product. The kitchen still needs some attention, but that is a new flower arrangement and table runner.

I actually sewed those window treatments myself. Yes, it's true! I did get some help from Brian's sweet mom. Next I am on a pillow sewing rampage. My sister Annie gave us a couch (that my other sister Liza gave to her) and so we are loving that "new" piece of furniture. Fun for us!

Otherwise, we're off to St. George for the weekend for my friend Melanie Bunker's wedding. Looking forward to it!

Picture Day

So today is picture day at Manila Elementary. A few observations:

*It's the only day of the year I can guarantee that not one student comes to school with bed head. Believe me - I've seen some doozies.
*All of the girls have to go into the bathroom to apply lipgloss and do a hair fluff at the same time.
*The boys are mostly embarassed that their moms made them wear their hair all slick.
*I get a full-on 8x10 of my own face. This will be my 8th one. What on earth am I supposed to do with all of those?

It's also not nice when the picture lady says, "I can tell that you don't like to have your picture taken." That can't be a good sign, can it?

I'll let you know how mine turns out. :)

More Progress

Soon I will be all done with my scrapbook room and my front room. I have ordered at least six different fabrics and am currently sewing my guts out! Well, my mother-in-law is sewing her guts out...
Anyway, here are the two rooms that will soon be done.

I wish I had interesting things to blog about. I think there are about six of you who even look at this, so I'm not sure what to say...I can talk about: school, 10-year-old behaviors, Australian shepherds, my love of Clorox wipes, Brian, TurboKick, and scrapbooking. Sometimes I think that's just not interesting to you people. Any ideas?

Proud of me

For the past several weeks our garage has been out of commission because this giant piece of furniture was taking up the space. We finally completed the project of refinishing our tv cabinet from the front room. It was just plain wood with no finish (sorry, no before picture) and we painted it white and antiqued it. We like how it's turned out. There are still some things to do to complete the room, so we'll wait to send the completed picture for later. For now, just be proud of me.

St. George

The end of our summer travels included a Robinson family trip to St. George. I think I got my first tan since, well, years ago. We got to ride waverunners at the lake, play in the pool, and visit Brian's friend who lives there. Brian's parents always take us to the Oasis buffet in Mesquite. I always feel like I am such a waste of $16 because I don't love seafood and it's a king crap buffet. But, I made up for it in stir fry and pineapple.


Quail Resevoir. Nephew Denver and neice McKinley.

Oasis Buffet.


Brian golfing in Fillmore. We walked 9 holes together. I wasn't worth the price of golfing either, so I just spectated.

Arizona Trip

Brian and I flew to AZ for my grandpa's 80th birthday party. We hung out with the fam, went swimming, had Bahama Bucks (yum!) and just relaxed. These pictures are from our lunch at Oregano's with my brothers Nate and Dave, my sis-in-law Karyn and their cute kids, Cade and Ashley. I was letting Cade take some pictures...I can't remember if this was before or after he dumped a tub of ranch dressing on my lap...

Disneyland

We flew to CA on June 5. We were only there a short time, since we got this trip by listening to some time share lecture. Call us cheapskates, but if we can fly to Anaheim and get a free hotel for listening to you for two hours, we'll do it. But...I wouldn't advise it. It was quite the hassle. Nevertheless, we had a great day. We met up with a family from down the street, the Nelsons. We palled around with them and their darling children. Disneyland turns out to be really fun with kids who get it. Who knew? Honestly, one of my favorite places to be...

All Done

I'll be posting some pix of Disneyland and my AZ trip soon. But for now, it's important to share that I've finished my master's program. I couldn't be happier. I've been sitting in classes for the past three weeks, not to mention the past two years. I think I'm done with my formal education for good. I appreciate all I've learned and have enjoyed the experience, mostly. I consider myself graduated, but will not walk until next year. Brian and I both walk the first weekend in May, 2008. That sounds far away. But who cares---it's over! Let the summer begin!

Cinco de Mayo

One of my students invited us over for a "teacher appreciation" dinner. It just happened to be on May 5. They decked out the house with sombreros, streamers hanging from ceiling fans, fresh guacamole, and fun music. Each kid got to choose one other kid from their class to host their teacher. The three teachers of each of their boys came. Truman (lighter hair) invited McKay (darker hair) and his family to be with me. After dinner and visiting, the teachers got to hit the Spongebob pinata. I told a story about my dad getting hit in the face with a dowel during a pinata party one Christmas...hence the catchers masks. Safety first! The pinata had a lot of candy which McKay and Truman grabbed for me as well as lots of pens and SHARPIES! MY FAVORITE! Way to push those 1st and 3rd grade kids out of the way boys...we scored!

Accent on Excellence Awards Banquet

This year I was awarded a district award called Accent on Excellence. There was a banquet on May 2 and I was allowed to invite one student to speak in my behalf. I invited Brianna, a darling ten-year-old girl. We had a great time and had a delicious dinner. Following dinner, awards were presented to the teachers after their students had spoken about them. Brianna's dad, Jonathan came as well as my principal, Dr. Nancy Sorensen, and our assistant principal, Janna Kunz. It was a wonderful night. I felt very honored and flattered to be chosen. They even gave me $500! Brian said it was okay to be a little impractical with the money. :) I still have a lot to learn about teaching but am enjoying the ride. Year 6 and counting!

Spring Break - Oregon Coast

For spring break we flew to Oregon with Brian's parents, his sister, and her husband. We had a great time. I had never been. Brian's family vacations here often just because it is calm and peaceful. It was totally relaxing - no pressure to hurry or feel like we had a list of things to do. I would absolutely go there again! Our hotel, the "Surfrider" was right on the coast. Literally. It was between Lincoln City and Newport. It took about 3 hours to drive there from Portland. We went to the Oregon Aquarium and saw all sorts of fun stuff. This is actually where Keiko the killer whale was until his release. His tank was made into a 360-degree walk through aquarium. It made me sea-sick. We watched the sunset from a cave below the hotel. All in all, a GREAT trip!