Speaking of Spiders...

Spring is definitely here and that is wonderful news, but why do I always forget that with spring come the spiders? Spider season is definitely back in business from what I have seen in my lawn and (sob) in my house. I have tried to be brave and shrug off this fear, but I am coming clean...I HATE spiders. Well, even now I need to add an addendum to that. I don't hate jumping spiders. Yes, I know spiders well enough to distinguish many at a glance. I read a book in my youth called Castle Roogna and one of the main characters is a huge jumping spider. And for some reason, they have never bothered me again. Fortunately, that is the type that mainly get into the house and I can ignore them (literally, they don't bother me a bit). Although here in Utah they have one jumper that is huge, black, and hairy and I won't kill it, but it can't stay in my house like the others.
However, ANY other spider is on my hit list. Depending on my mood and how close to my children it comes, a spider will either be
A) squished immediately
B) put outside if I can find the courage, or
C) put under a glass until Tyler can take care of it when he gets home
This last variety is usually found on the floor because cups don't stay on the ceiling too well.
In other good (or bad) news, I have spiDAR (much like Radar) so I will usually notice a spider when no one else would (Robyn has inherited this trait). This is good because I can get rid of them, but bad because I am painfully aware of just how many spiders really get into the house (and I know I am still missing quite a few). Ew, just thinking about this has made me a little nausesated, which started when I went looking for an image to put with this post. Big mistake. I have only confirmed my innate fear and seen some spiders that were not ever meant to be seen by my eyes. I am pretty sure I know what I will be dreaming about tonight.
Suffice it to say, happy spring, watch out for spiders.

Lost in Translation

June and Robyn share a room and have a bunk bed. This was a very hard transition when we first moved them together, but they have worked out most of the kinks. On any given night, they go to sleep fine, but other evenings we hear bickering and complaints from one or the other. Usually one says something like, "June isn't being quiet," or "She is calling me names."
There isn't a lot we can do about this aside from taping their mouths shut (which I have been tempted to do some nights). Sometimes we put one in the loft until the other is asleep. Usually they work it out eventually.
Last night was one of these blessed evenings. June was on her third round of tattling on Robyn. She quietly comes into our room to explain what Robyn is doing wrong (this, in itself, is a brave act because usually someone out of bed is going to be in trouble themselves). She found me downstairs and said, "Robyn is being too noisy and I can't sleep." (As if she is sitting there dutifully trying to sleep). I told her to politely ask Robyn to be more quiet. So she scurries up to bed and I don't think much more about it until I hear the booming voice of Dad say, "Juuuuuuuuuuuuune," in a scolding tone that I often use myself.
Apparently (as I hear from Dad later) she ran upstairs, climbed into bed and said, "Robyn, Mom says be quiet or she won't love you anymore."
Wow, I think something got lost in translation there.

Birthday Party for Robyn

It is funny how blessings can come in disguise. We have been trying to finish our loft and make it into a fourth bedroom, but it hasn't happened yet. Well, we had family scheduled to come down and work on it this weekend, which would have been wonderful, but then Robyn's party would have needed to be outside and the girls and I would have had to find different lodging for the weekend. At the last minute family called and said they couldn't make it to finish the loft. That is sad because I do want the room finished before the baby comes, but oh my goodness, I was so happy to not stress about the party. It was a tad chilly and somewhat windy outside, so it would not have been ideal conditions to have a birthday party. We tried one game outside at the end of the party and it was ridiculous with all the wind. Soooo, life was much better inside. And guess what, I already had the loft all cleaned out so it made the perfect spot for the festivities.



I usually do family parties for the girls but since June had a friend party last time, Robyn wanted the same thing. I've decided that about 8 kids is a good number. This means she does NOT get to invite all her friends, but I don't go crazy with too many kids in one space. And for some reason, it seems party supplies are often sold in packs of eight (don't ask me why).
We played some fun games with the kids (Bingo, and a number game that was a big hit). I was surprised that Ivory caught onto Bingo faster than some of the older kids. She knew each picture and was pleased to put an M&M on it when it was called (of course, she had no idea what four in a row was).



The dice game was fun. Everyone danced while the music played and found a number when the music stopped. We rolled our big die and if your number was picked, you had to sit down. Simple enough, but everyone really liked it. Pomai especially enjoyed Tyler's dancing (too bad he had the camera or I would have recorded it). Madison and Pomai were our big winners and in this picture they really do stand a head taller than the rest. In fact, I give Pomai about 3 years and she will probably be taller than I am (of course, that isn't hard to accomplish).



Then of course, there is the cake. Here I was bragging just a couple months ago how I always make the girls' cakes and I like to make them creative. Well, yes, I bought Robyn's cake this time and it was so nice. I couldn't imagine trying to make a cake amidst construction on the house (back when we were still planning on that), so I just ordered one that Robyn picked out. Wow, it was super easy to just pick it up before the party. It was a piece of cake (Ha, ha, bad pun, I know). Robyn has a hard time choosing things, but I was happy with her final choice (mainly because it wasn't princess related).



We put it down in front of her and she blew out three of the four candles before we had finished singing. So we lit them again and after the song she couldn't seem to blow them out again. I think she has plenty of air, just no aim. So with a little help from Dad, we finally extinguished them all.



Anyway, I think Robyn had a good birthday party. I threw in this last picture because it makes me laugh that party hats look like dunce caps.

The Many Faces of My Four Year Old

Four the Love

Time sure flies. My little Robyn is about to turn FOUR! We went and did some early birthday activities. We got her pictures taken at Kiddie Kandids.



I have to admit that I shamelessly use their free 8x10 birthday photo every year for each child. But I love how they turn out, and I have a whole wall with the girls on it. I love to see the change each year, although it is set up for six pictures (two for each) so I will have to devise a new system when the new one gets here.
Then Dad took Robyn out and she got a new bike for her birthday (a gift from mom and dad).



You could tell she was ready because she always wants to ride June's bike when we go outside. I am pretty sure that she loves it, and she is already speeding along the sidewalks. The helmet is huge on her small head of course, but she doesn't seem to mind it, as long as she can go riding.



She truly is getting older. She is such a joy in our life. Her little giggles and mannerisms keep me going and I love when she looks at me intently and says, "Mom, I love you and I want to be your friend." Me too Robyn... me too.

The Girl Who Cried Wolf

As Mothers, we have plenty of opportunities to feel guilt. I have read several accounts on blogs recently, so I thought I would share one of mine. My littlest angel has a heartbreaking cry, and you know when she is upset. However, you can never really tell WHAT she is upset about. The cry doesn't vary much and it remains the same whether she fell off the couch and cracked her head on the floor or she can't seem to get her baby wrapped up in her blanket the right way. I have answered many a cry expecting to find a broken bone and instead I see a frustrated child trying to stack blocks. I love my little girl, but I don't really want to encourage this type of Diva behavior. I would like her to reserve her exhuberant wails for serious occasions, so I can distinguish how fast I need to make an appearance.
I admit that I have become lax in answering the call of despair in my youngest. So on Sunday as I was talking to Tyler, it wasn't much of a surprise to hear Ivory start caterwauling about something. Neither of us moved at first, and finally I sauntered off the bed and said, "I'll check and see what the drama is." Well, there she was with her poor fingers stuck in the lid of the piano. She must have decided to close it by herself and didn't extract fingers quickly enough. I rushed right over, took care of the problem and hugged her until all tears were extinguished. I did feel really bad about her poor fingers, but at the same time, I wish she were five years older so I could tell her a story about a little boy who cried wolf and why no one came to the rescue. In the meantime, I guess I will just keep checking in on her amidst her woes. I'm not brave or stupid enough to ignore her completely, but I am sure that most of my efforts will be to salvage her frustration and not her fingers.

Raising a Little Lady

Tyler thought it was so funny when June was showing off her bandaid that he had to take a picture. I thought it was a little crude, but it did make me laugh a bit. I try to remind him that we are trying to raise little ladies.

And June just learned the word 'Hell.' We have been reading in 2 Nephi and talking a bit about sin and repentance. Naturally Hell came up in the conversation and June really liked the word. She kept adding it in whenever it seemed relevant. My favorite was when Tyler was reading:

Tyler :And if they will not repent and believe in his name, and be baptized in his name, and endure to the end, they must be damned;...

June:...to Hell (she just piped right in there with that addition).

I guess you can't say that our little lady doesn't have class.