Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from The Roberts to all of our readers! We had a very blessed day and spent the morning enjoying Santa's bounty. Hayley must have been a good girl because Santa brought the scooter she's been pining for. We then hosted Christmas Dinner for The Griswalds, errr, I mean The Roberts! :-) Dinner was topped off by a special Chocolate Beet Birthday Cake for Jesus, prepared by Hayley. And now Mrs. Claus is off to bed for she has an early morning 15 mile run scheduled to work off all the birthday beet cake. We'll leave you this Christmas Day with a carol from Miss Hayley again. On the way to look at Christmas lights last night she sang us this gem. It's her own rendition of Jingle Bells... note the voice inflection for the word "All." And note that despite my futile attempts at correction, it is NOT "Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh," but rather "Old MacDonald wants to ride in a one horse open sleigh!"

Our Apologies

Unfortunately, Christmas cards from the Roberts just aren't happening this year. I know you're terribly disappointed and I PROMISE that they will return next year. In lieu of a card, we thought we'd let Hayley send Christmas wishes through the art of "caroling."

Tis the Season

No Christmas would be complete without a Santa and tortured child picture, and this year we were happy (not really) to provide the subject.

Hayley was tickled pink to tell Santa all about what she wanted and could barely contain herself when she finally saw him. Stranger anxiety has never been in her vocabulary. Todd on the other hand is a bit of a tease. He waved excitedly at Santa, but sitting on his lap was apparently NOT what he had in mind. Hayley let Santa know that she would like some Lightning McQueen slippers and a scooter and that Todd wanted a truck. We had to convince her to tell Santa that Todd wanted a truck... because Hayley was insisting that Todd wanted a princess music box!! We're holding our breath that Santa will actually stop here... it's been a rough month for the princess! Hayley seems unconvinced that she could possibly wind up with a lump of coal in her stocking!

Due to my lack of organization when it came to Santa sightings, we had to visit the mall Santa. Lesson learned... next year I will get my act together because the scene felt a bit too much like this and I kept waiting for the elves to push Little Toddy down a slide!

He's probably not going to be to happy...

...that I've posted pictures of him holding the little pink purse...
...that he carries his furry, little, white dog around in!!
A good Mommy has to start building her blackmail collection at a young age!!

November - Cliff Notes Version

Oh, blog. How I've missed thee. It's been over a month since my last update and we've been... um... let's just say, busy. So here's a quick recap of the month:

We celebrated Halloween with Little Miss Muffet and her ornery spider friend!

The week consisted of trunk or treating and various treating episodes through local businesses and our neighborhood.

Next we moved onto a visit from Mimi and Grandpa and Hayley's first haircut.

Shortly after Mimi and Grandpa returned to Colorado, Todd got fed up with the chicks in the house...

...and tried to runaway.

He decided that if he couldn't escape, he'd do his best to torture his Mommy with his mischievious ways. This is the grin I get everytime I tell him "no!" It's maddening!!

We enjoyed a Thanksgiving Feast at Hayley's school where she let everyone know how thankful she is for... ballerinas???

A family trip to Sea World was enjoyed by all. Hayley and Daddy got to ride the Shamu roller coaster...

... while Todd fell in love with the puffins.

And on the way home from Sea World, hell froze over.

Oh, and somehow in the middle of all this, I squeaked out over 120 miles of running, to include one of the most torturous 13.1 miles of my entire life. Let's just say I've built a lot of character this month!

With November behind us, we're looking forward to the holidays and the beginning of new and better year!

Pumpkin Patch

Saturday afternoon we went to pick out our pumpkin. We left the patch with two REALLY cute pumpkins and one that will be perfect to carve!

Bedtime Prayer

Hayley says The Lord's Prayer every night before bed... sometimes she gets it confused with the Pledge of Allegiance! :-) Not bad for a three year old!

Weekend Update

Here's the latest on the Pants-less Todd saga. After three blissful nights, I began to think my problems had been solved by a trusty Pull Up. Alas, my faith was shattered last Tuesday morning when I went to get my little "T" up for the day and was shocked and dismayed to find he had basically pulled his Pull Up so far up that he'd given himself a monstrous wedgie. The Pull Up was unable to contain what it should have and I spent the morning washing sheets. Thinking it was a fluke, I anxiously went to pick my little peanut up the next morning only to end up washing sheets again. And yes, I was dumb enough to put him in a Pull Up again on Wedneday night. And guess what I did on Thursday morning? You got it... washed sheets. After learning my lesson, I sat Captain Commando down on Thursday night and told him that he was absolutely too young to be wearing a thong. I then told him that if he wanted to mess with the bull, he was going to get the horns... as I proceeded to put his diaper on backwards, covered by a really sassy pair of his sister's underpants. The result? Let's just say I haven't washed the sheets since last Thursday!!

It's Monday and I need a recovery nap after a busy weekend! We welcomed some WONDERFUL cool weather to Florida this weekend and got to spend most of the weekend enjoying it outdoors. Saturday morning started out bright and early with my usual long run. I'm up to 20 miles and feeling a bit like The Little Engine. "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can..." make it to 26 miles. I'm pretty sure I will cry if next Saturday's temps go back to the hot, humid temps that I've become so accustomed to. A cool breeze is such a welcome training partner right now!

Saturday afternoon we headed down into Sarasota so Brian and Hayley could compete in a race. This was Hayley's first official race. She's been practicing for a race since the day she took her first step!! She competed with about 15 other three and four year olds and had a blast!

Ready to Race!
Every runner knows the importance of a good warm up!
Receiving her medal!


Brian then geared up for the big boy race! It was a cross country 5k and he took THIRD in his age group! Now I know where Hayley gets her speed (because it's certainly not from me!!!)

Speeding across the finish line

My competitors!

Aunt Etta, Uncle Lee, Nana, Papa, and even Chloe came to cheer them on!

A fun family outing

He Strikes Again

After a successful night on Monday night, I was hopeful that tight pajama pants were my solution to Captain Commando and that the Sunday night occurence would be an isolated event. I was wrong. As we went to check on Mr. Todd last night, we found this:
Those tight pajama pants must have given him a run for his money. Obviously he completely exhausted himself trying to get the pants off. He barely had any energy left to focus on getting his diaper off before collapsing into slumber.

Listen little boy. You may have won the battle, but mark my words, I WILL win this war!! We'll be giving Pull Ups a shot tonight.

ETA: In light of recent events (in case any Walmart workers view my blog) and for those uncomfortable with toddler nudity, I have censored the "evidence."

Captain Commando

We've got a problem. Last night after going to check on our sweet, sleeping son, we were horrified to find this:

Yes, I realize he LOOKS like an innocent, sleeping toddler. What you don't see is that he is NAKED from the waste down. And we DID NOT put him to bed that way. You may even notice that he's using his pants and diaper as a pillow! Luckily, the damage was minimal. After all, I've already been delivered a nice surprise one day after I'd put my son down for a nap with just a diaper on. I learned that lesson. However, I completely have underestimated his skill set (and shear determination) as I never imagined he'd be able to get his pajama bottoms AND diaper off. I know this could get ugly REAL quick, so I'm adamant about finding a solution. Tonight we'll be trying his extra tight pajama pants. If that doesn't work, I guess we'll have to resort back to one piece pajamas.

Oh, and I'd like to add that my daughter NEVER did anything like this. It definitely must be a boy thing!!!

My Other Lover

It's my anniversary. Not my wedding anniversary, no. This is the one year anniversary of the affair with my other lover. One year ago today, my downward spiral into absolute addiction began when I ran my first road race. Last year at this time I was feeling like pretty hot stuff for running 6.2 miles... certainly nothing to be ashamed of. But this year, I began my anniversary race AFTER running nine miles. And because of that preceeding sentence, I will no longer refer to this morning's event as a "race." Although, it technically was called Race 4 the Cure (and for a SUPER cause) today I liked to think of it as Just Keep Moving 4 the Cure. Obviously, I'm crazy, but more importantly, I'm marathon training. And over the course of my fifteen or so miles today, I had plenty of time to ponder (and justify) my relatively new affair. After all, marathon training is not for the faint of heart, or the sane for that matter. It's a HUGE committment. It's also a huge committment for my husband who spends his Saturday mornings slaving over a hot stove making scrambled eggs, baking muffins, and wiping two (always moving) little mouths. Yes, a supportive husband is a wonderful thing and luckily mine enables my addiction.

My other enabler? The IronMommies. You learn a lot about people on a three hour plus run. I've been running with these girls for over a year now and our friendships have just gotten stronger and we enjoy each other's company that much more. We've found an interesting trend in our group though. We have ladies of all skill levels and running goals. There are only about eight of us though who are marathon training. Many of the girls think we are crazy. Based on the common denominator, the crazy factor comes from the fact that pretty much all of the eight of us have more than one child. Sure, there could be several reasons why parents of (currently) only children don't marathon train, but I've got my own theory based on my reasons for marathon training. As a Mom of two demanding, highly energetic, and demanding little ones, training forces me to carve much needed time out for myself. It forces me to stay in tune with my body and be incredibly conscious of what I put into my body. If I don't eat the right foods during the week, or if I eat the wrong foods, my Saturday morning will NOT be fun. And if I end up having one of those insanely busy, hectic weeks, I can take comfort in knowing that I will have several hours on Saturday to complete a thought, even if it's the first one I've completed all week. I'll also have several hours to just worry about myself... to think about what I need and how I feel and what I want out of life. It's kind of like a mental vacation before being thrown back into the realities of life. I'm sure I've made this sound like I'm much deeper in thought then I really usually am, so let me provide some better insight. A typical long run for me right now usually goes like this:

First 3 Miles - "Did I seriously roll out of bed at 3:45am to do this??? I must be nuts to think I'm ever going to run 26.2 miles."

Mile 4 - (This is where my running buzz kicks in) "I love running. I love running in Florida where I can run by the water and there are no hills and I can see pelicans when it's not so stinkin' dark out! Ew, watchout for the roadkill."

Miles 5-7 - "Which marathon am I going to sign up for next? I'll be all marathon trained up come January so I may as well sign up for Gasparilla in March. Maybe I could try to get into the Marine Corp Marathon next year? Gotta figure out where I'm going to put my 26.2 tattoo (sorry Mom and Dad). Woohoo! This is SOOOO much fun!! I love running!"

Miles 7-10 - "How on earth am I going to run another 16.2 miles? This is absolutely impossible. Forget crying when I cross the finishline, I'm going to cry right now."

Miles 10-13 - "I think I might be dying. Keep running. I wonder if drinking my whole bottle of gel would make me sick? Keep running." (This is usually where I begin fantasizing about water... in all forms... bottled water, swimming pools, showers, ice...)

Miles 13-13.5 - "Ohhh, that gel really helped me out. I'll have no problems from here on out."

Miles 13.5-14.75 - "Boy, that gel sure didn't stick with me very long. I'm pretty sure I'm going to die before I get to 15 miles. I can't feel my toes anymore. Oh goodie, here comes the sunrise. If I don't get done with this before the sun comes completely out I will no doubt die of heat exhaustion. Why do I live in Florida??" And then I always think about the scene from National Lampoon's Vacation where Chevy Chase is lost in the desert. And I feel bad for him because I can SO relate.

Miles 14.75-15 - "Woohoo! I'm almost there. I think I could run another two miles if I really had to. Don't want to push myself though and end up injured. I'd better stop at 15. Now I've got my license to pig out at dinner tonight!! I LOVE running. Now, back to that tattoo."

And then me and my wild and crazy friends hobble back to our cars like a group of ninety year olds and talk big about how we're going to do wild and crazy things with our day like bathe in BioFreeze, nap, and take Epsom salt baths. You know, we like to live on the edge.

I know it looks like I hate all but about three miles of the run. It's the feeling that I have after a run like this that keeps me addicted. There is no greater feeling of accomplishment then to know I've already run 15 miles while most of the world is still laying in bed. It's like one big endorphin dump that lasts all weekend long for me and the longer I run and the further I run, the better I seem to feel. Running is definitely my drug of choice and I spend more time then I should thinking about getting my next "fix." It hurts to walk right now, but I'm already looking forward to next Saturday morning.

Disney - Take 2

We just returned from another Disney weekend! We headed out on Friday afternoon and arrived in Orlando just in time for a Downtown Disney dinner at Hayley's favorite restaurant, T-Rex. This time we sat in the ice cave and Hayley was VERY concerned about the dinosaur that was right behind us. We finally were able to reassure her that the dinosaur was an herbivore and wanted nothing to do with her pizza. She was okay with him after that. After all, she already has to share food with Todd. She's not about to have to divvy it up between her, Todd, AND a dinosaur!!

The Boys
The Girls

Saturday morning we headed off to tour Animal Kingdom where we sweated until we just couldn't sweat anymore. We headed back for some quiet time at the hotel followed by an hour in the pool before I had to head back to Animal Kingdom to participate in the Expedition Everest Challenge. My partner and I were able to complete the 5k run and the obstacle course before the monsoon began. It absolutely POURED on us for the remainder of the scavenger hunt which was kind of a bummer.

Sunday morning we ventured back to Blizzard Beach waterpark which Todd and Hayley both LOVE. Hayley got to try out some of the more adventurous rides this trip and of course Todd just enjoyed looking at all the ladies like usual. We arrived back home Sunday afternoon and collapsed from a whirlwind weekend.

Thank You God

Have I mentioned how much we LOVE Hayley's preschool? They say the Pledge of Allegiance each morning, although Hayley hasn't quite gotten that down by herself. Of course in just two days, she has committed the snack time prayer to memory!! Here she is reciting it!

Labor Day Weekend

According to the pictorial representation on my camera from the weekend, it doesn't look like we got out of our PJs the entire Labor Day weekend. I can assure you that we did though, and despite some lazy mornings, we were sure to get workouts in for the entire family. After we all rolled out of bed of course!

Todd and Hayley practiced baseball.

Then Todd and Daddy did an upper body workout in the pool. I thought it was only appropriate that the song "Good Girls Go Bad" was on while Todd was "pumping" himself up! (And yes, seeing is believing... Todd wears a Speedo in our swimming pool. He doesn't want tan lines!)

After swimming, Todd and Daddy found a new form of entertainment. Only two guys could be this amused by depantsing.



And now, due to the torment Todd suffered at the hands of Daddy, he has been forced to underake the Urkel look.

School is in SESSION!

And so, Miss Hayley made her return to school today. THREE YEAR OLD preschool to be exact! Yep, it was happy times for all this morning as we prepared to head out! Hayley was singing "it's back to school," Mommy was singing "it's back to school," and even little Toddy was dragging his sister to the car singing "the BOSS is going back to school!"

And luckily for me, things went MUCH better this first day of school then they did compared to last year's first day of school. Now I don't want to count my chickens and all, but I'm pretty confident I'm not going to get one of these pictures again this year!


My Baby Girl


Heading off to her class... clearly, she doesn't feel the need to hold my hand!

Telling me to "weave" - nothing new

All Aboard

We survived!! Yes, I managed to survive two solo plane flights with my two little angels and I didn't even need to resort to the parachute I had packed in my carry on! I'd say it was a successful trip! Both of our flights were rather eventful, which actually provided loads of entertainment for my two thrill seekers. Clearly they get their love of "danger" from their father. On the flight to Colorado, we hit some major turbulence coming into DIA. And by major, I mean major. I literally had to squeeze Todd for fear that he'd fly out of my arms. And while the rest of the plane was "ohhing" and I was clinging to my son with white knuckles and praying, my little angels were giggling with glee and yelling "weeeee!" Who knew flying could be so much fun? Luckily, my time in Denver was much more relaxing. I went on several long runs and developed a new appreciation for Florida's flat, sea-level terrain. Funny how I never seemed to notice Colorado's hills until I became a runner! We kept the kids busy with outings to several parks, Tiny Town, and The White Fence Farm. We had such a fun time and mostly just enjoyed spending time with Mimi, Grandpa, G-Grams, and family!


Goofing Around



Miss Hollywood Goes to Tiny Town


I hope this isn't an omen


Todd was all to eager to lock up his sister!


Love the mountain air!


A Tiny Town train ride with Grandpa!


A trip to White Fence Farm!


Stopping to smell the roses.


My little goat


No Hayley, we can't take this goat home instead.


Fun with the family!



Between all the planes, trains and automobiles, Todd mastered the "All Aboard" call!