My Lil' Trooper!

Once upon a time, there was a little boy who "forgot" that when his big sister tells him to leave something alone 10 times, that he is actually supposed to do it!

Oh how life lessons can be difficult and at times, can be rather painful...poor lil' thing!

Meet my adorable little cousin, Andrew! He is also known as "Andy Bob" and he is my absolute pride and joy! Well, as you can see, sweet little Andrew had an encounter with an "ungarded" bicycle chain which required a quick trip to the doctor to get 6 stitches. "OUCH!" However, he did make the doctor's night, he was a perfect angel and didn't even flinch when they gave him shots to numb him! (Honestly, he is FAR MORE braver than I could ever be!) He sat there and watched everything and of course, asked a ton of questions! Who knows maybe someday he will grow up to be a doctor! :)

I love you my brave "lil' Trooper" and remember the next time someone says, "Don't touch!," do it okay?

Robin's 26 ABC's

As some of you may know, I am a kindergarten teacher and I always start the year off by teaching my little ones their ABC's so with that in mind, I thought that it might be fun to share a little bit about myself using an ABC format. So here it goes...

A - Age: 42 soon to be 43 next month!
B - Bed size: Full
C - Chore you hate: Cleaning Toilets
D - Dog's name: Bella
E - Essential start your day item: Clothes
F - Favorite color: Pink

G - Gold or Silver: Silver
H - Height: 5'2"
I - Instruments you play: None
J - Job title: Kindergarten Teacher
K - Kid(s): None
L - Living arrangements: I live in Sacramento, CA
M - Mom's name: Joyce
N - Nicknames: Bluebird, Robbie and Obbie
O - Overnight hospital stay: Not yet...knock on wood!
P - Pet Peeve: Moody and rude people
Q - Quote from a movie: "No MORE wire hangers EVER!" from Mommie Dearest and "You had me at Hello" from Jerry McGuire
R - Right or left handed: Right handed but "Lefties" are smarter! :)
S - Siblings: Just me, myself and I!
T - Time you wake up: 5 a.m. but I don't get out of bed until 6:30 a.m. I am NOT a morning person though I try!
U - Underwear: I am sooooo boring "BUTT" (LOL) I'm a "granny panty" girl
V - Vegetable you dislike: Radishes
W - Ways/Reasons you run late: I'm way too tired and I'm a slow poke! Like I said before, I'm just NOT a morning person!
X - X-rays you've had: My teeth and full body x-ray for my physical
Y - Yummy food you make: I make a killer macaroni and cheese dish! Yum!
Z - Zoo animals you like: Giraffes, monkeys and Elephants,"Oh my!"

Thanks for taking the time to get to know a little bit about me BUT I would love to learn more about YOU!

It's Back! Not Me Monday!

Well here we are again at the start of a brand new week and you know what that means...It is time for another fun round of "Not Me Monday" where I tell you about ALL of the things that I did NOT do last week. Yeah, right!

I did NOT lose my keys at Target this week only to discover that when I got home that they were not with me...I also won't tell you that when I called to see if I left them there that I had to identify them by claiming that yes, I was indeed the proud owner of the keys with the cute lil' pink plastic fish toy that's attached.

I won't tell you that even at my age I still play with "toys!" Yes, I work with five year olds ALL day long so really now, what do you expect? I also like drawing with chalk on the sidewalk and blowing bubbles too! Whoa! I didn't say that out loud now did I? "NO. NOT ME!"

I also won't tell you that when I went back to Target later that week, my car battery did NOT die on me! NO, NO, NO...say it ain't so! I was so poised and calm that I didn't call my father in a frenzy to ask him what to do next! Why didn't I call Triple AAA in the first place you ask? Because I was hoping that a Genie would appear and wave a wand and make my damn car work! Do you really think I would think that? "NO. NOT ME!"

I do NOT have a love/hate relationship with my car. "NO. NOT ME!" Seriously, why after replacing the breaks, rotors, a head gasket and a battery to the tune of about $5000 all within a few weeks of each other, would I be angry? Is it possible for me to get a divorce from my car and site "irreconcilable differences?" NO...That's just plain silly.

Finally, I won't admit to my foolish mistake of the week/year/century because honestly, I don't make mistakes! "NO. NOT ME!" So therefore, I wont tell you that when I contacted one of my friends on "Facebook" that somehow I foolishly mistook her answer to making "new friends" as a slap directly aimed at me for not making enough time for her and our friendship in my rather busy work schedule. I'm also not going to admit my embarrassment that when after I wrote her an apology note stating that fact, that she had to explain to me that the "new friends" she was actually referring to was her "brand new boob job!!!" Oh my! Robin Dana...honestly, how did jump to THAT conclusion? "OH NO! THAT WAS NOT ME!" I guess that open communication REALLY is the key to maintaining good relationships! Sooooooooo my friends THAT was my week! How was yours?! :)

More Childhood Memories!

"Aw...the Sweet Memories of Childhood!"

My dear friend Christy, from elementary school has been going through some old photos and came across this sweet birthday photo of her from one of her infamous birthday parties that she always held every year as we were growing up. Now let me be the first to tell you that Christy ALWAYS had the BEST parties and we all couldn't wait to go to her house especially when it came to celebrating her birthday! Her house was always a "hustle and bustle" of fun filled activity! There was always lots of kids, noise, music, animals and of course, there was the swimming pool! Oh how I LOVED it and I not only miss but truly cherish those times together.

Christy also is the granddaughter of Charles J. Correll who was best known for supplying the voice of "Andy Brown" on the long running radio show "Amos 'n' Andy" (1928-1955). Her mother Barbara was his daughter and they were (and still are) such a dear family. Christy's father was a coach and he was my U.S. history teacher when I went to high school and he ranks right up there as being one of my very favorite teachers. It's always fun to go down memory lane and as I get older it makes me realize what truly is the most important thing in life...your friends and family.

In the photo above, Christy is the cutie in the left corner proudly smiling with the birthday cake that her mother made. You can't really see it here but she always made the most gorgeous cakes and Christy has grown up to be quite the cake baker and decorator herself! Watch out Rachel Ray and move over Martha Stewart! LOL I am the one under the yellow arrow and with THAT hairstyle, I look like I could be the long lost daughter of "Squiggy" from the "Laverne and Shirley" television show! :)

5th Grade Memories!

My dear friend Christy who I grew up with just recently came across these school photos at her parents house and "my oh my" how they brought back fond memories for me! My teacher's name was Miss Borich and she was one of my very favorite teachers. She taught the 5th grade at Hilltop Elementary School and she was also a photography buff hence the black and white photo. (Yes, that's me under the yellow arrow. Don't you love the plastered hair and chipmunk teeth? LOL)

Anyways, I remember that she was going to get married that following summer so all year she would give us updates about her wedding plans...us girls loved it! The boys...not so much! I even remember her fiance coming in from time to time and can I just say that they were the human models for "Barbie and Ken!" They were a stunning couple and very much in love. Well at the end of the year, we gave her a farewell party/bridal shower for she was going to be moving up north to start her "new life" as Mrs. Passoth. I even got a card and wedding photo from her that summer. She was a gorgeous bride and it meant so much to me. It truly made me feel special.

As I grew up I always wondered what had happened to her and upon finding this photo, my friend Christy found out the Miss Borich/Mrs. Passoth had three children of her own, continued teaching and became "Teacher of the Year 2005-2006" within her own school district and was also given the honor of being chosen as "Los Angeles County Teacher of the Year" as well...AND oh yeah, how could I possibly forget...she also became "Ms. Elite 2008" with the United Nations International Pageant System Organization! Now talk about impressive! Here is a recent photo of her that I found...isn't she absolutely beautiful?

Trust me...she is as pretty on the inside as she is on the outside! She was and obviously still is an amazing teacher and I am so proud of her! Now here is a comparison test...who would you rather have as YOUR teacher?

This...

"Ms. Elite United Nation International 2008"
Mrs. Christy Passoth
(She looks just like Barbie!)

Or This?....

"Miss Googly Eyes 2009"
"Rockin' Robin"
(She looks like...a Muppet!)

You don't need to answer, for I already know...I would choose the tiara over the googly eyes too! :)

"Summer's a Comin'! Hop to it!"

One of the sure signs that summer is coming, is when I start to hear the frogs croak at night! Some of my friends may not already know, but I am a teacher and this is always the time of year where we get ready to say "Good-bye" to our lil' friends and get ready for the Summer! We also have a BIG Open House Night where the students invite their parents and show them the various projects that they have been working on throughout the year! It is a fun time for all of us who participate. This year we had an "Animal Theme" and we chose to make frog hats for each of the students to wear. They are absolutely adorable but if I am truly honest with myself, they are SUCH A PAIN TO MAKE! (I didn't say that out loud now did I?) Well actually I did because my philosophy is that if the teacher is doing more work on the project than the student, then it really isn't a "Student Made" project now is it? LOL

Well long story made short, I caved into the pressure and made the stinkin' hats and willingly admit that now I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THEM! My co-teacher and good friend Vonda came up with the idea and also pointed out that F.R.O.G. also stands for "Fully Rely On God!" Well how can you go against that?! :)

Now here is a picture of me and Vonda! She's my fellow co-teacher, mentor and one of my very best friends. Vonda truly is the most amazing teacher that I know and I just love her to bits and pieces! I also appreciate the fact that she really truly loves me "frog warts and all!" :)

So my friends....Be a F.R.O.G. and "Fully Rely on God!" Take that "leap" of faith! That's what we did! (Now if I start turning green and begin to eat flies, then I'm gonna be in BIG trouble!)