Islas Girls

Today I met up with an old friend from high school so I could take some photographs of her ADORABLE daughters. The weather was GORGEOUS and I had a great time watching these girls get so excited about everything from the Geese and their babies to the flowers. I enjoyed the walk and the weather. Here are a few pictures I took today.

I hope they love their pictures as much as I do! I love being able to develop this new skill and can't wait to put it to use with our own little one.

COUPON TIP

If you are expecting, sign up for ALL THE NEWSLETTERS. I have a separate email account for my "junk" mail so I use this when they ask. But I went and signed up on the Huggies sight, the Pampers sight, BRU (they signed me up when I did my registry), Motherhood (inside the store when I bought some maternity clothes) and Babycenter (used my regular email for them). Through those I have started getting TONS of FREE magazines. The best part....the magazines have HIGH VALUE COUPONS! That is right. Like $1 off ANY SIZE wipes (usually the most you find is $0.75 off a larger tub). $5 off any size Huggies, yeah a BIG SAVINGS! So, if you don't know to do this already, sign up. It doesn't matter if it is your first pregnancy or your fifth....you still can get all these free coupons and magazines.

Come Listen To A Prophet's Voice

I {LOVE} Conference Weekend! I always feel so uplifted after conference. This conference was no exception. In fact it was more uplifting then I could have imagined. I enjoyed the focus on family. I feel as though I have been given that manual parents wish they got when their children are born. Their were so many wonderful talks on parenting and family. I am so excited to get the May issue of the Ensign so I can have them all in print.

Poppy

It has been a hard week here in the Robins' household. Last week Mike's grandfather (Poppy) went into the hospital and was not doing very well. Mike took the much needed trip up to Lewiston to see his grandfather. Poppy was not very responsive and the hospital decided not to move him to a nursing home as was originally planned. Wednesday morning, Poppy peacefully went to join Mike's aunt and his (Poppy's) siblings that have already returned home. Poppy (and Grandma) raised Mike when he was growing up.
We have been blessed that financially we have the money for Mike to make the trip last weekend and again this coming week to attend the funeral. We love and miss you Poppy and can not wait until we see you again.
It is times like these that I realize how grateful I am for my knowledge of our Heavenly Father's plan for us. I am grateful to know that this is not the end and that we will be able to see Poppy again and that because of the Gospel and the Sealing Power here on this earth I know that families can be together forever.

I thought it was Spring!?!

I thought it was spring. The calendar has it printed on March 20th. The temperatures have been in the upper 50s to mid 60s....SPRING right? Well then, what was with the weather today. What did we have here in the valley, and the mountains above? SNOW! CRAZY!
Hoping it clears up by this weekend since I have some photo sessions scheduled. But it was kind of entertaining to have the snow fall. I am just glad it dried up by the end of the night so it wouldn't freeze overnight with lots of water on the roads.

It Was Brought To My Attention

By someone that I love that my blog backgrounds have been a little on the girly side..... Which was FINE when it was just Mike and I..... BUT.... Soon I will be outnumbered by BOYS so I need to MAN IT UP a little. So bare with me as I play around with our blog background and header in preparation to handle so much MASCULINITY.... (I hope you are able to pick up on the SENSE OF HUMOR intended for this post)

Thanks To Those Who Give Their Spouses

Mike is out of town today. He left to go up to Lewiston to visit his grandpa who is very ill and in the hospital. Since I am getting pretty far along he wanted to get up there in case he can not get up there later. So, I will be home alone AGAIN tonight. (I can not sit for a 5 hour drive 2 days in a row.) So, I am sitting here, wondering what to do with myself, feeling bad that I don't have my husband here even though I know how important it is for him to go. I could never be a Military Spouse!
I just want to give a big THANK YOU to all those who serve our country. But I also want to give just as big a THANK YOU to their spouses. They give up their spouse for weeks, months, and sometimes a year plus, so that they can keep us safe and help others around the world. I know I would never be able to handle it but they all do. So once again THANK YOU!

What's Been Going On

We have not been the exciting couple this year....LOL! I feel bad that I don't have a lot of little trips or fun things to report on. Sorry.
Mike has been working A LOT of overtime the last few months to help us be able to have money to stock up on all things. We are DESPERATELY trying to get a good 3-6 month supply of household items, personal care items and of course food storage. Partially because this is good to have on hand anyways but also because if you have a supply, you can wait to buy things until they are on sale WITH coupons and pay basically NOTHING for them. Also, we have been trying to get baby gear stocked up. We do not want our budget, which will be tighter, to be blown by diapers, etc. This is his last month he is working so much overtime as starting the middle of April he wants to be sure to be ready for "the day." ( He is so funny/excited!)
I have been doing some photography for people around the area. I am wrapping up those sessions on April 3rd for the most part. I am excited to be able to have this excuse to get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather when I feel I should be home, cleaning, organizing and such. I am also trying to get some other things done, mostly scrapbooks, that are VERY far behind.
I am getting pretty excited for everything coming this year. On top of our little one, I am excited for my 2 best friends to be coming for visits in May. Both my friend Terrie (I often refer to her family- the Bolanders) and my friend Sarah will be coming after the baby arrives. We will have a nice quiet June (hopefully- and by quiet I mean no trips, etc...) and then in July we are planning a trip to go to Nauvoo, Omaha, Mnt Rushmore, etc with my parents. We have a family camping trip the beginning of August, after that we pick up Mike's niece who will come stay with us for a few days before we head over to the Oregon coast for a mini-vaca and Mike's Dad's wedding. After that, we then hope to settle into a little more of a routine as fall hits.
So enough of my boring update...LOL! We hope all is well with all of you. We hope everyone is looking forward to General Conference in a few weeks and also Easter. They are the perfect events to kick off Spring every year.

Paper Left After Printing Coupons Idea

So right now there are printable coupons (Bricks Coupons) for Huggies. I was able to print 10 of them from the different computers and between FF and IE. Anyways, the problem is that Bricks Coupons (unlike coupons.com) only print one across the top of a page of paper leaving 2/3 of the paper BLANK. So what to do after you cut out your coupon? Well, I cut off the top and make scrap pads of paper for when I need paper for my primary class or now I am saving them for when my friend Terrie comes to visit in May with her daughter Alia who will almost be 4. They are great for coloring.

31 Weeks

I am 31 weeks today! Time is still flying by. I thought this last trimester was supposed to DRAG....It probably will next month but right now I still have so much to do before this little man arrives. Here is my 31 week belly shot.

And a comparison shot from the halfway mark-

So crazy that I still don't feel huge. I actually feel pretty small still. These pictures always take me by suprise at how much I have grown.

I am so glad I never donated the capris that I had from before I lost my little bit of weight prior to getting preggo. WHY? Some of them fit! WOOHOO! So hoping between them fitting (and even being a little loose if they are lower riding ones) and the bella band I can survive on my 2 pairs of maternity pants I broke down and bought and these capris.

On another note- Mike is doing so great on his weight loss. His goal is to be at his goal weight by the time the baby is born. He has lost 12 pounds in 3 weeks. His weight loss is slowing since he increased his calories but he is losing at a HEALTHY and STEADY rate now.

A Wonderful Quote!

I just wanted to share this quote that a gal shared on a pregnancy site I am part of.

"If I had my life to live over, instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle"

~Irma Bombeck~

I have felt very blessed to have had such an easy pregnancy (so far). I know the 3rd trimester drags for a lot of women so I thought this quote was shared at an appropriate time on this group. However, I have enjoyed being pregnant VERY MUCH! I think I may actually miss being pregnant. We shall see if I feel this way in another month.

Spring Cleaning!

Mike and I spent this weekend doing some major reorganization and cleaning in our house. Our extra room has come together quite nicely to be able to put the baby in. It will still have to double as an office but it is much roomier than we thought it would ever get and has plenty of room to put our nice air mattress in for guests.
We have started working on building up our food storage. Our goal at first is to have a months worth of the foods we use most. We have basically accomplished that and are now focused on a 3 month supply. Since we live in an apartment, we are finding some interesting ways to store everything. LUCKILY, the extra room also has a walk in closet. We put a utility shelf in there but will soon have to add a second one. We have also started a supply of house products for laundry, cleaning, and personal items. It is amazing where you store things when you live in a smaller place. Baby stuff is also being stocked up on. It feels good to know that we will never be in the position of no money but needing diapers, laundry detergent, or such. We are now at the point where I am able to only buy these items if they are on sale with a coupon to match up.
We have been enjoying the nice weather lately. It has been wonderful to be able to roll the window down in my car. To go on walks without putting on TONS of layers. I have been able to wear my chacos on the weekends and even some evenings.
This week, I went and saw "The Princess and the Frog" with some friends. I LOVED it. It was so refreshing to have a Disney movie done in the classic Disney style. Some people think it was super scary but it was no scarier than the old ones (Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, etc). I think that we have just had the candy coated villains in the Disney movies for a while that we forgot what the old ones were like. I also LOVED that they sang through out the movie. I MISS that!
Other than that, our week has been pretty uneventful. We are looking forward to the rest of March and the warmer weather.

Meridian High School's "The King & I"

One of my favorite musicals when I was growing up was "The King & I"

This month my niece Danielle is in her high school production of this musical. They asked me to come and photograph the dress rehearsal for them so they could have pictures for the yearbook and archival purposes. It was great to get back into doing some stage photography even with all the challenges. Constantly changing lights, movement, the extreme stage makeup, not being able to move people around, etc (etc, etc) are just some of the challenges. But it was great. Here are a few of the pictures I took for them.

Here is where Miss Anna shows the wife's she is not shaped funny. Just her dress is shaped that way.

This is a picture of my niece as the head wife (can not remember the name) helping with school lessons.

The picture below is when the King asks Miss Anna to take a letter to President Lincoln but test the rule of "Nobody's head should be higher then King's head"

Finally, from the famous "Shall We Dance Scene"

I was able to get some shots from this scene that didn't have such a blur but I liked the blur because at this point they were spinning and dancing really fast.

They did a great job. It is a long play (3 hours) and it wore me out to be moving around for 3 hours all over the theater to get the shots but it was nice to be able to move around at the same time while watching the play. I am finding it hard to sit for long periods of time in theater seats. Just an hour and a half the other night at a movie was hard on me so this was the perfect way for me to go support my niece.

The King and I is going on tonight at Meridian High School as well as Thursday March 11, Friday the 12th and Saturday the 13th. All performances start at 7:00 pm. I do not know the cost of tickets (sorry).

5 Things To Be Happy About in March

1) Days where it is warm enough to break out my Chacos!

2) Passing my one hour glucose test- have a cookie to celebrate!

3) Spring Break! (Well, for Mike anyways.)

4) Daylight Savings Time Begins- I love having more hours of light.

5) Only 11 more weeks until I get to see Terrie!