tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-218229412012-01-29T16:58:53.567-05:00I feel about ten years older than I'm supposed to, thanks to kidney disease! I will blog about my kidneys, my family, and other things in my seemingly ordinary life. Enjoy!Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.comBlogger5031100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-91010148990576067862011-12-31T20:30:00.000-05:002011-12-31T20:30:47.997-05:00

Everyone else is doing it, so I guess I should too. Here is a year worth of pictures in one post... January - First time Ice Skating! She considers herself an old pro now, but that first time was pure sugar-rush! (Pictured with Miss Karen, her teacher in life, and in ice skating!) January (2) - Ready for dance class! I mostly posted this one for a comparison with the December shot later...

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-23269336877125179432011-12-06T07:56:00.001-05:002011-12-10T15:59:08.423-05:00

Alternate Title: Another Year, Another Weird Idea from the Monroe's Remember last year's Christmas "tree" from THIS post? Yeah, a tripod and some lights was just enough to wet my appetite for something more creative in our apartment at the holidays. Again, we have many reasons to not have a tree: Real: Expensive, Anny is allergic to pretty much any cut conifers, too. Fake: It's fake, and takes

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-22618789108914830312011-10-31T22:11:00.001-04:002011-10-31T22:11:58.860-04:00

Alternate Title: Movember Eve Tomorrow I start my month of mustache, or Movember. My brother is spearheading a team as part of a massive program to raise awareness about men's health issues. You can find out more about that HERE. You can donate to my 'Stache Plan HERE. While we are still in October I wanted to knock out a quick blog post about Halloween! For Abby we started nine days ago with

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-44374732778025312672011-10-28T22:55:00.003-04:002011-10-28T22:55:26.331-04:00

Alternate Title: Finally a Picture Post! I keep wanting to get out with the camera without the focus of my shots being on people. I snagged a fun shot last weekend while pumpkin-picking, but that is one shot out of the last 30 days. Oy. Today the weather was perfect and I had hours to burn off at work. Anny was also home from school, so we picked Abby up and headed straight for Lone Elk Park to

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-73065285801649739222011-10-17T18:16:00.002-04:002011-10-17T18:16:48.286-04:00

Alternate Title: Better than a Punch in the Face! Last month I was afraid - genuinely afraid - of what I had done to my body over the last year by going off of my kidney medicine. I had not seen a doctor in over a year, and my first trip back made me fearful that a professional would not only give me grief, but would also want to punch me in the face for such stupidity. The thing about a

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-28671881813548862302011-10-17T07:02:00.001-04:002011-10-17T07:02:12.767-04:00

Alternate Title - Mmmm, food. So yeah, it's been a crazy two weeks - I ended up going on a second retreat with church and finally caught up on enough sleep over this weekend that I am awake enough in the mornings to get a blog post or two written. Guess I'm not as young as I used to be - I remember bouncing back from a weekend retreat in like a day! Anyway, since it has been a couple of weeks,

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-30228263031902731692011-10-05T08:06:00.001-04:002011-10-05T08:06:39.618-04:00

Alternate Title: When Did We Get So Old? (First off an apology - I did not get ANY tent pictures! When we set it up Abby was playing on the playground and I never actually saw her awake in the thing! Oy!) Last weekend we went out to Mound Ridge for an All Church Retreat. Our first trip out there was last fall for the same event, but this is also where we went for summer camp last summer. Bottom

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-7756361646670193462011-10-03T21:21:00.000-04:002011-10-03T21:21:14.095-04:00

Alternate Title: Filled 'Er Up and Turned 'Er In (Gross, I know. Sorry.) LAST weekend I had my Hot Date with a plastic bottle. I managed to make the most of my day my doing laundry and making dinner, as well as taking in copious amounts of football. Remember the before picture of my bottle? Here is an after: KIDDING! You gross weirdo. Why would you want a picture of my pee? I did my

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-23107661909212902352011-09-26T04:56:00.000-04:002011-09-27T06:46:27.942-04:00

Alternate Title: Still at It - YUM! Tonight we tried something new, by which I mean I looked at a recipe and thought "well, hell, I am not going to put all of that crap together, but thanks cookbook-man for the suggestion." I cut out all of the special-buy stuff and it turned out well. I have said before that we plan our meals out a week at a time, and we cycle things in about once every

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-5285983108676707332011-09-22T21:01:00.000-04:002011-09-22T21:01:16.258-04:00

Alternate Title: Someones Gotta Have All the Fun! On Sunday my wife and daughter are going to join another family on a trip to the local Pirate Festival. Think Renaissance Festival without the frilly clothes swords and hoochie mama's rotten fake English accents boisterous kings and queens, replaced by boisterous pirates and wenches. It's a neat idea, and we have never been, so the girls are

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-72609080572362873032011-09-14T22:40:00.001-04:002011-09-14T22:53:54.912-04:00

Alternate Title: Growing Up, In Her Head Abby is at an age where she is latching onto things for all that they are worth, and then some. At least once a week since her birthday we have had some sort of birthday celebration in our home. Please note that she is a June baby and Anny and I share a birthday in December, so there has really been nothing, but she had such a blast at her birthday

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-64191513549069237832011-09-12T18:21:00.002-04:002011-09-12T18:21:24.084-04:00

Well, the good news is that I did not get punched in the face. I had my first visit with my new nephrologist in Missouri, a little bit more than a year after we have moved. I told him the whole story of my life, or at least what he deemed pertinent to my health overall with a few snippets tossed in for fun. I forgot how long it takes to get a specialist to actually show up for an

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-2069333952990453102011-09-12T08:23:00.001-04:002011-09-12T08:23:29.405-04:00

This morning I am a little excited, and a lot of nervous. I am mostly hoping that I do not end up in tears by 10 am. I've been keeping a secret that is going to either pay off or blow up in my face, and I will know by lunch today. You see, last year we moved. Yes, I've written about that a dozen times, so clearly that is not bothering me too much. I am no longer nervous about that aspect of my

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-71688645446336150832011-09-10T19:02:00.001-04:002011-09-10T19:02:24.153-04:00

Another three quick but cute stories about Abby! Story One: Sharing is Caring A few weeks ago one of my co-workers gave Abby a little heart-shaped, green "gem" ring. It is nicer than the others that we have because it adjusts down to the tiny size of her finger. Abby was so touched about the random act of kindness that she actually came home and handed me another one and said "Please take this

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-65776835280906803002011-08-29T08:04:00.001-04:002011-08-29T08:04:33.452-04:00

Alternate Title: Technically, the Experiment Worked (I am realizing that part of the reason I do not blog as often is that I include updates about Abby and myself over on Facebook. That being said, I am going to start to incorporate more of those updates here.) From FB, on our way to the game: Take me out to the ball game - take me out to the crowd!Pre-bought hot dogs and soda-pop, extra fun '

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-8641772502902852992011-08-21T22:51:00.002-04:002011-08-21T22:51:59.957-04:00

Alternate Title: Do I really need an alternate title, Abby's in the paper?! So it is clear that we like to take Abby out dancing, even more clear if you saw all of our Facebook status updates. If there is a free show we are there, especially if it is an outdoor show. This weekend we ended up at two - one massive outdoor festival and one local park-opening. Can you guess which got a picture of

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-88382679743274449182011-08-18T07:46:00.003-04:002011-08-18T07:46:44.143-04:00

Alternate Title: Making up for a Summer in an Evening Remember two weeks ago when I posted about how great it was that my wife and daughter were headed back to school and our "normal" routine would finally come back together? (Here it is, if you need a refresher.) Bottom line is that I was jealous of the time they got to spend together every day. I have had some opportunities over the last

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-61512191209183621222011-08-13T19:40:00.000-04:002011-08-13T19:40:01.137-04:00

Alternate Title: Not All for Naught Before we moved we talked a lot about when, why and how we would move. The "when" discussion lasted for about four years before finally pulling the trigger, including a brief plan the year before to move that was called off. Few people know this, but we were one interview away from moving to Missouri instead of Maryland when we left Virginia. We are both

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-54588143834152731952011-08-11T21:58:00.001-04:002011-08-11T21:58:50.829-04:00

Alternate Title: ...It's the most wonderful time of the year...! For starters, our heat wave seems to be a thing of the past. It lasted for the month of July, and then just long enough for a full ten day visit by the In-Laws. Once they fled back to Wyoming the heat went away. Coincidence? I think not... I am confident that I only feel this way because Abby is not in *real* school yet,

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-56416877233540050672011-08-06T22:30:00.000-04:002011-08-06T22:30:08.655-04:00

In just the last week I have communicated with friends and family via: Phone Text Facebook (Chat, Messages and Wall posts) Email Google+ Twitter Google Reader Commenting on friends' blogs I have had opportunity but passed up: Skype Google Chat Google Voice Chat Good Reads Nephspace (for Kidney Disease folks) I never thought I could be one to fall to using terms like "information overload" but

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-40918854794363670312011-08-03T17:42:00.002-04:002011-08-03T18:25:34.075-04:00

Another one of those annoying, bullet point blog posts. Oh well. The bat from a few posts ago is back in our window, and has actually made a habit of staying in our window during the day. I've done some looking online and it seems that it is not something we should have concern about, so we are just letting him... hang out! A friend of ours said that if we saw it more than once we had to name

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-44400596793854384022011-07-24T15:24:00.000-04:002011-07-24T15:24:10.535-04:00

This week has obviously been hot - hot enough to warrant a full blog post earlier. We have been to movies and the pool, to the mall and to the couch in our apartment where it is nice and cool. Yesterday we went to a place that would easily be counted as the coooolest - a cave tour! Missouri is known as The Cave State due to thousands of miles worth of caves. There is a really big, really

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-24165147673907986512011-07-20T22:23:00.000-04:002011-07-20T22:23:06.595-04:00

While I do not practice the "taking off all my clothes" to cool down, we have been spending a ton of time at the pool. Abby and I have closed the pool down twice this week so far, and will likely do it again twice more! We love our local pool and have made great use of the family pass for the summer. There is a lazy river to float in, and little-little kid pool (deepest might be a foot) and a

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-15128121520024106662011-07-20T06:50:00.000-04:002011-07-20T06:50:27.208-04:00

On Monday evening we were sitting at the table having dinner when I noticed something in the window - a bat! It was perfectly positioned between the storm window and the screen, with it's claws in the screen while sleeping! Abby was almost as excited as I was. I pulled out the video camera to capture Abby. This was her second time telling me about bats, so she trailed off a bit. The bat was

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-9504973839573309282011-07-19T18:19:00.004-04:002011-07-19T18:19:49.550-04:00

Two years ago for Father's Day, Abby's teachers in daycare got a little white dress shirt and a cute tie to take pictures of each of the children as "dad" for a gift. It was absolutely adorable, despite the newspaper in the picture. (Mostly for comedic effect, or so I'm convinced!) On Friday as I was getting dressed Abby kept asking to wear one of my work shirts. Since I was clearly already

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-38602763733838583772011-07-13T21:47:00.002-04:002011-07-13T21:48:01.999-04:00

Funny to realize that before I went to work at Camp Glenkirk I had zero experience at summer camp. I had been camping with my family, and had one awful scout camping experience, but I have never been to summer camp. In 1997 that all changed, of course, and changed my life forever. I met Anny there. I married Anny there. I did not have a history before Glenkirk, but I now would not imagine a

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-63434529492470306912011-07-08T20:34:00.001-04:002011-07-08T20:37:45.365-04:00

So, a friend of mine has two kids who are beyond funny, especially in their conversations with each other. She has a running series on her blog that is up to like 56 entries just based on funny things they have said. Seriously, go check out Amy and her blog, paying close attention to THIS grouping of her blog posts. She suggested that I start such a series on my blog as well when I asked for

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-32579586280417849142011-07-05T07:21:00.000-04:002011-07-05T07:21:27.506-04:00

Hard to believe it, but there are things that happened this weekend that we did not do. What we did this weekend was: Behind the Scenes tour of The World Aquarium. (It is no National Aquarium, but it was nice) Family Movie Night watching Megamind for the first time Church and catching up with folks we have not seen in weeks Fair Saint Louis to see a local band we like (Cut short because of fun

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-68846826940025328912011-06-22T08:04:00.002-04:002011-06-22T08:04:50.107-04:00

Abby had her "Well Child" visit at the pediatrician on Monday and it went really well. This was her first real visit at the doctor since we moved - we have done a flu shot and one trip to the emergency clinic, but those have been a long time ago. So, the stats: Height: 40.5 inches Weight: 36.2 pounds Awesomeness: High, though not actually measured in any test form, just my opinion. Abby made

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-89145627294174969192011-06-16T08:12:00.000-04:002011-06-16T08:12:22.997-04:00

On Sunday Abby turned four. We actually had two parties to celebrate, but one was back in May before she was done with school for the year! Luckily she understood the reason for the split scene, plus, she got cupcakes twice so that was victory for her. This years party was similar to last years, but much smaller. Don't tell anyone, but the invitations were even extremely similar. Instead of a

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-90372658532588285472011-06-16T07:43:00.000-04:002011-06-16T07:43:00.027-04:00

I forgot to post the video I put together for Abby's Fourth Birthday. It was much harder to whittle down the number of pictures this year - I've taken so many more! Anyway, here is the video: More posts coming about her birthday - but I wanted to be sure I got this on the blog before I forgot!

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-67770163801690498832011-06-08T22:11:00.001-04:002011-06-08T22:20:29.686-04:00

Alternate Title: A New Favorite Picture! Last weekend we took an Epic Roadtrip to Casper, Wyoming, to celebrate the retirement of Anny's parents. It was not only a long road trip, but also a quick one - we left Thursday and returned home on Monday afternoon. The drive took us across the state of Missouri, across the longest state I have ever driven through (Nebraska), and into one of the most

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-71969416431406769992011-06-07T18:27:00.000-04:002011-06-07T18:27:05.716-04:00

Alternate Title: Five Plagues Down, Glad I Have a Daughter!Needless to say, this has already been a crazy year for us with the weather. Starting on December 31st we have had: Tornado hit Sunset Hills, between my work and my wife's, and only about a mile from each. Two snow storms that shut school down for enough days to push end-of-school back by a week An ice storm that helped contribute to

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-19955343335887650022011-05-26T07:12:00.000-04:002011-05-26T07:12:44.086-04:00

For days they were calling for rain, the severe kind, for the whole weekend last week. We had already tossed plans out the window and were trying to think of indoor fun for the family. Saturday morning they changed the forecast from severe to almost-perfect sun and blue sky! Our rain plans converted back to making outside plans really quickly.We spent the morning at the local Renaisance Faire in

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-52401470215314060352011-05-18T06:52:00.001-04:002011-05-18T07:10:41.404-04:00

A while back I wrote a blog post about our infertility journey from the perspective of both of us - I even had Anny proofread and edit as she saw fit. I do not mean to imply that I held anything back because I was afraid of what she would say or think, I just knew that for the post in question it was a retrospective type with a dual purpose, and I value her input on things like that.Yesterday I

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-9781120493340835972011-05-17T07:14:00.000-04:002011-05-17T07:14:05.272-04:00

On Monday my darling little one had a fever, and with daycare involved there are firm rules about that. Sniffles are okay, whining is okay, but fevers end the conversation about whether or not to send a child to daycare. I totally get that - better to keep any illness in the house of one instead of passing around the whole group! After a morning of taking Abby to my office to get some

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-6554042652668331872011-05-15T06:28:00.002-04:002011-05-15T06:28:00.348-04:00

Abby is already focused on her birthday, but is aware that there is a lot that happens between now and June 12th! Next weekend is Paul's birthday and Renaissance Faire The week following is the last week of day care for the year Then a holiday weekend Then a day at work with mom & dad (half at each) and a day at a friend's to finish out Anny's school year Then a driving adventure to Wyoming to

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-8408323722169443602011-05-13T18:20:00.001-04:002011-05-13T18:21:27.836-04:00

Took this picture on Mother's Day. What is funny is that I had no expectations about the hike, just wanted to get Abby out of the apartment and give her a way to be in charge, which we did. Last fall Abby and her friends at daycare went to this place - Quarry Park in Kirkwood - and there was a whole story about one of them pushing the Park Ranger Emergency Call button and then having to

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-32133707503473505882011-05-09T19:10:00.000-04:002011-05-09T19:10:31.486-04:00

Alternate Title: A Week of Fun in 13 Hours!First off - Anny got her first Mother's Day Card from me, on this, her third Mother's Day. I didn't want to do it, I'm stubborn like that, but I was stranded at Target for five minutes, and cards are cheaper than other things I could have spent money on!On Saturday I asked Abby if she wanted to get Anny flowers for Sunday, but she insisted against in

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-52024704172375714992011-05-06T07:56:00.001-04:002011-05-06T07:57:15.807-04:00

(or Friday Photoblogging, or whatever - here's a picture and a story!) Our Little Reader Abby has always wanted to read. We have made a point of reading to her at bed time, or any time she asks, since she was about six months old. I am not a reader, but I seem to be the only one in my family line that feels that way. I blame laziness - on my part - for my lack of reading! Abby and Anny go to

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-22762680152650136372011-04-28T07:14:00.000-04:002011-04-28T07:14:44.776-04:00

Alternate Title: New Meme to Join in On! My friend Beth over at Laugh until you Cry is starting up a fun Meme that I have been thinking about for some time now. In my head I've wanted a weekly "Picture and a Thousand Words" type of thing, but as soon as I was ready to get it out the gate I started working a job with less flexibility on time - mostly the issue that I don't get home with enough "

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-16437515613997420512011-04-20T21:36:00.000-04:002011-04-20T21:36:04.761-04:00

I've told you that we live in an apartment, right? We are up on the third floor of a corner unit and it makes for good stuff most of the time: We save on energy costs because of the shared space We do not have to shovel when it snows, or deal with water issues when it rains Do you know how much cheaper it is to have Renters Insurance instead of Homeowners? We lucked into a great place with lots

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-69204972826432773012011-04-10T22:28:00.000-04:002011-04-10T22:28:12.040-04:00

Alternate Title: Who Actually Wants to Watch These? I know, I know. Anny has asked me in the past not to post video's because nobody wants to watch them. I beg to differ, or choose to ignore. Oh well. Both of these are from Saturday, a day which will warrant it's own blog post.  Ice SkatingAbby had a different teacher and she really connected by offering a different approach to how to get moving

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-7004823241708373032011-04-08T06:32:00.000-04:002011-04-08T06:32:31.110-04:00

Alternate Title: Wow what a week! Saturday: Went, on a whim, to Wetlands Day for Kids at the August A Busch Memorial Conservation Area. We got a hike in, but first Abby got to "fish" on a blue tarp, and we got to see some cool owls:  Sunday: A different picture from the hike at Powder Valley Nature Park, which brought about the previous post about Throwing Away Abby's Fears. Tuesday: Abby was

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-11157764949009978262011-04-06T22:00:00.001-04:002011-04-06T22:01:33.315-04:00

Alternate Title: Our Daycare Provider is a Genius! Abby has had issues with playground equipment since she was run down by too-big kids on some equipment when she was 18 months old. Yes, she still holds onto this two years later. She was on the playground equipment at Greenbelt Lake, one of the kinds with the metal structure that has holes all through it - you know the kind: We have tried

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-3861850049774475782011-03-26T06:29:00.004-04:002011-03-26T06:29:00.235-04:00

Alternate Title: Broomball Tournament Time! Last Saturday I played in a broomball tournament as part of the Deaf Inc. Winterfest. Deaf Inc provides ASL classes, interpreting services and advocates for the deaf and hard of hearing. If you remember back to when we were teaching Abby ASL with Signing Time, I know a little. Turns out, a lot of my signs came back to me, and I will admit to watching

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-69705370984953570662011-03-25T21:15:00.000-04:002011-03-25T21:15:13.043-04:00

The In-Laws came into town this week to watch Abby. Abby's spring break and Anny's did not line up because they operate in two different school district schedules. There are occasional days here and there that get annoying, but a full week meant bringing in reinforcements so neither of us had to take a chunk of time off. Our apartment is spacious, as I've said before. Each room is oversized,

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-24031634471365401822011-03-09T06:52:00.000-05:002011-03-09T06:52:54.170-05:00

Have not done a Wordless Wednesday submission for a while... Go check out more at http://www.wordlesswednesday.com/newhome/!

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-76480694599089707822011-03-08T06:08:00.000-05:002011-03-08T06:08:41.192-05:00

I don't know how to write a post about this. Our whole home-ownership story is filled with chaos and bad decisions, starting with the day we signed the purchase papers almost five years ago. We have learned a lot about ourselves as people, learned a lot about the goals we have for our life and learned many, many hard lessons about finances. We love the house, but for us it was a bad choice.

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-26993614344103191172011-03-07T07:43:00.000-05:002011-03-07T07:43:00.737-05:00

Okay, so maybe the blog title is a bit strong, but in my head it is sung to the tune of "Breaking Up is Hard to Do" by Neil Sedaka. We have been here in Missouri for a while now. We have made several friends and sets of friends. We each have friends at work, and we have friends from church. We have Paul and Sarahlynn, obviously, they are the reason we moved here! Anny and I are nice people and

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-16394706335026592082011-03-05T10:20:00.000-05:002011-03-05T10:20:42.725-05:00

We moved right after the Fourth of July of last summer. I had an interview 48 hours after we got into town, wearing shoes that were less than 12 hours old. Do not know if it was the shoes or the actual interview, but I got the job and started on August 8th. That means this week will be seven months! I have avoided work talk on the blog, but only because I am not completely sure of the

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-35021355915679448852011-02-27T09:19:00.000-05:002011-02-27T09:19:55.490-05:00

Anny had to work yesterday, so I spent the morning cleaning the apartment before getting Abby ready for out-and-about. We would have done the laundry too, but Anny wants an excuse to get out of the house today during hockey time on the TV. (Editing to not that NBC is going to run golf instead of hockey. Makes sense, less camera work and much longer means cheaper labor and more commercials. Stupid

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-79039638363122585372011-02-20T08:07:00.001-05:002011-02-20T08:07:00.551-05:00

Another random tidbit post - woo hoo! ** ** ** Abby has recently taken to "writing letters" to her three cousins. This consists of finding a pad of paper (readily available for her use) and scribbling lines across it. They often consist of her saying   Dear Ada/Ellie/Baby Shannon, I want you to know that you are welcome to visit my apartment any time. Please come over today. Thank you, Abby

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-20967274541581046132011-02-19T10:02:00.000-05:002011-02-19T10:02:21.590-05:00

Recently I stumbled upon a co-worker's office and noticed a strange sight - an autographed broom. Since his boss had a signed bowling ball, it was a little bit less strange. I questioned why she got the ball and he got a broom. Turns out he plays on a broomball team at Steinberg Ice Rink, which is an outdoor ice rink at a Forest Park. Beyond that, it turned out that four other co-workers play on

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-77513437295666282472011-02-16T20:23:00.000-05:002011-02-16T20:23:22.896-05:00

Not the easiest to make out because she was using a workshop-pencil, but this morning Abby wrote her first word completely on her own and completely unprompted! She knows how to spell some words because she does "exercises" on the computer where she types: Abby M Mommy Daddy Dog Anny Rob We have not pushed much on the handwritten words just yet, though she does have a dry-erase book that she

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-42195622183593483532011-02-14T04:50:00.000-05:002011-02-13T17:32:31.078-05:00

For many years of our togetherness, Anny and I have done appetizers and desert for big "couple days" like Valentine's and our Anniversary. This year I got a crazy deal on Mamapedia.com for a great deal on Sheri's Berries. You know me, the $15 for $30 was not good enough for me. I used our $30 to buy berries that came with a $25 gift certificate to Restaurants.com. By my math, I got the a dozen

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-27158821533036504552011-02-13T13:54:00.001-05:002011-02-13T13:54:40.993-05:00

Abby and Played with Lego's yesterday while Anny was out doing laundry. She gets her quiet time that way, and I get to have Abby time. Win Win in our house! I have been working on a boat for a while and helping Abby work on smaller things. I wish we had one of the cool train sets that we saw a few weeks back, but that is not in the cards for us right now. Might be more inclined if Abby played

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-17893654997077615062011-02-12T14:35:00.001-05:002011-02-12T14:38:40.435-05:00

Finally a day with temperatures above 30 - and on a Saturday too?! We took off to the Missouri Botanical Garden, which is free to St Louis County Residents on Saturday mornings. Even more bonus! Normally what happens when we go places like this is that Anny and Abby run through and I drag my feet, trying to find pictures that I can be happy with. Sometimes those pictures don't have Abby simply

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-81026363141920919472011-02-07T04:19:00.000-05:002011-02-07T04:19:00.568-05:00

Seems that people are confused about where we live, so I wanted to do a post (or two) about where we have moved. Let's start with where we have not moved: Canada - you don't need a passport to get here, you know, if you want to visit Michigan - it's just not that snowy here - well, not normally Mexico - sorry, I don't like Dos Equis, so we opted for slightly more north Where we did move to is

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-8890252378620225952011-02-05T08:06:00.000-05:002011-02-05T08:06:15.892-05:00

(For those who are not local, some back story: there is this child-centric, totally hands on "museum" in St Louis that we have always liked. The first time that Anny or I had been there was ten years ago for a wedding - the whole place was filled with craziness of adults on a Saturday night having a blast doing a bunch of stuff designed for kids! What fun. More specifically, I should say, The

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-9549757900017669992011-01-29T20:55:00.000-05:002011-01-29T20:55:51.134-05:00

In the past I have avoided looking into the future of my kidney disease, while focusing on the here and now of my disease. That has begun to change in the last year, and if you recall I started the year by reading (and reviewing) a book about chronic illness, from diagnosis to postmortem.  I received an email late last summer asking if I wanted to read a book. I ignored it, but only because

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-17060764581413989152011-01-28T20:47:00.000-05:002011-01-28T20:47:09.021-05:00

Abby's preschool/daycare is just so awesome. For five Fridays in January/February they go ice skating for the afternoon public session. Parents are invites, but since I left early last Friday I had decided I would pass up the trip this time and take Abby on a weekend, just us. I am so glad that my co-workers (and boss) declared that I needed to leave early and go spend some time on the ice with

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-27173316575932143632011-01-25T22:10:00.000-05:002011-01-25T22:10:11.975-05:00

I am not blogging about ways to bend and twist my three-and-a-half year old - I am blogging again about the resiliency of our girlie girl. She has been through so much in the last year and has rarely been whiny and never made us regret any of the decisions that we have made. No small feat, you know. On Friday of last week Abby's daycare was closed due to... well, let's just take the easier

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-58017046958778941262011-01-18T08:32:00.001-05:002011-01-18T08:32:34.192-05:00

Abby has taken to leading us in prayer at home - communal style! Wanted to share one of the prayers - this is a SHORT one! Abby's Prayer from Anny and Rob on Vimeo.

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-4776426876783503872011-01-09T18:19:00.000-05:002011-01-09T18:19:30.915-05:00

So last week I declared that I would hang things on the walls this weekend, and I have!  I have hung four things, which is not great considering there are about ten more to go.  A good deal of our battle, though, came from deciding what to hang up at all.  We did not do a great job of sorting before we moved from Maryland, and that was mostly due to the fact that we did not know how or where we

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-59035357560518638022011-01-06T07:24:00.000-05:002011-01-06T07:24:56.360-05:00

Funny thing again coming from the difference between what we do at home and school, and both sides actually being in the dark because Abby is the one with the creativity... Yesterday morning when Abby sat down for breakfast, she asked for a good, square breakfast.  Bing the good dad that I am, I brought her two eggs (whites only), whole wheat toast, a bowl of Cheerio's and orange juice.  What,

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-81859535695348052202011-01-04T22:29:00.000-05:002011-01-04T22:29:57.548-05:00

Okay, so I am realizing that I am really not feeling settled yet, and it's more of a physical thing than a mental thing.  We moved into our apartment on Halloween and things got out of boxes at a fast clip for about a week.  We sorted out clothes and kitchen stuff.  We basically unboxed a full wardrobe for Abby.  Funny story about that - we only anticipated on living with Paul and Sarahlynn for

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-29259859200562112242011-01-03T09:38:00.000-05:002011-01-03T09:38:41.986-05:00

I can acknowledge that I have a biased view: most of the time Abby is adorable.  Some of the time she is just downright... well... three.  Right now is one of those times.  She is insisting that I am "mama" since Anny had to go to work today and Abby and I are hanging out by ourselves today.  We have a fun day planned that includes The Magic House and lunch out - mostly to compete with the fun

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-56127099859829591742011-01-01T15:22:00.000-05:002011-01-01T15:22:10.829-05:00

A couple of times I have taken the first line of the first blog post of each month, but 2010 was fairly light on the blog because of the craziness of two moves in five months, living with another family for four of those months, yada yada yada. What I have done, for the most part, is keep up with picture taking.  While I have abandoned Flickr because I don't have time to keep up the way I would

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-31891067073497485812010-12-23T07:51:00.000-05:002010-12-23T07:51:52.828-05:00

I have been waking up really early lately.  I can blame it on many things ranging from Abby making noise in the other room to drinking WAY too much water after dinner and the call of nature.  I don't know why my body will not let me go back to sleep, but it is annoying! With that, you get a snipped blog post: Work: Love where I work.  Love who I work with and work for.  I have been given both

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-15897209428249164472010-12-12T15:10:00.001-05:002010-12-12T15:13:02.891-05:00

It is a bit long, but I wanted to post it to share.  As I was trying to convince Abby it was time to go to bed last night, she decided she needed to tell me the Story of Baby Jesus.  She was so meticulous, and told me three times.  Decided to grab the camera to record for posterity. :o) The sound quality is not great, might have to look at a Flip Video camera sometime in the near future, but

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-21783455832201884982010-12-05T20:59:00.000-05:002010-12-05T20:59:20.359-05:00

Best Christmas Tree - potted and in the house for a few weeks, planted in the yard following the holidays Great Christmas Tree A- Fresh, locally cut pine Great Christmas Tree B- Fake tree, bells and whistles, kept for many years to balance out environmental impacts and such Good Christmas Tree - Real tree, imported across hundreds of miles - but at least it gets composted. Yes, that is a

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-83577878316000500782010-12-02T07:58:00.000-05:002010-12-02T07:58:40.950-05:00

(So - no BS about why I have not blogged. Been busy, still adjusting, blah blah blah.  All true, but doesn't matter.) A friend from church was given a pair of tickets to the Blues game last night - when my team from DC was visiting!  She is a hockey fan, so clearly we had talked about my love of the sport and how I would love to get tickets to the game.  Wow am I glad I have a big mouth - she

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-70424967748678505162010-10-25T01:31:00.003-04:002010-10-25T01:31:00.167-04:00

So, yeah - we went to the St Louis Arch last month after having talked about going for about seven years!  It was a great day, especially considering we kind of decided spur of the moment to go! We got there early, as they insisted, and walked around the Westward Expansion museum that is housed in the underground part of the arch. Pretty cool stuff that included real artifacts as well as very

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-50254173085354668192010-10-22T21:18:00.000-04:002010-10-22T21:18:10.411-04:00

My family is not one of nudists, just to get that out in the open (ahem), but we are not shy about bodies, especially since we are sharing one bedroom (our choice) and one small bathroom. It’s not out of the ordinary to have two of us doing different things in the bathroom at the same time, and when Abby is trying to get extra attention, she might pop in for a random tooth brushing. Up until

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-86046449201078121882010-09-10T20:19:00.002-04:002010-09-10T20:19:31.651-04:00

Long update in quick snippets – Abby – Has had a cough for a week, but only when she is sleeping or laying down. She does this about three times a year when the seasons change drastically, as it has done here over the last ten days. I’ve slept on the couch with her a lot so that she is more upright. Loves her school. Raves about it every day. She is getting into “projects” and brings stuff

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-74100420875205706692010-08-17T20:24:00.000-04:002010-08-17T20:24:34.374-04:00

Phew. Summer really is over in our family, starting today. Anny got her new students for the first *real* day of school, Abby went to daycare and I went to work. Now we can let things really settle into place. But I will miss summer this year more than most. I got to spend a lot more time at home with Abby and Anny than usual, and probably more than I will again in the foreseeable future in such

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-26022647804470644312010-07-30T18:43:00.000-04:002010-07-30T18:43:59.000-04:00

With our wonderful house hosts being out of town, we have been left to our own imaginations as to ways to occupy our time in a new place this week.  I has been, in a word, insanity! We have visited five malls.  Really, five different malls.  And Target and the grocery store too, come to think of it.  Lots of shopping.  The weather has been either really hot or really wet (as it is right now),

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-58676361973470580322010-07-30T17:44:00.002-04:002010-07-30T17:44:45.006-04:00

All sorts of things are changing all around me, so when Blogger offered an easy way to jazz up the look of my blog, I hopped on it.  If you read through a reader, click through for a change.  Just this once.

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-57020378038293752722010-07-11T07:16:00.002-04:002010-07-11T07:16:56.468-04:00

This week I had three interviews with the same company for the same position. I am hopeful to share with you soon that they have extended an offer of employment, but in case they do not and I want to apply for another position later there, I will withhold the company name. The first of the interviews was REALLY fun! Strange, but fun. They went into strange office details, and even showed me a

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-1868660863027762292010-07-06T22:01:00.000-04:002010-07-06T22:01:55.567-04:00

Day two of driving was excellent, if not downright boring.  At one point I pulled up Bill Cosby and Jim Gaffigan because I knew that laughs would keep me more alert than just my normal "Monroe Weekend" play list on the iPod.  I will admit it was pretty fun when my Father in Law was jamming with me to Under the Bridge by the Red Hot Chili Peppers!  He complimented me on my generous mix of all

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-74616633669654075452010-07-05T05:28:00.000-04:002010-07-05T05:28:17.258-04:00

It's 5:09 am where I am.  In two days it will be 4:09 am where I will be.  Where we will live.  We are excited about being in Saint Louis and being closer to our nieces and Anny's brother and his wife.  Between now and then, though, there is some logistical chaos of finishing packing the POD with odds and ends like "our beds" and such silly stuff.  They will go in after we have breakfast.  Anny

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-22860969194963133152010-06-30T05:17:00.000-04:002010-06-30T05:17:44.742-04:00

Not blogging recently.  Everything is okay, just hard to make time to "journal" all that is going on. I did want to take a moment to say how overwhelmed Anny and I are by the outpouring of love and support that we are getting from our friends and co-workers. Anny's teacher-friends threw her a surprise party, complete with Rob-who-should-have-been-at-work!  When I walked in I was not greeted

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-40788195457330109882010-06-20T21:49:00.000-04:002010-06-20T21:49:21.872-04:00

I meant to write this earlier and time just seems to get away from me.  This is actually a post ABOUT Rob, written by Anny. Rob is an amazing parent.  It can be difficult to boast about him because I often feel guilty for having gotten so lucky.  Rob changed diapers from the very first day, and in our case, washed them too.  Some of my contemporaries joke that it takes more work to leave dad

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-54852573294953662962010-06-17T19:16:00.000-04:002010-06-17T19:16:39.009-04:00

This evening on the way home from the grocery store Abby was singing in the backseat. She was mostly practicing her songs for tomorrows Father's Day program at daycare.  Too cute. But then she pulled out the grace that she sings when she is in Sunday School.  It's fast, it's easy and it fun: A - B - C - D - E - F - G - Thank You God for feeding me! I told her that when we move to Saint Louis

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-62712425805286594622010-06-12T05:16:00.000-04:002010-06-12T05:16:00.570-04:00

My Dearest Abby - Today you turn three years old.  We will wake you up with what has become our every-birthday playlist of "It's Your Birthday" by Justin Roberts, "La-Di-Da-Di, It's Your Birthday" by Rachel Coleman and "My Best Day" by Trout Fishing in America.  We enjoy singing these songs because they capture the spirit of birthdays, and they set the tone early in the morning for what a great

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-43133189682659986172010-06-11T19:37:00.000-04:002010-06-11T19:37:49.128-04:00

Abby is turning three tomorrow!  Since I have a sappy post lined up to publish in the morning, I'm sneaking this video slideshow in this evening!  I hope you enjoy the pictures! Abby Turns Three! from Anny and Rob on Vimeo.

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-43674237416765961232010-06-10T06:29:00.000-04:002010-06-10T06:29:00.369-04:00

During Coloring Time this week, Abby was asked to complete the sentence "The sea turtle saw some things in the sea.  It saw..."  I should tell you that I have rarely seen black crayon come home on the stuff she brings home from school - she tends to go for bright colors first.  This day, though, I guess she reached to her inner Tree-Hugger-To-Be and came up with this take on the Oil Leak:  The

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-73019818628394187822010-06-09T17:05:00.000-04:002010-06-09T17:05:00.247-04:00

I know that it's been too long since writing on my blog when my friend Bryan has noticed!  He gave me grief about it Tuesday night, and thus I will write something.  I think I filled him in on everything, but not the rest of you! Abby: She'll be three on Saturday.  THREE!  I'm already to the "what was there before Abby" point in her life, and I love it!  We have festivities planned to fill every

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-36500964961832357202010-06-09T05:28:00.002-04:002010-06-09T05:28:59.563-04:00

More wordless fun at www.wordlesswednesday.com/newhome

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-15213711800541294392010-06-01T17:39:00.000-04:002010-06-01T17:39:00.541-04:00

We had a whirlwind of a weekend that started with two trips to two malls and ended with a nice, quiet dinner at home.  I could write ten posts and not capture the sheer awesomeness of three days with little to no requirements of schedule.  Instead I will tell you, in pictures, about our trip to Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, Maryland.  (Their website is www.brooksidegardens.org in case you want

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-9839419372466688902010-05-26T06:43:00.000-04:002010-05-26T06:43:44.817-04:00

More wordless fun at www.wordlesswednesday.com/newhome/

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-20247085718818827002010-05-24T17:24:00.001-04:002010-05-24T17:24:00.105-04:00

We are in the process of clearing out the food that is in our freezer.  Part of this is because it's time to defrost and it's easier if the freezer is empty.  Most of it is because we are not moving food with us, so we might as well use it. That is why we had something new this week (yesterday).  A few months ago I caught the vacuum sealed Alaskan Farm Raised Crab packages at a ridiculous price.

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-55531302620148725502010-05-19T06:18:00.001-04:002010-05-19T07:33:01.465-04:00

Just goofing around after work last week and got this shot.  She's a cutie, and knows it! More wordless fun at http://www.wordlesswednesday.com/newhome/

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-45130959864742850342010-05-18T18:55:00.000-04:002010-05-18T18:55:54.661-04:00

Wow - so last weekend was busy and I have yet to blog about it.  I'm just finishing dinner on Tuesday, having planned to "pen" this yesterday, but alas we had no internet, phone or TV.  I seriously don't know what I did with my time before either Abby or the web in my life.  Seriously.  I do know I was skinnier... Anyway - busy weekend, I'll recap! Friday - Still hurting from my wisdom tooth

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-55755099979712301482010-05-13T19:12:00.000-04:002010-05-13T19:12:02.682-04:00

I went to the dentist this morning.  I cracked a tooth that has lost a previous filling and went in with the sole intention of having it re-filled. After getting to the office early, I sat and waited to be called back.  20 minutes late, I got called back and explained what I was there for.  The dental assistant took an X-Ray, which was very cool because the image immediately popped up on a

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-74235081444702743072010-05-12T06:08:00.001-04:002010-05-12T06:08:00.185-04:00

Our tough little girl took a spill - and I grabbed the camera and THEN cleaned her up! More wordless entries at www.wordlesswednesday.com!

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-63840650719967441602010-05-11T19:39:00.002-04:002010-05-11T19:39:00.278-04:00

A post about modeling.    (Sorry to disappoint you with no pictures of me in the newest clothes to hit the runway - you're welcome.  This is not about that kind of modeling.) We try very hard in our house to value each other as well as every person or animal that we meet.  It is not actually all that hard, I tend to view people in their positive light before I ever notice their flaws. 

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-21813634533480760422010-05-11T06:09:00.000-04:002010-05-11T09:35:34.148-04:00

Crazy weekend that ended up with me being really sore and not feeling like blogging on Sunday night or Monday morning.  Last week I mentioned that we were doing a new slow cooker brisket recipe, and shortly after that I realized that it took 24 hours to crock pot.  It was awesome, and made two complete meals for us! This week we are intentionally incorporating two of the meals from the frozen

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-9152765214247151562010-05-07T17:30:00.000-04:002010-05-07T17:30:00.426-04:00

On Sunday of last week we went to my brother and sister-in-laws house for a different sort of party - a party focused on frozen food! It's an idea that I had a few years ago, when we needed to stock the freezer before Abby was born, but never got enough support to pull it off. I was very glad to have Nadia (SIL) ask me about doing one this spring as they are expecting. The process was as such

Rob Monroehttps://profiles.google.com/118226062713294900851noreply@blogger.com5