project #1

Kyra's first project of middle school is due tomorrow. I found out about it on Tuesday and we had to go shopping for supplies that night. She started on it on Wednesday and finished it this evening. In Language Arts they had to create a 3-D item that expressed their strengths. She answered a questionaire in class that indicated she is number smart and body smart (athletics). So her 3-D object illustrated these qualities. 22 is her favorite number and it's related to sports so it fits both categories. It became her favorite number a few years ago when we went to a high school basketball game and she thought #22 was an amazing player. So last year, when she could chose her basketball uniform number, she chose 22.

She incorporated her favorite sports (horseback riding, basketball, swimming, and tennis). She added sheets that have multiplication facts on the first 2 (hard to tell from this photo angle). She's actually weak in multiplication tables so she put the ones on there that were her weakest to help her study/remember. She has pictures of her at age 5 or 6 on her favorite horse, of her in a tennis pose, and of her and her current BFF, Bryn. (Thanks Lisa for photographing them!) She used modeling clay to make a horse and a diving block. We later added flags on the toothpicks over the pool near the diving block (1). [She burned her finger on the hot glue gun so I had to do this later.]  She filled the pool with clear elmer's glue and it looks like water. She chose orange and blue to paint the 22 since they are school colors. And she added green dots to the base since green is her favorite color. I think she did an excellent job! There is significance in every aspect.

100

Kyra told me this evening that she received her first grade since she started middle school. She walked into the kitchen with a slip of paper in her hand. She said it was for the letter she had to write in Language Arts. I had proof-read that homework assignment so I suspected it was good news. However, she's a decent actress, put on her pouty face and made me promise to not get mad... Uh oh... How could she have not made a great grade on that grammatically correct letter on the topic specified? Was she supposed to write more? Were they being graded on a higher level of writing? A million questions popped into my head as she backed out of the kitchen. I promised I wouldn't get mad... We would learn from her mistakes... The little stinker handed me the grading slip:  100%. Woohoo! Of course I'm not mad; I'm very proud!!! Way to go, Kyra!!!

llama? emu? horse?

Is that a llama or an emu or a horse walking down the sidewalk of a busy street in Atlanta? Weird... I worked late today since Kyra is with her dad tonight. I wondered why traffic was so bad at almost 8 p.m. And then I saw the sights... A llama/emu/horse was walking down the sidewalk and into the street in the Decatur area. And it had an entourage of people following it. The photo isn't the greatest, but it's the best I could do; the animal is walking into the wooded area on the left. Crazy!

kitten update

This is a kitten update since they looked so cute cuddling together. Daisy (white) and Diesel are so much fun. And Riley is enjoying shredding their bed (see torn edges on left). Tasha likes to chase them and Tiger still hisses at everyone. Kyra's demoted Tiger to pet #6. Kyra's order system used to be based on longest time as a family member, but has now been adjusted to:

1. Tasha (oldest dog: siberian husky mix)
2. Riley (youngest dog: golden retriever)
3. Daisy (white kitten pictured)
4. Diesel (grey/black kitten pictured)
5. Bam Bam (betta fish), and
6. Tiger (oldest cat/oldest pet/meanest pet).

Colleen & Kyra's cooking show

Colleen came over this afternoon for another filming of Colleen & Kyra's Cooking Show. I created a separate blog to upload video's but I can't get the videos to upload. I'm guessing it's because of the file size. If you know how to reduce the file size on a video, please let me know. The video quality isn't the greatest, but the girls are hilarious!

First day of Middle School

Today was the first day of Middle School. She was so nervous. And I think she may have been even more embarrassed that I was taking pictures of her getting on the school bus. She is starting middle school, after all, not in kindergarten!

And on that topic... the middle school bus comes 45 minutes after the elementary school bus. As we were eating breakfast, she looked out the window and announced that she's been "replaced" on the elementary school bus. Our next door neighbor's oldest son is apparently starting kindergarten this year. Awww... how sweet!

13 was almost my unlucky number... Run Streak Day #13, that is... It was a busy day trying to get ready for the first day of Middle School (for Kyra) tomorrow. While I was on the computer looking up the school supply list, she decided that I needed lotion on my feet... Then she had fun playing and wrote "I am crazy" on my calf. She grabbed my iPhone and snapped this photo. I suspected something was up, but she let me walk around for a while before telling me I should rub the lotion in before we left to go shopping... Thanks honey!

Too much to do and not enough hours in the day. Mid-afternoon Kyra said, "We don't live in Lawrenceville, Snellville or Loganville. We live in STRESSVILLE!" And I couldn't agree more. She's stressing over the first day of middle school, and I'm stressing over how to get a zillion things accomplished before bedtime. Something had to give... We mutually agreed to skip the swim team party and I came to the decision at dinner time, that my run streak would come to a temporary end.

Exhausted, I fell asleep at 10 p.m. But woke up an hour later, stressed and not able to go back to sleep. I decided to get up and run on the treadmill in the basement (while girlie slept peacefully upstairs) to keep the streak alive for one more day and hopefully bring my stress level back down. Mission accomplished. Now time to climb back in bed for a few hours... night night

stop to smell the honeysuckle

I'm getting bored with my regular running routes, so this morning I headed out in the opposite direction than I normally do. I went places that I haven't been in years. Walked when I felt like I needed. Even stopped to smell the honeysuckle. Change is good.
Afterwards, I showered and went to Becca's house. The parents were invited to join them for a cook-out at noon. I enjoyed meeting new people, chatting with an old aquaintance, and being in a totally different environment. I was impressed with how they were coping with the different challenges each family was going through. I felt totally welcomed into this environment and completely at ease. Kyra had a blast playing with her friends; I think she only spoke to me 3 times.... which is a good sign!

She broke down in anger when I wouldn't allow her to invite Becca to go home with us. I know this came from exhaustion. I promised that we would invite Becca over on another weekend (she still had guests). Neither Kyra nor Becca were happy with this, but I held firm and eventually walked away. I'm not going to allow her to continue to argue with me about this. I know she's exhausted, so I don't hold the argument against her, but peacefully step back.

We eventually left, after saying many thanks and planning to get together again soon. Kyra sulked and was quiet most of the drive home. But thankfully, after dinner, she perked back up. I'm so grateful for new friends and experiences!

kitties love granny

Daisy and Diesel are just too cute cuddled in my Granny's rocking chair!

Yesterday was Open House at Kyra's middle school. Traffic was horrible and I had to park on the road about a quarter-mile from the school. I wish I had worn my hiking boots instead of sandals. Once inside, it was chaos. We met her homeroom teacher, she picked a locker, and we caught up with old friends. Afterwards, we ate at our favorite Chinese restaurant (Mah Jong) and our fortune cookies had our favorite numbers! Then we bought as many school supplies as we could find. Next was the AT&T store... Kyra killed her phone a week or so ago by placing it near the snow-cone machine, which dripped water onto her phone from the melting ice. So, since our contracts are nearing expiration, I ordered a new iPhone 4 and bought her a new phone as well.

This afternoon I took her to Becca's house. Becca has an annual end-of-summer party and she invited Kyra this year. They've been friends at Day Care for years and have grown closer this year. Becca is 5 days older than Kyra. After dropping her off, I went grocery shopping and then came home. We exchanged a few text messages and I enjoyed reading Becca's mom's posts on Facebook about the non-sleep-over party antics. So glad she's having fun!

purple streak

July was a less than stellar training month for me. My foot hurt and I lacked motivation. I came up with excuse after excuse after excuse to not run. And then I got tired of my excuses... mad at myself... totally fired up... and then decided to start a "streak". A running streak, that is. I think consistency is a must for me right now. I decided to start on Tuesday, 7/27. I didn't set any distance goals for this week other than to run at least one mile a day, and a long run of 12 miles on Sunday. (I've got to get my butt in gear since the Chicago marathon is only 10 weeks away.) I also planned to take the pups to run a mile each, every other day, and let them set the pace. They are soooo out of shape! I didn't tell anyone my intention of this running streak for fear of failing on yet another lofty goal. I kept the secret to myself until I reached 4 days of running in a row... the longest streak I think I've ever done. woo hoo! I can do this! But my plantar fascia wasn't too happy on day 4. I iced it off and on all that day. The next day, the plantar fasciitis pain was gone. Could it be possible that this streak is actually helping my PF? And today is day 6, no PF pain and goals accomplished for the week. 1-2 miles each day, starting on Tuesday, and 12 miles today for a total of 20.89 miles for the week.


So to celebrate this crazy new running streak, I opted for a wild purple streak of color in my hair. I totally love it! Hmmm... wonder what my boss is going to say... will he notice?

cutting Barbie's/Riley's hair?

OMG! I had an insane memory flashback this afternoon. Kyra took the dogs outside for them to go potty. They'd been in the backyard for a while and I started to wonder what they were up to. I didn't hear her yelling commands or praising them, so I got that odd feeling that something was amiss. So I looked out of my bathroom window and saw Kyra cutting Riley's fur with scissors! She claimed that he has lots of burrs in his fur that she couldn't easily pick out, so she decided to cut them out.

This vividly brought back a memory from almost 9 years ago... On August 29, 2002, Kyra was in the bathroom a little too long... She was 3, almost 4, years old at the time and she typically wanted me to go into the bathroom with her. On this particular day, she told me that she was going to go potty all by herself. I remember saying a silent "WOOHOO!" that she'd taken the next step towards independence.

After several minutes passed, she was still in the bathroom, so I asked through the door if she was okay. Her reply was yes. A few minutes after that, I asked again if everything was okay and her reply was still yes. About 10 minutes after she first entered the bathroom, I really was starting to wonder. So I rephrased the question... "what are you doing in there?"  And her even-keeled, matter-of-fact response was, "I'm cutting Barbie's hair." At this, I immediately opened the bathroom door and was stunned with my response. I had majorly mixed emotions. I was enraged, yet laughing! How dare she do this just days before starting pre-K! Yes, at that very moment she was cutting Barbie's hair, but obviously before that, she cut her own hair. When I asked for an explanation, she said that her bangs were in her eyes so she decided to cut them too.  ARGH!!! She cut them to her scalp, as well as took a chunk out of the side of her hair!

At least today had a happy ending. Kyra didn't cut her hair before her first day of middle school, only Riley's. He looks a little odd, but I'm hoping his hair will grow back. And I'm grateful for her triggering a zany memory!!!

Daisy and Diesel

Just couldn't resist posting this cute photo of Daisy and Diesel lounging in the kitchen. We're really enjoying having them in the family! Sweet, fun kitties!!!

kitties like scallops

Today was a great day! I had an awesome run/hike on the trails at Stone Mountain this morning. Then I took my car in for a service and the service manager remembered my name. Didn't have to wait too long and then stopped by Whole Foods Market on my way home. I love that store! So much amazingly fresh produce and fun new things to try. I bought lots of fresh fruits and vegies. And I decided on scallops for dinner. I bought a pound, thinking I would cook enough for several meals and reheat lunches. In hindsight, that may have been a mistake. The kitties and pups played happily in the kitchen while I cooked. They had ignored the open trash can until almost immediately after I unwrapped the scallops and tossed the bag into the can. Guess Diesel likes scallops!

hairspray, 3 years later

Colleen came over to play and spend the night. In the beginning, the fun was centered around the kittens. But as the night went on, they started scheming. While I was making dinner, they were watching videos that I took of them on New Year's Eve, December 31, 2007. That night was hilarious! So, they decided to do a reinactment of one of the videos, a scene from "hairspray".

Unfortunately, I didn't capture as great of a photo this year as I did in 2007, but the videos are hilarious! They had so much fun and I haven't laughed that hard in... days? It's good to laugh, right? They thought the funniest part was when one of their glove boobies popped and the water totally soaked ME. I didn't think that was too funny, but hey... jokes on me!

It's amazing how much the girls have changed. And yes, that is a lot of fruit and pillows stuffed in those dresses (2007 and 2010).

happy family

The pups and kittens are getting along. Riley's still a little shy, but he's tolerant. Tasha loves having something new and fun to chase around! And she loves to put Tiger in her place when she hisses at the kittens. I used to think that the dogs tortured Tiger and kept her forced in the laundry room, but now I'm starting to suspect that it's Tiger that has the social problems.

Pictured above: Kyra's holding Daisy, Bryn is holding Diesel, Tasha is lounging in her classic pose of paws crossed, and Riley is a very tolerant ottoman.

below: close-up of Diesel (left) and Daisy.

tricycle fun

I sure am glad that I've kept the most amazingly sturdy tricycle around for all these years. I don't know why, but all the kids gravitate towards it! Glad that Bryn could come over and play! Looks like children grow in size, but stay young at heart. So much fun and it brings back great memories!

And it's hard to tell from this picture, but Kyra's on her old barbie skate board. The one with the handle that pulls up for those beginner skate boarders.

2 adorable reasons not to take your child to PetsMart on pet adoption day

I swear we went to PetsMart to ONLY buy crickets for Kyra's pet toad and dog food. Before we got there Kyra said, "Hey, it's Saturday... maybe they'll have puppies for adoption." I respond with, "we're only buying crickets and dog food". She says... "what if they have a rodesian ridgeback?" and I respond, "we're only buying crickets and dog food."

We walked in the door and there were crate after crate after crate of cute kitties and cats needing homes. Some older, some wee ones. I'm a cat lover at heart. So as we're looking at them the volunteer asks if we're looking to adopt. I promptly reply, "No, we have a cat, two dogs, a toad and a fish." And that was my stance until we came to Diamond and Diesel... Diesel, what a cool name! The card on their crate said they're only 12 weeks old and have been in 6 different homes so far and need a forever home. Diamond is a gorgeous white kitty with blue eyes and she was cuddling with her brother, Diesel. The card said they needed to be adopted together because they've been through so much change in their young lives and that they are the only stability they've had. They were so cute and their story broke my heart. Kyra asked to hold Diamond, and after a minute or so she insisted that I hold her. She knew I wouldn't be able to resist adopting her after holding her. My heart melted as she purred against my chest and looked up at me with those gorgeous blue eyes. The volunteer said that Diamond was the cutest, but Diesel has the most personality. Kyra picked up Diesel and he playful pawed at her face as he purred against her chest. She looked at me with those pleading, happy eyes and it was hard to say no. Then the volunteer said that if we adopted these two, we not only would be saving their lives, but we would also be saving another kitty's life because she had received a call from someone looking for a rescue group to take in a kitten that was just found abandoned. These people are trained well at pulling at heart strings...

Kyra kept telling me how much Diamond looks like Indy did as a kitten. She was wearing me down. Indy was the second kitten that I ever had as an adult and I've missed her over the past few years. And the next thing I know, I'm saying yes to adopting these two kittens. We both love the name Diesel, but weren't 100% sold on the name of "Diamond". We brainstormed on the drive home... Delilah?  Yes... Daisy? YES!!!  "Dang, what have you talked me into?"? Kyra didn't like that one so much.

We picked up Bryn and then came home to introduce the kitties to the household. By now, I'm beating myself up for not remaining strong and saying no. We really don't "need" any more pets. As the next few hours pass, I become even more stressed. Kyra and Bryn are going to play in the yard and Kyra asks me to check in on the kittens occassionally while they're outside. I'm really starting to stress and beat myself up mentally as I'm making a salad. Then I decide to go into Kyra's room and check on the kittens. They're cuddled up cutely in their new bed. I pet Diesel and he purrs loudly. My heart melts again. I keep petting him and feel the stress leaving my body. And this convinces me that I made the right decision after all. Welcome home Daisy and Diesel!

P.S. Tasha, Riley and Tiger seem to like the kitties too. Yay!

oreos?

Thanks to Riley, I am now craving oreo cookies!  I walked into the living room to find what looked like oreo cookies scattered about. Am I hallucinating? I didn't think we had any cookies in the house. We didn't... But we did once have black and white flip flops... One of which has now been chewed to bits.

recycling art

Beginning in July, our garbage collection service changed. It used to be that you chose which provider you wanted, paid that provider quarterly, and they picked up your trash on their designated day. The problem with this was that each provider picked up on a different day and there would be trash trucks driving through the neighborhood almost every day. The county that we live in decided to make a change. Beginning in July, there is now one provider/pick-up day per area. And... they accept a lot more items for recycling! Yay! Our recycle bin has always been almost full each week and now that they collect even more items, our bin was overflowing mid-week. So I asked Kyra to decorate an extra trash can that we have so we could use it as an extra recycling bin. I think she did a great job! And while she was at it, she decided to paint our mailbox as well. Bonus!

WARNING... frozen water bottles may do more damage than good

I keep a water bottle in the freezer and use it to roll the bottom of my foot on for my plantar fasciitis. It has provided amazing relief until last night... After grocery shopping and adding more stuff into the freezer, the bottle was perched precariously on the edge of the shelf. And then when I opened the freezer to get out the ice cream... I learned a painful lesson. WARNING!!! Frozen water bottles may do more damage than good! As I opened the freezer door, the bottle fell out of the freezer and landed hard on my left bare toes. I screamed bad words, then cried, and proclaimed that I had a broken toe or three... Kyra said that I should ice them immediately, but the thought of putting the offending item on my swelling toes was not appealing. It hurt so bad that I couldn't walk. By the next morning, I was able to limp around. I hope it's not broken... Can you guess which one?

On a happier note...  Enjoyed going to the theater and watching Despicable Me with Kyra and Grace. What a cute movie! I'm glad that Grace could go with us. Once upon a time, Grace's nickname was "minion", which made it even cuter. After the movie I dropped both girls off at Grace's new house for an afternoon of swimming and fun. Love their new house!