Oh yes, it is back to school time and we were caught shopping.
No caption: a picture is truly worth a thousand words.
Seriously, we just needed to get Tyler some shoes for his triathlon last week b/c his shoes were at his mom’s house and they were in the mountains. The kid goes through a pair every 8-10 weeks anyway so we decided to make it his back to school shoes. So then of course Anna needed shoes too. I am still working out the kinks to 1) shopping, 2) shopping with others, and 3) shopping with others who are not in my section. The above pic is the picture I came back to after I looked in the women’s shoe dept.
Obviously every shopping trip needs a break for snacks. Tyler was clearly gearing up for YEARS worth of shopping:
Tyler ends his vegan phase.
Anna has been very good lately about trying new foods. She picked out the horned melon at the grocery store one night, and we had it for dessert. It pretty much tastes like nothing jelly. Here is some proof:
After she and Tyler decided they didn't really want to eat it, they mixed the horned fruit w juice from some oranges we had and made "slop."
Anna was named Citizen of the Week at Northern Elementary School! Her certificate specifically says, “…for demonstrating Self-Discipline and Hawks.” Self-discipline was the character trait of the month in January. Not sure what the whole Hawks thing is besides the school mascot, but whatever. Way to go, Anna!
Ms. Sassafrass Citizen herself hiking w the dogs last month.
This morning we got a automated call from the school saying they were closing 3 hours early because of weather. I went to look outside and there was nothing. I picked the kids up at 11:15 and we are currently sitting at home with me wondering why they are out. It is 12:15 now and it’s 37 degrees and completely dry out! According to the weather channel we could get 6 to 10 inches later this afternoon and tonight, but school gets out at 2:15 anyway so I have no idea what the school board was thinking.
To make it worse the kids went at normal time on Wednesday and I know of at least 5 wrecks that morning because of icy roads. So I guess the take home message is that when the road are icy for sure it’s OK, but when it MIGHT snow they need to close early for safety.
No homework this week because of Thanksgiving! I know I am supposed to be supportive of the public education system and all, but homework in kindergarten seems a bit over the top. Anyhow, we were glad. So we watched Toy Story and played computer before dinner. After dinner we played games, including Candy Land.
We MUST do this more often! The saddest thing ever was getting it set up, Anna choosing a card, then saying, “What do I do? I can’t remember!” I should have known we were in trouble when it turned out to only have 2 game pieces (Mom–is that the game from my childhood?). So Paul got a couple more. I was the green man, Anna was the red man, Tyler was a Transformer from McDonald’s named “S” (no one can remember the real name and it has an S on it). Paul was the Emperor from Star Wars, complete w electricity coming from his finger tips. Awesome. I won once, Anna won the 2nd time. There was also the small side game of Paul running around the board as the Emperor electrocuting people.
Then I read some of A Light in the Attic to them. They now think Wild Strawberries are real (with shark teeth and feet and a tail). Then they borrowed a couple books of mine. [my parents brought me a couple boxes of them last year--VERY cool and a HUGE hit w the kids] Tyler got in bed then called me back wanting to know, in a very distressed voice, who colored in that book. He was shocked into silence when I told him it was me. Could’ve knocked him over w a feather….
Not much to report lately, which is kind of nice really. We have been getting a few requests to update the blog so here are the highlights:
SICK
I stayed home from work Monday and Tuesday of last week (9/28 and 29). At first I thought it was flu, which means automatic 7 days out of work. Luckily (?) it was only a sinus infection. I am finally feeling back to normal today (10/6) 1 week later. It has indeed thrown a wrench in my training and weight loss progress (more later). But as of tonight (great run!) I am back on track. Paul and the kids had gotten the respiratory funk a couple times in earlier weeks. I think we all are on the mend. I got my flu shot and the H1N1 flu vaccine will be at our site in a few weeks at the latest. Because I am a high risk person (asthma) in a high risk job (healthcare), I am near the top of the list. Which I feel mixed about since they are still looking at long term side affects. I did also get a pneumonia vaccine free at work b/c of the high risk thing and the fact that the H1N1 tends to affect respiratory system and turn to pneumonia.
HEALTHY
So Paul and I have been in a weight loss contest of sorts w each other for a couple months now. My goal is 11 pounds, Paul’s is 7 (I think). So we weigh in every Wed morning and if we have dropped weight we get a certain amount of money we chose put towards the kayaks that we want (but cannot afford). If we did not lose, but we did our workouts for the week (training for the 1/2 marathon in Dec), we put 1/2 the money back. So far I have lost about 6 1/2 pounds. This means that I am under the cut off for what our life insurance company thinks is high risk. So once I can stay there, I will get re-tested and save us some money!
KIDS
Tyler had a hard time w getting used to school and its routine/restriction/discipline, but he has been doing much better recently. He lost his 2nd tooth yesterday. I woke up in the middle of the night (ok, 10:30) and heard him rolling around, then nothing, then…”yessss!!!!” He had found his quarter from the tooth fairy.
Tyler's first lost tooth
Anna is kicking butt in school. She has her dad’s spelling prowess so we have been working on that, but she has aced her test each of the last 2 weeks. She is very much into mermaids right now.
Both kids love riding their bikes, Tyler prefers trails and Anna the road. Tyler wants to play hoops this winter. Anna changes her mind daily, but did decide she wanted to do a craft from a book she got from Miss Sallie, one of the triathletes I coached through Team in Training this season. Sallie works at Edward McKay, a local used bookstore we LOVE LOVE LOVE. Anna got to go a couple weeks ago and pick some books ($3 worth) b/c she got to 10 on her reward chart (for following the rules at school and home).
FUN
Paul read one of my books about Michael Jordan–its about his retirement and (first) comeback. I recently read 2 books my mom brought me: Never Change (Elizabeth Berg) and Garden Spells (Sarah Addison Allen). Now I am reading Seven Summits–it is about the first 2 guys who climbed the highest mountain on each of the 7 continents. Next comes 2 books I got in Wilmington at one of my favorite little shops, Two Sisters Bookery. My choices are Why the Devil Chose New England for His Work (Jason Brown) or Breakfast with Buddha (Roland Merullo). The weekend of Sept 20th (our anniversary!!) Paul and I went to Wilmington for the race that my TNT peeps did.
L to R: Tom, Sallie, Kathy, me
The weekend after that my parents came down and we had lots of fun, especially at the zoo w Paul’s mom, sis and her kids.
Mom, Dad, Susan, Paul at lunch at Fishbones
Tyler stylin' in my cap while he fixes my hair (at the zoo).
Girl time at the zoo!
Then last weekend Paul and I went to see B.B. King in Myrtle Beach’s House of Blues. It was SO KICK ASS! I will let him tell the rest. No new real house projects in progress. Saturday will be an easy weekend at home so we will have chore day (shhh–Paul and the kids don’t know yet).
Anna was very excited about wearing this outfit that Granny bought her. Jason brought the kids over special to pick up this outfit the night before school started.
CHEESE!
Anna was most looking forward to showing Tyler around and helping him ride the bus.
Tyler was most looking forward to riding the bus. Here he would not even stop to get his pic taken.
I got this email from the League of American Bicyclist and think it is a great idea. If you click here it takes you to the web page and they have set it up where can send a email supporting it right on the web site.
Please Contact Senator Burr (R-NC) Today Regarding Co-Sponsoring the Safe Routes to School
Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina is considering becoming a lead co-sponsor on legislation to reauthorize the federal Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program. The bill would expand funding for SRTS to $600 million per year, include high schools, simplify regulatory compliance to improve project delivery, and strengthen research and evaluation. All of these changes will make SRTS grants more widely available, and help more North Carolina schools and communities make it safer for children to walk and bicycle to school and get into healthier, greener habits.
But, to get Senator Burr on board as a champion for SRTS, we need your help. The Senator needs to hear from his constituents in North Carolina that they value SRTS and would like to see the program grow as part of the next transportation bill.
As a North Carolina resident that cares about Safe Routes to School, we hope you will take just a few moments to follow the steps below and express your support for SRTS. Time is of the essence – please take this action TODAY-or at the latest, this week.
After you have taken action please send a quick email to Margo Pedroso, Policy Manager, Safe Routes to School National Partnership at margo@saferoutespartnership.org to let us know that you submitted a comment to the Senator. Include your name and contact information so that we can collect the list of supporters and share them with the Senator’s staff.
Thank you so much for your assistance – with your help hopefully Senator Burr will become a champion for Safe Routes to School!
Well, Anna must get her brains from me…she got her first report card today. She got all S’s (allegedly Satisfactory, but I think it might really be Susan-like). She is reading above grade level and doing math at grade level!!! GO ANNA!
PRESS RELEASE: Boise, Idaho based K-Edge Cycling Solutions, a division of AceCo Sport Group and Lincoln, Nebraska based Tomac Bikes have collaborated on what could be considered the most technically advanced chain suck frame protection ever developed. The K-Edge Anti-Chain Suck (ACS) was specifically designed for Tomac’s (spoiler alert) soon to be introduced […]
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For all you fixed gear riders in smooth areas, rejoice, you now have a skinnier tire to match your skinnier jeans. Fyxation’s new Session 700×23 size tires are now in stock and available on their website. Get it in green, white, pink, orange and black, and they’re all 120tpi with kevlar protection, pinch-flat-toughened sidewalls and a […]
