Friday, August 30, 2013

Happy Birthday Papa!

Today it’s Papa Beagle’s birthday…  So we made him a movie.

Hope you had a really great birthday Papa!

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Doing our chores

Braska reporting: Daddy sometimes has us help with the dishes. He calls it matching, but I know that it’s really what’s supposed to be called chores. I’ve heard of those, and Mommy sometimes give us “jobs” but they’re probably chores, too.

We’re good at matching the spoons and forks in the right spots.  It’s a very serious job, so we have to concentrate.
sistersdishes2

But every chore is more fun when you stop and smile sometimes!
sistersdishes1

Monday, August 26, 2013

Kinlee’s Pumpkin Plant

Toward the end of school last year, Kinlee came home from school with a tiny egg carton cup with a sprout in it. It was a pumpkin plant just starting.

Since I kill just about every plant of which I have had custody, we took it directly to Grandma C’s house.  They planted it in the back yard.

In about 4-6 weeks, it was a full-blown plant, and it had the first flower.
pumpkinplant

In July, the plant continued to grow. It was pretty amazing to see it get bigger so quickly.  Several flowers came and went, but finally we saw the first little pumpkin.

pumpkinplant

The plant was bigger than Kinlee in no time.
kinleepumpkinplant

The pumpkin kept growing. And by early August, though still green, it was getting to look like a “real pumpkin.” 
kinleepumpkin

As every good gardener should, Kinlee watered her plant when playing at Grandma C’s.  It’s turning orange, and that pleased her.  But do you see the size of that thing.  ALL of that green that’s below Kinlee’s shoulder height is that one little sprout of a plant grown BIG.
kinleepumpkinplant-edit

It’s neat to watch this grow.  It’s neat to think of the symbolism of the seed that was  planted, the sprout that was cared for and then re-planted in the right place, and the way that a little sprout put in the right environment can thrive more quickly than I can imagine. 

It’s a lot like the little sprout that brought that sprout home.  And we’re thankful for people like Mrs. S, who helped her plant that pumpkin seed while at school last year, and contributed to the planting of innumerable seeds of potential.kinleeface1

More attempts at porch pics

Mom reporting: I thought since the first day pics didn’t go so well, I’d try again. 
8/15/13  Day 2—“No, Mom. I just want to get on the bus!”
braskaday2school

8/22/13 Day 7 —There was some extra time before the bus came to get Braska. So they agreed to take a few shots.  Though this is what I got first….
sillygirlsporch

After a few that didn’t work, we did get one a little more “classic.”
sistersporch1
This seems to make Kinlee look taller than Braska, which she is, but not by quite this much. 

Later that day, Braska came home with different pants on.
Love when that happens… 
braskasmile
I though it was funny that both times she’s come home with these pants on in the past 10 days, (the pants from her “extra outfit” for school, pants with several bright colors in stripes), it just works out that the colors somehow coordinate the colors in her top.  Must be popular colors in her wardrobe.  This is great since they only change the pants, not the top (which I included in her extra outfit, of course).  I did end up changing her extra pants to jeans though when I returned her to school the next day. The thought of her walking around with these stripes on with a red shirt or something makes me cringe.  Yes, I’m that neurotic. I wouldn’t normally put these stripes with these flowers, but hey, a little wild color kind of appealed to me when I saw her got off the bus in this.  Couldn’t do it every day though.

And this is made me smile, Braska’s “being Belle” so they can “look like sisters.”
braskabelle

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Keeping tabs on things

Braska reporting: We are having a garage sale at our house today. Most of it isn't our stuff. Our friends are moving and asked to use our garage to sell stuff. It's fun to get to sit outside and watch people. I'm helping Miss A take the money. There have been LOTS of people here! As long as I stay in front of the fan,  I like being out here.

Friday, August 16, 2013

Procrastinating about bifocals

I noticed recently that I was holding my phone farther away from me in order to see things clearly…. especially when I was looking at documents or spreadsheets on that little screen.  (yes, spreadsheets.)

So today I went to have my eyes checked. I thought it had been a little over a year since my last visit.

No. It was 4 years ago.

And I’m turning 40 two months from tomorrow.  It’s about time, yes indeed.

So wouldn’t you know, I only need a little help with my vision, which is good. But when they recommended bifocals it just seemed weird.   Very weird.

After chatting with the vision center manager, who is also a DS mom friend, I decided to try the “readers” route first, to see how that went, since I only need them when working very closely. Not even for the computer… 

rkglasses

Why not go for the red, right? 

The optometrist assures me I’ll lose a couple pairs of readers then I’ll get over the bifocal fear and deal with that as my reality.  We shall see how it goes.

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

First day of school 2013

The day didn’t start out on a perky note for Braska. She did not feel well and just was so pathetic to see. The classic front porch pics were a bit uncomfortable for Kinlee.  But still, a photo must be had. Even if it’s an unhappy one.
1stdayschool-1

Braska went with Daddy to school, 13 minutes east of our house, and I took Kinlee 10 minutes west of the house to her school. And I kept thinking “the juggling has begun….”

While dropping Kinlee off, I was still in her school, Braska’s school called (8:20 am) to tell me she was feeling worse, and asking if I thought I should get her.  We discussed, and they felt that wanted to allow her a bit more down time to adjust, and it turned out she did perk up and did well for the rest of the day.  Belly issues, apparently.

When it was time for Braska to arrive home on the bus, Kinlee and I went out to the porch to wait for her.
kinleesmile

She got off that bus, happy as a clam, and marched independently up to the house with her monstrosity of a backpack in tow.  My fave photo of the day…
braskaoffbus

Thankful for a successful end after a rough start.

The girls are not in the same school this year. Kinlee is in half-day kindergarten at the private school where they both went last year.  She has the same (AWESOME) teacher that B had last year.  Braska is in our public school district, but not in our home school, by our choice.  We chose another one that had a program we liked better, a “cross cat” room that better suited her needs and a much more receptive and flexible staff/administration.  Her team is great, and with the to-be-expected tweaks, she’ll have a successful year, I think.  She really likes her sped teacher and paras and her gen ed teacher as well.  So we’re pleased so far!

One ready for first day

Its the first day of school. I am excited!  Both girls start today, though in different schools. The kindergartener is ready and reading, waiting for breakfast.  The 1st grader is telling me she needs more sleep. So she crashed out again. (of course all summer she was up at 6 every day. Figures,  right?)