39 posts tagged “kids”

I finally got around to finishing my last bit of kitten embroidery.  I can't really find any embroidery patterns that I like--it's really really hard!  All the patterns are for machine embroidery.  =(

It rained today =( so no rollerblading.  Just more of the treadmill.  Sigh.

I was thinking more about how difficult it is to find school clothes for Maia.  So many of the things out there look like miniature teenager clothes.  I don't want my daughter wearing short-short denim skirts or skin tight blouses and shirts.  I'm not saying I want her clothes to be billowing and ill-fitting either but surely there should be a happy medium out there?  I'm glad she doesn't like to wear pants because every pair out there is tight.  Why would anyone make tight (or snug) pants for a child.  Even considering that these pants are made of supposedly stretchy material it's still not easy for a child to move freely in them.  Maia will be having gym this year at school and will have to have at least a few pairs to wear on those days and I do not want to buy all these tight fitting pants.  It's times like these that I really wish I could sew clothing well.  And that using my old never-works-quite-right sewing machine wasn't an exercise in frustration! =(

What more do you need? 

 We are only halfway through the day and fairing somewhat better due to an escape--I mean a trip--to the mall.  Our little air conditioned sanctuary proved to be too closed in feeling to spend a second day hiding out in it.  I entertained, briefly, the thought of driving out to the lake or going to the swimming pool but I thought that would lead us down the path of sunburns despite sunblock and being hot anyways.  For a point of reference, at 11 am this morning the interior of our house on the 1st floor was 84 degrees.  I only imagine that the 2nd and 3rd floor was even hotter!!

The mall seemed like a nice alternative, plus it would allow us to get a start on school shopping.  We only found a few things today.  Maia got a short sleeved pink (what else?) blouse and a pair of hair bows and Tristyn got a pair of jeans, a short sleeved polo shirt and a new pair of sneakers.  We had lunch before we left the house but the kids got a little hungry around 2 and they shared a pretzel from Aunt Annes and a wild cherry Slushee.  We decided to go to Barnes and Noble next and take a look around.

This pic is of the kids outside of the mall waiting to go into B&N.  Maia saw me pull out my camera and yelled 'Wait!  I'm not ready!' and leaped up to pose for the picture.  I had wanted to get a picture of looking downwards completely absorbed in drinking her Slushee but she is too much in love with the camera to not pose if she sees it.

Tristyn finally reached his limit of both Slushee and waiting outside.  He tried several times to pitch the drink in the trash but Maia wouldn't let him and kept drinking and drinking.....very slowly.  You can see how miserable he is.  He thought he was dying and said he could hardly breathe because it was so hot.  (I think he meant humid but I don't think he knows that is the word for what he was feeling)  Finally, Maia finished and we went inside to enjoy the cool air of Barnes and Noble and the stacks and stacks of books.

The last few days have been a test in the non-melting capabilities of humans.  It's been so hot and muggy that today the kids and I have finally retreated to our 2nd floor family room (where there is a window a/c).  Here, we have run the gamut of 'stuff to do.'  We've drawn pictures, colored, cut and glued stuff.  We've watched movies and cooking shows.  (Well, okay I watched the cooking shows).  And we played games.  Lots and lots of games.  Silly made up games.  Jenga.  Twister.

The weather has been too miserable for me to get outside much so I've been sticking to the treadmill.  Yesterday, I got in 30 mins of the treadmill on the incline and 45 minutes today.  I'm hoping the weather will be more co-operative tomorrow so I can get some rollerblading in.

When Rick came home, he quickly saw the wisdom of our retreat (after all, it was him who suggested it!) and joined us in our little fortress.  Dinner was very, very simple--we had a picnic lunch!  The kids are braving their rooms for a bit to play and put away some of their playthings before coming back downstairs for a movie night.  On long hot summer days relaxing in a cool air conditioned room and enjoying movies together is a real treat. =)

Yesterday passed in a wave of heat.  The kids played in the sprinkler again.  Maia and I made each other up in 'Fairy Makeup' which you should know consists of lots of pink and lots of sparkles.  Tristyn had his piano lesson and I brought along a bit of felt to make something up real quick.

Nice and Simple and more importantly--it can be finished quickly!

It's a crayon case for Maia who probably doesn't need one but appreciates anything that is 'made' for her.  Especially when she can watch me make it in less than 15 minutes.

Rick brought home pizza for dinner last night.  Thursday being laundry day and piano lesson day, dinner usually alternates between leftovers (blah) or pizza.  He met the new owners of the pizza shop, an older couple from Iran, which he said were very nice and quite interesting to talk with.  Rick said they all talked for about 15 minutes or so because he got there rather early.  I would like to meet them sometime myself. =)

I rode the Jail Trail-Southside last night.  About a mile in, there was an abandoned bike ride in the middle of the trail.  I looked around to see if the owner was nearby but I didn't see anyone.  Then, about a half mile later there was a shirt lying in the middle of the trail.   I couldn't help but wonder if something bad had happened to someone.  =(  It was very odd.  On the way back, the shirt was still there but someone had moved the bike to the side of trail.  Very strange.

Apparently, they are doing construction on the parkway again this weekend and they decided to start early last night!  After biking, I went to visit a friend up in Robinson for a little while.  On the way home, what should have been about a 20 minute drive turned into a 2 hour drive!    To cap things off, my exit was closed and I had to take the next one and loop back around.  It wasn't the end of the world, but it certainly messed up my plans to go to bed early for once.  Traffic will be crazy all weekend I suppose. =(

All in all, a pretty ordinary day.  I picked up a sprinkler today at Busy Beaver for benefit of the front and back yard but the kids are benefiting too.

I tortured the kids again at dinner today.  The vegetable of the day was roasted zucchini, carrots, squash and cauliflower with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of cilantro.  Tristyn actually ate all of his vegetables and only made a slight face at the 'white broccoli that doesn't taste good like the green broccoli.'  Maia elected to eat only the carrot portion with her raviolis. 

Rick was a bit late home from work today--it's common at the end of the month so I got a late start today heading to the jail trail.  (Rick stayed home to play Twister with the kids)  But, nonetheless, I got in 75 minutes of rollerblading.   I didn't see anything 'unusual' on the trail this time like I did on Sunday--so no man riding a unicycle like the other day.  After today's heat spell and my workout the water I had waiting for me couldn't have tasted colder and sweeter had it just come out of the refrigerator!  It always makes me curious as to why when I am very, very thirsty that water tastes sweet.

Well, It's storytime in this house for certain children and I'm off to do so, followed by a long, cool shower and a big nice chunk of time with Rick since I haven't really seen him since he's come home.

Sunday, we ended up taking the kids to see Ratatouille.  They really enjoyed it.  I wish more very kid-friendly movies like it would come out.  Our family really enjoys going to the movies together. =)

Yesterday, was a day of errands.  My driver's license expired on August 6th so I had to go get a new picture taken.  Lucky for us, we walked into the driver's center and there was only one other person there.  I got to immediately go over to one of the clerks and get my picture taken.  All in all, the whole procedure took about 5 minutes from entering to leaving.  Tristyn sorely needed a haircut and Maia wanted hers done too, so that was our next stop.

Maia wanted to try hers pretty short.  Payless Shoes were next door and Maia loves to try on shoes so we stopped in there next so she could try them on.  She found a pink sparkly pair that she really liked but they only had them in sizes too big or too small.  She wants me to put 'pink, sparkly shoes' on the list of Things We Need to Buy for School.

(Tristyn's haircut can be attributed to a little too much squirming and wiggling)

We tend to have lunch with Missy on Mondays but since we weren't home, we met her at Panera.  The kids and I all ordered our usual:  Maia-peanut butter on a bagel with chocolate milk, Tristyn-broccoli cheese soup with sourdough roll and HiC, and me-chicken noodle soup with sourdough roll and a diet pepsi.  As usual, Maia ate about half of my roll.  She's a bread nut just like me.

From here, we went to the bookstore and the kids got to look at books.  Tristyn disappeared (not really) down an aisle and immersed himself in various books, while Maia brought me every (I think!) book off the 'Off to Kindergarten' display to read to her.  I ended up finding a great cookbook on the clearance table on the way out which of course I had to turn around and go buy.  It was 400+ recipes from around the world.  I picked one out straightaway to try making with dinner.

The kids played in the Eagle's Nest while I grabbed a few things from Giant Eagle including the few spices I didn't have that I would need for dinner.  The Eagle's Nest really is a great addition to GE because there is such a wide variety of things for the kids to do there while mommys are shopping.  Everyone leaves the store happy because no one got bored or frustrated.  Tristyn and Maia always do the daily (weekly?) project when they are in there and this time they made alligators. 

At home, we spent some time relaxing and playing after a busy morning/early afternoon.  We also tried Tristyn's 'experiment' which consisted of seeing what type of liquid would break up/dissolve goldfish crackers the quickest.

Here it is!  My second attempt at an Indian Dish:  Basmati Rice with Potatoes.   Some of the spices in it included --cinnamon stick, cardamon pods, cumin, bay leaves, tumeric and I think at least one other that I am forgetting.  It turned out really good though of course the kids weren't too sure of it.  =(    They are newly convinced pea eaters though, because they really enjoy eating fresh peas.  This time we got about 2.5 lbs of them to shell for dinner and had a good time doing it.

After dinner was cleaned up, the kids went off to play in their rooms while Rick went to lift weights and I jumped on the treadmill.  I got a good 35 minutes in on the 10% incline. 

The kids and I looked at old baby pictures in our old albums before bedtime instead of our usual couple of stories.  They were both fascinated at how tiny they were, but every time Tristyn saw the obligatory cute naked baby butt picture of himself he was really upset and embarrassed.  I wonder if those emotions will carry through to when he's a teenager in regards to those pictures!  Hahahaha.

Big Love was on at 9 pm and the kids were tucked in and the lights turned out with about 10 minutes to spare.  Rick and I spent the rest of the evening watching the show and relaxing. =)

After a very long night's sleep (bed at 10 pm!! and waking up at 8 am!!) I got out of bed fully revived and ready to go.  I had a cup of tea and some yogurt and made the kids breakfast.  Then, I loaded up my bike and drove down to the jail trail.  I rode from the start of the trail all the way to the Smithfield Street Bridge.  I crossed over it and got on the Station Square/Southside Trail and rode that all the way to the Hot Metal Bridge.  I didn't cross this bridge even though it would have brought me back to the start of the jail trail for two reasons.  One--it's not fun making the mad dash across the bridge in between cars (the bike bridge isn't completed yet).  I've done that before and it's scary! And secondly, I wasn't ready to end my trip that soon, so basically I turned around and backtracked the way I came for a total time of 56 minutes.

Not too bad this past week in regards to exercise I'd say. I chart from Sunday to Saturday.  This past week:

Sunday--1 hr 24 mins bike ride (with Rick)
Monday--rest day
Tuesday--30 minute run on treadmill
Wednesday--2nd rest day of the week--plus we were in Cleveland and did a lot of walking there
Thursday--30 minute walk on treadmill at fast pace and 10% incline
Friday--60 minutes rollerblading on Jail Trail
Saturday--30 mins of hill running in Lawrenceville area 

=D  Today's ride was a decent way to start the week =D

After I came home, I showered and made lunch for everyone.  Then Rick wanted to take his turn biking but he decided to bike in Frick and do some of the trails there.  He rode to the park, but the kids and I drove over and spent some time playing at the playground. 

Tristyn was in mid-swing when I took this picture.  It took me about 8 attempts to get it because either he'd be too far away or I'd get a close-up of the soles of his shoes.

After I pushed Maia on the swings for awhile (she's only willing to pump half of the time) she wanted to 'zoom like an airplane' and I got this picture of her taken.

You can kind of see their tie-dye shirts that they made in the pictures.  I think they did a fantastic job with them.  Thanks again Missy and Mindy!

Right now, everyone is taking a brief break before we get ready to go to the movies.  =D

The Great Lakes Science Center!!!  What a bonus!!

Tristyn finally got his picture with 'R2D2.'  We have this mailbox in Pittsburgh too and he's always wanted me to stop and take his picture with it.  Guess we had to go to Cleveland to get the job done.  Inside, I found out that my Carnegie Science Center membership was good here too and we got in free!  Reciprocal memberships are the best!  Thanks again, Dad, for getting our family such a wonderful Christmas present.  

We didn't have all afternoon to spend here, but we did have a few hours and made the most of it.  The kids placed the PVC pipe organ and sure enough it sounded just like the one the Blue Man Group plays--but of course my  kids' played a much different 'song' than the BMG plays.

Tristyn wanted to try out the wheelchair.  While he sat in it, there was a screen in front of him that showed a virtual house and he had to manuever his wheelchair through the house without bumping anything.  Everytime he 'bumped' into something, the screen would say things like 'bumped right footrest on counter.'  It was much harder than he thought it would be!

On one of the upper levels, there was an outdoor deck with a few activities on it.  While the kids' tried some out, I snapped this quick picture of the lake.

Maia loved this whirly spinning thing that talked about momentum.  (She didn't care what the 'about' board was about and just wanted to spin).  Apparently so did many other children.  She had to wait in a long line to get a turn and her turn was rather short because of the long line behind her.  She didn't mind waiting in line and happily got at the back of the line to wait for a second turn.

We went back inside to spend a little more time doing some of the activities before it was time to start walking across town to catch the train again.  We didn't get to do everything but we sure had a good time!

This is what we found...

The Cleveland Browns Football Stadium!!

You can see the lake just behind the stadium AND the giant windmill we had seen from the statue with the water fountain around the base of it.  We kept exploring and making our way towards the stadium.

Boo!   Hiss!   We really aren't Browns Fans at all.  How could we be?  We're from Pittsburgh.  Steelers all the way!!

Maia holding her seagull feather poses with me while Tristyn snaps the photo.  Unfortunately the one she took of Tristyn and I didn't come out so well.  

But I got one of all of us!  We look a little funny but it's very hard to stretch one's arm out far enough to get everyone in the picture AND get everyone looking good at the same time.

Remember that windmill?  GUESS what it was in front of.....