Melody's new hobby

Getting Creative

So I'm thinking of trying the yummy mummy hotdogs for halloween dinner this year. (I don't think even I can mess these up, but we'll see!)
I think we'll also do the nutter butter ghost cookies. (I've actually done this before!)


I need some other "real food - for dinner" ideas that are super easy. Help?

First Fire of the Fall

"Fall Festibal"

We told the girls we would take them to the city's Fall Festival this evening and they were excited about it all day. It did not disappoint. Maya kept thanking us for taking her to the "festibal".
They had a petting zoo where the girls were particularly interested in the bunny.

There were also pony rides.



They also had an inflatable "Mechanical Bull" ride which Maya particularly enjoyed.

Morgan tried too. She was dubious at first but had fun.

The coolest part to me was that I walked around for over 2 hours and I don't hurt. I can't remember the last time that I walked for that amount of time and didn't require advil. Seriously. It's been since before I was a teenager. It was so cool. I feel very blessed. Nathan caught me in the corner of one picture and I have never seen myself have such a normal stance before. So.. even if you think it's silly.. here's the picture.

I'm just so thrilled for the miracle I'm still experiencing every day. We had a wonderful Saturday.

Ask Maya King

(Shamelessly stealing this from several blogs.)
1. What is something dad always says to you?
"Somtimes he says "you look so beautiful honey!""

2. What makes dad happy?
"Sometimes when i brush his hair."

3. What makes dad sad?
"When I don't kiss him."

4. How does your dad make you laugh?
"When he makes funny things to me, like when he tells me jokes."

5. What was your dad like as a child?
"I don't know what he looked like!"

6. What is his favorite thing to do?
"I think he likes playing with us."

7. What does your dad do when you're not around?
"Maybe he plays upstairs by himself."

8. What is your dad really good at?
"I think he is really good at playing the trumpet" ??????

9. What is your dad not very good at?
"He's not very good at playing toys."

10. What does your dad do for his job?
"I don't know."

11. What is your dad's favorite food?
"Macaroni! Noodles!!"

12. What makes you proud of your dad?
"I don't know."

13. What do you and your dad do together?
"Sometimes we play with just toys."

14. How are you and your dad the same?
"I don't know."

15. How are you and your dad different?
"I don't know." (she's not liking this anymore)

16. How do you know your dad loves you?
"Because I kiss him."

17. Where is your dad's favorite place to go?
"I don't know."

Then I thought it would be fun to do the same questions about Me.
1. What is something mom always says to you?
"Ummm... obey."

2. What makes mom happy?
"When you treat someone nicely."

3. What makes mom sad?
"When you don't obey."

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
"She makes funny things and laugh."

5. What was your mom like as a child?
"Umm.. I don't really know. I don't."

6. What is her favorite thing to do?
"Maybe she likes to eat."

7. What does your mom do when you're not around?
"She calls people."

8. What is your mom really good at?
"Going upstairs to play with us and to help us."

9. What is your mom not very good at?
"Going up the stairs."

10. What does your mom do for her job?
"She helps clean up."

11. What is your mom's favorite food?
"Vegetables."

12. What makes you proud of your mom?
"Picking up things."

13. What do you and your mom do together?
"Sometimes we clean up things together."

14. How are you and your mom the same?
"We both have the same eyes."

15. How are you and your mom different?
"My mommy is different."

16. How do you know your mom loves you?
"Because she loves me really much."

17. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
"I think she likes going to the mall."

Teacher Conference

It's my blog. I can brag if I want to. :)
I met with Morgan's teachers this morning for a conference. Here are some words that every mom wants to hear:
"Morgan is a model student and always goes the extra mile."
"Morgan is well liked by the other students."
"Morgan is the kind of student that I would love to have 20 more of."
"We love having Morgan in our class. There is nothing she could possibly do to work any harder. She is such a hard worker."
I'm so proud of my Morgan. School comes first and she knows it.

Up Up and Away!!

It really was the perfect evening for our very first balloon ride. The weather was mild and the winds were calm. It's surprisingly quiet up there but you can hear so much from the ground. What an amazing experience! We really enjoyed ourselves and are so glad that we were able to enjoy this unique activity. We got some good pictures.
Here we are as the balloon is being inflated:








Getting up in the air:


Enjoying the view together:




A view of our church from the air:


Looking up into the balloon:


The balloon deflating:

Happy Birthday Nathan!!!

It's Nathan's birthday today! We celebrated last night by going on a hot air balloon ride! It was so much fun. I will post pictures later when i get a minute.
I just wanted to wish a happy birthday to my very own monster, Nathan.

Black and White

As promised, here's a picture of my flashy cane.

And here is part of the damage done at Ikea this morning..

Chapel

Maya's giving me plenty of material to post this week.
Maya attends a wonderful preschool in a presbyterian church that we adore.
We are not members there so are not familiar with all of the church terms.
Here's our conversation:
Maya: (singing) "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine.... "
Me: Wow, Maya that's beautiful, did you guys have chapel at preschool today?
Maya: "Yup and I was the CABOOSE for our class today! and guess who was behind me on the way to chapel? Passenger John!!!"
Me: "Wow! (i say this alot for some reason) Who is passenger john?"
Maya: (sighing because mom doesn't know anything) "You know, PASSENGER JOHN! He teaches us at chapel!"
Me: "Oh! You mean PASTOR John?"
Maya: "Yeah.. passenger John. He plays the guitar."

Becoming like little children

I often wondered why we are constantly reminded to be like little children. The cynical side of me often sarcastically thought, "What? We want to be whiney and needy?" Today I finally understood the concept.

We had a rough morning. I am embarassed to say that I lost my temper big time. I felt horrible. I first went to Morgan's school to apologize and my apology was accepted (with a promise of coming to lunch too). Next I went to Maya's preschool to tell her how much I loved her and how I was sorry for yelling at her. She wrapped her arms around me, kissed me and said, "It's ok Mommy. I always forgive you."
I often worry that Maya won't realize how special she is since she is our middle child. I want her to know how important she is in my life and how our family isn't complete without her. She taught me such a lesson on humility today.

Tootin' my own horn

This morning I did 30 mins and almost 2 miles on the elliptical. (and it didn't even hurt!)

Gymnastics Superstars

Last night Morgan and I attended the 2008 Tour of Gymnastics Superstars !!
We had such a good time. The gymnasts were amazing. We got to see Nastia Liukin, Shawn Johnson, Chellsie Memmel, Shannon Miller, the entire Men's bronze medal team, Blaine Wilson and a few others! My personal favorites were the Hamm twins, Paul and Morgan. Here's a video of my favorite routine that they did together. (those boys can dance!)



My other favorite gymnastics superstar, Morgan King, had a meet as well. She earned her personal best on the beam by getting a 9.35, earned a 9.025 on the floor and improved both her vault and bars scores! She's been working hard and has been setting goals. We're so proud of her and how she is committed to her sport. We enjoyed each other's company yesterday!

Happy 3 month anniversary to my hips!

Ok, so it's just my left hip but it's been three months since I have started this journey. It's actually gone by pretty quickly. My physical therapist hasn't taken measurements recently but at the last appointment she said that i had over 70 degrees of flexion on my left and she thought about 85 on the right. I have been doing so many stretching/strengthening exercises and they really seem to be helping. She said that my pelvis has never really had to move before and that it was "finally separating". I told her that i hoped that was a good thing! She said it was and that it was giving me more movement.

I have graduated from my walker to my sparkly black and silver cane. I'll take a picture of it one of these days. It's flashy! I am able to get around better without getting tired. I am walking better. I am getting stronger. Three months isn't really that long for such a huge change.

Tagged

Lori tagged me. I'm supposed to post the 4th picture in the 4th folder in my picture folder.
This is my little monkey Maya at last year's preschool Christmas party.


I'm going to tag Sarah, Rachel, Tiburon and Natalie. Come on ladies!

Halloween Preparedness

According to my kids you can never be prepared to early for Halloween. We have costumes purchased and have even started on the candy purchasing. (the trick will be not opening the candy)
My two little goblins got an outfit each today. Maya's says "Mommy's little monster" and Melody's says "My magical power is being cute"

"My 'nastics!!"

I took Melody to an open gym today so she could run around and play while Maya was at preschool. She was so excited to put on a leo and go to "my 'nastics!" She also took a great nap today! Yay!
(and if you look in the background you can see my friend Sharron in the black and white shirt with her daughter Lauren.... Sharron, you're blog-worthy!)