all we need is a velodrome…

last week an unimaginable event happened at casa de kimrey.  someone walked into our garage thursday night, while both cars were home, and stole cole’s bike.  did you get that?  sometime between the time of 5:30-9:30- someone used up all their gumption (and maybe their cajones) to steal a $29 3-year-old-12-inch-bike-from-santa.  and i gotta say, i feel badly for the person who took it- because it was in pretty bad shape. This was particularly disheartening not only because of the obvious theft but because cole had just learned to ride the darn thing without the aid of the training wheels. 

 

naturally, he was crushed.

 

but there is another reason my post is related a velodrome and to the 2020 games.  and not because i’m all olympic’d out- because i am. phelps has caused me a great lack of sleep this week. no, its not only that. its because i’m fairly positive my kids may compete—in biking competition—especially in lieu of the fact that they BOTH got brand new bicycles on friday night, complete with cool new headgear as well.

 

one stolen bike + one dad and two boys at toysrus  + one tiny miniscule bite of spinach (david) = 2 bikes purchased

 

(yep, this mama declined a Friday night visit to TRus in hopes of a relaxing bath- but was then disturbed/ bothered/ afraid that someone might break in and steal something else)

 

so cole has decided that biking would be an excellent way to be in the olympics since we’ve almost spent our allotted $100—but here are the little jewels riding their new bikes

(david calls them hot fast, but you say it hotfast). and yes, those disney marketing folks must have my kid’s number as there are helmets (!) and kneepads (!!) featuring ‘witing aqueen’.

 

 

look at what we got mom!

he checks them every 5 feet...

such determination

yes, he needs all those pads on...

"wook at me" - he actually rides watching the front wheel

 

 

p.s. after i typed this blog, the nlr police called me to say they recovered our stolen bike. around the corner on aztec—because apparently, what happens in bike-thieving-rings is that someone steals it, plays with it, then dumps it. because they can’t take it home.

 

school daze…

i vaguely remember my first day of first grade… its such a haze now.  i remember the new shoes and new #2 pencils. but experiencing the first day with your child (son in my case) always conjures up memories- of past friendships, and past fun. playing on the playground and having p.e. class.  learning new spelling words by friday for the big test…

 

today was cole’s first day of first grade. and thankfully, i wasn’t the wreck i was last year—when he started school and i cried like a baby when they read “The Kissing Hand”—we were just cool with the entire thing.  so cool in fact, that when i woke up my sleeping prince with a kiss and a ‘its-your-first-day-of-school’ in my best sing-song voice he sat straight up in the bed and said (with plenty of eye-rolling and exasperation):

 

well, mom, today is not REALLY my first day of school.  its my FIRST day of FIRST GRADE. i mean, i am SIX mom. i’ve had lots of first days of school- don’t you remember? you can make me whatever you want for breakfast.  i’ll be in the kitchen in a minute.

 

and with that, i was dismissed to my place as breakfast-maker with a stern reminder of my son’s very literal nature.

 

so without further ado, i present cole on the first day of school (thru the years)

 

1st Grade- 2008 Indian Hills

Cole in Ms. Stafford's Class

Kindergarten 2007- Indian Hills

Pre-K 2006 at Cato

 

dinnertime…

one of the biggest things to happen at our house daily is dinnertime. where we all gather round the table to eat a deliciously prepared meal by yours truly.  and while i’m not the gourmet that she is, i still manage to put out some pretty decent grub.

 

i’ve heard statistics for years now about the family dynamic and its relationship to eating together and the positive relational aspects of that environment. you know ‘the family that eats together stays together’. since paul took his job on the road, we don’t sit down as a family as often as i like.  because its hard to get the boys to the table when their dinner consists of sandwiches, mac n cheese (what i call a hot meal) or french toast (they simply can’t get enough). not to mention the dinnertime competition with max and ruby nightly on noggin. so nights when paul is home, we try to gather. without toys. or tv. at the table. to share in one another’s lives.  i wish i had a tape recorder at these times, hidden in my pocket- because i’m truly amazed at the delightful dinner conversation that we always experience.

 

well, we sat down to a lovely dinner last night of roast, rice & gravy, and spinach.  with biscuits.  and here’s just a small sample of the conversation…

 

(after the rousing round of prayer wars, of course)

 

gatorade, toilet paper, and communicable diseases…

this post is not for the weary. or easily disgusted. but its real. so real its darn near consuming my family.

in our little hamlet for the last 2+ weeks, we’re battling a parasite. that’s right. a bug. only apparently its real. and living in my little darlings digestive tracts/stomachs/colons.

shigella

it sucks. arse. literally, we’ve done such wonders as going thru 18 pullups in 24 hours for david. we’ve injested over 25 bottles of gatorade. multiple bottles of tylenol and ibuprofen trying to battle the raging 103+ fevers. and dozens of rolls of toilet paper followed by incessant handwashing and unending lysoling. stool samples and finally after a 96 hour wait, he’s on the road to recovery drinking some septra medicine which tastes like cherries but probably is infused with raid and other deet-bug-killing stuff.

now its cole’s turn. today. just before the weekend. and he’s miserable- every bit as david was 2 weeks ago.

so that’s all i’m saying and that’s all i’m doing this weekend– here’s the lowdown from the CDC- yes, we’ve been reported along with the daycare to the CDC and to the state health department. 

Shigellosis is an infectious disease caused by a group of bacteria called Shigella. Most who are infected with Shigella develop diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps starting a day or two after they are exposed to the bacteria. The diarrhea is often bloody. Shigellosis usually resolves in 5 to 7 days. Persons with shigellosis in the United States rarely require hospitalization. A severe infection with high fever may be associated with seizures in children less than 2 years old. Some persons who are infected may have no symptoms at all, but may still pass the Shigella bacteria to others.

great.

just what we need on our permanent records…