Back Safe and Sound - FWF #14

Hey, it's Friday again and that means it's time for another episode of Friends with Flair with Unity Stamps! They're having a garage sale right now, so might want to check it out...it never hurts to look, right? ;)

It's felt like a long week, because DaddyDude was in Tennessee for a work conference and just returned this afternoon. My hat is off to those single mothers out there - how do they do it? They rock! 

I am hoping to get a solid, uninterrupted night of sleep tonight since the girls wanted to sleep with me (during his absence) in the big bed. You'd think there would be plenty of room to keep everybody happy (okay, so there were also four stuffed bears in there, too, but they hardly complain) but NOOOOO... at least a couple of times during the night somebody yelled out when they got kicked (it certainly didn't help that somebody likes to sleep upside down - and it wasn't me!). *sigh*

Once DaddyDude was back, I finally got a chance to craft. I've been assigned the task of creating a thank you card for the kind custodian who helps to set up the cones and music for their Joggers' Club every Tuesday and Thursday morning (DaddyDude and I help the teachers run it). The kids get a paw print stamp (school mascot = the Jaguars) for every lap they run and for every eight laps, they earn a paw print token for a necklace. It's been a long year (it's hard enough to get everybody to school on time, right? Try getting there 15 minutes earlier than that!) and now there are only four more sessions. Whew! I can't wait!

So, I made three cards, trying to use their school colors (yellow/brown) and incorporating paw prints to represent the running stamp. I need your help to select which one to give him! Which do you like best?

I used one of my favorite Unity stamps (from the Everything Wonderful kit - but the frame for card #2 is from Everything More) on each one (the paw print is from Hero Arts) and the patterned paper is all from My Mind's Eye...

 

Card #1 is based on Deconstructed Sketch 147.

Card #2 is based on Sunday Stamps Sketch #52.

And finally... card #3 is based on Sweet Sunday Sketch #213.

 

So, please leave a comment below and let me know which card you like best! I wish you all a wonderful weekend and leave you with a picture of our favorite "lap" dog (not!). Thanks for visiting my blog!

Murphy's Law - I spoke too soon

I should have known I'd be jinxing myself and that things had been running too smoothly... *sigh*

Who knew that a plate lunch of Hawaiian chicken with rice and oranges would be so offensive to a 5-year old? I asked her if that was okay and she said yes. As soon as the plate appeared, she freaked out. Apparently - she didn't remember being asked about the choice and second - she said she HATES this chicken (never mind that it's one of her all-time dinner favorites). Whining soon blew up into a huge tantrum.

Daddy Dude responded to my email updates and called to talk to her. She refused (see picture on right) but never knew - the entire time - who was on the phone. I'm happy to report that she finally agreed to eat her lunch (no other alternative was ever offered) after we picked up Mika from school. As my dad used to say, "hunger is the best spice!"

So that Daddy Dude can see what has been happening, here's a brief summary. Nothing exciting happened on Monday (Grandma showed up that evening but before that, it was all homework and reading for Mika). Tuesday, Mika had Joggers' Club and I couldn't believe that Marika decided to run again (she threw a couple of infamous tantrums last fall).

I think she may be a sprinter, rather than a long-distance runner like myself. She shot off like a bullet for her second lap - some of Mika's first grade classmates tried to run after her and catch up, but they couldn't. =)

Here's my sweet (at that moment) baby here... "out standing in the field"... =)

And there are those famous Jaguar stamps for each lap run. The big kids have to run with cards that get stamped. They drop them, step on 'em and frankly... it's pretty awkward to run around with one of those things! Unfortunately, it's the best way to keep track of mileage...

Yesterday, too, was the day the kids got their balloons for one of their fundraisers. You paid by the balloon and some supposedly have pieces of paper announcing that you're a winner. The girls have until Friday to pop them. There's something endearing about a little kid holding balloons, don't you think?

Here's Marika on the last day of Mika's softball practice. The adults (and siblings) were asked to play against the girls. Mika got tagged out twice and wailed both times. How embarrassing! Better to have it happen during a practice than a game, though...

So now that Marika is finally happy again (the girls are singing a medly to "Grease" in the kitchen while they snack), maybe I can relax a little bit. =)

As my graduate professor used to say: "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger."

Happiness is...

... when hard work pays off! Today, Mika's school had its awards assembly for the fall semester of Joggers' Club. The rules state that every four laps counts as 1 mile, but honestly, I think that's pretty optimistic. In order to win a medal, first graders had to run 48 laps (= 12 miles) by the end - this was Mika's goal. She ran pretty consistently, running 4 laps every time, except once (when there was a "wardrobe malfunction" with her shoes (accompanied by some screaming and crying)... and we'll never buy velcro shoes again!).

Last year, they also presented a special award to the top two runners in each grade.

This year, for whatever reason (budget cuts?), they only gave one award (see trophy above) to the top runner in each grade. Lo and behold, Mika won! Her certificate said she ran 18.75 miles, or 75 laps. Mika looked so happy - and even her classmates looked proud of her! Way to go, girl!

The rain came back this morning, but Marika and I enjoyed a couple of days of bike riding and playing at the park. Remember when swinging high was enough to make you feel euphoric? Ah, those were the days... =)

Running their little hearts out

The fall session of Joggers' Club began this week at Mika's school. Mika ran 4 laps all by herself (no coaching required!) while Marika bawled and bawled (at first) because she was wearing the wrong shoes. Wrong shoes, you ask? Check out the blingy flip flops she's wearing in the bottom right picture. Yup, a little inappropriate for running, wouldn't you say? She finally agreed to start running, once I said I'd run with her. Much to my astonishment, Marika managed to run 3 laps! She's really improved since last year, when she would cry while running... and now she's even happier because we printed out her very own Joggers' Club running log...

So Daddy Dude has a Blackberry now, much to my dismay. His other phone died (how convenient, right?) on Saturday and due to the nature of his work, he needed a phone with certain specifics. *sigh* He was at Verizon for a LONG TIME, so the girls played at the water fountain for most of the time. One of these days, somebody is going to fall in...!

And this may be my new favorite "sleeping" picture of Marika. I told you she could sleep anywhere! Mika was busy working with her homework when I realized that Marika had grown very quiet at the kitchen table. I guess she got tired of waiting for her sister to finish...? I moved her to the sofa, it just didn't seem like a comfortable (not to mention relaxing) position!

Isn't it wonderful when hard work pays off?

As school winds down, it's time for the final awards assembly. Today, they gave out awards for Jogger's Club. There are different prizes for different tiers (how many laps you ran and how you are, with four laps = 1 mile). The top tier was a medal for those who ran a certain amount (for kindergarteners, it was 12 miles, or 48 laps). Mika ran 73 laps this spring semester - which was also enough to win her the top runner award for kindergarten girls! Not bad, especially considering that she missed a whole week (2 days of running) for vacation! She could have run even more! Her prize was a certificate and a T-shirt that said "TOP RUNNER SPRING 2009".

I was really proud of her, because I was trying to teach Mika that if you work hard for something over a period of time, you can reap the rewards. There were some kids who ran just a little bit each day, trying to make the bare minimum to qualify for a certain tier. Mika ran her little heart out every day, doing the best she could.

If all goes well, in a few years... I think I'll have a great running partner! :) Maybe then, she'll be the one telling ME to hurry up! Hee hee... I'm so proud of you, baby! I knew you could do it! I just knew it!

Later in the day, it was time for the school's annual "family picnic". Grandma came to visit (the girls haven't seen her in several weeks, since she'd been traveling in Japan) and lucky for me, she prepared a whole smorgasbord of yummy food! We had pork cutlets, chicken cutlets, spaghetti, strawberries, home-grown tomatoes, and celery - plus the good company of our friends. After finishing lunch, the girls insisted on having Grandma play ring-around-the-rosy and asking her to swing them in a circle.

Personally - I was amazed that nobody hurled afterwards! ;)

The Daily Grind...

Since Daddy Dude is out of town, we are providing him with detailed reports on our activities. Mika had Jogger's Club today and once again, Marika ran with her (one lap - before she started coughing and stopped before she gagged on the field). Mika ran four laps all by herself - and not only did she maintain a good steady pace, she even sprinted every once in awhile, blowing by people! I was so proud of her! Go, Mika, go!

Afterwards, Marika and I went to storytime at the library.

And then we met our friends at the park. Here's the Scooter Gang!

Happy Birthday, Daddy Dude!

We celebrated S.'s birthday over a few days. We took him out to dinner at his favorite restaurant Sunday, gave him birthday cupcakes (from Coldstone!) on Monday, and then his presents and card today. The poor guy had to go on a business trip on his birthday, so what could we do?

Before dinner last night, the girls decided to stamp their faces. When I gasped, Marika reassured me, "Don't worry, Mommy - it's washable!"

Here's Marika's picture of her, Mika, me, and Daisy. Oops, yes, she forgot Daddy Dude - she drew him later... I think I'm bigger than he is in the final version... =)

And this morning, it was Jogger's Club at school again. Marika ran TWO laps this time and Mika ran four laps all by herself. I was so proud of both of them! Run, girls, run!

Thankfully, H. called in the afternoon, asking if we wanted to meet up at the park (I swear, she must have read my mind). The kids were kind enough to pose for a photo op... aren't they cute? Gotta love 'em! (I do!)

Ready, Set, Go!

Mika had Jogger's Club today - it was a little overcast, but other than that it was perfect running weather! Today, Marika decided to run a lap. This was really unusual, since she's what we call "a lazy athlete" - but she sprinted most of the way and helped Mika to run even faster! Despite missing the first week of the Jogger's Club to our vacation, Mika has run a total of 49 laps (4 laps = 1 mile) so far, as of today. This is great news, because she wins a medal (the highest award) at 48 laps. There are still a few more weeks of the Jogger's Club left, so we'll see how many laps she can run. She's been extremely consistent - except for the first day (when she ran 5 laps), she's run 4 laps every day since. You go, girl! I'm so proud of you!

Grandma came to visit for a visit yesterday until later today. The girls were totally thrilled, since they haven't seen Grandma in about 3 weeks (Grandma has been up north, helping out her sons with their newly expanded families - 7 grandkids total now!). Marika is happy to have Grandma all to herself while Mika is in school. Here, they are having a rousing game of "Elefun". Grandma never complains about Marika taking an extra advantage or two... =)